Dictionary>Well the title says it all. I flew last week and I have to think real hard to remember what it was… oh yeah, I flew an HA/DR mission (Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief) and planned a NEO (Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation). It was the finish of MEUEX (Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise). I was suppose to fly yesterday but due to the aircraft having no brakes, and the back-up aircraft having problems, we canceled. Our embarkation is also being stalled due to the typhoon that missed us but is turning around as a tropical storm – it did a U-turn just off the coast of China… wierd.
Oh yeah, the NEO and HADR went fine – just practice for things we do in the Philippines or other 3rd world countries when disasters like typhoons or tsunami's hit. We generally fly rice and water into places that don't have access to food and water and work hand in hand with non-profit organizations. Of course we need the country's approval in order to offer assistance – which we didn't get in Burma, although we were ready to help for anyone who remembers the May cyclone that hit and many people ended up dieing. Pretty sad situation, but we were ready to help, and we're ready now in case something else happens, and that's why we train during these exercises
Anyway, I should be able to get my NATOPS check (annual standardization requirement) done Thursday now, and I'm flying with 265 again tomorrow night if the weather holds. There probably won't be any cool pictures of those flights, but when I fly to the ship I'll be sure to take a camera. I also saw some pictures in the paper of a flight we did a couple months ago I'll try to scan and post. We had three 46's landing on a ridgeline, but I think only two are in the picture.
Hope everyone is doing well, thanks for taking the time to read the post.
peace,
Adam