Members of the 621st Contingency Response Wing from JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., wrapped up operations at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria, and at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania after a more than three-week deployment. Their work was twofold: help assess the practicality of using MK, together with the Romanian Black Sea port at Constanta, as a hub for equipment flowing in and out of Afghanistan; and support the temporary basing of several C-17 transports at MK and KC-135 tankers at Burgas. The tankers supported air operations in Southwest Asia. The CRW arrived on May 9 at both locations to set up airfield operations and pave the way for follow-on aircraft and personnel. A contingency response element of about 50 personnel established cargo operations at MK, while a smaller team of 12 airmen staged tanker operations out of Burgas. (Mihail Kogalniceanu report by MSgt. Laura K. Deckman)
Poor event planning and staffing contributed to a fatal mishap last April at Kadena Air Base, Japan, when rotor wash from an HH-60W helicopter knocked over a Japanese teacher from a Department of Defense Education Activity school attending a public aerial demonstration, according to an Air Force investigation.
