In Operation Zaire I, Military Airlift Command employs 43 C-141 and C-5 missions to transport 931 tons of cargo and 124 passengers to Zaire to aid Belgian and French troops who had intervened to rescue European workers threatened by a Katangan rebel invasion from Angola. For this operation, Lt. Col. Robert F. Schultz and Capt. Todd H. Hohberger and their C-5 crews earned the Mackay Trophy for overcoming fatigue, limited en route support, crippling mechanical problems, and adverse operational conditions in a hostile area.
The dramatic and sprawling two-day operation to save the crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran on April 3 involved hundreds of personnel, dozens of aircraft—and multiple close calls.
