The composure and professionalism of a C-17
loadmaster played a key role in helping to save the lives of three critically
wounded US personnel injured in an attempted rescue mission in South Sudan.
That performance has earned SrA. Cody Nunez of the 21st Airlift Squadron the
Gen. P. K. Carlton Award for Valor from the Airlift Tanker Association. Nunez
was aboard a fully loaded Globemaster III preparing for takeoff at the end of a
humanitarian relief mission in Entebbe, Uganda, last December when the crew was
ordered to delay departure to receive three inbound patients. Three Air Force
Special Operations CV-22s, including one that Nunez said “was shot up pretty
bad,” landed nearby, while the loadmasters swiftly removed enough cargo and
passengers to accommodate the wounded and the medics treating them. In an Air
Force
release,
Nunez said he had to counter the orders from an Army Special Forces officer on
how to perform the offload, assuring him they would do it correctly and
quickly. With the load adjusted and litters and support equipment for the
wounded installed, the C-17 made a quick flight to Nairobi, Kenya, where the
patients could receive advanced medical care.
