Major Matthew Steele and I had to lean forward.” “So, with normal lighting out of the picture, it darkened the success of Reach 806’s mission. “Once we were airborne on our departure out of Al Udeid, we heard other C-17s being due to the deteriorating lighting conditions in Kabul,” said Jordan, who served as aircraft commander on Reach 806. Shortly after take-off, other C-17 aircrews bound for HKIA reported increasingly unfavorable landing conditions as normal airfield lighting was out. Tonight is going to be one of those whys when you look back at your career.”

“We discussed the two most important days in our career: The day you raise your hand and volunteer to serve, and the day you find out why. “On our way in that night, our crew discussed the magnitude of what we were being asked to do,” said Steele. Matthew Steele, 3rd AS instructor pilot, set the tone for Reach 806 that sparked motivation and a renewed sense of service in his peers. Several hours prior to landing that fourth mission, Maj. However the aircrew of Reach 806 faced an added challenge, being forced to land at HKIA utilizing improvised landing zone lighting in order to evacuate thousands of Afghans. Many 3rd AS aircrews from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware contributed to the success of OAR. Jordan and Creech remained calm, focused and motivated to complete the mission knowing those awaiting their arrival had risked everything for a chance at a new life. The airfield was dimmer than usual, and lights from the nearby city washed out vision through the aircrew’s NVGs. This time, however, normalcy had faded as dark as the sky above. Typically by the fourth iteration, there is a sense of procedural normalcy.

Nathan Creech, both 3rd Airlift Squadron pilots, prepared to land their C-17 Globemaster III, call sign Reach 806, for its fourth mission in support of Operation Allies Refuge. Through the lenses of his night vision goggles, Capt. The dark night sky blanketed the airspace above Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Launch base zone act 1