News

  • Tech. Sgt. William Burks, a Reservist with the 86th Aerial Port Squadron, performs a foreign object damage check on his vehicle while practicing for the June Operational Readiness Inspection.

    Unit prepares for ORI

    Operational readiness inspection is an often dreaded event that prompts many months of planning for some, and several days of scrutiny for others. ORIs are nothing new for the 446th Airlift Wing, as the unit is just off the heels of one such inspection last year. Now the wing is looking forward to yet another ORI in Alpena, Mich., this June. In
  • MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. - Soldiers in Iraq secure the wreckage of the Humvee Army Sgt. Jeff Beltran was riding in before it was struck by an improvised explosive device. All three soldiers riding in the vehicle survived the blast that occurred while on patrol near Taji, Iraq. Sergeant Beltran was treated in the field by Army Spc. Mitch Barone, and then on an aeromedical evacuation flight by Tech. Sgt. Selina Barone, Specialist Barone's mother. Sergeant Barone is a Reservist with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at McChord.

    Legacy of caring crosses services, families

    His throat clogged with gravel and face covered in blood, Army Sgt. Jeff Beltran tried in vain to call out to his fellow Soldiers. The improvised explosive device that nearly obliterated the Humvee he was riding in a moment ago cast a deafening silence in the aftermath of the explosion – a silence Sergeant Beltran was unable to break because of the

  • Porters moving cargo, people at record pace

    The holidays were a busy time of year for most Reservists, but this was especially true for four 446th Airlift Wing aerial porters deployed to Southwest Asia. And if you thought packing up the car to head over to a relative’s house for a holiday gathering was hectic, then imagine being a deployed Airman from the 86th Aerial Port Squadron in

  • Reservists man contingency hospital

    Seventy-one Airmen from the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron are deploying to Southwest Asia to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The deployment kicked off with the first Airmen leaving Christmas Day 2005, with the rest of the group following in January. The primary purpose of the squadron’s deployment will be to man

  • Air Force Reserve aircrew evacuates refugees

    One-hundred, sixty-four people were evacuated from New Orleans, La., to Austin, Texas, today in a C-17 flown by an Air Force Reserve aircrew from McChord Air Force Base, Wash. The evacuation was part of a mission by the 728th Airlift Squadron that included bringing airfield supplies to Louis Armstrong International Airport, the only operational

  • McChord Reservists treat Hurricane Katrina victims

    As aeromedical evacuation operations gear down here, two Reservists from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., are heading home today after providing relief for Hurricane Katrina victims. Tech. Sgt. Shawnette Reach, and Tech Sgt. Leah Crawford, both medical technicians with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, arrived here Sept. 2 in order to fly

  • Reserve crew tapped to fly Hurricane Rita support mission

    The first McChord crew out of the gate in support of Hurricane Rita is from the Air Force Reserve’s 313th Airlift Squadron here. The Reservists will take off in a C-17 Globemaster III at about 3:30 p.m., today, heading to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., to pick up 400 patient litters and 800 cargo straps, before heading to Beaumont, Texas where the

  • Air Force Reserve enlistment ceremony marks banner recruiting year

    To mark a banner recruiting year in the just-closed Fiscal Year ‘05, Air Force Reserve recruiters will host an enlistment ceremony for around 10 people at Seattle’s Space Needle at 1 p.m. Oct. 5. The ceremony is part of a nationwide project initiated by the Air Force Reserve Command. Each of the command’s 41 wings organized enlistment ceremonies to

  • McChord Reserve Squadron demobilizes after one year

    Approximately 150 Air Force reservists from the 446th Airlift Wing are being deactivated Oct. 25 after one year of supporting airlift missions for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. “The 313th reservists did a fantastic job,” said Lt. Col. Michael Keenan, 313th Airlift Squadron commander. “This was a motivated group of people who did it

  • Commander earns nomination for brigadier general

    Col. Eric Crabtree, commander of the 446th Airlift Wing, has been nominated by the President for promotion to brigadier general, Air Force Reserve Command officials announced today. Crabtree’s promotion will take effect upon U.S. Senate confirmation and by direction of the chief of Air Force Reserve. As commander of Washington’s only flying Air
  • Chief Master Sgt. Robert Belletti and Maj. Roger Law pose for a picture postcard-type photo in Balad AB, Iraq. Both Reservists earned the Bronze Star for their service in Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo)

    Two Reservists receive Bronze Star

    An officer and a NCO, both in the Air Force Reserve, were awarded the Bronze Star Medal in a ceremony Nov. 6., with Maj. Gen. Robert Duignan, 4th Air Force commander, March Air Reserve Base, Calif., giving the award presentations. Maj. Roger Law and Chief Master Sgt. Robert Belletti both earned their awards while serving at Balad Air Base,
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