Humanitarian Missions & Travis Air Force Base

HUMANITATION MISSIONS

Humanitarian airlift is a U.S. tradition that predates the United States Air Force and is nearly as old as military aviation itself. Just twelve years after the establishment of the Signal Corps’ Aeronautical Division in 1907, aircraft were already being used for disaster relief missions.

Humanitarian airlift operations continued through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, and even the immense demands of World War II did not halt these life-saving efforts. During the Cold War and beyond, the U.S. Air Force carried this tradition forward, conducting approximately 560 humanitarian relief airlift missions between its establishment as an independent service in 1947 and 1994.

Throughout the Travis AFB Aviation Museum, visitors will find exhibits highlighting these humanitarian missions. Among the earliest is a beautifully restored Stinson L-5 “Sentinel” and L-4 “Grasshopper” aircraft that were used to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield to front-line medical care—early examples of airpower saving lives beyond combat.

STINSON L-5 “SENTINEL”

In response, Stinson modified its Model 105 “Voyager,” lengthening the fuselage to accommodate two litter patients and widening the entry door and windows to improve visibility and ease of loading. The result was the Stinson L-5 “Sentinel.” Although the L-5 served in both the European and Pacific Theaters, it became especially well known for its vital operations in the jungles of the South Pacific.

Flying from crude airstrips carved out of dense jungle, L-5 Sentinels carried communications, ammunition, food, and medical supplies to forward positions. On return flights, they evacuated seriously wounded soldiers for medical treatment. Operating in the jungles of New Guinea, one group of L-5 pilots called themselves the “Guinea Short Lines.” To the soldiers they rescued, the L-5 earned the affectionate nickname “Swamp Angel.”

PIPER L-4 "GRASSHOPPER"

Piper Aircraft’s highly successful civilian J-3 Cub was selected by the U.S. Army in 1941 as a light observation and liaison aircraft. Originally designated the O-59, the aircraft was later redesignated L-4. With a gross weight of just 1,200 pounds and powered by a 65-horsepower Continental O-170 engine, the L-4 could take off in extremely short distances—earning the nickname “Grasshopper.”

Stinson aircraft were renowned for their strength

and durability. During World War II, as the U.S. Army and Army Air Forces advanced across multiple theaters, a need emerged for a light observation aircraft capable of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and medical evacuation. Ideally, this aircraft needed the ability to operate from unimproved airstrips close to the front lines.

The Piper L-4 served in all theaters of World WarII, performing observation, artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and liaison duties. On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), L-4s flew over the Normandy beaches to help correct naval gunfire. Throughout the Normandy campaign, they continued to direct Allied artillery, transport senior officers, and relay vital battlefield information.

Exceptionally lightweight, the L-4 could operate from unimproved fields and makeshift landing areas close to the front lines.

The aircraft was also used by British forces, and in some cases was fitted with improvised external mounts, including anti-tank rocket launchers such as the Bazooka, allowing pilots to conduct daring low-level ground-attack missions.

After World War II, the L-4 continued to serve during the Korean War, where it was again used for observation and medical evacuation. France operated the Piper L-4 during the Algerian War and continued to use the type until 1953. Today, the L-4 is a valued vintage aircraft, frequently appearing in commemorations and air displays honoring the battles of World War II.

EXPEDITIONARY MEDICAL SUPPORT (EMEDS) UNIT

Improvements in deployment processes since the 1991 Gulf War have helped create a healthier, more resilient fighting force. Today, U.S. military personnel are deployed in more locations and for longer periods than at any time since the Vietnam War, requiring medical support that is fast, flexible, and capable of operating in austere environments.

Advances span the entire health-care life cycle, from pre-deployment medical screening to post-deployment assessment and counseling. This approach begins at accession and continues throughout a service member’s career—and beyond. Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) Airmen are also better prepared than ever, supported by advanced trauma training and the Readiness Skills Verification Program, which ensures critical wartime medical skills remain current.

The transition to expeditionary medicine allows the AFMS to deploy medical forces rapidly and efficiently. This capability was demonstrated during the initial deployments of Operation Enduring Freedom and later Operation Iraqi Freedom, bringing high-level medical care closer to the fight. These innovations have created a lighter, smarter, and faster medical service—providing levels of care unimaginable just a decade earlier.

A key element of EMEDS is the early deployment of preventive medicine teams, often arriving on the very first aircraft. These small teams play a vital role by ensuring food and water safety, collecting environmental and health hazard data, advising on camp and tent placement, and providing basic medical care—helping protect the force from the moment it arrives in theater.

Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) surgical units can be deployed extremely rapidly, arriving on the ground within as little as three to five hours after initial forces.

EMEDS consists of highly mobile, rapidly deployable medical teams that can be scaled to meet mission needs—from large, tented medical facilities offering specialized care to small, five-person mobile field surgical teams. These compact teams operate with remarkable flexibility, each member carrying a 70-pound backpack containing enough medical equipment to perform up to 10 life-saving surgeries anywhere, anytime, and under any conditions.

During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom, a single EMEDS field team performed 100 surgical procedures in deployed conditions, including 39 combat surgeries. When injured or ill service members require evacuation from the theater to definitive care, the U.S. Air Force relies on a state-of-the-art aeromedical evacuation system.

Newly developed patient support pallets can be rapidly rolled onto transport aircraft—such as the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, or KC-10 Extender—and unfolded and configured within minutes. These pallets transform cargo aircraft into fully capable aeromedical evacuation platforms, representing a monumental advancement over earlier reliance on dedicated aircraft like the now-retired C-9 Nightingale or time-consuming aircraft reconfigurations. This innovation not only preserves valuable cargo space—it saves lives.

The ability to transport larger numbers of critically injured patients has been further enhanced by Critical Care Air Transport Teams (CCATT). These specialized teams provide intensive, life-sustaining care throughout flight, effectively bringing an airborne intensive care unit to the patient. In 2002, 1,352 patients were evacuated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, including 128 critically ill or injured personnel.

These capabilities integrate seamlessly into the joint medical system. Together, the Army, Navy, and Air Force have developed an interlocking continuum of care that supports every Airman, Soldier, Sailor, Marine, and Coast Guardsman from point of injury through recovery.

Health surveillance continues throughout deployment. Automated systems have documented and centrally stored more than 11,600 deployed patient records since September 11, 2001. Environmental health data are also collected and linked to individual medical encounters, providing a critical foundation for future epidemiological research and long-term force health protection.

THE WIDE WORLD OF HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS

Humanitarian missions involve the airlift of relief workers, equipment, and supplies to victims of natural disasters, major accidents, civil conflicts, and political emergencies. These operations reflect the Air Force’s ability to respond rapidly—often under dangerous and unpredictable conditions—to save lives around the world.

Such missions include emergency evacuations from hazardous areas, aerial spraying of insecticides or fire-retardant chemicals, air rescue of survivors from shipwrecks or flooded regions, and even airdrops of food to snowbound livestock or isolated Antarctic researchers.

HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS OF THE 60TH AIRLIFT WING

The 60th Airlift Wing (60th AW) has played a prominent role in humanitarian relief, often responding to multiple crises within short timeframes:

1985 – Mexico City Earthquake:
A 60th Military Airlift Wing C-5 Galaxy was among the first Military Airlift Command aircraft to deliver emergency relief equipment following the devastating earthquake.
1988–1989 – Armenia Earthquake Relief:
Personnel from the 60th Aerial Port Squadron helped load Soviet IL-62 aircraft with medical supplies and relief equipment bound for earthquake victims in Armenia.
1989 – Loma Prieta Earthquake:
Aircrews transported relief personnel and equipment to California’s San Francisco Bay Area following the October 13 earthquake.

Operation FIERY VIGIL (1991–1992)

In June and July 1991, repeated eruptions of Mount Pinatubo buried Clark Air Base, Philippines, under tons of volcanic ash. The 60th Airlift Wing played a key role in the emergency evacuation of U.S. military dependents and non-essential personnel. Relief efforts related to this disaster continued well into 1992.

Global Humanitarian Operations (1992–1994)

By September 1992, the wing was supporting eight humanitarian relief operations simultaneously, including:

Operation PROVIDE COMFORT – Aid to Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq
Operation PROVIDE HOPE – Medical supplies and food to the former Soviet Union
Operation PROVIDE PROMISE – Relief airlift to besieged Sarajevo, Bosnia
Operation PROVIDE RELIEF – Aid to famine-stricken Somalia
Operation PHOENIX UFFO – Support for Haitian refugees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Additional disaster response missions included relief operations following Hurricane Andrew (Florida), Hurricane Iniki (Hawaii), and Typhoon Omar (Guam).

Beginning in May 1994, the 60th Airlift Wing joined an Air Mobility Command rotation at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, supporting Operation PROVIDE PROMISE. The Sarajevo airlift, which continued throughout 1994, ultimately surpassed the Berlin Airlift in both duration and total tonnage delivered.

Africa Relief Operations

On December 3, 1992, the United Nations Security Council authorized a U.S.-led force to safeguard humanitarian efforts in Somalia. Operation RESTORE HOPE began that same day when a 60th AW C-5 transported crews and airlift control personnel to March Air Force Base, California. The operation continued into early 1994.

When civil war erupted in Rwanda in the spring of 1994, the 60th Airlift Wing once again responded. Operating from Entebbe, Uganda, Travis-based airlifters supported Operation SUPPORT HOPE, part of a joint U.S. and United Nations effort that delivered nearly 25,000 tons of relief supplies to the Central African region.

OPERATION "BABYLIFT"

Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of orphans from South Vietnam near the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975. The operation airlifted infants and children to the United States and other nations, including Australia, as Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces.

By the time of the final American flight out of South Vietnam, more than 2,000 infants and children had been evacuated—one of the most emotionally powerful humanitarian airlift missions in U.S. military history.

HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS TODAY

Today, humanitarian missions are a daily reality for the men and women of the United States military. The Travis Team plays a major role in this enduring commitment. From delivering aid to Sarajevo, responding to earthquakes in Los Angeles, supporting relief efforts after tsunamis in the South Pacific, to assisting communities devastated by hurricanes in New Orleans, Travis-based airmen continue a proud tradition of global humanitarian service—bringing hope, relief, and lifesaving support wherever it is needed.