Page 50 - DFCS NEWS MAGAZINE 2020-1

Col. Gregory A. Roberts, USAF (Cont’d.)
Flying a Russian MI-17 Helicopter, Rescues 1,092 Afghan Civilians in 48 Hours By Lew Jennings
More calls came in to rescue flood survivors north in Kunar Province. It was a dangerous area and, after making sure all volunteered, Gen. Barat manned the controls of 705 as he and Roberts led the flight north along the Kunar River towards the provincial capital of Assadabad. They soon saw many survivors waving frantically for help in the flooded Kunar valley and coordinated with the locals to use an area next to the town of Dora as the evacuation site.
They split into separate flights and started rotating between Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wright to “hot refuel” (without shutting down) and right back out to conduct more rescues.
The pace intensified with passenger loads averaging an astonishing 30 survivors with as many as 39 on one trip. Over the next four to five hours, more
than 1,700 survivors would be dropped at the evacuation point outside Dona and Flight Surgeon USAF Lt. Col. (Doctor) Jimmy Roberts would lend medical assistance to over 400 of the survivors.
At the end of day 2, the two aircraft were credited with rescuing some 1,700 total flood survivors. Their two-day rescue total was an astounding 2,089 survivors, officially becoming the largest two-ship helicopter rescue mission in U.S. Air Force history.
AAF Kabul Air Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Mohammed Barat keeps MI-17 helicopter #705 steady as flood survivors scramble to board and be flown to higher ground.
On July 28 and 29, 2010 two Russian-made Afghan MI-17V5 transport helicopters piloted by USAF Lt. Col. Gregory “Boomer” Roberts and Lt. Col. Bernard “Jeep” Willi rescued over 2,000 Afghan flood survivors in the largest two-ship helicopter rescue operation in U.S. Air Force history.
50 / DFCS News Magazine / SUMMER 2020