 During 10 days in October of 1983, when tensions in both Lebanon and Grenada erupted, the United States became involved in two major crises. Within hours of each, the military airlift command, along with guard and reservists, would be called upon to meet urgent airlift needs on opposite sides of the world. MAC regularly employs 65% of its aircraft to support its routine missions and exercises. During these 10 days, however, more than 80% of the command's resources would be activated, as MAC headed to the Middle East and the Caribbean, and continued full support of its day-to-day operations. During the time that the situations in Lebanon and Grenada were becoming increasingly volatile, MAC C-141s were airlifting more than 17,000 army troops, along with their gear and combat vehicles and equipment to the autumn forge exercises in Germany. Within hours of each departure, tons of cargo and hundreds of troops were offloaded in Germany, as MAC resupplied the American, Dutch, German and British troops taking part in reforger. Meanwhile, on the island of Diego Garcia, a MAC C-5 Galaxy touched down on a routine resupply mission. And in Cairo, another pulled in to offload under the glare of the Egyptian sun. Half the world away, a MAC C-141 approached the ice-coated strip at McMurdo Sound in support of operation Deep Freeze. As Marines continued their peacekeeping vigil in Beirut, Honduran troops jumped from MAC C-130s during the six-month combined U.S.-Honduran joint exercise Awas Karatou. And while a number of MAC crews and aircraft staged in and out of Honduras, a 12-ship C-130 mission landed in Spain for exercise criss-ex. But then, as MAC headed to Korea in support of full eagle, the leaders of six Caribbean nations urged the United States to move into Grenada, following the execution of that country's prime minister. As our political leaders evaluated their request, MAC continued to haul more than 27,000 people and 32 million pounds of cargo to Florida in support of bold eagle. Then at 06.20 on the morning of October 23rd, one of the crises literally exploded when the Marine headquarters in Beirut was blown apart with the force of approximately 5 tons of TNT. For MAC, the 10 days in October had begun. As President Reagan was awakened with the news of the fatal attack, MAC moved into action. Immediately a C-9 nightingale flying a routine mission from mine-mine to Turkey turned instead toward Lebanon. Within 90 minutes, 23 of the more seriously wounded Marines were loaded and on their way either to U.S. military hospitals in West Germany and Italy or to the British Royal Air Force Hospital in Cyprus. Throughout the day, as rescue teams in Beirut combed through the smoking rubble of the Marine headquarters, MAC aeromedical evacuation crews continued to move the dead and wounded from Lebanon. By nightfall, with 60 reported wounded and the death toll climbing to 147, the first of the nightingales had arrived back in Germany. Soon, each of the wounded would be transferred from the C-9s to Army helicopters for the short trip to the hospital at Beastrad. Throughout, MAC continued its crucial airlift from Lebanon. But during this day, MAC had also sustained its support of a number of ongoing worldwide missions and exercises. And so, as some MAC crews geared up for another day in the Middle East and Europe, others continued to train the Honduran military in airborne tactics. On day two, as the death toll in Beirut continued to rise, MAC C-141s and C-9s took off from Rhein-Main to pick up wounded Marines in Cyprus and Lebanon. Meanwhile, in Florida, the Gold Eagle exercises were still underway and still required full MAC involvement. Throughout these critical days, MAC AC-130 gunships could be seen over Eglin Air Force Base, providing the close air support and air base defense for Gold Eagle. But as the command continued to support these exercises and fly normal supply missions from bases such as Favis, McGuire and Norton, the U.S. government had come to its decision about the situation in the Caribbean. At 1800 on October 24, President Reagan signed the order for the rescue operation in Grenada, codenamed Urgent Fury. In a matter of hours, nearly every MAC wing in the United States, together with the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, would become an integral part of the operation. It began in the early evening hours when U.S. Army Rangers at Hunter Army Airfield boarded MAC MC-130s and C-130s for the seven-hour flight to Grenada. At Pope Air Force Base, members of the 82nd Airborne boarded C-141s for the flight to Barbados, 115 miles from Grenada, and staging Area 4, Urgent Fury. MAC had acquired the Special Operations Mission only seven months earlier. Now in October, as the C-130s took off, loaded with Army Rangers and supporting forces, MAC MC and AC-130s joined the tactical airlifters in the command's first fully integrated combat force. By 0500, as MAC was moving southward from Hunter and Pope, 400 Marines left the USS Guam off the coast of Grenada to launch a helicopter attack on Pearl's airport. Moments after the Marine assault to the east, MC-130s and C-130s out of Hunter were flying through a hail of ground fire from small arms and add air-crafted machine guns as they carried the Rangers toward Point Salinas Airstrip to the south. Then, the jump light turned green and the first Rangers were out, jumping over the barricaded, uncompleted 10,000-foot strip. At once, Cuban ground fire shifted to the Rangers as they steered their shoots toward the airfield. Immediately, MAC-AC-130s gunships moved in to suppress the heavy defensive fire and silence the anti-aircraft guns. The Cubans drew closer to the airstrip, now skirting the Rangers' landing site in armored personnel carriers. Once again, the gunships moved in, surgically eliminating enemy defenses with minimal damage to non-combatant life and property. By 0750, only hours after the rescue operation had begun, the Marines encountered very little resistance and secured Pearl's airport. Soon, at Point Salinas, the Rangers had taken hundreds of Cubans into custody and had secured the island's only other airfield. At once, they began clearing the strip of rubble and construction equipment in preparation for the C-130s which had not air-dropped their troops and C-141s which were preparing to depart Pope. By 0850, the Rangers moved in to secure the medical school campus and ready the students for evacuation. While the Rangers assured the safety of the students, MAC began to bridge the gap between Barbados and Grenada. Every 20 minutes, another C-130 or C-141 hit the Cuban-built runway at Point Salinas as the airlifters moved more heavily equipped forces onto the island. By noon, members of the first Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron out of Pope Air Force Base had arrived to assist an Army medical team set up alongside the runway. Immediately, these MAC medical personnel unloaded supplies and picked up both U.S. and Cuban casualties being cared for in mobile staging facilities. Within four hours, the first of the U.S. wounded would be back home in Charleston. During this critical day, MAC had continued the airlift of Marines from Beirut and supported supply missions and exercises. But as night fell in Grenada, U.S. troops had yet to take firm control of the mission. Day four promised to demand the same high level of activity from MAC. Flying out of Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany, the command continued to demonstrate the rapid deployment of U.S. forces throughout Europe and the Middle East. Now, after the Beirut bombing, the transports assigned to Reforger began to crisscross the path of airlifters carrying Marine reinforcements back to Lebanon and those returning with the dead and wounded. As each of the 237 fatalities arrived at Rhein-Main, they were taken to a temporary mortuary set up and operated by MAC. Here, medical crews worked around the clock to complete positive identification of each individual and prepare their bodies for stateside transport. While MAC managed this mission, other crews moved 82nd Airborne troops and tons of equipment onto Grenada to reinforce the lightly equipped Rangers. As the 82nd continued to move from folk to Grenada, the first group of American medical students geared up to move out. Oh, one hell of a lot of thanks to these guys who went and got you out of there. By 0900, the students were boarding a Charleston-based C-141 for the first leg of their journey to Roosevelt Road, Puerto Rico. From there, they would be transferred to a C-141 for the trip home to Charleston. Their evacuation and all transport to and from Grenada during these days of October was handled out of the Airlift Control Center in Barbados. By the time the U.S. involvement in Grenada ended, this ALCC coordinated more than 750 MAC and Air Force Reserve missions. The center also processed the transport of 176,000 pounds of cargo, the evacuation of 622 American students, as well as the Airlift of some 18,000 passengers. Among those passengers were media representatives who, three times a day during the height of conflict, turned to MAC for a lift between Barbados and Grenada. Shortly after their arrival on Grenada, U.S. troops began to uncover evidence that as many as 700 Cubans had been on the island, many of them were there to construct the landing strip at Point Salinas. Everywhere, from locations along the end of the runway to inside the workers' barracks, signs pointed to the Cuban presence and to Soviet influence. By the time troops completed their search, they had found six warehouses north of Point Salinas airfield, fully stocked with both Cuban and Russian arms and ammunition. Then, with about 700 of these Cubans in the custody of U.S. and multinational peacekeeping forces, MAC made the arrangements to shuttle both them and the captured arms and ammunition off the island. With the command still entrenched in the Caribbean and in Lebanon, MAC crews in Christchurch, New Zealand packed fresh food and supplies for Airlift to American scientific laboratories in the South Pole. So, while some MAC crews continued to gear up for the evacuation of Cuban detainees and others carried wounded Marines home through Andrews, these Operation Deep Freeze crews would load their cargo and head out into the Antarctic night. By October 29, with Operation Deep Freeze, Reforger and Bold Eagles still demanding full support, MAC C-141s had started to bring our fallen Marines home. Over the next few days, as memorial services were held at Dover Air Force Base and throughout the country, MAC would also continue to support the return of the stabilized wounded to stateside hospitals. By the eighth day, the United States had achieved all its military objectives in Grenada and life on the island resumed its normal pace. At last, it was time for the U.S. to move out. And at Point Salinas, troops waited for the MAC transports that would take them off the island. Over the past nine days, MAC, along with the Reserve and Guard, had supplied the Airlift, Weather Services, Special Operations Support and the Aeromedical Evacuation for a mission that was now winding down. Now, as MAC brought the multinational peacekeeping forces on to the island, the transports continued to take the still remaining U.S. troops out. While most of our troops were headed home, MAC began to evacuate the Cuban detainees still in the custody of Army MPs. To conduct the transfer from Grenada to Barbados, MAC chose more than 200 security policemen from throughout the command. These newly assembled SPs became the 62nd Security Police Provisional Groups out of Pope Air Force Base. Most of the SPs had been handpicked for their facility with the language and familiarity with the background of the Cubans. In maintaining an orderly transfer, each detainee was personally escorted through the cordon of security policemen, checked off by international Red Cross personnel, and turned over to embassy authorities. Over the next few days, all the detainees, among them families of the Cuban Embassy officials, would be safely airlifted off the island. In 1983, in the midst of routine missions and worldwide exercises, the military airlift command managed the airlift for two crises on opposite sides of the world. Rarely had the unique capabilities and readiness posture of both the active and reserve forces been more clearly demonstrated. In just 10 days, more than 94,000 active duty personnel and more than 41,000 reservists flying over 1,000 aircraft had once again proven themselves to be the backbone of deterrence.