JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Hawaii Air National Guard pilots helped fly 78,000 pounds of baby formula from Germany to Indianapolis aboard a Hickam-based C-17 Globemaster III, completing the first flight of Operation Fly Formula.
On May 19, President Joe Biden authorized the operation to bring immediate assistance to parents of young children who could not get formula due to a national shortage.
“I’m at that age where a lot of my friends are new parents,” said Capt. Justin Shimasaki, 204th Airlift squadron pilot. “They’ve got these kids under 6 months that really need the formula.”
The 132 pallets of formula, which usually takes two weeks to ship commercially, took only 15 hours from loading onto the C-17 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to unloading in the United States.
“We’re trained to be able to operate anywhere in the world at any time, so it’s not a big difference for us if it’s going from Germany to Indiana versus from Hawaii to anywhere else,” said Capt. Keegan Reynolds, 535th Airlift Squadron pilot. “We’re supposed to be able to do it all, and we can.”
The Total Force Integration aircrew included a 15th Wing active-duty pilot and loadmaster serving alongside two Hawaii Air National Guard pilots. This TFI capability supports local and worldwide missions of combat assistance and humanitarian or disaster relief.
The first flight delivered enough food to feed 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for one week, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“That’s why I joined the [Air National] Guard; it gives you the chance to make an impact in the community,” said 1st Lt. Jamie Greenberg, 204th Airlift squadron pilot.
Even though no one in the four-person aircrew was a parent, the crew agreed the mission was rewarding.
“I think how we can do it so seamlessly,” said Greenberg. “We’ve trained every day, so when they say, ‘We need it done in 15 hours,’ it’s not a shock to us. It’s something we’ve rehearsed and can do effectively.”
The formula arrived from Switzerland. Under Operation Fly Formula, the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services are authorized to request Department of Defense support to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards.