Jun

Free Flights That Do A World of Good

Posted by admin Published in Air Travel

When citizens talk about air travel these days, it’s all gloom and doom. But while expensive oil, struggling airlines and depressing passengers hog the headlines, there are some good things happening – situations where aviation is making a real, positive difference in people’s lives.

The Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) is one good example. The VAC is a non-profit that connects wounded veterans with their families by giving them a free lift on a private plane or commerce jet. Say your wife’s been wounded in Iraq and is at a Dallas military hospital undergoing treatment. You want to be by her side, but you live in Milwaukee and can’t afford the trip. The VAC will find a plane and pilot, plan your trip, and get you there.

It sounds great, and it is.

With an advisory board that includes heavies like Bob Dole and General Richard B. Myers, the VAC has grown since its founding in 2006 from a nine pilot organization to one with 400 volunteer pilots and 300 borrowed planes at its disposal. And not just any
hunk of metal with a propeller and wings will do. The VAC looks for businesses to loan out their corporate planes and members of fractional jet programs to donate their

unused hours. Pilots, many
of them veterans themselves, must have meaningful experience and a pristine safety record.

The VAC has by 100 missions under its belt, and the soldiers who’ve benefited tell stories that are downright heartwarming. There’s the one about Sgt. John Kriesel, who lost both arms when a roadside bomb hit his Humvee in Fallujah. The VAC flew him from Walter Reed Medical Center in DC to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin so that he could meet his unit when they arrived back from 22 months of active duty. Or the veteran recovering from severe burns in a San Antonio hospital who caught a flight domestic to celebrate his 32nd birthday with family. Or the parents who, thanks to a VAC flight, were able to attend a dedication ceremony for their son who died in combat.

Regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq, operations in Afghanistan, or US foreign policy in general, there’s not much negative you can say about the Veteran’s Airlift Command.

Photo by Flickr user solidiersmediacenter