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AETCNS 071805132
Dolphin travels by air thanks to Air Force crew

By Airman 1st Class Sarah McDowell
325th Fighter Wing
Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AETCNS) -

"A C-130J Hercules crew from Keesler AFB, Miss., flew a rough-toothed dolphin named "Noah" onto Tyndall's flightline July 15, in a joint effort with Gulf World Marine Park, Panama City Beach, Fla., and the Texas State Aquarium's SeaLab facility, Corpus Christi, Texas, to reunite Noah with fellow dolphins.

The unusual mission came as a surprise for the Air Force Reserve flight crew, said Maj. Erik Olson, C-130 aircraft commander.

"When the scheduler at the Air Force Reserve Center told me about this mission, I thought they were talking about hauling a helicopter," Major Olson said. The crew was in disbelief when he explained the cargo was actually a dolphin.

"I have done tons of humanitarian missions, but this is the first time we have flown a dolphin," said Senior Master Sgt. Todd Patterson, C-130J loadmaster. "This mission was better than hauling cargo, and a close second to hauling troops out of the desert."

Noah had been rehabilitating at the SeaLab facility after becoming stranded in August.

"They (the SeaLab facility) had been nursing Noah back to health for 10 months, and we had to get him back here in one piece," Sergeant Patterson said. "Loading him, keeping him comfortable in flight and unloading him was a lot of work."

"We made special arrangements," Major Olson said. "We normally avoid all thunderstorms, but this time we went even farther away and were extra gentle on the handling of the aircraft."

The flight was three hours, and the team of doctors that came with Noah had to flip him every 20 minutes and keep him wet. The dolphin was sedated to keep him calm. Sergeant Patterson noted that Noah must have felt like he had been abducted by aliens and had no idea what was going on.

After the flight, Noah reunited with a pod of other dolphins at Gulf World. A pod is the dolphin's family and consists of two or three dolphins.

"Dolphins are very social animals, so the pod is very important," said Tricia Culpepper, Gulf World public affairs.

Thanks to the collaboration of the Air Force, Gulf World and the SeaLab facility, Noah will soon be released back into his natural habitat in the Gulf of Mexico with the rest of the pod."




TSgt John Asselin
Air Education and Training Command
Public Affairs
(210) 652-4400 DSN 487-4400