After 7 years of worldwide traveling and countless exciting experiences in the Air Force, I was once again presented with an opportunity of a lifetime. It came with a phone call from the AMC loadmaster career field manager. He had a simple question for me, “how would I like to move to Hungary for a while?” It seemed like a simple enough question; however, this simple question would lead to a defining decision in my life and career in the Air Force.

   That decision was not a thoughtless one, especially because it was a joint decision between my wife and me. There was very little information as to what exactly was ahead, but we knew that it would include moving to Hungary, to a base with few amenities, living on the local economy, and working to create the first multinational C-17 strategic airlift operation. Though not an easy decision, it was quick for my wife and me. We immediately accepted and prepared ourselves for whatever may come.

   Our first introduction to Pápa, Hungary came with my arrival in October of 2008. I was immediately struck by the town. I knew some of the history of Hungary, but none of it prepared me for my first impressions of the town. It is larger than I expected in scale and available amenities, but smaller in feel. The town could be best described as quaint; dominated with baroque architecture, beautiful churches, small shops, and winding streets. The first notable challenge proved to be the language barrier, but despite the difficulties, the local population was very welcoming and extremely interested in their new guests. With the help of phrase books and our Hungarian translators, we soon began to interact with the community more and more.

   The following months consisted of bedding down our new base and finding housing for the pending permanent change of station. My arrival to Pápa Air Base to begin my work in the Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW) is something I can never forget. Pápa AB has had a long history with the Hungarian Air Force and the evidence of its past is still visible everywhere you look. MiG-21’s and 23’s still sit dormant along the flight line and in hardened aircraft shelters, while the base’s Mil 17 search and rescue helicopter flies overhead. I marveled at how much has changed in the past 20 years, and that I as a member of the US military was arriving at my new Hungarian air base.

   Housing options proved to be a very pleasant surprise. The difficulty came not in finding a suitable home, but selecting your favorite for the available choices. My wife and I decided that we wanted a home that would provide us the truest experience of life in Pápa. With that in mind, we selected an older home in an older area of the town with fewer HAW members. So far, there have been things that have required some getting used to, like our neighbor’s pet homing pigeons and the lack of closets in the house, but they are far outweighed by the phenomenal opportunity to engage with a new culture. Without having to put up with those small inconveniences, my wife and I would never have had the opportunities we have had; like to sit in our back garden and hear firsthand accounts of 75 years of Hungarian history from our neighbors.

   Starting operations at the Heavy Airlift Wing proved to be another new concept for me and my new coworkers. Many of us had stood up C-17 squadrons at USAF bases, but no one had yet started a base from very basic beginnings. My position was an Instructor Loadmaster, but I quickly realized that before we started doing any flying or instructing, there was many things to do. Sitting in our newly renovated offices with a desk, a chair, and four blank walls, we busied ourselves with every detail imaginable. They ranged from ordering pens and paper, to Hungarian national certification processes for aircrew, training, operations, and even our aircraft themselves.

   Our first mission was the delivery of our first airplane in July of 2009. That was followed by a mission the next day back to the US to pick up tens of thousands of pounds of equipment and supplies for our new Wing. I had the good fortune to fly on that mission and have flown numerous interesting and complex missions since then. We have, since July, flown training, troop transport, Trans-Atlantic resupply, and direct combat delivery missions. The missions are challenging for loadmasters. With much less support than in the USAF, many jobs like load planning, cargo preparation and documentation are given to the Loadmaster, often on the spot. It has been a great opportunity for me to brush up on some of the tasks I had used less often up to this point. Every mission has been conducted with a multi-national crew, moving multi-national cargo, supported by our multi-national logistics and C2 squadrons.

   We have had, and continue to discover, numerous challenges in our daily operations. However, each time we have been presented with a problem the members of the HAW have come up with solutions. This experience has definitely provided a type of career experience that I cannot imagine finding elsewhere. The opportunity to work with this group of people from around the world to overcome enormous difficulty in order to do something revolutionary and important to the US and the other eleven member nations of SAC has been one of a lifetime, and my wife and I are extremely grateful to have it.

Tech. Sgt Chris Copan, Training NCOIC

Heavy Airlift Squadron, Papa Air Base, Hungary