I thought I'd start out with something from right now. There is so much to catch up on, I might as well start back with something fresh in my mind.
Yesterday I was in Entebbe, Uganda. Why? It's a logistics support base for The United Nations. This year, I've been working as a mission support pilot for the UN in the MONUSCO mission - Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Entebbe is a place we fly to frequently, as many MONUSCO employees, contractors and NGO workers filter in to Africa via Entebbe.
Many people remember Entebbe from Operation Entebbe, back in 1976. If you're not familiar click on the link and it will take you to a Wiki summary. Basically, it was a hostage crisis that erupted from the hijacking of an Air France flight that originated in Tel Aviv. The plane was taken to Benghazi Libya. Afterwards, Idi Amin gave refuge to the hijackers in Entebbe, Uganda. After thorough planning, the Israeli Defense Force executed a near perfect rescue/assault that resulted in the loss of only four out of 260 hostages. It destroyed the entire Ugandan Air Force and was a huge black eye for dictator extraordinaire Idi Amin. Of course, this a brief summary - I encourage anyone interested to read up on it.
Anyway, the old terminal/control where the raid took place is still standing and is close to where we park our aircraft when we spend the night in Entebbe.
Entebbe is an interesting place. I will post more about it in the future.
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| An-124 next to the old terminal and tower in Entebbe, Uganda |
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Another interesting sight in Entebbe is the Ugandan Air Force
Sukhoi 30 fighters. We taxied behind one the other day.
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| Su-30 holding short of runway 17, Entebbe |
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| Su-30 on takeoff roll, runway 17 Entebbe. |
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