The rebirth of Catfish Air

Photo By Capt. Charles Baxter | The Catfish Air symbol originally displayed by the 185th Aviation Group during operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

09.13.2015

Story by Capt. Charles Baxter 

185th Aviation Brigade

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait– More than a decade after its initial inception in Iraq in 2004 Catfish Air officially reopened for business Sept. 1, 2015 at Udairi Army Airfield, Kuwait. The space available program was originally designed and implemented by the 185th Aviation Group, eventually re-designated the 185th Theater Aviation Brigade, of the Mississippi Army National Guard and remained in Iraq until the end of Operation New Dawn in 2011.

The program was developed in the second year of Operation Iraqi Freedom to meet the need to move personnel as safely as possible throughout the theater of Iraq. A reference to the major catfish farming industry in Mississippi, Catfish Air was given its name by the group commander at the time who was a catfish farmer himself.

Col. Bradley Macnealy was the commander of the 185th Aviation Group during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. “Al Qaeda operatives in Iraq started heavy implementation of IED's that literally shut down the highways; plus, at that time, our military vehicles had no armor and were easy targets,” said Macnealy. This made ground movements for U.S. and coalition troops extremely dangerous. “185th Aviation Flight operations became inundated with Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, contractors, etc. requesting a ride on our helicopters in order to conduct urgent business.”

Initially, personnel who needed to fly to another location within theater had to fill out an Air Mission Request 72 hours in advance to be considered for mission approval. Often times these requests would be denied for higher priority missions such as VIP transports. However, in many cases, these flights would depart with only two or three seats filled with a remaining 19 or more seats vacant. “We asked our Flight Operations Personnel at the 185th if they could quickly come up with a way to organize a Space-Available system to defuse the chaos,” said Macnealy. Within days of its inception a small group of flight operations personnel from the 185th Aviation Group began refining a program that would fly thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, contractors and civilian personnel throughout Iraq each month.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Norman Carey was the original Noncommissioned Officer-in-charge of Catfish Air and is currently deployed with the 185th Theater Aviation Brigade to Kuwait. “It started out as a small idea and it just sort of blew up,” said Carey. Carey and his team of six flight operations Soldiers from the 185th Aviation Group worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the duration of their tour in Iraq to ensure as many personnel as possible were able to fly safely to their destinations throughout the theater of Iraq.

While the current space available program in Kuwait will undoubtedly experience a lower volume and a more limited scope than the original Catfish Air in Iraq, it will provide a much faster and more efficient avenue to move troops and civilian personnel between U.S. military installations in Kuwait. Sgt. Cendrea McKinney, flight operations NCO, 185th Theater Aviation Brigade said of the reopening of Catfish Air, “So far Catfish Air in Kuwait has been successful and is gaining popularity among Soldiers from different units.”

As the 185th Theater Aviation Brigade continues its legacy of providing safe and efficient air transport in support of military operations, the new era for Catfish Air will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices and contributions that were made by the original personnel of the 185th Aviation Group during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“All of us that flew or supported Catfish Air in Iraq should all be proud of that contribution and the fact that Catfish Air was able to save thousands of lives by keeping Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, contractors, etc. off the extremely dangerous roads,” said Col. Macnealy.

• Date Taken: 09.13.2015
• Date Posted: 09.19.2015 04:33
• Story ID: 176645
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW
• Hometown: JACKSON, MS, US