Once disgraced National Air Cargo receives high honour

UPSTATE New York's National Air Cargo (NAC) has been awarded a certificate of excellence for services at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, by Lieutenant LT Truong of the US Army MEDLOG 484th at a ceremony where he himself received his Bronze Star, which was embedded in the plaque also presented to NAC owners Christopher and Lore Alf.

It has been an extraordinary leap from scaffold to pedestal for the once beleaguered ma-and-pa airline, convicted and punished of fraud in an overbilling case with the Pentagon, which the airline had served for years.

But a year ago, a judge said the case was flawed and the couple resumed control of their battle-scarred airline from whose management they had been debarred, to win a place back in the sun after legal battles and yeoman service in the fields of military conflict.

"National Air Cargo's logistic support was essential to my being awarded the Bronze Star in Afghanistan," said Lieut Truong in a US army statement on his two special plaques including one Afghanistan Campaign Medal. "I believe the team and the company leadership deserve medals as well."

The National Air Cargo team worked closely with the team since the arrival of MEDLOG 484 in Bagram in December 2009 and were awarded for their exceptional medical logistics services, including shipping and receiving of medical supplies to assist critical life saving missions.

"This immense recognition from Lieut Truong means so much to the National team and to Lori and me personally" said Mr Alf, chairman and founder, alongside his wife, once again on the board. "Delivering life saving medical supplies to our forces in theatre is our number one mission. There is nothing more important to us."

In one example of its services NAC chartered an aircraft to deliver critical life-saving supplies to a field hospital at a remote Forward Operating Base location in Afghanistan on the same day they ran out of supplies to serve patients in need. Under normal circumstances, this type of shipment would take five to seven days to deliver using routine transportation methods.

Mr Alf founded NAC in 1991 and since has provided freight forwarding services for many military and industrial customers. The company offers airlift operations with appropriate aircraft with payload options ranging from four tons to 250 tons to countries throughout the world.
(Source:www.schednet.com)