Lone Survivor Foundation Kickoff

[Zero]

Greets all,

Standard disclaimer--long time listener, first time caller...

For anyone who is familiar with the rescue of Marcus Luttrell in July 2005 as part of Operation Redwings, there is a foundation that he is helping to launch next weekend that will provide a rehabilitation, rest, recovery, and reintegration facility in Texas for wounded and returning warriors-- Lone Survivor Foundation and the Lone Survivor Ranch. My involvement with that mission 5 years ago started by flying Hogs as one of two Sandy Ones that we had deployed with the 74th EFS. There's stories aplenty in that vein, but that's not the point of this post. In looking for more info about the mission, I stumbled across the Lone Survivor Foundation and have been talking on and off with the folks who are bringing it to fruition.

What I'd like to solicit from this esteemed assembly is ideas or ways forward on moving Gulab, the Afghani tribesman who sheltered Marcus from the Taliban, from Bagram to Houston for the event on Saturday. Yes, I realize that this provides less than a week. The folks running the foundation are associated with JSOC, and are pursuing those leads for using their own rotator as a primary option, but asked if I could look into any other options as a USAFE strap-hangin' staff bum. Since those offices ain't openin' for another 36 hours, I figured I'd start here and see if anyone had some ideas. I have access to SMS, and it looks like there are options to move him from Bagram to USAFE, or even further on to CONUS- the specifics aren't imortant (OPSEC obviously), but the details are what will make or break the endeavor. Here's what I know so far:

Gulab will be getting his Visa for travel to the US within the next couple of days (no specific timeline ID'd...) He'll be travelling with one Terp and a GS employee who will be getting him to Bagram. What else would be needed, and at what level would approval need to come from-- local to Bagram, or higher? Anyone ever done something like this before?

I'm not looking for solutions, just ideas, advice, or point-outs from folks in the know- I'm in the staff trenches at USAFE (Weapons and Tactics)and can work my airlift contacts on Monday to see what other ideas might be out there, as well as do any of the heavy-lifting staff queep that can be done before I head out on Thursday to start making my way back to the states for the event. We've also got a USAFE Weapons Officer from our shop at Bagram Wing Weapons, which may help as well. It's an under-the-gun crunch time that will hopefully be OBE by the foundation folks working within their own scheme of influence in the JSOC / SOCOM channels. But, I offered assistance where possible, and I humbly ask for any advice or point-outs. Thoughts? Possible / Impossible?

For more info on the foundation, here's their website is at: www.lonesurvivorfoundation.org

Thanks in advance for any thoughts that might be out there- PM me for details or my .af.mil email for more official correspondence.

Cheers,

Zero