SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The thunder of the C-130 Hercules engine vibrates through the cabin as the aircraft lifts off of the runway. Today’s mission is different than most. Today, Australians and Americans leave pallets and passengers behind, making room to gather the wounded and bring them back home. Affectionately called “the mercy channel,” this weekly mission pairs a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J and aircrew with a U.S. Air Force medical team. Moving more than 1,883 patients since August, these missions travel throughout Iraq and Kuwait, gathering injured servicemembers and delivering them to higher care facilities. “The patients we...