C-9 Nightingale - Bye bye birdie

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan—First Lt. Allen Specht boards his C-9 Nightingale for the final time Sept. 14. Specht is assigned to the 30th Airlift Squadron here. The Nightingale, which served as the premier medical-evacuation aircraft for the Air Force for 35 years, was retired in July and taken to the “boneyard” at Davis- Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. In 2002, the 30th AS accumulated more than 3,200 flying hours during 1,280 sorties, while airlifting more than 10,300 patients and passengers in the Pacific region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis)