The cargo included medical supplies, food and purified water.

KERMAN, Iran -- Senior Airman Lindsey Whicker hands a box of water to an Iranian soldier here Dec. 28 as part of humanitarian relief efforts. Whicker is assigned to the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and was part of a C-130 Hercules crew which airlifted 20 pallets of humanitarian supplies to Iran after an earthquake destroyed the city of Bam. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins)

American airmen and Iranian soldiers worked side-by-side forming a human chain to unload the 20,000 pounds of badly needed material into waiting trucks. The supplies were then trucked into Bam a little more than 100 miles away.

Besides humanitarian aid, the C-130 from Peoria, Ill., carried aerial port operations and support agency experts to assess the operational and equipment needs for follow-on aircraft. The assessments are vital because the Air Force is sending C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for follow-on relief flights, said U.S. Central Command officials.

KERMAN, Iran -- Crew members and Iranian soldiers offload supplies here Dec. 28 from an Air National Guard C-130 Hercules. The crew airlifted 20 pallets of humanitarian supplies to Iran after an earthquake destroyed the city of Bam. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Jenkins)

The humanitarian mission was the first American flight into Iran since the Iranian hostage crisis ended in January 1981.