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Air Force, AMC poised for Hurricane Irene response

  • Published
  • By Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  In response to preliminary reports showing Hurricane Irene heading for the East Coast of the United States, the Air Force and Air Mobility Command are postured to support relief efforts, if needed.

Hurricane Irene is currently a Category 2 storm, according to the National Weather Service. The hurricane is forecast to move near or over the Mid-Atlantic coast the evening of Aug. 27 with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour, with possible higher gusts.

Command and control coordination of any humanitarian airlift effort in response to the storm are provided by the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) located at Scott AFB. The TACC plans, schedules and directs a fleet of nearly 1,300 mobility aircraft in support of combat delivery and strategic airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world.

In response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav combined in past responses, AMC tasked more than 1,500 sorties to support relief efforts, and mobility forces moved nearly 25,000 passengers, more than 3,600 patients, and hauled nearly 6,500 short tons of supplies to and from the Gulf Coast region.

After setting up the contingency response cell during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the nation's most devastating hurricane on record, AMC Airmen rapidly turned requirements into missions for humanitarian airlift assistance to people on the Gulf Coast. Within the first 24 hours of Katrina's landfall, the 618th AOC (TACC) moved search-and-rescue teams and their equipment to Louisiana, and then quickly shifted focus to a hub-and-spoke operation to bring in supplies and rescue patients.

The U.S. Air Force's airlift capability enables the U.S. to respond immediately to any disaster worldwide, and part of AMC's legacy is timely response to humanitarian crises at home and abroad, AMC officials said.

"AMC Airmen serve others by providing our country with global reach -- the capability of reaching out anywhere in the world in a matter of hours," said Gen. Ray Johns, AMC Commander. "For this reason, our aircraft are often the first signs of hope for victims of natural disasters. For Hurricane Irene, AMC will answer the call and respond as needed."