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Officials announce 20 million pounds of Pakistan relief delivered; mobility Airmen continue to support effort

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Even though C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules flights subsided on Oct. 3, mobility Airmen with a contingency response element at Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala are among more than 600 U.S. service members who've helped achieve a new milestone of 20 million pounds of aid delivered.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, said U.S. military aircraft and personnel supporting Pakistan's flood relief efforts achieved the mark Oct. 27. As of Oct. 28, an embassy press release said U.S. military aircraft and personnel, working in close coordination with the Pakistan military, delivered 20,026,620 pounds -- or 9,083,922.3 kilograms -- of relief supplies. They also provided humanitarian airlift for more than 26,000 people in the flood-affected regions of Pakistan.

Air Force flood relief support using C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III went from July 29 to Oct. 3 -- a period of 67 days, records show. According to air mobility planners at the AFCENT Combined and Space Operations Center, the C-17 and C-130 aircrews supporting the Pakistan flood relief effort flew more than 350 intra-theater airlift sorties, moving more than 2,200 tons of cargo and transporting more than 1,100 passengers.

Contingency response Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., also stepped up to help with relief efforts and continue with on-going support. More than 30 members from the 621st CRW arrived at Chaklala Aug. 28 to provide additional manpower, equipment and organization to current flood relief operations out of Pakistan Air Force's Central Flood Relief Cell.

The team of Airmen have worked "around the clock" to assist with managing the distribution of incoming international relief supplies by building aid pallets for onward transportation, loading and unloading aircraft and scheduling aircraft relief flights.

An AFCENT Public Affairs news report from Southwest Asia stated the CRE adds to what operations, structure and organization the Pakistan air force base already contained in their mission. "While some components of the contingency response element have only one person filling that capacity, members in each career field step in to help one another -- a team mentality often found with contingency groups such as this one. With the team mentality, plus the additional manpower and equipment, the CRE enhances air operations out of the flood relief cell," the AFCENT report said.

In addition to humanitarian airlift, the U.S. is providing more than $398 million to assist Pakistan with relief and recovery efforts, the embassy report said. The report also stated that according to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, the "catastrophic" floods of the 2010 monsoon season exceed the magnitude of all recent disasters there in terms of the size of the affected population and widespread damage.

"The most recent figures from NDMA cite the number of total affected population in excess of 20 million, with 1.9 million houses damaged or destroyed, and an estimated 1,900 deaths," the report said.