Mobility Airmen bring 'open hand of hope' in 2010's humanitarian efforts in Haiti, Pakistan

Published Oct. 20, 2010
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Whether it was for Operation Unified Response in Haiti in January, or during flood relief efforts in Pakistan between July and October, there's no question that 2010 has been busy year for mobility Airmen with humanitarian operations.

In 2010, the U.S. Air Force air mobility enterprise has supported an Afghanistan surge of an additional 30,000 troops to the country, as well as organizing a record amount of airdrops in Afghanistan with more than 40 million pounds delivered. Even with those deployed operations and other global commitments, mobility Airmen have also provided what Air Mobility Command leaders call the "open hand of hope" to nations in need during a humanitarian crisis.

'Unified' for Haiti
On Jan. 12, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Within hours, Air Mobility Command forces provided "a swift and coordinated relief effort" to save lives and alleviate human suffering after the devastating earthquake," a January AMC News report shows.

Additionally, within 48 hours after the quake, Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., were on the ground operating the only airport in the city. AMC facts show the CRW increased the airport operating capacity by 500 percent from 20 flights a day to 100-plus missions daily and increased airfield ops to 24 hours. The CRW also aided in returning the first five orphans to the U.S. as well as more than 10,000 American citizens.

Overall during Operation Unified Response, AMC Airmen delivered more than 13,600 short tons of cargo. They also transported more than 25,800 passengers; off-loaded more than 885,000 pounds of fuel to more than 45 aircraft; and moved more than 280 patients, statistics show.

Mobility Airmen also completed four airdrop deliveries of food into Haiti -- dropping 152 bundles of "meals-ready-to-eat," or MREs, and water totaling 246,480 pounds.

Additionally, the deployment of Soldiers and equipment from the 82nd Airborne Division's Global Response Force required 91 C-17-equivalent loads to support and only took the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) at Scott AFB less than seven hours to plan. All 117 missions, which included transporting 2,056 passengers and 805 vehicles, were executed in 108 hours. The response force was used to facilitate security and the distribution of relief supplies in the region.

'Partnering' for Pakistan
In late July and early August, floods in Pakistan began to ravage many areas of the country after monsoon-driven rains dropped record amounts of water. Immediately after, mobility Airmen partnered with the Pakistan military to begin relief efforts.

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. A C-130 was the first to deliver assistance. The first flight, flown by the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, delivered nearly 8,000 Halal meals. The second aid flight was by a C-17 flown delivering more than 44,000 of the Halal meals to Pakistan. Halal meals are similar to the U.S. military's packaged ready- to-eat meals and they're prepared according to Islamic tradition.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, in addition to the delivery of more than 436,000 Halal meals during the early days of the disaster, the C-17 and C-130 aircraft and their aircrews worked in close partnership with Pakistan's military and National Disaster Management Authority to transport more than 5.5 million pounds to flood victims nationwide.

The aircraft "were also instrumental in the evacuation of thousands of people from flood-affected regions of Pakistan," an embassy press report said. Overall, as of Oct. 7, U.S. military personnel and aircraft, working in partnership with the Pakistan military, delivered more than 14.8 million pounds of relief supplies and evacuated more than 21,000 people throughout flood-affected areas.

Like in Haiti, contingency response Airmen also stepped up to help with relief efforts. More than 30 members from the 621st CRW from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst arrived at Chaklala Air Force Base, Pakistan, on 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 Air Forces Central Public Affairs new report 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.

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.

Retired Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority chairman, thanked mobility Airmen for their efforts during a ceremony Oct. 6 marking the end of support by C-130 and C-17 aircraft.

"I want to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to you, to the government and people of the United States for this outstanding contribution in the relief effort," he said in the U.S. Embassy report.

Mobility Airmen 'make a difference'
One Airman -- Master Sgt. Clay Baxter -- may have said it best when discussing how mobility Airmen feel about supporting humanitarian operations either in Haiti or Pakistan in an Oct. 13 report from AFCENT Public Affairs' Staff Sgt. Kali Gradishar from Pakistan.

"Obviously we don't get to see the impact," said Sergeant Baxter, who serves as the 621st CRE aerial port superintendent at Chaklala. "We just load the planes with the food and supplies, and don't get to see who it's helping or where it's helping. You have to visualize the impact because you don't get to see it first-hand ... you just know that you're making a difference."

(Staff Sgt. Kali Gradishar, AFCENT Public Affairs, and Tech. Sgt. Drew Nystrom, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this report.)