455th delivers aid to Pakistan

Senior Airman Jose Cornejo, a loadmaster assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, hands boxes of Halal meals to Pakistanis after arriving at Peshawar, Pakistan, Aug. 1, 2010. The U.S. Air Force flew thousands of meals to Pakistan as part of a humanitarian relief mission to help flood victims. Airman Cornejo is a native of Chicago, Ill. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

455th delivers aid to Pakistan

Pakistani Air Force members help unload thousands of Halal meals from a U.S. Air Force C-130H at Peshawar, Pakistan, Aug. 1, 2010. The meals will go to Pakistanis affected by the floods that have devastated the region. The C-130H is assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

455th supplies allies

U.S. Air Force members assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing load pallets of Halal meals on a C-130H during a humanitarian relief mission to assist Pakistanis affected by disastrous flooding at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 31, 2010. Halal meals are prepared according to Islamic tradition. Floods in the region have displaced hundreds of thousands and killed hundreds. The aircrew is a part of an Air National Guard Unit deployed from Peoria, Ill. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

455th supplies allies

From left to right: Capt. Chris Gosh, Tech. Sgt. Ben Webb and Capt. Robert Dodson, C-130H aircrew members assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, fly Halal meals to Pakistan during a humanitarian relief mission July 31, 2010. Halal meals are prepared according to Islamic tradition. Floods in the region have displaced hundreds of thousands and killed hundreds. The aircrew is a part of an Air National Guard Unit deployed from Peoria, Ill. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

455th delivers aid to Pakistan

Maj. Gen. Sohail Shafkat, Air Officer Commanding for Northern Air Command in Pakistan, and Elizabeth Rood, Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Peshawar, stand next to thousands of Halal meals that were delivered by a C-130H assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 1, 2010. Floods Monsoon floods brought on by torrential rains have in Pakistan have devastated hundreds of thousands. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

455th supplies allies

Hassan Zulfiquar, Director of National Disaster Management Authority for Pakistan, is shown the contents of a Halal meal by Maj. James Swisher, a representative of Office of Defense Representative of Pakistan. The meals were delivered by a C-130H assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Floods in the region have displaced hundreds of thousands and killed hundreds. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz)

Mobility Airmen deliver first international relief in response to Pakistan flooding

Published Aug. 2, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Drew Nystrom
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- A U.S. Air Force C-130H delivered international assistance Saturday to Islamabad, Pakistan, in response to catastrophic monsoon flooding in that country.

The first flight, flown by the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, delivered nearly 8,000 Halal meals. Halal meals are similar to the U.S. military's packaged ready- to-eat meals and they're prepared according to Islamic tradition.

A follow-on C-17 Globemaster III flight, flown by the 385th Air Expeditionary Group out of Bagram Airfield, delivered more than 44,000 of the Halal meals in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Hassan Zulfiqar, the director of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority met the aircraft as they delivered the much needed supplies.

"Monsoon rains have caused a lot of flooding," Zulfiqar said. "Almost one million people have been affected and thousands of people are marooned in flooded areas. They need immediate assistance, especially food and medicines," he said.

Pakistani relief efforts have been on-going since the floods hit, but the 455th's C-130H flight was the first international assistance to make it on the ground.

"As far as foreign assistance is concerned, this is the first flight," Zulfiqar said. "The Pakistani government has already started relief efforts and have begun to distribute relief items from our warehouses to the affected people.

"The U.S. relief supplies are going to help a great deal," he said. "We hope this assistance provided by the United States will be a sustained effort in the days to come and hopefully it will not be the last relief consignments. I think it's going to be a great help," the NDMA official said.

Capt. Robert Dodson, the C-130H aircraft commander, said the mission was a complete success.

"We had a quick response from the time we were notified to the time the pallets were on the airplane," the captain said. "The whole reason why we're here is to help others when we can and the whole crew is happy to do it."

According to a press release issued Saturday by Anne W. Patterson, the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, the U.S. government will continue to send assistance for flood relief efforts in the country.

"The United States supports Pakistan's emergency relief efforts on behalf of people affected by recent monsoon floods," Ambassador Patterson said.

In addition to the more than 50,000 Halal meals, the United States is also responding to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority's specific request for:

-- Four Zodiac inflatable rescue boats, which are designed and built for lightness and speed on rapidly flowing waters;

-- Two water filtration units, which provide pumping, purification, storage and distribution. Each unit can fulfill the daily water requirements of up to 10,000 people;

-- Twelve pre-fabricated steel bridges that can temporarily replace highway bridges damaged by flooding in Peshawar and Kurram Agency. The Provincial Government and Pakistan's military are coordinating their efforts to ensure the use of these bridges.