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AMC delivers ‘rapid response’ to aid Haiti

  • Published
  • By JTF-PO Haiti Public Affairs
PORT-AU-PRINCE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Haiti --  With the eyes of the world on Haiti after the small island nation was rocked by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, Airmen and assets from Air Mobility Command quickly began mobilizing for the relief effort just hours after the call for assistance went out.

On Jan. 14, a mere 13 hours after receiving the official tasking, Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing, based at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., arrived at the Port-au-Prince International Airport in Haiti. With the airport's infrastructure badly damaged and the seaport destroyed, the CRW was called upon to establish the capability for sustained air mobility operations.

Within hours of arriving, Contingency Response Airmen began unloading aircraft and staging equipment and supplies for what would quickly become the key hub for U.S. and international humanitarian relief flowing into Haiti.

The CRW quickly joined with the 688th Rapid Port Opening Element out of Fort Eustis, Va., to execute a Joint Task Force - Port Opening mission.

Designed to keep supplies and equipment from accumulating on the airfield, the CRW worked with the RPOE to move supplies to a forward distribution node - known here as "Humanitarian Relief Village" - where non-governmental and relief organizations can pick up the supplies for distribution. This is the first time JTF-PO has been used in a real-world disaster operation.

"Missions like this are what we train for every day at home station," said Col. Patrick "Hoot" Hollrah, JTF-PO air commander. "When events like this happen, we must be prepared to provide a rapid response. The Airmen and Soldiers here have been on their A-game since we arrived, and I couldn't be more proud of the things they've been able to accomplish."

Since the arrival of the 115-person CRW team, Airmen have off-loaded more than 22 million pounds of relief supplies and equipment from 1,800 civilian and military aircraft. Additionally, the Airmen have worked closely with the State Department to evacuate more than 14,000 U.S. citizens back to the U.S, 800 of which were orphans being united with their adoptive families.

"We've touched nearly every piece of relief that's left this airport," said Colonel Hollrah. "It's hard to see the direct impact on the Haitians when your entire mission is at the airport, but I have no doubt that the hard work of the men and women here helped to save lives."

In the early days of the relief effort, the airport was averaging more than 130 aircraft a day, compared to a pre-disaster average of 25. While combat controllers from Air Force Special Operations Command provided initial air traffic control, AMC mobilized controllers from the 260th Air Traffic Control Squadron, New Hampshire Air National Guard, and the 245th ATCS, South Carolina Air National Guard, arrived to help control the airspace out of a mobile control tower deployed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The controllers arrived on Jan. 23, and have a dual role here. Their first role is as air traffic controllers for the airport. Their second role is to train the local Haitians and ensure they are comfortable taking over operations out of the new mobile tower. The plan is for the local controllers to observe for two weeks and then they will control traffic for two weeks while the Air Force controllers observe and provide any needed assistance.

"Our goal is to train them and monitor them until they can take over flight operations and handle the volume of traffic," said Chief Master Sgt. Tim Sowder, 260th ATCS air traffic controller.

According to Chief Sowder, they are setting up the control tower the way the Haitians would like the equipment to be turned over, so they will be seeking continuous input from the Haitians throughout the training and turnover process.

In addition to the CRW and ATC element, AMC deployed a medical team to help care for men and women injured during the earthquake. A team from MacDill AFB, Fla. arrived at the Port-au-Prince airport Jan. 21, to set up a Mobile Aeromedical Staging Facility to prepare patients for medical air evacuation to treatment facilities in the U.S.

The 13-person, completely self-sustaining, MASF includes medical technicians, nurses and support staff. Once the team arrived, they were fully mission capable within two and a half hours and had six patients prepped and ready for transport on a 10 p.m. flight to a medical treatment facility in Florida.

According to Tech. Sgt. Ryan Wheatley, MASF noncommissioned officer in charge, the staging facility can process 40 people a day and everyone on the team is ready for the mission.

"Everybody realizes their importance of being here and the service they provide," said Maj. Christopher Joseph, MASF commander.

Since the MASF team arrived, they have helped to aeromedically evacuate more than 155 Haitians and Americans back to the U.S. for medical treatment.

AMC has flown 300 arrivals into Haiti, moving more than 7,000 tons of cargo into the country and has deployed 800 active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel in support of Operation Unified Response.