Air Force handles 250th aircraft in humanitarian relief effort

Published Jan. 5, 2006
By 1st Lt. Erick Saks
818th CRG/24th AEG Public Affairs

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (AMCNS) -- The Air Force handled its 250th aircraft Nov. 29 as part of Operation Lifeline -- the humanitarian relief mission providing aid here to the people affected by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in early-October.

The 250th aircraft, an Idaho Air Guard C-130, arrived at Chaklala Air Base from Afghanistan carrying five pallets of medical supplies and other humanitarian relief materials to support the Pakistani people.

All U.S. aid, and much of the international aid, arriving at Chaklala is handled by the 818th Contingency Response Group/24th Air Expeditionary Group, an Air Force quick response unit created for the quick offload of cargo in nearly any environment, according to Col. David Wise, unit operations officer.

“We are the equivalent of a SWAT team compared to everyday police officers,” said Colonel Wise. “You call in the SWAT team to handle a crushing situation, and that’s what we had here. The reason why that’s an important analogy is because we come trained and equipped as a team so the efficiencies are just there. We were able to move in quickly and effectively manage the cargo operations.”

Since the 818th CRG/24th AEG arrived in Pakistan Oct. 11, the unit has moved nearly 14.5 million pounds of humanitarian cargo, including more than 7,200 boxes of food, 2,200 boxes of medicine, 1,500 boxes of water, 12,000 boxes of blankets, 4,600 sleeping bags and 4,500 tents. Additionally, they have offloaded humanitarian cargo from more than 20 countries, including Germany, Australia, England, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Colonel Richard Walberg, 818th CRG/24th AEG commander, said that the international support for the Pakistani people is a powerful gesture.

“Right here, right now, there are no artificial lines on a map,” said Colonel Walberg. “There are humans in need, and the rest of humanity is rushing to help.”

Master Sgt. Perry O’Brien, aerial port operations superintendent, said that teamwork and drawing from each others’ experiences have been the keys in safely moving this amount of cargo.

“You’ve got a lot of different people with a lot of different experiences which we pool together and draw on to teach the others,” said Sergeant O’Brien.”

Airman 1st Class Troy Engstrom, 19, is the youngest member of the air transportation team. While he’s far from home, the Airman said he is proud to be here supporting the Pakistani people.

“Most of the time, we just put cargo on a plane and that’s the last we hear about it. But on this trip, we know how much of a direct influence we’re having on the people getting it,” said Airman Engstrom. “I’m definitely glad I was chosen for this trip. We’re doing a lot of good here.”