The 571st Contingency Response Group from Travis AFB, Calif., is
continuing to control air operations here, bringing in humanitarian
supplies in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
With their support, relief supplies can now be safely flown here and
transported to those in need.
“We are the main focal point for getting supplies into the area and
out to those who need them,” said Tech. Sgt. Ernest Howell, aerial
port supervisor. “If we weren’t here, they would not be able to move
supplies in and out of here.”
The team arrived in the area Aug. 30 and began operations the
following day. Since then, the team has evacuated more than 1,350
students, family members and temporary duty personnel off the base and
brought in more than 100 support personnel.
As of Sunday, the team had also offloaded 92.1 short tons of
humanitarian supplies off 13 C-17s and 15 C-130s.
“Given the volatility of the situation, I think the team is doing
extremely well with the offload of supplies to help not only the base,
but the local community as well,” said Lt. Col. Al Lopez, airlift
element commander.
The 571st CRG, which stood up in April, is specially trained to
respond to crisis such as these.
“We spend our time at Travis getting ready for times like this,”
said Sergeant Howell. “We know that when things happen, it is time for
us to go.”
The team, which sets up and controls air operations until another
team can replace them, may forward deploy if needed.
“Right now, we need to determine where the best place is for us to
be,” said Colonel Lopez. “If they need us elsewhere, we are ready to
relocate.”
Until then, the team will continue operating from Keesler AFB.
“Once the aircraft gets here, our main focus is downloading the
supplies off the aircraft and [getting it] to the distribution centers,”
said Sergeant Howell. “We need to bring in this humanitarian relief
and disperse it as fast as possible.”
Sergeant Howell said once an aircraft arrives, his team can offload
supplies and get the aircraft out in less than an hour.
The team, which deployed in support of Operation Unified Assistance
in January, knows what challenges they may face.
“Flexibility is key,” said Senior Airman Eric Mungia, air
transportation journeyman. “You never know what may happen; we just
have to do what we have to, to get things done.”
“With every situation you learn something different,” said Staff
Sgt. Jason Boudreau, who works with the aerial port. “Coordination is
a major challenge with this operation.”
The team does not know how long they will be here, but they will stay
for as long as they are needed.