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463rd AG provides air evac support for Hurricane Rita

  • Published
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --   A 463rd Airlift Group C-130 and seven Airmen from the 61st Airlift Squadron and 463rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron were the first from the base to support Joint Task Force Rita by air evacuating 30 critical care patients out of Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, La., Sept. 23.

Hurricane Rita was a Category 4 hurricane when the crew left at 7:15 a.m.

We suspected we would be doing [aeromedical evacuation], so we rigged the back of the plane for that type of mission, said Maj. John Watson, 61st AS pilot and aircraft commander. [When we got on the ground] we really worked as a team with the aeromedical crew.

At the airport, the 463rd C-130 joined another C-130 from the Minnesota Air National Guard. Two C-17s landed shortly after to provide the necessary equipment and support to transport the sick and injured patients out of Louisiana to hospitals in Nashville, Tenn.

The crews were racing against the clock to get the patients out of the airport before the winds of the hurricane got too strong for the aircraft to fly out.

When we left, the first band of storms was only 15 miles away, said 1st Lt. Kenny Bierman, 61st AS navigator. The winds were around 30 to 40 miles per hour and it was spitting rain.

Even Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu was at the airport, acting as the on scene commander to assist in getting the patients out quickly, according to Major Watson.

The Air Force has a unique capability to provide support for hurricane relief efforts quickly and efficiently, said Lt. Col. Scott Lockard, 463rd AG deputy commander for operations. Its important to use that capability in times of emergency. We can augment and support the federal emergency response teams in ways that facilitate mission success.

This was the first hurricane relief mission for the crew, but not the first air evacuation mission. The majority of the crew members flew air evacuation missions in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

We were pumped up, Lieutenant Bierman said. We wanted to go back to help, but we had to let the storm pass.

61st AS crewmembers for the mission were: Maj. John Watson, pilot; Capt. Justin Diehl, co-pilot; 1st Lt. Kenny Bierman, navigator; Tech. Sgts. Sgt Mike Fuchs and Mike Bains, loadmasters; and Staff Sgt. Al Fleshman, flight engineer.

They were accompanied by Tech. Sgt. Paul Williams, a flying crew chief assigned to the 463rd AMS.

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