Photo By Master Sgt. Alexander Martinez | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Philip Lambeth and U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Samuel Johnson,...... read more read more
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U-TAPAO AIRFIELD, Thailand - As earthquake relief operations draw down in Nepal, Joint Task Force 505’s intermediate staging base (ISB) at U-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield, Thailand, is also ending operations, all while continuing to moving personnel, equipment, supplies and aircraft out of Nepal.
The ISB at U-Tapao is where the JTF-505 Joint Air Component Coordination Element and the Thai-U.S. HADR Combined Coordination Center for Nepal have worked together to support the movement of supplies in and out of Kathmandu during Operation Sahayogi Haat, meaning “helping hand.”
About 280 joint-service personnel, not including individuals transiting out of Nepal, have supported the ISB since operations began May 5 with the establishment of communications and infrastructure support. Since then, it has been an essential location for earthquake relief air operations.
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John E. Wissler, Joint Task Force 505 commander, visited U-Tapao May 22 to speak with ISB personnel and thank them for their hard work supporting earthquake relief operations.
“I told everybody who needed to know in Nepal … that the big, unseen piece of what was going on there was actually happening right here,” Wissler said about U-Tapao. “Things magically showed up [in Nepal] when we needed them, and the work that is being done there would not have happened if it wasn’t for what each and every one of you have been able to do and facilitate here.”
ISB accountability personnel are tracking the movement and redeployment of hundreds of personnel, communications technicians are ensuring networks stay up as long as they’re needed, and the mission support team is trying to maintain facility operations while also preparing to leave.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Minihan, JTF-505 JAACE commander, said he is “extremely proud of the ISB team and all they have accomplished to support the government and people of Nepal.”
“Every Airman, Marine, Soldier and Sailor here pulled their weight and showed the true potential of what can be accomplish when we work together,” Minihan said. “Throughout this mission, we never lost focus that this was all about helping the Nepalese people, so I want to say thank you for all that you’ve done. Also, a big ‘thank you’ goes to our Thai partners who were incredible hosts and worked side-by-side with us to get the mission done.”
About 900 U.S. military and civilian personnel contributed to the earthquake relief efforts as part of JTF-505 from three geographic locations including Nepal, Thailand and Japan.
As of May 22, U-Tapao flew 137 sorties in and out of Nepal, and transported about 580 tons of cargo.
JTF-505 initiated the operation to limit further loss of life and human suffering in response to the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck central Nepal, April 25, and continued the response after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck May 12. Over 8,600 people died and more than 16,000 were injured as a result of the tragic earthquakes according to latest official numbers.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2015 17:58 |
| Story ID: | 164363 |
| Location: | U-TAPAO , TH |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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