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Teamwork provides relief

Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Christian Ruhe and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Manuel...... read more read more

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

08.03.2010

Courtesy Story

Combined Joint Task Force 101

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- More than 76 thousand pounds of relief thundered toward the skies aboard a C-17 Globemaster III from here, Aug. 2, en route to the flood-ravaged areas of northwest Pakistan.

Those 38 tons of halal meals, ready-to-eat meals that don’t contain pork products, were only a small part of the 345 thousand meals that have been delivered via the 14 missions flown into the area aboard C-130 Hercules aircraft and C-17s since July 31.

The U.S. pledged $10 million to Pakistan in humanitarian flood relief assistance, including supplying halal meals in support of a National Disaster Management Authority request.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Juan Roman, the mobility non-commissioned officer in charge for the 82nd Sustainment Brigade out of Fort Bragg, N.C., said he and his team began preparing supplies shortly after the flooding started.

"The Soldiers found out about this three days ago and have been hard at it," said Roman, a San Juan, Puerto Rico, native currently deployed here. "We unload the trucks as soon as they come in, and we build the pallets – this is what we do. And it's a good cause that we're supporting.”

Dozens of service members from across the base have been building pallets around the clock in two locations on the Bagram flight line so that the meals, which are trucked in from a warehouse in Afghanistan, are ready for aircraft transport.

"Normally, the Army would build the pallets in their area by the rotary-wing terminal and transport them to the fixed-wing terminal for loading,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Agustin Casis, the special projects NCOIC for the 455th Aerial Port Squadron here, who’s deployed from the 69th APS at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

“But because we're sending so many, we've got teams building pallets simultaneously in both locations,” said the Leesburg, Va., resident.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Michelle Quichocho, the dayshift passenger terminal NCOIC assigned to the 455th APS here and deployed from the 44th APS at Andersen AFB, Guam, is not new to deployments or humanitarian missions.

"This is my fifth deployment," said the Air Force reservist who’s also a resident of Yigo, Guam, and was one of the servicemembers building the pallets to withstand the rigors of flight. "I helped out with a humanitarian mission when I was in Baghdad too. I'm just happy to know it's going downrange to help the Pakistanis who need it."

Downrange, in this case, was a quick flight on the C-17 assigned to Charleston AFB, S.C., to the Peshawar International Airport, where the crew was met by a team of Pakistani civilian and military members to offload and distribute the relief cargo.

“Peshawar is a city of responsibility,” said Niaz Gul, duty station manager for the Peshawar Airport. “The people in the area around here are very hospitable and we are assisting.”

U.S. Air Force Capt. Tim Goodwillie, currently assigned to the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, and deployed from the 15th Airlift Squadron at Charleston AFB, S.C., was the aircraft commander for this mission.

“It feels awesome to be able to help out those in need,” said the York, Pa., native speaking of his initial humanitarian flight and the first Pakistan flood relief assistance flight for the 817th EAS. “We have the capability to provide this support and we’re happy to do so.”

For U.S. Air Force Maj. Matt Crockett, 817th EAS instructor pilot from Dover, N.H., and deployed from the 10th Airlift Squadron at McChord AFB, Wash., this flight was one of several humanitarian missions he’s been involved with over the years, including piloting the first flight from McChord AFB to provide evacuation and relief support to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Any time you’re able to provide aid and comfort to those who need it, it’s a great thing,” said Crockett, who also helped plan some of the Air Mobility Command airlift missions in support of Operation Unified Response providing humanitarian relief to the survivors of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010. “The Air Force has great rapid response capabilities, and we’re proud to be a part of that. We’re definitely lucky to get to fly this jet and take part in this mission,” he said.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Manuel Chacon, a loadmaster from Sun Valley, Calif., assigned to the 817th EAS and deployed from the 15th AS at Charleston AFB, S.C., summed it up this way, “It feels great to be able to do a humanitarian mission and to help people. It’s actually the reason I came into the Air Force.”