Vieques Island, Puerto Rico—U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a humanitarian effort relief mission, Oct. 6, 2017 by using 11 U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawks to supply food and water to remote locations, to include the Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport.
The top priority of the Department of Defense is to work to support FEMA and the local authorities in Puerto Rico to provide life-saving and life-sustaining support to those in the affected areas of Hurricane Maria.
Each Blackhawk is capable of supplying a total of 30 boxes of meals and 30 boxes of water to each location and has the capability to make several trips each day.
“I feel really good about this operation because we keep pushing these goods out to the people, especially in remote locations,” said Jason Nava, a Hurricane Maria responder who is aiding in the distribution of food and water.
Despite the preparation, significant effort was required to reopen airfields and seaports to be able to continue flowing supplies and capabilities.
“We also have military vehicles and trucks coming in to get these commodities and distributing them that way,” said Nava. “The more we go out, the more information we receive about these communities and what they need.”
The level of destruction is making it difficult to reach these remote areas but the U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducting these humanitarian missions by helicopter is improving the quality of life for these individuals.
“I do feel that we are making a difference, one person at a time,” said Stephen Dobbin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection flight crew member. “The small communities are grateful when we deliver food. We plan on delivering more supplies first thing tomorrow.”