SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Whether providence or coincidence, the Airmen in the Puerto Rico Air National Guard are proving their readiness and relevance in support of Operation Unified Response while preparing for a major readiness inspection.
For the past year, Airmen from the 156th Airlift Wing have been training for an operational readiness inspection, but with little more than a week before their first operational readiness exercise the Haitian earthquake changed the wing's priorities.
"The wing's number one priority for the past year has been to prepare for the ORE," said Maj. Kenneth Lozano, 156th AW executive support officer. "The moment any real-world event or contingency operation happens, the (Airmen of the) 156th AW raise their hand to support."
According to Major Lozano, not only did the wing stand united to support operations in Haiti but the wing commander, Col. Carlos Quiñones, called the Air National Guard Readiness Center, the governor and his superiors to volunteer to support Haitian relief operations.
Volunteering to support operations and demonstrate the capabilities of the Puerto Rico ANG has been Colonel Quiñones' vision and he has developed a robust plan that puts Puerto Rico at the hub for United States Southern Command operations. He was scheduled to brief his vision to Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt, director of the Air National Guard, long before the earthquake put the 156th AW on center stage as one of the first units in and flying non-stop missions with only a handful of aircraft.
The earthquake in Haiti has given the colonel an impressive set of facts to show how ready the unit really is. According to Senior Airman Andrew Layton, a command post controller for the 35th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, a USSOUTHCOM coronet unit the 156th AW is tasked to support, Airmen from the wing have flown more than 50 sorties, unloaded more than 117 tons of cargo, carried more than 294 passengers and evacuated more than 70 U.S. citizens.
The desire to support operation continues for the wing but with an ORE scheduled to start in only a few days, the unit will only be able to execute one. As Colonel Quiñones asks his chain of command to postpone the exercise so the wing can continue to support its Caribbean neighbor, wing Airmen continue to prepare for the ORE while supporting relief efforts.
"It's ironic that at the same time we're preparing to deploy to Volk Field (Wisc), the wing is given the chance to prove its readiness in the real world and give relief to those suffering from the earthquake," Major Lozano said.