MARTINSBURG, W.Va., - Airmen with the West Virginia Air National
Guard's 167th Airlift Wing have wrapped up their mission here after ensuring
that 385,000 pounds of critical life-saving supplies were delivered to Haiti's
earthquake victims via military and civilian aircraft.
From Jan. 14-19, hundreds of Airmen from the wing assisted
by a small contingent of Guardsmen from the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston,
W.Va., worked around-the-clock in an effort to load aircraft quickly and
safely for humanitarian flights to the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
On Jan. 14, the air base here was transformed into a
staging area for supplies bound for earthquake victims.
A C-17 Globemaster III from the Mississippi Air National Guard made the
first flight
out of the base on the night of Jan. 14. Over the next five
days, supplies aboard a Boeing 747, Boeing 767 and DC-8 aircraft were flown
to desperate earthquake victims in the devastated country.
Late on the night of Jan. 13, 16 tractor trailers and eight box trucks
full of life-saving supplies were delivered from the Department of Health
and Human Services warehouse in Frederick, Md., to the Martinsburg base,
said Jerry Hill, logistics manager for HHS.
The cargo, comprised of medical supplies and equipment, generators, air
conditioning units, tents, food and water, was loaded onto aircraft bound
for Haiti's capital.
A DC-8, which had made a previous supply run to Haiti from the
Martinsburg base, was expected to deliver 43,000 pounds to the airport in
Port-au-Prince Tuesday night, Hill said.
Hill said the staging area for HHS cargo flights at the wing has been
suspended for now, but doesn't rule out more in the future if needed.
"We have pretty much closed up shop right now," he said. "The options are
wide open on any other full load requirements from HHS."
In total, 115 aircraft pallets stacked with cargo were loaded onto four
aircraft during five different flights, he said.
"The support that we have received here from the base was overwhelming,"
Hill noted.
It took two hours and 20 minutes to load a Boeing 747 - the largest
aircraft to fly out of the base destined for Haiti - with 41 pallets of
supplies Monday night, he said.
As the deployment officer for the 167th Airlift Wing's Aeromedical
Evacuation Squadron, Hill knows the wing's efficient reputation and
capabilities.
Hill credits the 167th Airlift Wing and the West Virginia Air Guard with
helping to make the humanitarian flights to Haiti so successful.
"(They) should be proud of their accomplishments in supporting this
world-wide effort," he said.
First Lt. Christopher T. Tusing, installation deployment officer for the
167th Airlift Wing, couldn't be prouder of how the Wing's "Port Dawgs"
hustled the life-saving cargo so quickly onto the aircraft.
"Just to see the porters in action was remarkable," Tusing said.
He said the around-the-clock efforts by Airmen from across the wing
proved that they were up to any challenge.
"Everyone stepped up, pitched in and made it happen," Tusing noted.
Many Airmen with the Logistics Readiness Squadron who were responsible
for palletizing and loading the supplies on the Mississippi Air National
Guard C-17 aircraft were among the first to return from an Operational
Readiness Exercise in Gulfport, Miss.
"The base was chosen to support this mission due to the ideal proximity
to the National Capital Region," said Maj. Melissa Shade, the wing's chief
of staff.
"Most recently emergency responders were staged at Martinsburg to support
the 2009 Presidential Inauguration," she said. "Since the base began the
transformation to house C-5's in 2002, the spacious hangars offer ideal
conditions for these types of operations."