An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Oct. 21, 2014

Kentucky Air Guard Airmen support 101st Airborne Division’s movement to Liberia

By Maj. Dale Greer Joint Task Force-Port Opening Senegal Public Affairs Office

DAKAR, Senegal - The Joint Task Force-Port Opening Senegal (JTF-PO) supported the 101st Airborne Division’s departure from Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport here Sunday, en route to Liberia, where the division will join hundreds of U.S. service members engaged in the fight against Ebola in West Africa.

JTF-PO Senegal is staffed by more than 70 Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group and started operations here Oct. 5. The JTF-PO’s mission is to funnel humanitarian aid and military support into West Africa in support of Operation United Assistance (OUA), according to Col. David Mounkes, the JTF-PO Senegal commander and member of the Kentucky Air National Guard.

The Kentucky ANG Airmen are also augmented by seven active-duty Airmen from Travis Air Force Base, California, and Joint Base Maguire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the professionalism and unique capability that all the members of our United States Transportation Command JTF-PO team have exhibited in this dynamic and challenging environment,” Mounkes said. “JTF-PO Senegal stands ready to continue supporting the international response and humanitarian aid the United States and partner nations are bringing to the effort to alleviate human suffering and contain the spread of Ebola.”

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), will take charge of the Joint Forces Command for Operation United Assistance upon arrival in Liberia, replacing U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, the commander of U.S. Army Africa.

“Operation United Assistance is a critical mission,” Volesky said. “We will coordinate all of the Department of Defense resources in Liberia in support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. government’s lead agency in this mission, and the government of Liberia to contain the Ebola virus and, ultimately, save lives.”

The Army is sending approximately 700 Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division as part of the effort, including members of the division headquarters staff, sustainment brigade, combat support hospital and military police battalion, according to Volesky. Another 700 troops will be deployed from multiple engineering units to build 17,100-bed medical treatment units and a 25-bed hospital.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Ronald Clark presents the Alexander Hamilton Award to U.S. Army Capt. Tom Borgonia, commander of the Security Forces VII Team Binadu, during an awards ceremony at Guam National Guard Barrigada Readiness Complex, April 12. This is the first time in the award’s history that a non-artillery or air defense unit has been selected and is the first time a unit from the Guam Army National Guard has received this award.
Guam National Guard Makes History with Alexander Hamilton Award
By Capt. Frank Spatt, | April 14, 2025
BARRIGADA READINESS CENTER, Guam — Members of Guam’s National Guard B Company, 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment, known as “Team Binadu,” have made history by winning the prestigious Alexander Hamilton Award that is...

U.S. and Latvian service members listen as speakers address the audience during the opening of a new exhibit commemorating 32 years of U.S.-Latvian military partnership at the Latvian War Museum in Riga, Latvia, April 11, 2025. The exhibit, titled “Message Follows,” features video interviews, uniforms and equipment, and personal belongings of U.S. Army Soldiers who served alongside Latvian troops during the War in Afghanistan. The U.S.-Latvia military partnership continues today with the presence of V Corps, the U.S. Army’s only forward-deployed corps in Europe. V Corps continues to enhance its posture across the European theater through modernization efforts to defend NATO and its territorial integrity.
Museum Opens Exhibit Commemorating U.S. and Latvian Military Partnership
By Spc. Rachel Hall, | April 14, 2025
RIGA, Latvia — U.S. and Latvian service members, diplomats and other guests gathered last week at the Latvian War Museum’s opening of a new exhibit commemorating the 32-year history of the U.S.-Latvia military partnership...

Teams from the Minnesota National Guard Joint Operations Center (JOC) conducted an exercise April 08-10, 2025 on Camp Ripley in order to participate in the U.S. Army NORTHCOM Joint Operations Center Training Course (JOC-TC).
Emergency Response Exercise Readies Minnesota Guard
By Anthony Housey, | April 14, 2025
CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. – Teams from the Minnesota National Guard Joint Operations Center (JOC) conducted an exercise last week at the Camp Ripley Training Center as part of the U.S. Army NORTHCOM Joint Operations Center Training...