CAMP DENALI, Alaska - An Alaska Air National Guard crew made a big
impact on earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, spending 16 days flying missions
and delivering more than 50,000 pounds of cargo into the heavily damaged
nation.
Nine members of the 144th Airlift Squadron, based at Kulis Air National Guard
Base in Anchorage, left Alaska on Jan. 29 flying a C-130 Hercules bound for
Haiti. After a few brief stops for crew rest, refueling and cargo loading,
they flew into Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 4.
They delivered 23,000 pounds of food, water and other necessities to the
earthquake demolished country on this first trip. They also picked up 57
people, most of whom were U.S. citizens living in Haiti. Three Haitian
citizens in wheelchairs and eight Haitian children were also picked up and
taken to Miami International Airport.
"The first mission went smooth and exactly how I thought it would be," said
Master Sgt. Glenn Tillman, a loadmaster with the 144th Airlift Squadron. "I
enjoy doing missions like these whenever I get the chance because I get to do
exactly what I'm trained to do and get to help others in need while doing so."
On the second mission Feb. 6, the unit delivered 16,000 pounds of more cargo
to Port-au-Prince, then returning with 70 passengers, who had been authorized
by the Airlift Control Element Unit out of McGuire Air Force Base, Pa., to fly
back to the United States in the 144th Airlift Squadron's C-130 Hercules.
"The Airlift Control Element Unit checked the passengers' passports to see if
they could leave Port-au-Prince with us," Tillman said. "Without them, we
wouldn't have been able to bring the people back with us and get them the
assistance they needed."
The crew flew to Port-au-Prince for the last time Feb. 9 to drop off an
additional 14,000 pounds of cargo. Although the destruction was hard to see
while they were flying in, the Alaska Guard members knew they were integral
part of the relief efforts.
"The crew had flown in during the evening each time, only being able to see
very little of what the earthquake left Haiti," said Maj. Chris Prince, a
C-130 Hercules navigator with the 144th Airlift Squadron. "It was hard to see,
but even at night, you could tell the earthquake had hit pretty hard."
After more than two weeks and logging 70 hours of flying, the Guard members
returned home to Alaska Feb. 13.
"The mission to Haiti was a lot of work for us," Prince said. "But to see the
hope and relief in the people's eyes when they stepped off the plane in the
United States made it all worth it.