Eight C-130s and more than 40 Airmen from four base squadrons are part of the massive Air Mobility Command airlift mission to support Haitian earthquake relief as part of Operation Unified Response.
Aircrews and C-130s from the 41st, 50th, 53rd and 61st Airlift Squadrons are flying missions to Haiti as part of an operation that has delivered more than 1,500 tons of supplies to the region.
Little Rock Air Force Base’s C-130 Combat Airlift mission has been crucial to the relief operation. An aircrew from the 41st AS was one of the first called Jan. 13 to support the Haiti relief operation. That aircrew launched from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., near midnight Jan. 13, loaded personnel and equipment before dawn Jan. 14 at Biloxi-Gulfport International Airport, Miss., and delivered them to Port-au-Prince the morning of Jan. 14. That crew is still forward deployed as part of the Herculean airlift effort.
“This is what we train to do,” said Maj. Lewis Messick, 41st Airlift Squadron director of operations. “Anytime we can be of assistance in cases like this, we’re ready to do our job.”
Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley, 19th Airlift Wing command chief, lauded the motivation of the Little Rock AFB aircrews and the impact they are having on Haiti relief operations.
“They feel that they can’t get in there enough. They are chomping at the bit to do what it takes to take care of people and save lives,” he said. “They all want to make a difference.”
“The aerial delivery they have provided is the difference between life and death,” he added. “Besides tangible food and water, we are providing hope.”
AMC aircraft and personnel continue to support the international effort to increase the velocity with which aid is flowing to those in need.
(From compiled reports)
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