News

Reserve crew evacuates Haitians

  • Published
  • By Sandra Pishner
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Air Mobility Command aircraft and assigned aircrews have been working around-the-clock, transporting nearly 4,000 people and more than 5,000 tons of cargo into Haiti to support relief operations following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the region Jan. 12. Among the aircrews assigned are Reservists with the 446th Airlift Wing.

Lt. Col. Hans Bley, 728th Airlift Squadron led an all 446th AW crew on five missions, returning to McChord Jan. 27. Other Reservists from McChord, like Capt. Patrick Hancock, 728th AS, who is piloting C-17s with mixed crews of Reserve and active-duty personnel, remain deployed, staging out of Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.

C-17s from around AMC and Air Force Reserve Command are carrying humanitarian supplies, ranging from food and water rations, and equipment needed to establish the airfield infrastructure into Haiti. They are also carrying people out of Haiti.

"Most of the passengers we flew out (of Port-au-Prince) were U.S. citizens or people with ties to the U.S.," said Colonel Bley. "We took on 144 passengers on our first mission out of Haiti and had to floor load the passengers for the two hour flight to Orlando."

By the end of their first mission, Colonel Bley's crew, who had left McChord at 1 a.m., Jan. 17, had been in action for more than 24 hours. But any exhaustion they felt paled in comparison to that of their passengers.

"Our passengers, especially the first group, were pretty docile and shell-shocked. On our second trip, we had 191 people," said the colonel. "Our second load of passengers was a little more on edge, but cooperative. You could tell they had been pushed to their limit; they had been through a lot."

Three loadmasters manned the flights, managing the large number of people boarding. They provided assistance to the elderly and children, and put down some seats along the aircraft walls for those who were in greater need of help.

"We tried to make sure the children and elderly were the first off the aircraft," said Staff Sgt. Charles O'Guinn, 728th AS loadmaster. "We often provided assistance to the elderly. Even some of those who were able to board the aircraft without assistance need help after sitting on the aircraft floor for the two hour flight.

"It was extremely rewarding to do these missions," said Sergeant O'Guinn, who works at Pacific Air Systems in Lakewood, Wash., in his civilian job. "You truly feel part of something bigger than yourself and it makes you feel good about your job and what you do."

A major portion of the Air Force effort was dedicated to deploying Soldiers and equipment from the 82nd Airborne Division's Global Response Force, which is being used to facilitate security and the distribution of relief supplies in the region.

The effort to provide airlift to support the 82nd Airborne's move took just under seven hours to plan and was executed in only 100 hours, according to AMC officials. A combination of C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircraft were used to fly the missions, operating out of Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

Pope was Colonel Bley's crew's first stop after they left McChord.

"Flew from here to Pope to pick up oversize cargo, then on to Haiti, and then to Orlando and Charleston, where we staged for future missions," said Colonel Bley.

Landing at the Port-au-Prince airport the first couple of times was hectic.

"Our first mission in we held for 45 minutes before we could go in for landing. Some aircraft were holding for up to two hours. It was pretty hectic originally, but air traffic control has really improved since then. Now aircraft have slot times for landing."

The Government of Haiti Civil Aviation Authority retains overall airspace control, allocates slot times and determines landing priorities for all aircraft.

Since implementation of the Haiti Flight Operations Coordination Center, airfield capacity has increased by 1100 percent since pre-crisis (from 13 to 145 "slot" times per day), of which two-thirds are used by international and civilian aircraft.

According to the colonel, the airfield in Haiti is in fairly good shape. The aircraft parking situation, on the other hand, was chaotic.

"Aircraft were parked everywhere, even on the grass. The taxiway is in between the ramp and runway, so there's only one way in and one way out. When parking, they would have us pull up as close as we could. There were planes, ground vehicles, people everywhere; the only things not out on the ramp were chickens and goats!"

Regardless of the air traffic issues, 446th AW Airmen found value in these missions.

"It was a very rewarding experience to see the immediate help we were providing. I think the crew feels real good and it's a reminder of why we do this," said Colonel Bley.

Sergeant O'Guinn recalls one lasting impression from their trip. "On one of our flights, the last guy to leave the aircraft was in tears, he was so thankful, and he shouted 'Viva America' as he departed the aircraft."

On Jan. 23, a C-17 airdropped 18,000 liters of water and 16,320 MREs. Additional air delivery missions are being planned.