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375th Operations Group assists in Haiti relief efforts

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Daniel Riley
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Airmen from the 375th Operations Group returned recently from flying C-21 missions in support of U.S. Southern Command and Operation Unified Response.

Pilots from the 375th OG's three geographically separated flying squadrons, the 458th Airlift Squadron, Scott Air Force Base; the 457th AS, Joint Base Andrews, Md.; and the 311th AS, Peterson AFB, Colo., covered seven deployments from Jan. 11 to Feb. 19.
During that time, eight aircrews flew more than 100 hours, 45 sorties and moved nearly 90 passengers.

From Jan. 22 to 28, Capt. Dennis Jackson, 457th AS aircraft commander, and 1st Lt. Patrick Carpenter, co-pilot, flew missions in and out of Haiti that Captain Jackson referred to as "most sobering, but most rewarding," for SOUTHCOM.

The missions, which facilitated the movement of senior leadership to Haiti so they could assess the situation, usually had short periods of time on the ground, said Captain Jackson. While they were unable to evacuate passengers, they still found it rewarding to do their part, he said.

The crew was also tasked to take a Geo-spatial team into Haiti to study the effects of the earthquake on a short-notice request.

One particular mission left them on the ground for four hours where they could see first-hand the on-going humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti, and it, "put it all in perspective," said Captain Jackson. The aircrews "got a good chance to see all of the effort and aid brought in."

Pilots Maj. Tony Marshall and Capt. Gia Petz from the 311th AS, were also staged on alert at MacDill AFB. They were part of the team that flew Dr. Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the United States Agency for Internal Development, to Miami from Andrews AFB, Md.
"We are happy to do our part to help out with Operation Unified Response," said Major Marshall.

The pilots from the 458th, 457th and 311th Airlift Squadrons are all standing ready to support whatever may come their way.

U.S. military forces are focused on supporting efforts to provide shelter, establish settlements, and conduct debris removal as well as ensuring the delivery of aid to the Haitian people.

To date, U.S. military forces have delivered more than 2.6 million bottles of water, 2.2 million food rations, 17 million pounds of bulk food and 149,000 pounds of medical supplies into Haiti.