JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
A U.S. presidential pledge of support to assist in recovery efforts brought unique opportunity to five Charleston Airmen recently, following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake which struck Chile Feb. 27.
Hours after the quake, Air Mobility Command aircraft immediately began placing several of its C-17s on alert to support relief missions and launched several missions March 8 bound for the quake-stricken nation.
A day earlier, a Charleston aircrew with the 16th Airlift Squadron was launched to join in the relief effort. Among the crew were Capt. Steven Nolan, aircraft commander; 1st Lt. Ashely Haney, pilot; 1st Lt. Matthew Van Osterom, pilot; Staff Sgt. Joshua Denny, loadmaster; and Senior Airman Jason Landry, loadmaster.
"As far as how we felt ... we were all extremely happy to take part in the relief effort," said Captain Nolan. "It's a testament to the aircrew, medical and support personnel to rapidly issue humanitarian aid in such an effective and efficient manner,"
The ready and able team was also joined by two crews from the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord AFB, Wash. In all, three missions were launched from Kelly Field, Texas, between March 7 and 9 to render aid to the South American nation.
Mission planning and command-and-control for the AMC portion of the humanitarian effort were led by the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill. As 18th Air Force's hub for global operations, the 618 TACC plans, schedules and directs a fleet of nearly 1,300 mobility aircraft in support of strategic airlift, air refueling, and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world.
The AMC aircraft were scheduled to carry approximately 80 medical personnel and 67 tons of medical equipment from Kelly Field to Chile, said Master Sgt. Dan Phillips, the lead 618 TACC mission planner for the Chile relief efforts. The aircraft also carried another 25 tons of material handling equipment, such as forklifts, used to help unload the aircraft once the crews arrived, he said.
Of the personnel transported and many tons of cargo, 48 medical personnel and 20,000 pounds of cargo were airlifted to Kelly Field by the Charleston crew when initially tasked by the 618 TACC. After the Charleston crew arrived at Kelly Field, the personnel and cargo were dispersed to McChord AFB C-17s, and upon takeoff to Chile, the Charleston crew transported another 76,000 pounds of medical supplies, divided among 16 cargo pallets.
"Our whole purpose in flying to Santiago, [Chile], was to support a nation and people in need; the people of Chile were grateful and appreciative of the assistance ... nothing could be more rewarding than that," said Captain Nolan.
This response in Chile also came while AMC forces are still actively engaged in recovery efforts in Haiti, following the 7.0-magnitude quake that devastated the nation in mid-January.
"Our day-to-day role at the 618 TACC is to support the needs of U.S. and coalition troops around the world, but we can quickly shift to meet the needs of a humanitarian operation when global disasters strike," said Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, the 618 TACC commander. "That was the case when we kicked-off operations in Haiti and we will meet the requirements we're given to fly missions into Chile with the same dedication - all while continuing to fly missions in support of other U.S. operations worldwide, including Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom."
In addition to the AMC C-17 missions, 12th Air Force and the 612th Air and Space Operations Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., have launched multiple C-130 Hercules missions carrying relief personnel and cargo into Chile.
(Capt. Justin Brockhoff, 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center Public Affairs, contributed to this article.)