CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Covered by ordinary shipping plastic and crisscrossed cargo straps, an 800-pound stash of cold, hard cash unsuspectingly took flight from Charleston AFB at approximately 7 p.m. Jan. 22.
Known only by a handful of members onboard the flight, the shipment was the focus of a high-priority mission scheduled to be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, through the assistance of Airmen at Charleston AFB.
Due to the recent earthquake, which left many public services out of operation, both major banks in Haiti which handle the U.S. government's electronic payments in country had been flattened, jeopardizing the embassy's ability to stay up and running normally.
The mission out of Charleston AFB was aimed providing the embassy with enough physical money to continue commerce and the fastest way to get it there was through the Air Force, said Richard Ivy, U.S. State Department disbursing officer. To do the job right, State Department representatives turned to Charleston AFB's aerial port to prepare the money for shipment.
The paper trail originated with a transaction with a top U.S. bank, Mr. Ivy said. The bank executed a transaction with the Federal Reserve Bank in Virginia to produce the funds, and the money was then transported via an armored vehicle to Charlotte, N.C., and handed off to a second Dunbar armored vehicle based out of Charleston for the final leg of the trip.
Upon arrival at Charleston AFB, the armored truck proceeded to the 437th Aerial Port Squadron building where it was unloaded. Security was tight, and a special detail of 628th Security Forces Airmen stood guard.
"There weren't many hands touching the money, but there were lots of eyes," said Staff Sgt. Lakeysha Johnson, assistant NCO in charge of the 437 APS Packing and Crating section, who along with fellow Airmen began the process of packaging and tracking the shipment. She admitted feeling nervous, but also said the experience served to show the importance of every detail within the aerial port.
As the truck was unloaded, the money was counted and placed in to a large, brown box. Sergeant Johnson and fellow Airmen in her section worked to seal the four-foot cardboard cube. Sturdy metal bands surrounded it and signatures of two special handling custodians with the 437 APS, Tech. Sgt. Timothy Crowe and Julius Murray, were written across the top of the box, signifying they was responsible for control of the container until signed for by the aircraft loadmaster.
All operations were conducted under the watchful eye of Mr. Ivy, his deputy Steve Medlock and a government security agent, but there were few surprises for 437 APS Special Handling section Airmen who knew just what to do, despite a bit of unfamiliarity.
"I've never worked with something like this. It's a unique piece of cargo, but essentially, you end up palletizing the same as any other piece. All the same rules apply," said Sergeant Crowe.
While awaiting the flight to Haiti, the box of currency was stored in a special vault managed by the 437 APS and kept under lock and key until moments before it was loaded on the aircraft.
State Department representatives later accompanied the funds to its destination in Port-au-Prince and were coincidentally joined by nearly 70 security forces Airmen who were deploying to Haiti from Moody AFB, Ga., making for a very secure flight and successful journey.
The representatives stressed that coordination between the Air Force, civilian armored transport service and the State Department was key in the successful transfer of funds.
"Everything has gone fantastic," Mr. Ivy said. "With the cooperation of the Air Force, everybody from [U.S. Southern Command] through the base, through the loading by packing personnel and in cooperation with Dunbar and the State Department, we've done an outstanding job."