CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Members of the 437th Aerial Port Squadron here loaded the 26,000-pound heart of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine onto a C-17 from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., headed to Argentina June 17.
The MRI equipment was donated to a hospital in Salta, Argentina, by Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis.
After almost three years of planning, the Air Force and the Denton Program have helped make the movement of this large, high-tech, piece of medical equipment possible.
"The donated cargo originates from many different civilian non-governmental organizations located around the U.S.," said Jim Ward, Denton Program director at Charleston AFB. "It is our job to work with the donor organization to bring their approved cargo into the nearest military Air Force base where it is palletized and ready to ender the Defense Transportation System for movement on military air assets."
The first half of this Denton shipment was flown to Argentina in August. The remainder of the MRI scanner arrived at Charleston AFB June 12 and is scheduled to arrive in Argentina June 19.
"The MRI machine we are currently sending to Argentina is a very unusual piece of humanitarian cargo that is being processed through the Denton Program," said Mr. Ward. "The MRI cargo had to be approved for airlift certification by the U.S. Air Force Air Transport Certification Process engineering team at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, before we could bring it to the nearest air force base [Scott AFB, Ill.]."
At Scott AFB, the crated MRI core was hoisted off of a tractor-trailer by a crane and placed on a 25K Loader. The crate containing the MRI magnet was then loaded onto a C-17 and flown to Charleston AFB. From there, the equipment will be flown to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then transported 900 miles by truck to Salta, where it will be assembled with the device's other electronic parts.
Once in Argentina, the equipment will be used for general medical use and for medical research conducted by Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin of Washington University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Erausquin will be conducting schizophrenia research.
Dr. Thomas Conturo, also from Washington University School of Medicine, said the native population in Salta and the northwest region of Argentina will receive MRI scanner services free of charge. Researchers from Washington University will team up with a non-profit organization, called FULTRA, to operate the MRI scanner. FULTRA provides neurological and psychiatric care for Argentina's indigenous population.
"It's really an unserved population," Dr. Conturo said. "There is no MRI scanner for that part of the world essentially."
He said research will focus on psychiatry, but could also include cancer and heart disease research.
"This MRI scanner could become a focus point for bringing patients in to get health care and doing research and treating the patients," Dr. Conturo said.
Charleston AFB is no stranger to delivering humanitarian supplies to those in the need.
"Regardless of where the cargo needs to go, the Charleston 'Port Dawgs' will ship the cargo to where it's needed," said Lt. Col. Robert Neal, 437 APS commander. "Shipments like this always give the 'Port Dawgs' a sense of accomplishment knowing they're making a difference around the world."
The 437 APS is the hub for Southern Command cargo, and 75 percent of all cargo approved for shipment through the Denton Program moves through the Southern Command area of responsibility, said Mr. Ward.
The Denton Program was created by Alabama Senator and former Vietnam Prisoner of War, Jeremiah Denton in an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. He understood the need for humanitarian assistance in developing third-world countries and in 1985 his amendment was implemented.
The Denton Program outlines the parameters for using the program:
· All items sent through the Denton Program must be used to support on-going relief and development projects
· The humanitarian cargo must be consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives
· The cargo must provide legitimate humanitarian assistance to the recipients
· The cargo must be in usable condition
· U.S. military personnel assigned in the destination country cannot act as a consignee for the cargo
· Shipment of hazardous cargo is prohibited (except vehicles)
· A minimum of 2,000 pounds and a maximum of 100,000 pounds per donor per shipment is allowed through the Denton Program (except Afghanistan and Iraq)
· Categories of cargo include; medical and dental equipment, education materials, food and clothing and emergency vehicles.
"The 437 APS here at Charleston AFB, has been very involved during the last 12 months in supporting the Department of Defense Denton Program," said Mr. Ward. "The program is on schedule to ship more than one-and-a-half million pounds of aid to developing countries around the world."
For more information regarding the Denton Program visit the program's Web site at http://dentonfunded.ohasis.org. The Washington Denton Program office can also be reached at 202-712-1181.
Steve Berry, 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, Scott AFB, Ill., also contributed to this article.