JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
A small team of officers at Joint Base Charleston was recently called upon to bridge the gap between South Carolina repatriation efforts and Air Force flights transporting Haiti evacuees to Charleston International Airport.
For weeks, Air Force space available airlift had transported evacuees to other areas of the U.S., but after an announcement the week of Feb. 7 that flights into Charleston's airport were planned, the need for a capable crew of Airmen to act as an intermediary became apparent.
To take on the challenge, 628th Air Base Wing Commander Col. Martha Meeker selected Lt. Col. John Donahue, 628 ABW chief of Wing Plans. Colonel Donahue is currently joined by four Airmen to make sure that all things on the military end mesh cohesively with repatriation operations at the civilian airport. His team includes Capts. Brent Gordon and Dana Dailey from the 317th Airlift Squadron and Capts. Tony Mione and Brandon Dow from the 437th Airlift Wing, Wing Plans office.
In walking through the terminal, just a few hundred yards from Joint Base Charleston's flightline, things appear calm, normal and orderly. No apparent outward signs of a repatriation center being housed in the facility noticeably exist.
In the early morning hours, the only readily visible symptoms that something unique is underway might be the occasional sight of a pilot in a military flight suit. Continue following that pilot around a corner near the far gate in the terminal and the operations center for repatriations is revealed, snuggly nestled away to respectfully accomplish all the in-processing tasks.
The civilian led repatriation program is being aided by agencies including Charleston County Emergency Management Department, S.C. Department of Social Services, the local Community Emergency Response Team, American Red Cross, Customs and Border Protection and several others.
At the heart of operations sits Colonel Donahue and his team, hot on the trail of each potential flight bound for Charleston. The colonel and his team keep in constant contact with personnel on the ground in Haiti and with civilian authorities managing repatriations in the local airport.
"Having Colonel Donahue and the Air Force representation over here with us has totally eliminated any confusion in communication," said Kathy Haynes, director of the Charleston County Emergency Preparedness Division. "When he knows stuff, or when his people who are assigned here know something, we know it just as quick as they know it."
The task can be daunting and the hours grueling, said Colonel Donahue. Nevertheless his team pushes forward to find solutions along the way.
"We quickly fatigued. Many people were up for well over 24 hours," he said. "We realized that within the first 24 hours we needed up set up a plan, but it took us about 48 hours to put it into effect. So, that first 48 hours you had people awake for most of it."
The plan they devised scheduled flights between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. In that way, evacuees would arrive to the airport during the least congested hours. Additionally, a review of commercial air traffic to and from Charleston International Airport set the maximum number of evacuees allowed per day at 300. The single maximum number of evacuees per plane was set at 75.
Although it may be a newer scenario for the younger Lowcountry dweller, repatriations are old-hat by now for Charleston's more seasoned residents. In 1990, hundreds of U.S. evacuees were brought through Charleston from both Kuwait and Liberia. In 1983, almost 700 civilians were brought to Charleston from Grenada.
Additionally, in 2003 Charleston welcomed home more than 600 military dependents and civilian employees who evacuated Turkey.
"That was mostly a military operation for those refugees. In this case, because the Department of State is taking the lead, now it has to be civilian led but it's still the same plan," Colonel Donahue said, in comparing past and present operations. "The base has always worked with the city of Charleston very closely so our plans are kept up to date, which made this very smooth. It's always crazy at the beginning, but at least we had something."
As of Feb. 9, no clear indication had been made as to how long the Air Force would continue facilitating evacuations into Charleston International Airport. The colonel and his team said they are prepared to continue serving in their current role through the end of the month.
As of the same date, the team of Airmen had served as liaison for 15 Air Force missions into Charleston International Airport, allowing for the repatriation of more than 700 evacuees.