LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Team Langley Airmen from the 633d Logistics Readiness Squadron and Forts Eustis and Lee Soldiers loaded vehicles, equipment and aid supplies aboard a C-17 Globemaster III bound for Haiti Jan. 19 as part of Operation Unified Response in support of earthquake relief efforts.
The U.S. Transportation Command tasked Air Mobility Command units nationwide to accomplish airlift support operations to Haiti; the aircraft is the sixth C-17 633 LRS loaded with supplies and personnel in five days at Langley.
Fifteen Logistics journeymen worked 12-hour shifts to load more than 82,000 pounds of equipment, including generators, water and MREs, onto a cargo aircraft from the 512th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
So far, the 633 LRS has loaded more than 500,000 pounds of equipment and supplies in support of Haitian earthquake relief.
Staff Sgt. Tim Brady, 633 LRS air transportation craftsman, used experience he gained while assisting in the 2004 Indonesian tsunami relief efforts to help maximize productivity on the flight line, getting aircraft loaded and airborne quickly.
In addition to experience, Sergeant Brady also credited the Joint Base Langley-Eustis initiative, scheduled for a Jan. 29 Initial Operational Capability, for increasing communication between Airmen and Soldiers working together in the efforts.
"The joint basing rolled out the welcome mat for our Army colleagues, and it couldn't have come at a better time," he said. He called the synergy between Airmen and Soldiers "excellent," noting the latest aircraft was loaded in a mere 2 hours, 52 minutes.
Fort Eustis deployed personnel from its 688th Rapid Port Opening Element to establish expedited logistic support for aid to reach victims of the earthquake.
"Our job is to open up a port to be able to bring in and transport equipment to allow other units to get their equipment in," said U.S. Army Sgt. Jerome Jefferson, 688th RPOE.
The crew onboard also included supply and mortuary affairs personnel from 49th Quartermaster Group, 111th Quartermaster Company at Fort Lee.
"We're sending a seven-man team down to assist with the earthquake operation to best assess how we can implement and conduct search and recovery for remains," said Sgt. Richard Bailey, 49th QG.
Sgt. Perry Burtus, 164th Terminal Supervision Team, said that "every plane is flying out at maximum capacity."