By Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Smith, Air National Guard
Training and Education Center
SAVANNAH, Ga., Sept. 27, 2017 — Air National Guard airmen
with the 165th Air Terminal Operations Center at Savannah Air National Guard
Base here were operating around the clock this week to send disaster relief to
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Savannah Airmen moving relief supplies around the clock
About 16 airmen began 12-hour shifts for handling air cargo
out of Savannah shortly after the islands' devastation from Hurricanes Irma and
Maria became known.
National Guard Bureau officials reported today that more
than 3,000 National Guard airmen and soldiers were assisting in Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The National Guard airlift into Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands is focused on the transport of life-sustaining supplies,
helicopters, security forces and engineers, officials at the National Guard
Bureau said.
"Every one of these guys is a traditional guardsman,
and I just called them, and they said, 'Yeah, I'll help out,'" said
Georgia Air National Guard Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Weaver, air cargo
superintendent. "They weren't tasked, they just volunteered."
The air terminal operations center is coordinating with
incoming and outgoing Air National Guard units from across the nation. More help
is on the way to handle the massive flow of water, meals ready to eat,
equipment, and other material requested. Air-cargo specialists from the 167th
Airlift Wing in West Virginia were also activated and will arrive here soon to
set up the second cell.
Cargo In, Cargo Out
Forklifts took 38 pallets, totaling 38,000 pounds of meals,
ready to eat off of a flatbed trailer on yesterday morning. They carried them
into the staging hanger. As soon as that trailer offloaded, another truckload
of cargo arrived.
"It's quite the experience," said Georgia Air
National Guard Staff Sgt. Austin Duvverly, an air transportation specialist
with the 165th Air Terminal Operations Center, who was hustling to direct
forklifts to square metal skids. He wrapped cargo with sheets of plastic and
then secured it with netted straps.
They explained that the skids get weighed, recorded and
positioned near the flight line. Forklifts wheel the skids out to awaiting
aircrew on Air National Guard aircraft.
"It's a good feeling know that I can help send some
support down there, especially when they have no power," Duvverly said.
One of the aircraft that departed Sept. 25 from Savannah was
a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and aircrew from the Rhode Island Air National
Guard’s 143rd Airlift Wing to support several hurricane relief airlift missions
in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The mission included transporting pallets of water and MREs
to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the transport of NBC Nightly News reporter Lester
Holt and his news team to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and several shuttle missions
between the islands.
"The continued response and commitment from the airmen
of the 143d Airlift Wing has been remarkable," said Rhode Island Air
National Guard Col. Michael Comstock, 143rd Airlift Wing vice commander,
"The ‘Rhode Warriors’ continue to support back-to-back relief operations
and remain at the ready for whatever is required of them. We are extremely
proud of our team and the Air National Guard's outstanding effort."
Also, a team of six airmen from the 115th Fighter Wing that
deployed to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is the latest in
the Wisconsin National Guard's ongoing response to the hurricanes that have
affected the United States over the past month.
Joint Incident Site Communications Capability
The 115th Fighter Wing's Joint Incident Site Communications
Capability, or JISCC, deployed to Puerto Rico Sept. 23, marking the first time
the specialized unit has deployed for a real-world emergency.
"The airmen who volunteer to be part of the JISCC team
are highly trained experts of cyber systems and cyber transport operators who
are always ready to rapidly deploy," said Wisconsin Air National Guard
Tech. Sgt. Jaime Denner, a member of the 115th Fighter Wing’s JISCC. "It
provides incident site communications support for areas with no network,
telephone or radio interoperability to the responding military and non-military
emergency responders for both natural and man-made disasters."
According to Denner, the overall mission of the JISCC is to
provide satellite communications, radio interoperability of multiple commercial
and tactical radio systems delivering high-bandwidth connectivity even where
the infrastructure is severely damaged.
The National Guard developed the JISCC concept after
learning valuable lessons from the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which
exposed the need for a more robust communications capability in the wake of
major disasters. The 115th Fighter Wing implemented its JISCC five years ago
and members of the team have been training for a real-world opportunity to
respond ever since.
Wisconsin Air National Guard Maj. Keith Hofkens, commander
of the 115th Fighter Wing Communications Squadron, said the airmen were excited
to have the opportunity to serve fellow Americans in their time of need.
"The exciting thing about domestic operations support,
like what we are currently doing with the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and even
locally in Wisconsin after a tornado or flood, is that it puts our airmen at
the tip of the sword from an operational standpoint," Hofkens said.
"To see the smile and excitement on their faces when getting called up for
DOMOPS, and what it's providing in a role of support for our neighbors, families
and fellow Americans is something special. It's why we joined and continue to
put the uniform on."
The teams could be gone as long as 45 days with the
possibility of extending, but they are prepared to stay as long as needed
fulfilling their role as the nation's first military responder in times of
emergency.
(The Rhode Island National Guard and Wisconsin National
Guard contributed to this article.)
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