By Air Force Lt. Col. Dale Greer 123rd Airlift Wing
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 18, 2017 — Thirty-five members of the
Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group returned home
yesterday after a three-week deployment to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they
processed more than 7.2 million pounds of humanitarian aid for recovery
operations following Hurricane Maria.
The airmen arrived in San Juan Sept. 23 and were among the
first U.S. military forces to deploy for the relief effort, said Air Force Col.
Bruce Bancroft, the unit’s commander. They established an aerial port of
debarkation at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport the day they arrived and
began accepting military aircraft the next day, eventually receiving food,
water, electric generators and other essential cargo from 268 aircraft.
The airmen also processed 3,887 arriving passengers from a
variety of agencies -- including the Defense Department and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency -- to assist with relief efforts.
While the Kentucky airmen are now home, the cargo mission
will continue for the foreseeable future, Bancroft said. Primary responsibility
for the aerial port has been turned over to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard.
“Standing up this aerial port of debarkation was an
extremely important mission for us,” Bancroft said. “Like all units in the U.S.
military, our group has an important combat role to play, but as National
Guardsmen, we also specialize in providing humanitarian aid to the homeland. It
has been very gratifying to know that our skills and capabilities are making a
difference for the people of Puerto Rico.
“Now, that mission will be carried forward by the next group
of airmen from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard.”
Busy Year
The San Juan operation was the 123rd CRG’s second
mobilization for hurricane relief this year. The unit also sent 43 airmen to
Texas Aug. 29, where they established an aeromedical evacuation hub in Houston
following Hurricane Harvey.
In the past six weeks, the Kentucky Air National Guard has
deployed more than 150 airmen for relief operations following three major
storms -- Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Those airmen include 18 members of
the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, who rescued 333 residents stranded by flooding
in Houston in the aftermath of Harvey.
Kentucky Air National Guardsmen also were instrumental in
the evacuation of more than 1,000 U.S. citizens from the Dutch island of St.
Maarten following Irma by providing air traffic control and flying passengers to
safety in Puerto Rico aboard two Kentucky Air National Guard C-130 Hercules
aircraft.
The Kentucky Air National Guard still has 35 airmen deployed
for hurricane recovery operations, including seven who departed for Puerto Rico
Oct. 11 to staff a mobile field kitchen that can serve up to 4,000 hot meals a
day. Other Kentucky Air National Guardsmen are providing airfield management in
the U.S. Virgin Islands and aircraft maintenance in Savannah, Georgia, where
the National Guard Bureau has established a major cargo hub to fly relief
supplies from the mainland to the Caribbean.
Kentucky has contributed three of its C-130 aircraft for the
Savannah-based operation, and currently has 21 aircrewmen and support personnel
dedicated to the effort.
“This has been an unprecedented hurricane season, with three
major back-to-back storms,” said Air Force Col. David Mounkes, commander of the
123rd Airlift Wing, the Kentucky Air Guard’s main operational unit. “I’m
pleased to say that the response of our airmen has been equally unprecedented.
From saving lives in Texas to setting cargo records in Puerto Rico, our airmen
continue to step up for these extremely important missions.”
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