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by Capt. Erin Dorrance
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Ramstein C-130 Hercules aircraft continue to fly out of Ramstein bound for the Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia to deliver crucial humanitarian supplies.
The joint military effort supports coordination by the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development with the Georgians. The Department of Defense was asked to support with a joint U.S. military operation which launched with the delivery of pallets of medicine, clothing, sleeping bags, cots and other essential items Aug. 13.
“Our sole goal is to safely and rapidly deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia to alleviate human suffering and save lives,” said Col. Benjamin Everson, chief of U.S. Army Europe’s International Operations Division. “We will continue to support this humanitarian mission until the host nation and the U.S. State Department determine that it is no longer needed.”
The humanitarian operation is a total KMC team effort.
Behind the scenes, Airmen with 3rd Air Force here lead the contingency planning effort as the operational arm of U.S. Air Forces in Europe. With dozens of
planners coordinating up and down the chain of command with their U.S. European Command counterparts in Stuttgart and with the KMC wings, humanitarian assistance operations are taking shape day and night.
“USAFE, as the air component to EUCOM, brings an invaluable capability to this humanitarian assistance mission – an air bridge delivering much-needed relief,” said Brig. Gen. William Uhle, assistant vice commander, 3rd AF. “Our men and women make that air bridge to Georgia a reality and ultimately impact the lives of many Georgians for the better.”
The emergency shelter items and medical supplies are provided from U.S. State Department stock at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center in Pirmasens. The supplies are then packed into pallets by Soldiers at the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s 66th Transportation Company on Rhine Ordnance Barracks. The pallets are transported to Ramstein’s cargo yard and loaded onto C-130s by aerial porters from the 723rd Air Mobility Squadron and 435th Logistics Readiness Squadron.
Once loaded on C-130s, 37th Airlift Squadron aircrews fly the seven-hour trip to Tbilisi. As soon as they touch down at Tbilisi International Airport, C-130 loadmasters, 86th Air Mobility Squadron aerial porters and a civilian
contract company which consists of Georgians work together to offload the cargo.
One pallet after another is quickly off-loaded from the aircraft. Meanwhile, the Georgians on the ground continually thank the U.S. military team for its efforts.
“We are in dire need of these supplies,” said Sergey Khomchenko, Counterpart Community and Humanitarian Assistance Program director. “Thank you so much for helping us in this great time of need. These supplies will surely save lives.”
The first deliveries into Georgia were flown in by a C-17 Globemaster Aug. 13. Cargo aboard the aircraft included two pallets of antibiotics which equaled 104,000 doses, said Mr. Khomchenko.
“We had more burn victims than we could’ve imagined,” he said. “These antibiotics will go directly to the hospitals to help Georgians who are suffering in pain.”
The U.S. Air Force began sending Ramstein C-130s Aug. 15. Each C-130 can carry six pallets of supplies.
“We are thrilled to be part of this humanitarian mission,” said Capt. J. Agnew, 37th AS C-130 pilot who flew humanitarian aid into Georgia Aug. 15. “I chose to fly an airlift aircraft so that I could be part of missions like this. Our unique airlift capabilities allow us to respond quickly to Georgia’s request for assistance.”
While aircraft continue to deliver humanitarian aid, there is a team of 1st Combat Communications Squadron personnel in Tbilisi. The communications team is providing communications support to U.S. military personnel in Tbilisi as well as to the U.S. Embassy.
From building pallets of humanitarian supplies to communications on the ground in Tbilisi, Team KMC is working together to ensure the mission is well supported.
U.S. officials, including a U.S. European Command survey team, continue to coordinate closely with the government of the Republic of Georgia to determine what aid is most needed within the country and how best to distribute the aid.
“We are very pleased that the joint military community, EUCOM, U.S. Army Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Europe, have the opportunity to provide logistical support to bring these humanitarian supplies here,” said Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker, U.S. European Command spokesperson. “EUCOM forces will remain ready to support as further needs are assessed.”
As of Aug. 14, roughly 330 short tons of humanitarian aid had been airlifted into Tbilisi, the bulk of which had been palletized, loaded and offloaded by USAFE Airmen after an initial hand-off of supplies from U.S. Army Europe Soldiers.
Also as of Aug. 14, aircrews with the 37th Airlift Squadron had flown 17 C-130 missions since the effort began, while Air Mobility Command has provided additional airlift with C-17 aircraft.
