Airborne Troops Provide First Glimpse of Relief

[The Straight Story]

Airborne Troops Provide First Glimpse of Relief


TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 16, 2010 – Hundreds of 82nd Airborne Division troops from Fort Bragg, N.C., arrived here overnight in the first wave of putting a substantial U.S. military relief effort in place in the wake of this week’s devastating earthquake.

As many as 3,500 soldiers are expected to be on the ground here in just a few short days, as the military finds itself caught somewhere in the middle of finding its feet and moving out to help the tens of thousands left with nothing after the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Air Force C-17s started hauling troops and equipment from the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment yesterday, with the rest of the 800 or so soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team being delivered by ongoing flights through the night.

The planes were packed making use of every square inch of space. Soldiers stacked in with military vehicles, water and other equipment and supplies. With the airport here maxed out on its ability to manage the number of flights coming in and out, officials wanted to waste neither time or space.

“Air planes are stacked up the ‘wazoo’ up there trying to get down here,” one colonel said just before his troops exited the C17.

The military flights were delayed somewhat yesterday simply because of the limited capacity of the airport. It is, however, running 24-hour operations with flights coming in from around the world as nations reach out to one of the globe’s poorest countries.

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57567

[lunatica]

1. The 82nd Airborn Division. Good to the last drop

I used to live in Fayetteville, NC where Fort Bragg is. It was a joke in Fort Bragg.