First Air Force continues medical operations, support in disaster area

Blackanthem.com, TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., September 14, 2005

First Air Force members assigned to Joint Task Force-Katrina continue to support hurricane relief for thousands of citizens in the devastated Gulf Coast Region.

First AF members join nearly 7,800 active, Guard and Reserve Airmen in working around the clock to save and sustain lives with aeromedical evacuations and portable hospitals, airlift, search and rescue and air refueling missions.

Thousands of Air Mobility Command and Air National Guard sorties have airlifted more than 11,000 tons of supplies, including meals ready to eat, water and medical supplies to the disaster areas in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Airmen using Air Force and Air National Guard helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have rescued more than 5,800 victims of flooding. These relief efforts represent the largest ever peacetime air operation on U.S. soil.

In the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, nearly 2,500 patients have been aeromedical evacuated since Sept. 1. More than 23,500 other citizens have been airlifted out of the airport to relief areas established across the country.

"When the first Air Force aeromedical evacuation personnel arrived at the airport Sept. 1, they had a group of patients on a plane to evacuate within 90 minutes," said Ed Drohan, JTF-Katrina spokesperson. "Twenty-four hours later, another thousand people had been airlifted out."

The 4th Air Expeditionary Group Emergency Medical Squadron at the airport has treated more than 5,500 patients to date, but the number of people currently needing medical attention at the airport has reduced significantly. Most people at the airport awaiting airlift have been evacuated.

The citizens were flown out of the state in various Air Force cargo aircraft, including the C-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy.

"It’s what the Air Force does best: Getting the right equipment to the right people and getting the right people to the right places - rapidly," said Robert Jack, 1st AF deputy director of logistics.

Responding to disasters is something the Air Force has planned for, trained for and is ready for.

"We’ve seen the devastation and the affected areas and we are doing everything possible to save lives and relieve the suffering," said Col. John J. Gomez, 1st AF deputy director of mobility forces. "We are going to be involved as long as it takes. Our focus right now is on saving lives, and as we complete that mission we will transition to cleaning up damage and helping the reconstruction efforts."

First AF here established the 1st Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force-Katrina Operation designated to perform command and control for assets supporting air operations in and around the Katrina joint operating area. The 1st AETF directly supports the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in accordance with the National Response Plan.

By Air Combat Command Public Affairs