PATRIOT | PAGE 1 - Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass

PATRIOT | NEWSNEWS |HELP FOR HOMESTEAD >> A Westover C-5 crew unloads a 24,000-pound Westover-based fire truck, airlifted to Homestead Air Reserve Base as part ofOperation Unified Response, Jan. 17. The Patriot Wing flew two other missions to Homestead as partof the massive humanitarian relief effort that helpedHaiti recover a massive earthquake that struck the country Jan. 12. (photo by Staff Sgt. Timm Huffman)Patriot Wing dispatches base fire engine to Homesteadby Staff Sgt.Timm HuffmanAfter a magnitude 7.0 earthquakedevastated Haiti Jan. 12,Westover Airmen answered thenation’s call to provide support toOperation Unified Response.A 439th Airlift Wing C-5B deliveredmanpower and equipmentto Homestead Air Reserve Base,Fla., which is the staging area fordisaster relief operations. In addition,Westover’s chief of safetyvolunteered for a four-monthdeployment to Port Au PrinceAirport in Haiti in February. Lt.Col. David Heroux arrived inHaiti in mid-February to assumeduties as chief of safety at thebusy airport.Just three days after the earthquake,a Westover aircrew pickedup a tactical airlift control element(TALC) from Dover AirForce Base, Del., and deliver itto Homestead Air Reserve Base.That TALC served as the centraloperations hub on the ground atHomestead.“We’re flying people, some ATOC(aerial port) people, a fire truck,We brought down a K-loader andforklifts -- support equipmentright now,” said Tech. Sgt. PaulTavares, a 337th Airlift Squadronloadmaster, who flew two missionsJan. 16 and Jan. 17.Reservists with the 42nd AerialPort Squadron put a large Halversonaircraft cargo loader ontothe C-5, and a second aircrew flewit to Dobbins Air Reserve Base,Ga., where two forklifts joinedthe load.The 337th AS crew delivered theequipment to Homestead whereAir Force aerial porters used it toload humanitarian aid suppliesonto aircraft flying from Homesteadto Haiti.The crew expected to returnhome Jan. 17, but Air Force plannersre-tasked the C-5 to pick upa Westover fire trucks and take itto Homestead, where its presencewould allow more aircraft to operatesafely from the base.Along with the 12-ton fire truck,about 14 members of the 42ndAPS traveled from Westover toHomestead, where they remaineduntil mid-February.Master Sgt. Daniel Lawlor, whowas in charge of ramp operationsat Homestead, said Westover’sprimary role was to get thingsorganized quickly so cargo can get“This is major and it’s personal. When we got the call Ispoke to my chief and I jumped on the opportunity theminute I could.”-- Airman 1st Class Andrew Riobe, 42nd AerialPort Squadroninto Haiti as fast as possible.“We went to Homestead witha fairly small team compared tothe overall team that is here forloading aircraft,” he said. “Ourrole is to make sure that all of thepeople here get organized in sucha way that the cargo gets movedthrough the base quickly.”The humanitarian mission waspersonally rewarding for Airman1st Class Andrew Riobe. New tothe Air Force, the Airman wasvery familiar with Haiti -- he’sof Haitian decent and has spenttime in the country over the lastfew years building water purificationsystems.“This is major and it’s personal.When we got the call I spoke tomy chief and I jumped on theopportunity the minute I could.I feel priveledged to be out herehelping.”The aerial porters completedtheir duty at Homestead andreturned to Westover in late February.