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Wyandotte Daily News – May 12, 2011 Washington grad assists in recovery operation in Japan Written by Dona Fair Thursday, 12 May 2011 08:12 Air Force Airman 1st Class Zongtag Vang recently participated in Operation Pacific Passage, the authorized voluntary return of military family members from Japan in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan March 11, and Operation Tomodachi, which is providing humanitarian assistance and recovery operations to the people of Japan. (Photo by Air Force Airman 1st Class Krystal M. Garrett) Yokota Air Base, Japan - The son of a Kansas City, Kansas, couple didn't know what to expect. He'd seen pictures of the devastation on television and in the newspapers, and he knew he had to help, but how? It didn't take long for him to find out. Air Force Airman 1st Class Zongtag Vang, son of Henry and Mao Vang of Kansas City, Kansas, was one of more than 20,000 U.S. military men and women, who have provided assistance in support of Operation Pacific Passage. The operation provides the authorized voluntary return of military family members from Japan in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan March 11. Operation Tomodachi provides humanitarian assistance and recovery operations to the people of Japan. Operation Pacific Passage has airlifted more than 7,000 passengers and more than 400 pets via military and commercial aircraft from various locations in Japan, and Operation Tomodachi has resulted in more than 400 missions being flown, more than 2800 tons of cargo, and more than 400,000 pounds of fuel delivered. Military members are also assisting in the cleanup of communities and airports.
"My role here during Operation Tomodachi was the set up and operation of the Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit," said Vang, who is a water and fuel systems maintenance specialist with the 374th Civil Engineer Squadron, Yokota. "Water coming off of radiation contaminated planes was put through this machine to filter out nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical contaminants in the water so that it could be safely discharged back into the environment with no harmful effects." While nothing can totally prepare service members with the training they need to handle a disaster of this magnitude, the fact that they must be ready to deploy at a moment's notice has come in handy during this operation. "This is my first time to be involved in something like this," said Vang, who graduated in 2006 from Washington High School. "I received training to help me with my role here during technical training school, and actually, I attended an advanced course on the equipment we use for water purification just after the operation began. As soon as I returned, they put me straight to work with my knowledge of the equipment." Operations of this type are very important because they further demonstrate the longstanding and close working relationships that the United States has developed with many countries around the world over the years. "This operation is important, not only for the people involved, but for the environment around us," Vang said. "Dumping contaminated water destroys ecosystems and has negative effects to those physically in contact with it." Operation Tomodachi, or Operation Friendship, in the Japanese translation, means helping friends. For Vang and the others, it has become more like helping family. "Being involved with something like this makes me appreciate my job in the Air Force," Vang said. "I know now that I am needed to make operations like this one run smoothly." (Story and photos provided through Joint Military Hometown News Service.)
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