Ohio Air Guard unit sent to Haiti

MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Air National Guard has dispatched a team from the 179th Airlift Wing to assist with relief efforts in Haiti.

Guard spokeswoman Lt. Kimberly Snow says the Mansfield-based unit, which had been stationed in Puerto Rico, flew cargo aircraft into Haiti on Wednesday after the devastating magnitude-7 earthquake hit the small island nation.

The Guard members ferried communication crews and search and rescue teams into Haiti to improve communication at the damaged airport in Port-au-Prince.

The 179th deployed to Puerto Rico on Dec. 26 as part of a planned rotation in support of Operation Coronet Oak, a U.S. Southern Command theater airlift support mission.