Valley airlift group to deliver aid to Haiti

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Mster Sgt. Bob Barko Jr.

Photo by: McClatchy-Tribune

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HELP FROM ON HIGH: U.S. troops drop food supplies from a helicopter as relief efforts continue throughout Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown air base will join the humanitarian mission this week.

Staff report

VIENNA — C-130H Hercules tactical cargo aircraft and air crews from the 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Reserve Station are on alert to provide support for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Master Sgt. Bob Barko Jr., superintendent of public affairs, said the air crews will pick up humanitarian cargo from the southeastern U.S. and either drop it from the air or deliver it on the ground in Haiti.

“They’ll be picking up whatever the product happens to be,” he said. “Typically they take food, medicine, supplies. It can be anything.”

The cargo will be distributed by relief workers on the ground of the impoverished island nation.

Barko said the 910th has conducted several humanitarian missions in the past, including picking up products from local missions and aiding during terrorist attacks on a Russian school.

“We were one of the first bases to be called out after the attacks on the school,” he said. “The 910th has a strong history in humanitarian missions.”

Barko said the crews train for such a mission on a daily basis.

“They’re constantly training to perform airlift missions,” he said. “This cargo is particularly precious to those over in Haiti, so they’ll continue their training.”

Barko said each crew contains six people. The 910th is scheduled to begin flights sometime in the next 48 hours.

He said they’ll continue with the mission for as long as they are needed.