News>Special operations Airmen continue relief efforts at Sendai
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Airmen, Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers load cargo onto a JGSDF truck March 20, 2011, at Sendai Airport, Japan. Since the re-opening of Sendai Airport March 16, humantitarian aid supporting Operation Tomodachi has been able to be airlifted in more quickly and directly. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)
Members of the 353rd Special Operations Group drive forklifts carrying pallets of freshwater to be loaded onto Japan Ground Self-Defense Force trucks March 20, 2011, at Sendai Airport, Japan. Airmen from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron manage the airfield with the help of the 353rd SOG, Marines, JGSDF and other Japanese agencies. Sendai Airport has become a main hub for bringing humanitarian aid to those affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)
3/23/2011 - SENDAI AIRPORT, Japan (AFNS) -- Members of the 353rd Special Operations Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan, are continuing to provide support to further relief efforts here.
After helping re-open the runway March 16, Airmen from the group also assisted Japanese emergency management and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force officials in clearing the airfield to allow larger aircraft to utilize the runway. The first C-17 Globemaster III landed here March 20.
Sendai Airport has become a main hub for bringing humanitarian aid to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that hit March 11.
353rd SOG Airmen are heavily engaged with U.S. and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel offloading relief supplies from the aircraft that arrive here and loading vehicles to distribute the supplies to Japanese citizens in need.
Airmen from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron are providing air traffic control support and have set up a communications room to maintain contact with other Operation Tomodachi units via conventional computer, radio and defense switched network methods.
(Courtesy of 353rd Special Operations Group Public Affairs)
