New York Air Guardsmen all safe after New Zealand earthquake

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. John Orrell
  • National Guard Bureau
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  All 26 members of the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing, currently deployed to Christchurch, New Zealand, in support of Operation Deep Freeze, are safe and unharmed after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the New Zealand city Feb. 22.

The Air Guard wing will remain in Christchurch though some of the Airmen are scheduled to begin returning home this week on two of the unit's three LC-130 Hercules cargo planes, which are a ski-equipped version of the C-130 Hercules used in the Arctic and Antarctic, said Col. Timothy LaBarge, the commander of the 109th.

"We're making very good progress to have everybody depart New Zealand per schedule," he said.

Another LC-130 will remain in New Zealand for planned maintenance.

The Air Guardsmen support Operation Deep Freeze, which runs from mid-October to mid-February, by assisting members of the National Science Foundation in Antarctica who are conducting climate change research.

Christchurch is a maintenance and re-fueling location for Operation Deep Freeze.

The Air Guard's mission had completed Feb. 13, and the Airmen already were scheduled to return to New York, Colonel LaBarge said.

At the time of the earthquake, most of the Airmen were either at the airport, which is located about eight miles from the center of Christchurch, or in one of two nearby hotels, the colonel said.

The extent of damage to the hotels is currently unknown, but the airport had water, electricity and food, he said.

Colonel LaBarge said that, if called upon, the Air Guardsmen will provide assistance to the earthquake victims.