Airmen ship $30 million in aid to Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. J. LaVoie
  • 460th Space Wing Public Affairs
BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) --  Airmen here recently built 16 pallets of donated goods to ship to Afghanistan.

"The shipment will allow the refurbishing and rebuilding of 25 hospitals and clinics in the region and will help transition more than 3,000 farmers from the Taliban-directed heroin trade," said Jan Mazotti, the business development director for commercial carrier CAP Worldwide. "And for that, we are proud."

Airmen here said were proud they could assist in sending winter coats, shoes and even irrigation systems to the region as well.

"Here at Buckley (AFB) this is a rarity," said Tech Sgt. Eric Pylka, of the 460th Logistics Readiness Squadron. "It's nice to get hands on again. (It's nice to) have that good feeling that we are doing something for somebody downrange."

"It's a very important effort," said Lt. Col. Stephen Wier, the 460th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander. "The Afghan people don't have a lot of medical supplies or toys for their children. Something like this can make a big difference. It makes me proud to be part of something like this."

The shipment included 10,000 winter coats, 8,000 shoes, 5,000 toys, 23 irrigation systems and seeds for 3,000 farmers as well as medical supplies.