Ramstein Airmen, C-130s deliver supplies to Russia

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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) --  Two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flew missions into Russia from Ramstein Air Base Aug. 13 delivering firefighting supplies promised by President Barack Obama.

Members of the 37th Airlift Squadron here delivered equipment from Army, Air Force, Marine and Navy units throughout the U.S. European Command theater of operations.

EUCOM officials began brainstorming about a week before the operation on how the command could help after the Russian government passed a list of equipment they needed to the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

"Our smart planners worked with all of our components in Europe to rapidly determine what we could supply," said Maj. Gen. Harold Moulton, the EUCOM operations director. "We identified supplies like Pioneer Equipment, large diameter hoses, mobile pumping stations, personal protective equipment, and medical kits, and then packaged them for delivery.

"We reached out to our bases as far west as Rota, Spain, and as far south as Sigonella, Italy," he said. "Additional materials were identified from our stocks in Norway and at our air base at Ramstein. We asked our air component, U.S. Air Forces Europe, to lead and they did a great job. Our C-130 aircrews demonstrated their flexibility and 'get it done' attitude."

"The U.S. response to the Russian wildfires was a quickly pushed mission, and our crews were ready to spring into action," said Lt. Col. Tobias Sernel, the 37th Airlift Squadron and mission commander. "Support from the embassy in Moscow made it possible to get our crews and equipment up in the air in incredible time.

"It was a tiring mission with two roundtrip flights, more than 17 hours of flight time, and hours of loading and offloading equipment," he said. "But when you consider the life-saving equipment delivered and the bilateral relationship that was bolstered, doing all this was worth the effort."

"This was just an incredible mission from all perspectives," said Master Sgt. Keith Houin, the USAFE public affairs documentation team leader. "It was impressive to see the orchestration of hundreds of Airmen, two nations and so much equipment on such short notice. Anyone who touched even the smallest piece of this mission should be proud of what they did. We showed the world that the United States is a great partner."

(Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs)