Airmen deployed to Puerto Rico fly Haiti relief missions

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Collier
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MUNIZ AIR BASE, Puerto Rico (AFNS) --  Airmen took off in a C-130 Hercules in support of Haiti earthquake relief operations Jan. 25, here, just two days after deploying from Colorado to Muniz Air Base.

The combined Air Force Reserve and active-duty crew will fly to Florida where they are expected to take on humanitarian supplies bound for Haiti. 

Members of the mission are part of an approximate 50 Airmen deployed from the 52nd Airlift Squadron and the 302nd Airlift Wing in Colorado to Puerto Rico in support of the relief operations. The deployment is part of a previously-scheduled assignment to Muniz AB as a component of Air Expeditionary Force Coronet Oak. Air expeditionary force Coronet Oak traditionally provides rapid-response airlift to missions requested by SOUTHCOM. 

With the Jan. 25 mission, both Air Force reservists and Air National Guard members deployed are expected to fly several flights each day.

"The Haiti mission is just part of what we do," said Staff Sgt. Allen Clutter, a flight engineer from the 302nd Airlift Wing. "You sign up to your job and the unknown is what you train for. I got lucky enough to get on this first mission. I'll try to make a good example for the rest of the engineers to follow, although those guys have some pretty heavy experience."

During operations at Muniz AB, each organization falls under the control of the 35th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, the group charged with executing AEF Coronet Oak missions.

"This is vastly different for me this time because I'm on the flightdeck of the aircraft, versus working on it from the ground as a crew chief," Sergeant Clutter said, who is on his second AEF Coronet Oak deployment, but his first deployment as a flight engineer.

To date, the 35th EAS Airmen have flown more than 213 hours, completed 38 missions, moved more than 340 tons of cargo and airlifted 141.