Relief supplies, people continue arriving at Ellington Field

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Catharine Schmidt
  • Air Force Print News
ELLINGTON FIELD, Texas --  More than 100 tons of relief supplies have left this airfield for hurricane-affected Gulf Coast areas via CH-47 Chinook helicopters since Sept. 24.

The airfield, which is the central hub for Texas relief operations, is home to the 147th Fighter Wing and its fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets. Wing leaders asked the 136th Airlift Wing at Fort Worth, Texas, to support operations.

The Fort Worth wing’s tanker airlift control element has been controlling the airflow to and from the airfield since it opened the day Hurricane Rita passed. And the 136th Aerial Port Squadron has been supporting them by processing cargo and passengers in support of the relief effort.

Relief supplies arriving here include packaged food and water. About 30 Chinooks have been out to various areas in the Gulf Coast to drop off the supplies.

Tech. Sgt. Michelle Kiral of the tanker airlift control element said the unit expects more relief supplies to arrive Sept. 27 for distribution.

Additionally, medical teams have arrived to provide medical relief from this base 17 miles southeast of Houston.

Various medical teams began arriving Sept. 26 to set up a mobile aeromedical staging facility here. The teams will support the evacuation of noncritical patients from Houston-area hospitals. They will also assist with receiving any critical patients from hurricane-affected areas.