AMC 'chasing the clock' to move Hurricane Rita evacuees

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Diamond
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) --  As a second major hurricane bears down on the Gulf Coast region, Air Mobility Command Airmen are helping evacuate hundreds of people from the path of the storm.

Hurricane Rita, a Category 3 storm boasting 125-mph winds, is expected to hit the Texas Gulf Coast in the early morning hours of Sept. 24.

On Sept. 21, AMC began positioning people and resources throughout the Gulf Coast area in the event the storm delivers another devastating blow to that region.

Airmen also began flying patients and other evacuees from the path of the hurricane.

On two missions Sept. 22, a C-9 Nightingale and a C-130 Hercules aircraft were used to move more than 100 patients from Beaumont, Texas, and Port Arthur, Texas. Command Airmen were expected to evacuate between 1,700 and 2,000 patients from that area alone, AMC officials said.

On Sept. 23, Col. Jeff Franklin, a senior controller with the Tanker Airlift Control Center here, said the command only had a few hours remaining to move the remaining evacuees.

"Were chasing the clock," he said. "The weather is getting real bad, real fast. We only have two-and-a-half to three hours to move these people."

He said the command is planning additional missions using C-17 Globemaster IIIs from the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., and the 62nd and 446th airlift wings at McChord AFB, Wash. Other aircraft involved include a C-141 Starlifter from the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, C-130s from Little Rock AFB, Ark., and C-5 Galaxys from Lackland AFB, Texas.

A C-17 departed McChord on Sept. 22 for Travis AFB, Calif., to pick up 400 patient litters and 800 cargo straps. The crew delivered the equipment to Beaumont where it will be pre-positioned for possible use in evacuating nonambulatory patients. McChord AFB officials said another C-17 left Sept. 23 supporting Hurricane Rita operations.

Besides evacuating patients and passengers in the Beaumont and Port Author area, Colonel Franklin said they are moving quickly to evacuate about 100 patients from Lake Charles, La., to Shreveport, La.

The colonel said they are also evacuating about 200 litter patients out of Ellington Field in Houston and moving them to Biggs Army Airfield near El Paso, Texas.

“We're moving hundreds of people from the path of the hurricane," Colonel Franklin said. "We're basically emptying hospitals and nursing homes and taking those people to safety."

Colonel Franklin said the evacuation has been a total-force effort, using active-duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen and aircraft, as well as assistance from Navy aircraft.

The command has been extremely successful so far, but it still has a lot of work to do, and with the weather worsening by the hour, it has to move quickly to complete the missions, Colonel Franklin said.

Helping facilitate the evacuation of patients in the Beaumont area Sept. 22, the 433rd AW at Lackland deployed 35 aeromedical evacuation Airmen, a mobile air staging facility, and two critical care air transport teams.

A CCATT consists of a surgeon, a surgical nurse and a cardiopulmonary technician. Additionally, the 433rd AW had three C-5s on the ground in Beaumont on Sept. 23 preparing to evacuate patients and priority passengers.

During the past several weeks, the 433rd AW has been instrumental in the treatment and evacuation of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina. The wing helped evacuate about 12,700 patients and passengers from New Orleans alone.

With hundreds more evacuees being moved from the path of Hurricane Rita, AMC is also deploying security forces Ravens to provide security on aircraft traveling to and from the Gulf Coast region.

A Raven team consists of two to six specially trained and equipped security forces Airmen dedicated to providing security for AMC aircraft and aircrews.

The command has also pre-positioned several senior officers to help coordinate air mobility operations, and 17 Airmen with the 818th Contingency Response Group from McGuire AFB, N.J., have been deployed to Texas supporting Hurricane Rita operations, AMC officials said.