97th AEG stands up at Keesler

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Brady Smith
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) --  When the call comes in for an air expeditionary group to deploy, it is usually to a destination with sand, located on foreign soil. Although the sand is still present, this time the group was called to deploy inside the United States -- right at Keesler.

The 97th Air Expeditionary Group, comprising Airmen from around the United States, began arriving Sept. 6 to focus on humanitarian missions.

“Our mission is to provide support capabilities for organizations such as the (state of) Mississippi and the Federal Emergency Management Agencies which request Department of Defense assistance,” said Col. Linda Medler, 97th AEG commander. “We are also responsible for supporting the nongovernmental organizations to get goods and services out to the communities. We are here to support the humanitarian effort any way we can.”

Upon arrival, the 97th AEG began standing up immediately, and by Sept. 7, the group quickly amassed to more than 190 Airmen here and in nearby Gulfport. The group is in the process of relieving Keesler of the responsibility of bedding down individuals associated with FEMA and agencies here to support the humanitarian mission.

“We anticipate that we will be fully operational by (Sept. 13), which will bring the expeditionary group to about 250 people,” said Lt. Col. Karl Freerks, 97th AEG deputy commander.

Even partially assembled, the group wasted no time finding out where FEMA needed help and put bodies to work.

Thirty-five Airmen sorted through 46 large pallets of medical supplies Sept. 9 to inventory, organize and prepare supplies for transportation. The supplies are used to restock nine satellite locations along the coast for veterinarian and disaster medical assistance teams. Each remote team provides vital medical services for survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

“God love ’em!” said Bob Haley, disaster management support team logistics chief, as he drove up and saw all the Airmen hard at work. “For the last eight days I’ve only had two team members here to go through this entire inventory, and without these Airmen it wouldn’t have been possible. If we didn’t have this kind of help, our teams would be seriously, seriously deficient in our ability to support this mission.”

After all the supplies were inventoried, a small group of Airmen accompanied the delivery truck to five of the satellite locations established at hospitals in devastated areas. The Airmen helped unload the supplies at each stop and were humbled by the sight of destruction they witnessed between and at each stop.

“All of these Airmen are doing absolutely incredible work and working long hours -- both in the expeditionary group and the 81st Training Wing,” Colonel Medler said. “By looking around at what has already been accomplished and what is being accomplished every day, one can see that the practice of ‘service before self’ is alive in the Air Force, federal and state agencies.”