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Air Force Special Operations unit wraps up Asian aid mission

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt Michael Farris
  • 353rd Special Operations Group, public affairs
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia --  Kadena Air Base’s 353rd Special Operations Group is going home. Almost a month after a monster earthquake and killer waves claimed untold thousands of lives, the Air Commando’s work here is complete.
 
The Combat Shadows and Combat Talons have flown nearly one million pounds of cargo and more than 600 disaster relief workers into ground zero, the most devastated region of the hardest-hit nation.
 
Three days after the quake, four MC-130s took up residence at Bangkok’s Don Muang International Airport. As the Combined Support Force drafted policy and objectives, the 353rd flew relief into Phuket, Krabi, Raynong and other cities on Thailand’s west coast.
 
More than 117 tons of vital supplies were flown south along with 155 aid workers. Equally important were 32 critically injured patients flown to Bangkok’s state-of-the-art hospitals for emergency surgeries and care unavailable in the ravaged south.
 
American military leaders rank-ordered the precedence of need and exactly one week after the catastrophe, two MC-130s flew from Kadena to Langkawi, Malaysia. They carried an advance team to receive the four from Bangkok – arriving only three hours later. The geographic significance of Langkawi is its proximity to Banda Aceh, one hour by air, and its relative good fortune in avoiding the tsunami’s wrath.
 
The ground truth in Indonesia was worse than the wrecked Thai resorts and thousands killed. Entire cities were leveled. More than 100,000 confirmed dead and thousands more missing. The scale of devastation was daunting as Sumatra was unable to sidestep the brunt of destructive waves.
 
The status of local airfields was uncertain and SOG combat controllers made quick surveys and gave thumbs-up. Hours later, the first aid arrived. Relief flights were delayed the second night when a wayward water buffalo strayed onto the runway and was struck by a commercial 737 after touchdown.
 
Another limiting factor at Banda Aceh is size. Much like the Berlin Airlift, half century ago, aircraft here are held to tightly regimented schedules. The airfield is very small and only a few cargo planes can maneuver on the ramp at a time. Military air lifters and aid agencies from around the globe queue to have their precious deliveries unloaded by forklift operators whose experience is unmatched. Most planes leave engines running to hasten their departure, but that increases commotion on the ramp.
 
A subsequent priority of Air Force planners was to find a secondary airfield to relieve congestion. Within days, combat controllers determined Maimun Saleh, an airfield on Sabang Island, north of the Sumatran mainland, was ready to receive flights. 

Based out of Malaysia, Pacific’s Air Commandos first fly into Medan, or Jakarta, Indonesia, where they load up with medicine, blankets, tarps and food for delivery to Banda Aceh or Maimun Saleh.
 
On Jan 14, the Jackals of the 17th Special Operations Squadron flew a dozen French aid workers and their equipment into Banda Aceh. Only after these Airmen do their jobs, can the rebuilding begin.
 
The primary concern of U.S. forces here continues to be preventing further loss of life and human suffering, and to enable regional forces to conduct sustained disaster management efforts. 

According to Col. Norman Brozenick, 353rd Special Operations Group Commander, the Batcats have accomplished their first-responder mission and must now give way to the Air Force’s workhorse airlifters.