Relief in sight

Coast Guard Magazine, March, 2005 by Mariana O'Leary

In response to the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, the Coast Guard delivered more than 350,000 pounds of food, medical supplies, water purifications equipment, assessment teams, and even toys to the tsunami-stricken countries of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

As relief efforts continued, two Coast Guard C-130 airplanes and three of the four flight crews, from Sacramento, Calif.; Barbers Point, Hawaii; and Clearwater, Fla., ran round-the-clock missions to airbases, aid distribution points, and remote locations that were in need of aid supplies. The flight crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, N. C., headed home after 22 days of relief flight missions and back to their busy schedules as the military operations in the tsunami affected area began to wind down.

**********

On Jan. 14, Coast Guard aircraft and crews completed their first humanitarian airlift mission to the tsunami catastrophe in the northern city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. With a humble start of just 20 emergency shelters as cargo, the bright blue and orange Coast Guard stripes stood out on the flight line in contrast to the huge gray transport planes hailing from all over the world.

As the seven-member aircrew from Clearwater, Fla., waited for their first load of supplies to be delivered by forklift from the mountain-like pile of relief supplies at Colombo International Airport, Sri Lanka, the wide variety of foreign flags, military uniforms, and languages had a big effect on the crew.

"I thought ... we're finally in the game, and it's good to be doing something to help," said Lt. Cmdr. Andy Delgado, a pilot from Air Station Clearwater. "The challenges of working with foreign military services and the language barriers we encountered were a unique opportunity for us. It's really good to be here."

Over next three days, the tempo of the mission stepped up with more than 100,000 pounds of fresh fish, chicken, vegetables, emergency shelters, and water purification equipment airlifted into Jaffna and China Beach, Sri Lanka. A Navy medical battalion team of 30 people and medical supplies to supplement and set up local hospitals were brought into Jaffna by the Coast Guard as well on Jan. 16.

Working as guides and interpreters, the Sri Lankan air force pilots crewed on the Coast Guard planes, giving the crews a chance to get a personal and unique perspective on the local culture and the effect that the catastrophe had on the Sri Lankan people.

Sri Lankan air force Lt. Dinesh Kasagala flew with the Barbers Point, Hawaii, crew Jan. 17, delivering 37,000 pounds of fish and vegetables. He explained to the Coast Guardsmen that in the remote city of Jaffna, some of the local people running up to the back of the C-130 to get supplies had never seen Americans before.

"You may be the first ones [Americans] they have seen," he said with a smile, "I think they are happy to be meeting you."

"We met people who were directly affected by the tsunami, and yet their friendliness was incredible," said Lt. Cmdr. Brad Sultzer, of Air Station Barbers Point. "Like the family-run jewelry store across the street from our hotel, they had lost one of their family members, the oldest of four generations, yet they treated us with great hospitality, you would never have known they had just been through such a great tragedy. They were happy to have us here."

With the Coast Guard's unique capacity to perform versatile missions as part of its everyday job of search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security, the air crews used their training and expertise to adapt to the challenges of bringing humanitarian aid to these countries.

Using the Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane, with it's 50,000 pound carrying capacity and seven-man crew, the Coast Guard's response brought a self reliant and capable platform to the challenging mission. "The Coast Guard C-130 is a workhorse," said Sultzer, the aircraft commander of the Barbers Point C-130. "We're putting the aircraft and Coast Guard crews unique capabilities to work airlifting to these remote locations. That's what we train for."

With the ability to land on runways in disrepair or even dirt, Coast Guard planes and crews were are up to the job of bringing in supplies to remote regions and performed at their peak.

"For me, the biggest challenge is keeping these two aircraft operational," said Petty Officer AMT1 Ken Norris Jr., a flight engineer from Clearwater, Fla., "I think it's outstanding we're using the C-130 for the job its made for. You give us a load and 4,000 feet of dirt anywhere in the world, and we'll deliver." Behind the scenes, behind the mission, they give us a box of parts and credit cards for fuel and we have to be completely self sustained. The same crews that fly this plane fixes it too, which is completely unique to this service."

Having multiple aircrews gave this operation the ability to operate on a 24-hour schedule.

"Last night we flew for nine hours straight, then did maintenance for three hours, its challenging but that's what it takes," said Norris.