The military's humanitarian mission

If you didn't think the military has enough to do with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus its ongoing presence in South Korea, Germany, England, Guam, etc... plus sailing every ocean on the planet, the military is playing a significant role in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, lending a helping hand to relief efforts.

This web page, Military Support in the wake of the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, has the details.

This story details the complex Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Coast Guard and National Guard operations. For example,

The Air Force evacuated 16 F-16s and one C-26 from Ellington Field, in Houston. Six F-16s and the C-26 were evacuated to Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; five F-16s to Fort Worth, Texas; two F-16s to Atlantic City, N.J.; two F-16s to Tulsa, Okla.; and one F-16 to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Two C-5 Galaxy aircraft with the 433rd Airlift Wing at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio are poised to assist with the evacuation of areas in Hurricane Rita's path, including Houston and Beaumont, Texas. The 433rd also sent a five-member aeromedical-evacuation command-and-control team to Beaumont to stand ready to operate a medical-evacuation control point from that location. The team initially responded to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

The Air Force has five C-17s, six C-130s, three C-5s and two contingency-response groups on three-hour alert.

Here is a hi-res photo showing U.S. Air Force personnel preparing an empty recruit house for evacuees of Hurricane Rita at Lackland Air Force Base.

At Scott AFB, where my brother-in-law is stationed, Air Mobility Command has been involved with evacuations.

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

The command also began airlifting patients and other evacuees from the path of the hurricane.

On two missions Sept. 22, C-9 and C-130 aircraft were used to transport more than 100 patients from Beaumont, Texas, and Port Arthur, Texas. According to AMC officials, the command was expected to evacuate between 1,700 and 2,000 patients from that area alone.

On Sept. 23, Col. Jeff Franklin, a senior controller with the Tanker Airlift Control Center here, said the command only had a few hours left to transport the remaining evacuees. "Were chasing the clock," he said. "The weather is getting real bad, real fast. We only have two and half to three hours to move these people."

He said the command is planning additional missions using C-17 aircraft from the 97th Air Mobility Wing (Altus AFB, Okla.), and the 62nd and 446th airlift wings at McChord AFB, Wash.; a C-141 from the 445th AW at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; as well as C-130s from Little Rock AFB, Ark., C-5s from Lackland AFB, Texas; and various other active duty, Guard and Reserve aircraft.

According to a McChord AFB press release, a C-17 assigned to the 313th Airlift Squadron (446th AW) there departed the base Sept. 22 en route to Travis AFB, Calif., to pick up 400 patient litters and 800 cargo straps. The crew is delivering the equipment to Beaumont where it will be pre-positioned for possible use in evacuating non-ambulatory patients. McChord AFB officials said another C-17, from the 62nd AW, departed the base today in support of Hurricane Rita operations.

This page lists many many operations associated with Rita and Katrina.

Yet more reasons to appreciate our hardworking, dedicated military!

(btw, in her post on Michael Moore's website dated Sept 16, Cindy Sheehan said of those military units providing aid and comfort in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans:

I don't care what flag a person salutes: if a human being is hungry, then it is up to another human being to feed him/her. George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power.

Occupied New Orleans?!? The radical Left really are useful idiots at times, as they remind us what their bankrupt philosophy is capable of.)