U.S. humanitarian support to Georgia continues

Published Aug. 15, 2008
By Senior Master Sgt. Hollis Dawson
3rd Air Force Public Affairs

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- United States humanitarian efforts continued as another U.S. military aircraft delivered a second shipment of humanitarian supplies on Aug. 13, for the people of Georgia in response to the crisis situation.

A C-17 Globemaster III, from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., departed Ramstein Air Base at approximately 3 a.m. and delivered more than 38,000 pounds of emergency shelter items and medical supplies to Tbilisi, Georgia.

To date, U.S. military members have delivered more than two million dollars worth of humanitarian supplies in an effort to save lives and alleviate human suffering.

In support of the Georgian people and as a part of a larger United States response, officials with the European Command, United States Army Europe and the United States Air Forces in Europe have joined forces to expedite relief packages for the Georgian people.

Once the humanitarian assistance supplies arrived at Ramstein, Airmen assigned to the 86th Contingency Response Group palletized the cargo, uploaded it to the aircraft and directed the off-loading in Tbilisi, Georgia.

"Situations like this reinforce my global view of the important mission this unit provides to our global partners," said Capt. Paul Brian, a member of the 86th CRG. "I've seen our Airmen do some amazing things in a very short time. We routinely train for this type of situation and it's a great privilege to possess the ability to aid a regional partner during a crisis."