CRE Airmen in Pakistan relate 2005 earthquake to 2010 flood operations

Published Oct. 12, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Kali Gradishar
U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs

PAKISTAN AIR FORCE BASE CHAKLALA, Pakistan -- Approximately five years ago, more than 60 Airmen from the 818th Contingency Response Group, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., were notified to pack their bags and deploy to Pakistan to support relief efforts after a tremendous 7.6 magnitude earthquake left more than 80,000 people dead and many homes, businesses and hospitals in ruins.

Two of those airmen returned to Pakistan five years later with more than 30 members of a contingency response element from the 818th CRG to support flood relief efforts after torrential rains and flooding affected more than 20 million people and left 1/5 of the agricultural country under water.

As Master Sgt. Clay Baxter, CRE aerial port superintendant, and Staff Sgt. Joshua Gaines, aerial porter, arrived in Pakistan for the second time to support a humanitarian operation, they looked back on knowledge previously gained to obtain a better idea of what operations would be like.

"Initially, when we got here in 2005 it was exactly how it is now -- very, very fast-paced in getting set up so we could operate and offload the very next aircraft that landed," said Sgt. Baxter, who has been an aerial porter 13 years. "Two things that helped me this time after being here in 2005 is knowing the lay of the land, as far as knowing how much real estate we had to operate on, and then knowing that the Pakistanis are really great to work with."

With their arrival at Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala Aug. 28 with the equipment, manpower and fortitude to augment the capabilities of the Pakistan government and military, the CRE's operations began much like they did in 2005 - immediately.

"It was a lot easier coming here this time because I knew a little about what to expect. In 2005, it was an eye-opener to see what operations were like," said Sgt. Gaines, who has been in the Air Force for more than six years.

Airmen exited the aircraft, set up tents for a place to run operations and, as was the case in 2005, set up their own living quarters. At the same time, they offloaded aircraft bringing in additional manpower and equipment or relief supplies.

"The pace is always fast in the beginning just because we're trying to find our rhythm, or groove. Once we hit our groove at about a week it seems to slow down, but I think that's just an illusion," Sgt. Baxter said.

As U.S. airmen were working to set up their own operations and offload aid pouring in from the international community, other nation's militaries and non-government organizations also launched operations to support Pakistan - just as they did following the 2005 earthquake.

"Both have been joint missions," said Sgt. Gaines, a native of Edinboro, Penn. "We had different branches of the U.S. military working here on the same mission, and there were other countries here, too."

As the two natural disasters brought devastation on completely different scales, the way the contingency response element ran operations was distinctive.

The 2005 earthquake shook northern Pakistan, bringing incredible destruction. More than 3 million people were left injured or homeless, but many roads were still used to deliver aid to northern areas hit hardest. Five years later, heavy rains and flooding brought vast devastation to the entire country. Though the death toll is far less than the 2005 quake, the significance of the damage has affected many more lives.

"Last time we were here, it was for an earthquake... I think (flood relief operations are) a lot larger scale because it wasn't just one particular area that was affected," said Sgt. Gaines. "Getting all these aircraft out with cargo feels pretty good, knowing that we're getting supplies out to affected areas all over the entire country."

In 2005, aircraft were landing at Chaklala Air Base bringing in mammoth amounts of needed items to be offloaded from the planes, sorted and loaded onto trucks. Flood relief operations tested the small contingency response element as they were required to do much more than just offload aircraft, as they were also tasked to manage cargo and passengers, build pallets of relief supplies for aircraft delivering to forward operating bases, and loading U.S. military aircraft with those pallets - all augmenting the Pakistan government and military relief efforts.

The CRE's workload has been tremendous since they arrived late August through to the end of fixed-wing relief operations Oct. 3, and there were a number of challenges to overcome.

"We had roughly double the amount of people that we have this time, and I think that was an appropriate number in 2005. We also had had more equipment in 2005," said Sgt. Baxter. With less people and equipment now, "we basically found smarter ways to get ahead to face that challenge and work around it the best we can by focusing on what is going to happen next, and less on what's happening now.

"We also have a lot of people here now who are willing to step out of their prescribed duties to help the port and load aircraft," he said. "We have a squadron commander, vehicle maintenance and duty officers pushing pallets. We even have the doc, the [independent duty medical technician], pushing pallets. We have [aerospace ground equipment] helping us. We have aircraft maintenance driving forklifts. It really has been a team effort this time, that we didn't have last time."

While there have been differences between the relief operations for the 2005 earthquake and 2010 flood relief, many things remained the same including the necessity for communication and coordination with the Pakistan government and military, as well as the opportunities to learn about fellow countries and their people and culture.

"I told my guys before we left, forget about what you heard about [Pakistan] in the news and in the movies. Seek them out and shake their hand, because they are really great people. If you'll just take the time to get to know them, you will really enjoy working with them," said Sgt. Baxter. "To get to know them all over again makes the job so much easier, when you interact with each other as human beings versus foreigners and stereotypes."

Numerous other countries to include Japan, Germany, Australia, France and Canada were operating out of Chaklala, plus there were many other countries flying in aid from all over the world, recalled Sergeant Baxter. "We just learned a lot about them, and they probably learned a lot from us. It was such an experience to learn how the different militaries conduct their business, which oddly enough is not that different from the way we work. And it was nice to be able to help each other out."

From learning to operate cohesively with different militaries to overcoming communications and cultural differences, the two Airmen have been afforded the opportunity to meet and become acquainted more than once with the Pakistanis. They've also had a second chance to see the U.S. government with arms wide open, providing aid to a partner country in times of need.

While they are the magic behind the operations and may not get to see the influence their work has on others, the support of the contingency response element Airmen has been instrumental in both the 2005 earthquake and 2010 flood relief operations.

"Obviously we don't get to see the impact. We just load the planes with the food and supplies, and don't get to see who it's helping or where it's helping," said Sgt. Baxter. "You have to visualize the impact because you don't get to see it first-hand, but you just know that you're making a difference."