Moody stands ready to assist in Haiti humanitarian relief

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Frances Locquiao
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  In response to the aftermath of an earthquake that occurred Jan. 12 in Haiti, Moody units stand ready to provide support in the event a humanitarian tasking is requested.

Members from various units such as the 347th Rescue Group, 23rd Medical Group, 820th Security Forces Group and 23rd Civil Engineer Squadron are on stand-by to ensure that Moody can provide assistance should a short notice deployment order come down from higher headquarters.

These units will be able to provide a variety of capabilities at home and in the vicinity of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.

"The Moody team stands ready to provide support to U.S., civil and other organizations to ensure they can provide the best humanitarian assistance possible," said Col. Gary Henderson, 23rd Wing commander. "We have experience from working with many agencies to provide relief during Hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Gustav so we are ready to provide the finest support available."

If Moody is tasked, the 347th RQG is prepared to deploy forces from each of its three rescue squadrons, HH-60G Pavehawk helicopters, HC-130P Combat King aircraft and Guardian Angel personnel recovery teams of combat rescue officers, pararescuemen, and survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) specialists.

"Our rescue forces are highly trained and extremely capable in situations like this one," said Col. Darryle Grimes, 347th RQG commander. "Like so many units, we want to go and do our part as early as possible, but we understand the need for the designated joint task force leadership to assess the situation on the ground in order to prioritize many different units, capabilities and supplies that need to be moved into the area.

"Between the 347th RQG at Moody and the 563rd RQG, a geographically-separated unit at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., the 23rd Wing maintains a package of HH-60Gs, HC-130Ps and Guardian Angel recovery teams in a heightened state of readiness as part of a global response force," he said. "This provides joint task force commanders with a specialized package that can be rapidly deployed and used to conduct a full range of rescue operations."

Personnel from the 347th RQG have been working to prepare for a possible tasking.

"Since the natural disaster in Haiti this week, our standby forces have been checking their equipment, studying the operating environment in Haiti, and mission planning for the move to Haiti if the call comes," Colonel Grimes said. "Since the earthquake happened, rescue forces from the wing have been preparing to deploy within 24 hours of being directed to do so. I have extreme confidence that if our resources are required and tasked to deploy, we will respond quickly and contribute everything we can to the ongoing efforts being made to save lives and minimize suffering."

The 23rd MDG also plays a critical role during Moody's preparation by ensuring that personnel are medically cleared to deploy.

"One of our primary missions is to ensure that people who are tasked to deploy are fully and medically prepared," said Col. Mark Koppen, 23rd MDG commander. "First, staff members for outpatient records retrieve hundreds of records. Public Health concurrently puts all potential deployers into our in-house database and carefully checks the Air Force's Preventive Health Assessment and Individual Medical Readiness database to identify any upcoming requirements.

"Several teams of technicians, nurses, doctors, and physician assistants methodically check both medical and dental records for any medical contraindications," he added. "Women's Health experts ensure all required testing is complete. Finally, labs are drawn, dental exams provided, preventive health assessments completed, immunizations given and our pharmacy ensures individuals have enough medication for the estimated timeframe of the deployment. This exhaustive review ensures our deployers are 100 percent medically ready to go."

In addition, Public Health provided commanders and deployers a carefully researched medical intelligence briefing concerning the various risks personnel will encounter such as poor sanitation, diseases, insects and non-potable water.

Besides sending assistance to Haiti, the 23rd Civil Engineer Squadron is preparing Moody should it be needed to accommodate displaced persons.


"The 23rd CES is organizing assets to safely house more than 300 displaced persons to live on base, called a bed-down," said Ken Spears, 23rd CES emergency management director. "These assets include base infrastructures such as the gym, portable shelters, adequate water, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, enough supply of food, and sanitation needs."

The 23rd CES also has a mutual aid agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Both the squadron and FEMA will set up an emergency operations center here, if needed.

Although there are no official orders for Moody to assist, the 23rd WG commander is confident that everyone is prepared to complete any task that is required of the base.