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Commanders see American Airmen in action

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss
  • 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  On the heels of the "Wings Over the Pacific" open house here that drew a crowd of 82,000 Sept. 19-20 and a deployment to exercise Wake Phoenix through Sept. 28, Team Hickam took a deep breath and got ready for a break from the frenetic pace. 

But Mother Nature had other plans in mind, as she shook the earth in the Pacific Sept. 29 with a major typhoon and an 8.3 scale earthquake that generated 15-foot tsunami waves. The force devastated the South Pacific islands of Samoa, American Samoa, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and U.S. Airmen here leaped into action to launch C-17s and bring relief supplies to the villagers there. 

"The Crisis Action Team was immediately activated," said Lt. Col. Rex Vanderwood, 15th Mission Support Group deputy commander. "The deployment control center and freight yards were immediately busy, working 24/7 to load supplies and people from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross, Army and Air Force medics, the Army National Guard, Hawaii Air National Guard, active duty members, and reservists. It was a total-force effort." 

Moving out in a series of chalks, the battle rhythm was strong as the 735th Air Mobility Squadron, an Air Mobility Command unit here, loaded 46 generators and thousands of tons of humanitarian relief supplies. 

Col. Giovanni Tuck, 15th Airlift Wing commander, couldn't resist the opportunity to see what America's Airmen were doing there. He grabbed Colonel Vanderwood. With a briefcase full of children's books and a career's worth of flying experience, they departed for the austere island on the last plane that was leaving Oct. 16. 

"You could see the destruction from the aerial view," Colonel Vanderwood recounted. "Some pockets were hit badly, and you could see the trail the wave made around the island." 

The next portion of their 19-hour day was spent with commanders and dignitaries from American Samoa and the mainland, touring the island and talking to the people. 

"It was amazing to talk to the Samoans and hear how thankful they were and the huge impact these relief supplies had," Colonel Tuck said. "The citizens of this island were not waiting for a handout - they were just amazed by the speed at which help arrived." 

This remote part of the world is so far from any other island that it would have taken nine days to sail relief efforts there if the U.S. Air Force hadn't stepped in to fly relief missions, Colonel Tuck said. 

"Had we not been able to respond as quickly as we did, many more people would have died," said the 15th AW commander. 

Emotions swelled in both colonels as they saw villagers picking through the rubble and squatting in their yards, which serve as burial grounds for relatives because they don't have formal cemeteries. White FEMA tents scattered over the landscape were the only shelters in some areas. The path of the wave on the island, decimated some areas, turning houses and cars on their roofs, yet leaving others unharmed just two feet to the left or right. 

The only warning system villagers there have is a metal cylinder hanging from a tree, which - theoretically - would be banged with a spoon. No one sounded the gong Sept. 29 when the tsunami struck. Some villagers who had time to flee when they saw the wall of water coming were so fearful of a second tsunami that they were still hiding in the hills when Colonel Tuck and Colonel Vanderwood surveyed the land. 

Overwhelmingly, the feeling the commanders came away with was how very proud they were of FEMA and the joint operations; how quickly everyone moved to provide relief; our Combined Maritime Forces; and the response from the American Samoans. 

The governor of American Samoas, Hon. Togiola Tulafono, was especially thankful at how individuals, services, and agencies could work in a crisis environment as a synchronized team. 

"They were humble," Colonel Tuck recalled. "They were thankful for the assistance the Air Force and Hickam AFB offered their community. They neither asked for it nor expected it, but the joy on their faces when they saw us was incredible. I was very proud." 

As clean-up operations continue in the devastated areas, the 15th AW is once again poised to project peace and power throughout the Pacific and beyond.