ACJ Vol 10/1

First reports of a disaster travel fast. Some are accurate, some are not. Emerging eyewitness accounts, data from surface, subsurface, airborne, and satellite sensors, intelligence updates, and media reports help inform emerging realities. Extensive loss of life, insufficient response capacity, and mounting uncertainty often compel foreign governments to request emergency assistance from the international community.

Air Commandos are leaders among our nation’s rapid responders for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief taskings at home and abroad.

Air Commandos of every capability are made available to save lives. Medical expertise may include deployment medicine, expeditionary readiness, health care, and disaster preparedness. Mission support prowess may be comprised of force protection, communications, contracting, engineering, personnel, and transportation elements. While maintainers prepare to sustain deployed aircraft in austere conditions, “loggies” draft plans to increase throughput at forward locations. Operations personnel, including command and control, special tactics, aviation advisors, surgical, intelligence, and aircrew tweak plans and recheck gear. Public affairs officers stand ready.

Click on the link to see how Air Commandos answered these and other questions during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Aceh Province, Indonesia; Bangkok and southern Thailand; Haiti; the Philippines; Afghanistan; and Beirut, Lebanon. We know you’ll be immensely proud of what Air Commandos accomplished and how they found a way to get it done.

With great admiration and respect for our Air Commandos…patriots, warriors, and rapid responders.

Click here to read the entire issue in PDF format.