Photos from Charleston air wing mission to drop 14,000 meals, quarts of water on Haiti

Image by U.S. Air Force Photos from the operation. View these as still photos over here.

In a 7-hour roundtrip to Haiti the 437th Airlift Wing out of Charleston air dropped 14,000 prepared meals and 14,000 quarts of water as the situation on the island nation grew worse.

Read more stories on this subject in our Haiti topic page.The United States Southern Command has a brief write-up on the matter:

To ensure the safety of the Haitian people, Joint Task Force-Haiti secured an area in which to airdrop the supplies. Once on the ground, supplies were distributed by JTF-Haiti, USAID and other relief personnel. 

U.S. Southern Command, through its air component Air Force South, directed the mission that was carried out by Airmen at Headquarters Air Mobility Command, 18th Air Force and the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center.

To ensure the safety of the Haitian people, Joint Task Force-Haiti secured an area in which to airdrop the supplies. Once on the ground, supplies were distributed by JTF-Haiti, USAID and other relief personnel.

 One of the greatest challenges in this relief operation has been lack of infrastructure, which has significantly slowed the delivery of supplies and workers to the greatest points of need in Haiti. Airdrop is one of many options the international community is exploring in order to create alternate distribution points that will enable aid to reach the people more quickly.

 Since Jan. 13, Air Mobility Command has delivered more than 1,500 tons of supplies to the region as part of Operation Unified Response. AMC aircraft and personnel continue to support the international effort to increase the velocity with which aid is flowing to those in need.

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