849th AMXS provides eyes in the sky of Haiti

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sondra Escutia
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The 849th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, a formal training unit for the RQ-1 Predator here, received a tasking not typical to their normal, day-to-day mission Jan. 16.

At 9:30 p.m. that Saturday night, they were asked to provide two RQ-1 aircraft and a team of crew chiefs and avionics personnel to support the ongoing relief effort in Haiti.

Thirty hours later, the team of Holloman Airmen and aircraft were in place on a ramp at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., ready to go.

"When we found out we were going on this humanitarian mission, I had more than enough volunteers," said Maj. Chris Reichardt, 849th AMXS commander. "Everyone was very excited about the opportunity to go down and help the Haitian people as well as to forgo their three-day weekend."

Despite their motivation to help in time of need, the remotely piloted aircraft maintainers were not expecting the call, as they are primarily a training squadron.

"We are a formal training unit so getting tasked for a real world mission is something out of the ordinary, but it's great to be tasked to go out and help in a real world mission and to help the Haitian people get back on their feet after this earthquake," said Major Reichardt.

The contingent from Holloman will team up with members from the 432nd Maintenance Group at Creech AFB, Nev., and their mission will be to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to the troops on the ground assisting the Haitians.

"[The team] will help save lives and help onsite commanders make real time decisions," said Master Sgt. Johnny Blankenship, 849th AMXS production superintendant. "They will hit the ground running as a training squadron."

The squadron commander said the reaction to this tasking has been great, not only from his unit, but from all of Team Holloman.

Upon notification, the 49th Medical Group opened their doors late in the evening to ensure all of the personnel were ready to go, said the major, and the 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron also provided all the vehicles needed to transport the aircraft in a timely manner.

"The support that the base has given has been tremendous. Everybody has pulled together to make this mission happen," said Major Reichardt. "From notification time to aircraft sitting on the ramp at Nellis, ready to go down to help in the relief effort, was a total of 30 hours, and it would have been impossible to do that without the team effort of Holloman Air Force Base."