Plane shortage keeps Fort Bragg soldiers from Haiti

[unhappycamper]

Plane shortage keeps Fort Bragg soldiers from Haiti
By Martha Quillin | The (Raleigh) News & Observer
Posted on Friday, January 15, 2010

FORT BRAGG — As conditions deteriorate in Haiti, hundreds of troops from the 82nd Airborne Division ready to provide disaster aid to the island nation are temporarily stuck at Fort Bragg because the military's planes are tied up on other missions.

"They're ready to deploy," Maj. Brian Fickel, spokesman for the 82nd, said of about 800 members of the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. "Unfortunately, we have a finite amount of resources — that's aircraft involved in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti and everything else," including thousands of troops from other U.S. bases trying to get to Haiti to help. "Right now, we are waiting for aircraft to be assigned to our mission."

Fickel recalled a similar problem when the 82nd was sent to Louisiana to help out after Hurricane Katrina.

"When something like this happens, we need all the resources available, instantly, at one place at one time. And that's simply not reality," he said. "Across the Department of Defense, there's just so many resources, and they have to be prioritized across all our missions."

After Katrina, Fickel said, rather than wait for aircraft, the 82nd chose instead to drive themselves to Louisiana, in a convoy of more than 1,000 military vehicles. "It was faster than waiting for planes," he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/nation/story/82455.html

[Historic NY]

1. There's Air Guard C5A's sitting here at Stewart International in NY state.

[FarCenter]

8. Is Port au Prince airport's runway adequate for C5A?

It would be landing with a weight upwards of 500,000 pounds?

[quiller4]

9. That is one of the problems can't use C5As at Port au Prince

the older 130Js can use the shortened runway but C5As need a longer landing strip.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Given the widely broadcast backlog

of aid flights waiting to land in Haiti they'd get there faster using a Greyhound bus to FL and then a ship to the island.

[Mari333]

3. oh yeah. the planes are being used for insane wars of aggression

so they cannot be used for humanitarian purposes. gotta keep that war machine humming, money talks and all.

[jjray7]

4. C17

I heard an analyst in Washington say the military has more airlift capacity than it needs so this must be a mistake. We don't need any more stinking C17s.

[atreides1]

6. The Analyst is correct

The military does have the airlift capacity it needs for combat operations, not natural disasters!

When you have aircraft in Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe, Japan, it kind of puts a strain on moving units for something other then combat operations.

There are aircraft available, the Bone Yard at D-M AFB in Tucson has C-130's and C-141's, but it would take too long to make them operational.


The other part of the problem is not enough pilots and crew for more cargo aircraft.

[itsrobert]

7. Probably a Navy analyst

When shit hits the fan, people don't want to be waiting for ships that are 3 days away. They want planes. The Air Force has been slashed to the bones in order to divert more money/equipment/manning to the Army.

[itsrobert]

5. Why hasn't the Civil Reserve Air Fleet been activated?

Seems like the appropiate resources haven't been called up.