Photo By Greg L. Davis | A C-17A Globemaster III from the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,...... read more read more
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Eight members of 35th Combat Communications Squadron departed from Tinker Air Force Base, Sep. 13, to help ensure that Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, remains in communication with military commanders and Hurricane Irma relief efforts.
The more than 90-member Air Force Reserve squadron specializes in establishing independent communication capabilities for the military and humanitarian and disaster-relief missions worldwide.
“Whether it’s supporting combatant commanders or a humanitarian mission, this is what we do,” squadron Commander Lt. Col. Monte Buchanan said. “We provide communications where there is no communications. If we can see the sky, we can get it hooked up.”
Homestead, on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula near Miami, was pummeled by winds of at least 40 mph Monday as Irma moved northward across the state. Although downgraded to a tropical storm Monday, the system was still capable of damaging winds and flooding rains.
The base is home to the Air Force Reserve Command’s 482nd Fighter Wing. The combat-ready wing flies F-16C fighters and includes more than 2,500 personnel. The Air Force Reserve has been dispatching personnel and supplies to Homestead since Monday to help in recovery efforts on and off base.
The 35th CBCS airmen departed their home base at Tinker AFB on a C-17 transport plane with 32,944 pounds of cargo and supplies on five oversize pallets. The cargo includes servers, radio equipment, power generation and other tools to connect to Department of Defense networks, voice communications and the internet.
The squadron is no stranger to Homestead. About 30 members participated in annual training there in June with other communications units. Buchanan said base leadership brought up the topic of the squadron potentially providing aid after a hurricane. “They started those discussions and we had our information gathering down there about what they would need in the event of a hurricane,” he said. “So we had a good idea of what they needed as we’re preparing to go back now.”
The 35th CBCS is part of the 960th Cyberspace Operations Group based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2017 20:09 |
| Story ID: | 248172 |
| Location: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 248 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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