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Youngstown Airmen load school bus bound for Haiti

  • Published
  • By Eric M. White
  • 910AW/PA
YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio --  Members of the 76th Aerial Port Squadron and Travel Management Office here loaded a school bus onto a C-5 Galaxy aircraft from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, May 24.

The school bus, donated by Ohio-based charity Hope for Haiti's Children, is being transported to Haiti via the Denton program which allows U.S. based non-governmental sources to transport humanitarian aid at little or no cost to the donor.
 
The humanitarian cargo is flown on space available flights also provides valuable training for Air Force personnel.

Loading the bus onto the C-5 required a custom-built ramp system, manufactured and assembled by the 76th APS. The ramp of blocks and boards helped ease the angle at which the bus was driven onto the aircraft, ensuring the aircraft was not damaged, according to Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Massie, 76th APS superintendent.

"These missions help our Airmen get real-world training they can use in deployed environments," said Massie.

Hope for Haiti's Children plan to use the bus to transport Haitian children to school. Without proper bussing, children accepted into secondary school are often forced to walk long distances, or their parents must make great sacrifices to arrange travel. The bus should help alleviate some of these needs.

Since 2007, the 76th APS has helped transport almost 650,000 pounds of humanitarian cargo via the Denton program.