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Artist: Senior Master Sgt. (ret.) Darby Perrin
Medium: Oil on masonite
Date: 2019
On 18 April 2019, a C-17 Globemaster III flown by members of the 89th Airlift Squadron, 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, touched down at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana. The aircrew taxied to a location adjacent to the 49th Aerial Port Squadron (APS). The 49 APS “Port Dawgs” expeditiously loaded the aircraft by maneuvering forklifts and K-loaders during a cold spring rain.
The cargo loaded was part of an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission that took place in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico from 25 April to 5 May 2019 in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The cargo delivered by Air Force Reservists helped medical personnel provide services to over 9,000 patients, including 2,000 pairs of eyeglasses and more than 10,000 medical procedures at six different sites throughout the island.
The IRT mission, a joint service program, provides real-world training opportunities for Reserve personnel that would otherwise be unavailable, and enables American communities in need of medical and engineering support to receive aid at no additional cost from Reserve components. IRT medical care typically include dentistry, optometry and behavioral health, and civil engineering projects, including construction and public works projects.