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Aerial porters help NASA move cargo to Costa Rica

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kat Bailey
  • 433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Getting people and cargo out of this world is the specialty of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Getting them around the world is the job of aerial port professionals here.

Earlier this year when NASA needed to move essential scientific research equipment from Houston to Costa Rica, it sent a request to the 433rd Airlift Control Element asking for aircraft and personnel support, including aerial porters.

“Aerial porters directly support the ALCE,” said Senior Master Sgt. Robert Pacheco, who returned from a four-day mission to Costa Rica July 1.

“They prepare the cargo, all the load plans and all the documents for that load, especially when you have hazardous materials,” said the NCO in charge of the 74th Aerial Port Squadron’s special handling section. “Anything with a battery or gas, flammable liquids, oxidizers – they all have to be packaged a certain way and loaded in a certain place in the aircraft.”

The Air Force Reserve Command squadron sent a rapid reaction team to Houston to look at what was required and to help put scientific equipment on pallets.

“We had to know all those little details ahead of time so we could create a load plan,” said Senior Master Sgt. Ross Suniga, NCO in charge of the air terminal operations center. “We also had to know what type of mission the equipment was going on.”

The data gathered by NASA during this particular task – high-altitude ozone testing – would support critical research for developing the international green zone agreement designed to protect Central America’s environment.

Because it was a scientific mission to a foreign country, the 74th APS people had to deal with the Costa Rican customs agency and any diplomatic sensitivities.

“All the paperwork had to be filled out correctly and then filed with appropriate office before we could begin operations,” said Staff Sgt. Freddie Kondoff, a squadron special handler.

“The Costa Rican government was very particular about trying to keep its environment safe,” added Sergeant Pacheco. “They don’t have the processors that we do in the U.S. so any extra fuel or waste had to be brought back with us. We also had to have the proper personal documentation, which included official U.S. government passports in addition to our civilian ones.”

Sergeant Pacheco said everything went as planned, but the aerial porters were surprised when the U.S. ambassador invited them to a reception to meet government officials in the area.

“We were thrust into the spotlight as representatives of the U.S. Air Force,” he said. “They didn’t know we are reservists or even the difference between the Reserve and active-duty.”

Squadron members will return to Costa Rica in late July to pick up equipment and return it to Houston.

Under the Total Force policy, the 74th APS and 43 other Air Force Reserve aerial port units augments Air Mobility Command in passenger and cargo processing and in loading procedures on military and commercial aircraft.