An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

910th Airmen load school bus bound for Haiti, receive valuable training

  • Published
  • By Eric M. White
  • 910AW/PA
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, Friday, May 24.

The school bus, donated by Ohio-based charity Hope for Haiti's Children, is being transported to Haiti via the Denton program. According to their website, "the Denton program 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, providing valuable training to Air Force personnel.

Loading the bus onto the C-5 required a custom-built ramp system, provided by the charity organization. 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, superintendent of the 76th Aerial Port Squadron.

"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 school children to their classes. 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 Aerial Port Squadron has helped transport almost 650,000 lbs of humanitarian cargo via the Denton program.