76th APS Airmen load supplies bound for Guatemala Published Feb. 4, 2013 By Tech. Sgt. Valerie Smock 910AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- The 76th Aerial Port Squadron (APS) helped add another chapter to the story of love during the February Unit Training Assembly here. The story is the Mission of Love and the chapter is another shipment of cargo sent to a place in need. The non-profit Mission of Love Foundation was established in 1989 by founder, director and Youngstown local, Kathleen Price. The organization provides humanitarian aid to those in need worldwide and provides basic human rights to the children who have none, according to the Mission of Love Foundation. Airmen with 76th APS have been a part of the mission in the past. They have helped build pallets of supplies and sent them to different countries. "We loaded a C-5 last summer for the Denton Program," said Technical Sgt. Brian E. Mitchell, an air transportation craftsman with 76th APS. "We're loading, you know, whatever. You don't think about it. Then [Kathy Price] kept thanking us. It makes you think, it meant a lot to her so it must be a good cause." This time around the items were the second half of items, which included surgical supplies, delivered to Guatemala in December. The cargo on the second trip included corn, which will be used to help feed families, and a school bus. Some Mission of Love volunteers bought a bus from Poland schools in Ohio and donated it. The bus will be used for Mayan children who are orphans, blind, deaf, homeless or sick and in need of an education. Service members from Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, provided the C-17 aircraft to fly the supplies to Central America. The Airmen from Charleston and 76th APS worked together to load the aircraft, which included driving the bus onto the plane. Volunteers from the Mission of Love said seeing the Airmen put the bus onto the plane was interesting. They said it was impressive to see the task get completed. "The process was thought out well in advance to ensure everything went smoothly," said Technical Sgt. Keith L. Lenkner, an air transportation craftsman with 76th APS. "Our Airmen built a shoring system, which is basically a ramp to drive the bus into the plane. It's like a mathematical equation." Multiplication and division aside, the only part of the process that could have been better, according to many of the Airmen battling the snow while loading the aircraft, would have been the subtraction of snow and addition of warmer weather. However, to some people, the wintry conditions were just another day on the job. "The perk of the job is you get to work outdoors in all kinds of weather," said Master Sgt. Christopher Hornick, Air Transportation Craftsman non-commissioned officer in charge with 76th APS. To help out or become involved with the Mission of Love Foundation, check out the website: http://www.missionoflove.org.