COLUMBUS – Ohio National Guard troops are headed for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, bringing everything — including the kitchen sink.
(Pictured above: The 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, responds to Hurricane Maria relief efforts Sept. 29, providing airlift support relief efforts in the Virgin Islands. – Ohio Natl. Guard)
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The 179th Airlift Wing, based in Mansfield, and the 178th Wing, from Springfield, on Wednesday will send a C-130H Hercules aircraft loaded with a Disaster Relief Mobile Kitchen Trailer and airmen from both units to support relief efforts in the island territory, said 1st Lt. Paul Stennett, public affairs officer for the 179th.
The disaster relief kitchen trailer is designed to react quickly to contingency disasters, supporting virtually any field-feeding scenario, from quickly prepared boil-in-the-bag meals to restaurant-quality meals for up to 1,000 people in under 90 minutes, Stennet said.
“Food cooked and served rapidly to the needy and hungry is morale-boosting and a key logistical component of any first response,” he said.
Airmen from both units will use the extremely flexible DRMKT, which Puerto Rico to prepare for the deployment of the units’ remaining Soldiers,
About 30 soldiers from the 285th Area Support Medical Company, based in Columbus, and the Newark-based 137th Signal Company departed from Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base Tuesday, said Ohio National Guard spokeswoman Stephanie Beougher.
The medical company is capable of providing medical support such as trauma health care, preventive medicine consultation, optometry support, mental health consultation and evacuation of patients while the signals unit provides mobile satellite communication, telephone, internet and video conferencing, and information technology services, Beougher said.
Other Ohio units have been sent to assist with recovery efforts in other locations.