US C-5S STAGE OPERATIONS AT PAYA LEBAR AIR BASE

Two United States (US) C-5 Galaxy cargo planes loaded with maintenance equipment and Chinooks arrived in Singapore on 3 Jan.

The US is the first country to make use of our military base since Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean, announced the opening of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) air and naval bases as staging and logistics points for countries sending relief supplies to Indonesia.

With international aid moving rapidly into Indonesia, by far the most severely affected country, relief supplies and logistics have been jamming up the airport facilities at Aceh and Medan.

Mr Teo made the offer to Indonesia after he was informed that the airport facilities were overstretched.

The first US C-5 that touched down at Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) was an advance party carrying maintenance and support equipment for helicopters. These included a crane, maintenance stands and ground power units, among others.

The plane also brought along 13 US Marine Corps maintenance personnel responsible for reassembling and maintaining the two Chinooks that arrived later in a second US C-5.

The US is making use of PLAB as a staging operation base. Relief supplies will soon be delivered, and the Chinooks will airlift them to the tsunami-stricken parts of neighbouring Indonesia.

Master Sergeant (MSG) Matt Morgan (left), Chief of Air Mobility Command, finds Singapore an ideal location as staging and logistics points.

He said: "Look at where we are. Banda Aceh is less than an hour's flight from here. Indonesia is suffering the greatest and we are going to focus on getting things there."

"The ships are moving towards that direction, we are starting to build up our forces here and getting supplies in. Once we get that set up, we are ready to run our missions and send food and water where it's most needed."

Major (MAJ) Matthew Warren (left), Aircraft Commander, US Air Force C-5 Galaxy, agrees that Singapore's role is "very helpful" for the relief efforts.

He said: "I think there's going to be many staging bases around the Indian Ocean. It's such a large area, so the more bases you have, the faster you can get the relief supplies and distribute them to the region."

Working hand-in-hand to provide assistance in this Asian tsunami disaster, MSG Morgan feels that the cooperation now would forge an even closer relationship between the US and Singapore.

"I think we are all focused on the same goal here. These people need help and we need to get it there."

"I think what would come with this between the United States and Singapore is the glue that has bonded us together will become tighter and the friendship will continue to grow," he added.

The US C-5 is a nose-and-rear loader where cargo can be loaded and unloaded through the front and back. The US personnel, seen above, are unloading heavy equipment from the plane which has a 55-metre long cargo bay. The plane is about four times the size of a C-130 and can carry 120,000 pounds of cargo on average.

(Left) A Norwegian C-130 arrived at Paya Lebar Air Base with air force personnel in the early morning of 5 Jan. They will be loading up relief supplies from the International Red Cross and transport them to Indonesia.