TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The worst storm to hit Mozambique in three decades left hundreds dead, thousands displaced and many homes destroyed.
Cyclone Idai, a Category 2 storm, slammed into Mozambique March 15 and later struck Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Days later, two C-17 Globemaster III crews assigned to the 21st Airlift Squadron from Travis Air Force Base spent a week in Africa operating out of Djibouti, supporting relief efforts.
“We delivered 206,000 pounds of food, equipment and supplies,” said Airman 1st Class Doug Gerrity, 21st AS C-17 loadmaster, who was responsible for the safe loading and offloading of cargo on to the aircraft. “I take a lot of pride in supporting missions like this. It’s an incredibly good feeling to help people. Seeing all the damage on the ground and just how little people had when we flew in, that was pretty moving.”
Cyclone Idai caused widespread flooding and left entire villages submerged in water. The storm also claimed the lives of more than 800 people. This led to an international effort to ease the suffering. The teams from Travis supported the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which is leading the Department of Defense support to relief efforts in Mozambique, after a call for assistance came from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Disaster Assistance Response Team.
“A lot of bad things happen on the planet; war, disease famine, natural disaster, but we are all citizens of the world, we care and we are there to help,” said Lt. Col. Steven Nolan, 21st AS director of operations. “When disaster strikes, no matter where it is, the United States, Air Mobility Command, the U.S. Air Force and our Airmen are ready, willing and able to help.”
Capt. Kevin Walker, 21st AS executive officer and a C-17 pilot, was one of the aircraft commanders for the mission.
“My crew flew two relief missions and the other C-17 crew flew two more,” he said. “We loaded up our cargo in Djibouti, which was mostly food, flew to Mozambique, offloaded our cargo and flew back to Djibouti. From there, the other crew flew another mission to support relief efforts a few hours later.”
Helping people in need is very fulfilling, Walker said.
“You want to keep missions like this going and do all you can to help,” he said. “We want to do all we can to ensure the people of Mozambique get all they need so they are taken care of.”
While the people of Mozambique work to recover from Cyclone Idai, Gerrity said, he takes comfort in knowing he and his crewmates did their part.
“It was challenging at times, but we had a great team and I’m proud of what we accomplished,” he said. “I spoke to a resident of Mozambique while I was on the ground there and he said the people of Mozambique appreciated all the support we provided. Knowing that is pretty incredible.”