Dover Air Force Base supports Haiti relief

DAFB is actively working to support relief operations in Haiti after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation Tuesday.

Dover Air Force Base is participating in the earthquake relief effort for Haiti, but exactly what role the nation’s biggest aerial port will play is not clear at this time.

An empty C-17 cargo plane left Dover early Thursday morning to pick up  supplies at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, according to DAFB officials.

“We don’t know what supplies they’re picking up, but we know that they’re humanitarian relief supplies and then they’re heading down to Haiti,” said Lt. Adam Gregory, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs.

President Barack Obama said Thursday the U.S. government is making an initial investment of $100 million, “one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history.”

More aircraft are standing by in Dover, but it’s not known when they will be utilized, or if they’ll leave with supplies or pick up supplies elsewhere.

“We think there will be some supplies here, but we really don’t have the information on that yet,” Gregory said. “We’re continually trained for this sort of thing, and so our men and women are prepared to bring these relief supplies to the people of Haiti right now.”

It’s also not yet known if DAFB aircraft will also be involved in the transportation of rescue personnel and evacuees.