Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      An F-5 taxis on the flightline at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. Sept. 6, 2017. The aircraft arrived from Key West Naval Air Station, Fla. to avoid being in the path of Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Peek)Dobbins ARB provides hurricane evacuation support
                        
                        
                        An F-5 Tiger II taxis on the flightline at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. Sept. 6, 2017. The aircraft arrived from Key West Naval Air Station, Fla. to avoid being in the path of Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Air Force photo by Don Peek)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Evacuees retrieve their luggage from the flightline at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. Sept. 6, 2017. The aircraft carried civilian and contract Department of Defense personnel who were evacuated from the Caribbean in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Peek)Dobbins ARB provides hurricane evacuation support
                        
                        
                        Evacuees retrieve their luggage from the flightline at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. Sept. 6, 2017. The aircraft carried civilian and contract Defense Department personnel who were evacuated from the Caribbean in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Air Force photo by Don Peek)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Dobbins ARB provides hurricane evacuation supportPublished Sept. 8, 2017
                    
                    By Staff Sgt. Andrew Park
                    
                    
                    94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
            **DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) --**Late on the evening of Sept. 6, 2017, the first of several C-130 Super Hercules carrying evacuees landed at the Dobbins Air Reserve Base flight line. What began as a typical aircraft arrival scene with airfield managers guiding the planes in, became a bit more unique as Marine Corps aircrews offloaded suitcases of different shapes and colors and arranged them in rows on the flight line. Families exited the aircraft – some with children and pets – and made their way off the flight line, beginning the next leg of their long journey to safety.
Dobbins ARB served as a transportation hub for civilian and contract Defense Department personnel, who were evacuated from the Caribbean and flown here Sept. 6 and 7, to escape the path of Hurricane Irma.
“Once they arrived in the states, they needed somewhere to go to transit on to their next station, so that’s where the Air Force came in,” said Maj. Keith Callahan, 94th Logistics Readiness Squadron director of operations. “We were able to provide that transit hub for them.”
Callahan explained the evacuation process was a “total force initiative,” involving several branches to make the operation a success.
The Navy managed the overall logistics of moving these evacuees to a safe location, employing Marine Corps C-130s and its aircrew to fly the personnel and their belongings to Dobbins ARB. Members of the 94th LRS processed about 180 evacuees over the two-day evacuation. This process helped maintain accountability of the evacuees before they were transported to temporary lodging off base, he said.
The squadron also gained valuable experience in managing people and cargo they aren’t necessarily accustomed to. In normal operations, the 94th LRS typically processes adult passengers and the cargo required to perform the mission, whether it be a deployment or a temporary assignment. For the evacuation, however, they found themselves processing children and pets, which was a new experience, said Callahan.
In addition to receiving evacuees, the base also received aircraft from Florida bases in the path of the storm. These included F-5 Tiger II’s from Key West Naval Air Station, Florida; C-130 Hercules and HH-60 Pave Hawks from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida and Cessna aircraft from Jacksonville and Tampa.
Timing proved to be a major challenge for the evacuation. The spontaneous nature of natural disasters makes it difficult to anticipate exact numbers and timelines for transporting people and cargo.
“We really didn’t have any time to plan,” said Ryan Firth, an evacuee. “We thought we were going to be evacuated the day after, but no, thank God, we had the military show up.”
“These folks were given ten minutes’ notice,” Callahan said, regarding the evacuees’ experience leaving the Caribbean. “They thought they were going to Florida potentially and then they didn’t know where they were going. Same thing for the F-5s ... so the information is constantly changing. So that means we here at Dobbins (ARB) have to constantly react, and that’s where we have a great team here that is well trained. They know their jobs. They’ve been able to exercise it in the past. So now when it comes time, it’s very easy for them to use that training to adjust very quickly and to make the plan change to fit the new information.”
Ultimately, Dobbins ARB managed these challenges effectively as the evacuees were quickly processed and transported onward to locations where they will ride out the storm.
“Everybody’s training and everybody’s willingness, everybody’s desire to help folks who needed it – especially our brethren from other services – everybody jumped in and was willing to help and really made it happen,” said Callahan.Hurrican Irma 



Humanitarian 



Dobbins Air Reserve Base 



94th Airlift Wing 



KC-130 



Marine Corps 



Caribbean 



total force 



initiative 



evacuee Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil