MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The vehicle operators assigned to the 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, needed all hands on deck when Hurricane Maria targeted the Caribbean.
On Sept. 20, 2017 at 6:15 a.m., Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico with sustained winds of 155 mph, which was only two miles per hour shy of becoming a Category 5.
It was the most powerful hurricane to hit Puerto Rico since 1932.
“When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, we had to move to 24 hour operations to accommodate the workload,” said Master Sgt. Joshua Lenz, the NCO in charge of the Vehicle Operations Element assigned to the 6th LRS.
Under normal conditions, vehicle operators only work five days a week and are on standby between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
However, that all changed due to Maria.
“I was really impressed with how our team responded to the hurricane,” said Lenz. “Most of us were working weekends, seven, eight or nine days straight on ten hour shifts.”
MacDill acted as the main hub for a lot of air crews before transiting out to Puerto Rico, as well as the first base for people trying to escape Hurricane Maria.
“It was my first time helping out with a hurricane relief effort,” said Staff Sgt. Dayton Moku, the NCO in charge of Documented Cargo assigned to the 6th LRS.
“When I came in on that first Saturday (Sept. 23), it was still a bit hectic,” said Moku. “Air crews were coming in every 15 minutes for a few hours straight and it would slow down for maybe an hour and then it would pick right back up again, and that pace lasted for several days.”
As a part of their responsibilities, the vehicle operators worked with the 45th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron to transport evacuees.
“As of now, there have been 129 people medically evacuated from the Caribbean,” said Lenz.
Additionally, the Vehicle Operations team transported supplies to the flightline to be moved by transient air crews to Puerto Rico.
“Most of the supplies were necessities such as medical supplies, but we also sent food, water and generators,” said Lenz.
Overall, the 6th LRS transported 249,636 pounds of cargo and 2,034 air crew members on 107 requests in support of the Hurricane Maria relief effort.
Even now, the 6th LRS is still playing a key role in the relief effort.
“We were ready for this,” said Moku confidently. “We all kept a cool, level head about the workload and just treated it like any other busy work day.”