{"id":208394,"date":"2015-08-19T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T20:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=208394"},"modified":"2015-08-19T06:00:47","modified_gmt":"2015-08-18T20:00:47","slug":"saipan-airman-aids-native-island-in-typhoon-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/saipan-airman-aids-native-island-in-typhoon-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Saipan airman aids native island in typhoon recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam<\/strong>\u2014When Typhoon Soudelor struck the small island of Saipan recently, the tropical storm likely was a side note of the daily news headlines for many Americans.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-208394 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/saipan-airman-aids-native-island-in-typhoon-recovery\/36th-arg-assists-in-typhoon-recovery\/'>36th ARG assists in typhoon recovery<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-208395'>\n\t\t\t\tSenior Airman Louie Lascina, a native of Saipan, stages cases of water to be distributed to island residents as part of Typhoon Soudelor relief efforts. \n(U.S. NAVY\/MC3 KRISTINA D. MARSHALL)\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/saipan-airman-aids-native-island-in-typhoon-recovery\/36th-arg-assists-in-typhoon-recovery-2\/'>36th ARG assists in typhoon recovery<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-208396'>\n\t\t\t\tUnited States Air Force airmen unload a cargo plane full of supplies to be distributed to residents of Saipan.          (U.S. NAVY\/MC3 KRISTINA D. MARSHALL)\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/saipan-airman-aids-native-island-in-typhoon-recovery\/36th-arg-assists-in-typhoon-recovery-3\/'>36th ARG assists in typhoon recovery<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-208397'>\n\t\t\t\tMaster Sgt. Michael Sibley directs Staff Sgt. Josh Foley as he loads cases of water onto a truck to be distributed to residents of Saipan. \n(U.S. NAVY\/MC3 KRISTINA D. MARSHALL)\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>For one of Andersen Air Force Base\u2019s own, however, the storm literally hit close to home.<\/p>\n<p>Senior Airman Louie Lacsina, 36th Mobility Response Group air transportation specialist and Saipan native, deployed along with five 36th Contingency Response Group wingmen to assist ongoing relief efforts on his home island.<\/p>\n<p>Arriving Aug. 9 aboard an MH-60S Knighthawk of the U.S. Navy\u2019s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25, the Airman said he was shocked by the devastation left behind by the storm.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of island residents, including several friends, lost their homes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a returning former resident, some places are just not recognizable anymore,\u201d he recalled his initial impression of the damage. \u201cWhat looked like paradise just got flattened. Most of my family is fine and their houses are OK, but they are missing power and water and went without a good clean shower for a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the absence of electricity, Lacsina said many have to leave their windows open at night, which allows mosquitoes and other bothersome bugs to enter. Some friends completely lost the roofs of their houses. Meanwhile, electricity and water will take a while to be fully restored, Lacsina said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne family I know currently lives together in a single room, the only one with a functioning roof,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty bad and sad to see, but I\u2019m also glad that I\u2019m here and able to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As an aerial porter tasked with unloading equipment and supplies from aircraft, Lacsina is one of a select few Airmen chosen to serve as a rapid-response force to combat operations and humanitarian emergencies. Together with highly skilled security forces, engineering and medical specialists, they make up a team that is tailored for disaster relief\u2014ready to go anywhere in the world to establish airfield and base operations. Earlier this year, Lacsina and his wingmen rushed to support international earthquake recovery efforts in Nepal, where his team unloaded more than 200 aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the contingency response group, we go wherever help is needed\u2014with as little as a 12-hour notice,\u201d he said. \u201cAs an air transportation specialist, my job for the CRG is to provide transportation support and forklift loader support to aircraft to unload cargo and move it to its staging positions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Together with units from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the teams provided two Tunner 60K Aircraft Cargo Loaders, which provide high-lift support to reach aircraft that the local airport can\u2019t reach, and military-grade, adverse-terrain forklifts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurrently the airport here has only one forklift in operation and it\u2019s much smaller than what is needed for these jobs, so we brought two large forklifts capable of loading 10,000 pounds each,\u201d Lascina said. \u201cWe bring these AT forklifts on missions like this because we don\u2019t know what we\u2019re going to encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before becoming an airman, Lacsina grew up between palms and the waves of the West Pacific and calls the Saipan villages of San Antonio and Chalan Kiya home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI grew up outdoors, by the beach, sheltered by distance from the outside world,\u201d he recalled. \u201cSaipan is a great place to grow up on. A lot of people call it paradise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen typhoons hit when I was young, it was a pretty exciting and scary time,\u201d he continued. \u201cAs an adult, I see how painful they can be for a small island like Saipan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Deciding whether or not to join the Air Force after high school was an easy decision, Lacsina said. A curiosity for the world urged the young student to look for opportunities beyond the small U.S. commonwealth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really was a group effort between my friends and me,\u201d he said. \u201cWe could either try to work our way through and potentially never leave the island, or join the military to gain experiences. We eventually decided together that we\u2019d join the military.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So far, military assignments took Lacsina across the globe to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Yokota Air Base, Japan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Joining the military] has really paid off for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI got to experience different things and went to different places in the world as part of my job. Growing up, I\u2019d never have thought I\u2019d eventually work with aircraft and now I work with different aircraft and different nations. It\u2019s a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While his immediate family now lives in Hawaii, aunts and uncles still reside on Saipan. Lacsina surprised them with his arrival to lighten the mood after the storm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing stationed [in] Guam, I do have the opportunity to go back occasionally, but the most recent one isn\u2019t the way I wanted it to be,\u201d Lacsina said. \u201cThey were pretty happy to see me and knowing that I\u2019m with the military also gave them the reassurance that there is a U.S. presence helping out on island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the Saipan recovery team, Lacsina\u2019s knowledge of the island infrastructure and its people has been a real mission asset, said Master Sgt. Corey Long, contingency response team chief with the 36th CRG.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving a Saipan native on the team is awesome,\u201d Long said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a local language barrier or directions, he\u2019s instrumental in that he knows the area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even if the airfield staff could unload all arriving supplies, local teams would get backlogged because they\u2019d have to individually load things onto trucks, Long continued, making Lacsina an essential part of the team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe enable the crews to get supplies off the airplane, onto trucks and directly to the people who urgently need this help,\u201d he said. \u201cThe forklift driver is the key in this operation. Without his expertise these operations would stall or delay emergency aid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLascina is highly proficient in his job,\u201d Long continued. \u201cHis job experience shows and what would take a new guy two hours, he gets done in a fraction of the time. That counts when we try to get essential aid to the people who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the foreseeable future, the teams have their work cut out for them as many residents are still living without electricity and potable water.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is so much more to do,\u201d he said. \u201cSo much rebuilding remains to be done around the island. It\u2019s good to at least be home and help out. I joined the U.S. to help my country as a whole, but there is nothing better than coming home to do this. It\u2019s a good feeling.\u201d (With Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam\u2014When Typhoon Soudelor struck the small island of Saipan recently, the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":208395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6529,200,67,6589],"class_list":["post-208394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-crg","tag-military","tag-people","tag-yokota-air-base"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}