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HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- Fifteen Utah men and women from Hill Air Force Base are on the way to Haiti Friday morning to help in the relief effort there.
Col. Walter Sams, commander of the 419th fighter wing, briefed the reservists and the media embedded with them.
"You are being deployed to save lives," Sams told them. "This is a vital mission, and we are proud of you."
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Haiti relocating homeless, port repairs needed
Haitians are fleeing their quake-ravaged capital by the hundreds of thousands, aid officials said Friday.Their deployment is expected last about 45 days. Their main duties will be to secure the airport in Port-au-Prince, and unload cargo, supplies and passengers from planes landing at the airport.
"There's a lot of chaos on airfields like this, with so many aircraft coming and going often," Sams told KSL. "It's their job to create order out of that chaos."
The aerial port squadron is taking medical and dental supplies with it on Friday's flight, as well. The plane is expected to carry back equipment and people to the United States, depending on what is needed once they arrive.
They are expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince Friday afternoon.
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KSL Newsradio's Mary Richards and KSL 5's Alex Cabrero are going with the 419th and will continue to report on what they see.
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E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
