“We’re actually the prepping organization that prepared items for the flight over to Tabarre, Port-au-Prince, Haiti,” said Markus Williams, 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron transportation manager.
Through the Denton Program, the squadron is a port for non-profit organizations to bring their cargo to be loaded and placed on the aircraft for it to be transported.
“We’re the loading and processing entity, and Joint Base Charleston is the focal point for the program itself,” said Williams.
The Denton Program, based out of Joint Base Charleston, coordinates with non-profit organizations throughout the United States to deliver supplies to different destinations, by using any additional space on aircraft.
“Most of the cargo we handle either goes straight to Joint Base Charleston for forward transport, or it goes straight to the intended destination from our area,” said Williams.
The cargo, consisting of mainly rice, weighed more than 100, 056 pounds.
“There are several different non-profit organizations who use this program throughout this region,” said Williams.
Some non-profit locations the program currently works with in this region include Indianapolis, Indiana, Cincinnati, Columbus and as far east as Pennsylvania and south as Kentucky. Organization donations can range anywhere from food items to fire trucks.
To join the Denton Program, each non-profit organization must first contact Joint Base Charleston and has to meet certain criteria to qualify.
“Once qualified, Joint Base Charleston and the donating organization generates the paperwork and forward it to use at Wright-Patterson,” said Williams. “We then receive the cargo, palletize it, prep it, plan it, then Charleston schedules an aircraft to pick up that cargo for that specific mission.”
To date, the 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron has assisted in three humanitarian cargo missions. Typically, they average four to five missions a year.
“It’s good to be able to help out when needed, to be able to support the program in such a manner and just to see the fruits of our labor, as far as when that plane lands that some good is being done for others,” said Williams.
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