Mission arduous but rewarding

By Cpl Simone Liebelt - filed 24 January 2005

A crew member on the first B707 assistance flight to arrive in Indonesia after the tsunami catastrophe has described the mission as arduous but rewarding.

Warrant Officer Darrell Bent, a loadmaster from No. 33 Squadron, was called into work two days after the tsunami disaster, having volunteered his assistance on hearing news of the disaster.

"I believe that any task providing humanitarian assistance is extremely rewarding and this operation was no different," WOFF Bent said. "The long days and often hard work become insignificant when you can see that your efforts are contributing to a needy cause."

The B707 passenger aircraft departed RAAF Base Richmond on December 29, loaded with 37,000 pounds of cargo, including four pallets of emergency medical supplies and two pallets of humanitarian aid packages. It carried 15 crew and 28 medical disaster relief specialists, including doctors, surgeons, nurses and rescue experts from various agencies around Australia.

WOFF Bent recalled the scene as the aircraft flew over the coastal fringes of Banda Aceh on arrival in the devastated region.

"On our approach to the airport it was only too evident the dramatic impact the tsunami had made. What had apparently been a heavily inhabited coastal town now resembled a vast expanse of land clearing, with many isolated land pockets surrounded by muddy waters," he said.

"The huge number of people who had apparently lost their life as a result of the tsunami to me was staggering. The fact that the vast majority of victims were local villagers living quiet and passive lifestyles was also hard to put into perspective."

With little assistance available on arrival, the B707 crew manually unloaded the supplies, using only a small forklift and cage. WOFF Bent said each item was lowered to the ground by the forklift cage or a cargo strap, or carefully thrown on to foam mattresses placed on the tarmac.

"The aircraft crew formed a human chain inside the aircraft to the open cargo door and our highly trained passengers didn't hesitate to offer their assistance by forming another chain to pass the medical supplies from the unloading point along to the grassed verge of the tarmac," he said.

After unloading supplies, the crew was then asked to fly displaced people to Halim, Jakarta. After liaison with a local interpreter and a RAAF doctor, 66 people - many of them children - boarded the aircraft for the flight. Another 68 passengers were carried the following day.

"On arriving back in Jakarta, nearly every one of our passengers stopped to shake the hands of the crew as they were leaving the aircraft. Their display of gratitude was quite a humbling experience for the entire crew," WOFF Bent said.

He had nothing but praise for the crew, who performed physically demanding tasks in hot and humid conditions without complaint.

"It has been many years since I have witnessed the crew cohesion shown during the loading/unloading in Halim and Banda Aceh," he said. "Every member of the crew, irrespective of rank and role, was eager to provide assistance, and worked closely to ensure the cargo was efficiently offloaded and the displaced locals were moved with minimum fuss and delay."

A RAAF B707 is continuing to assist with the relief operation by conducting flights between Australia and the air base at Butterworth, Malaysia, on a required basis.