Pictures from the Baton Rouge Airlift

As promised on the 5th of September, I sorted through my pictures and decided to post a few from the Airlift. I'll put a short description with each photo.



Here is our fearless leader (pilot) & our chariot of relief.



Some of the volunteers that purchased relief items and loaded the planes.



Our very loaded plane.



The Mississippi River and some ships. As you can see, shipping was affected somewhat.



We were only a part of the relief effort. Not all the planes shown were bringing in supplies, but a clear majority were involved. In the foreground is a friend of mine.



Civilian helicopters were also involved in the operation.



One of the incoming civilian jets. From what we were able to read, they were unloading MRE's (Meals Read to Eat) and other food products.



US Army BlackHawk helicopters.



More BlackHawks at that part of the airfield.



BlackHawk and Chinooks. These guys were flying all day long.



The same area later in the afternoon. Not many of them left.



One of the Chinooks leaving.



A surreal sky over Atlanta, GA upon our return from a hard day's work later that evening.


For all those that are complaining the Army isn't doing anything to help out down there. Shut the hell up & drag your sorry selves down there and pitch in. Those pilots were flying operations constantly all day long. We saw three separate helicopters, fully loaded, MEDEVAC survivors in to the airfield in a matter of 15 minutes. There is no way of telling how many missions were flown out of that field alone on that day.

While watching the news coverage the night we got back from the airlift, I couldn't help but notice how all these people were screaming at the TV cameras for help from the government, yet they won't lift a finger to bring any of it about. "You don't realize they just lost everything they ever had in that storm." Yeah, I do realize that. If my home was destroyed and I lost everything I ever had, I'd sure as heck be working to bring some order back to the area. I challenge you to actually watch what is going on while the cameras are rolling. These people are all sitting around outside with garbage all around them. Not one person was attempted to clean up the area that they were sleeping in. Mind you, this was not in their old neighborhoods or anything. This was just outside of the relief shelters. Did anyone else see the clip of the inside of the Louisiana Superdome, or whatever it was the people were staying in during the storm, after they were moved out? It looked like there had been a full blown riot & war in that place. I'm not going to get into all that. I wanted to put out these pictures. I encourage you to listen with a cunning ear when these people start complaining, though.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. If you'd like to get involved in relief operations or make donations, you can contact the Red Cross, Angel Flight, or any of the other great organizations helping out down there.


Crispy