CONTACT: Mr. Eric Durr, 518-786-4581, cell 429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Saturday, Jan 16, 2010

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA -- Airmen from the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing based at F.S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, Long Island arrived here Jan. 16 for a two week training deployment that began with a mission change. The 37 members of the wing's Civil Engineer Squadron, led by Maj. David Carrick, expected to support operations at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, providing upgrades and improvements to the infrastructure of the facility. Instead, the New York Air National Guard members are expected to provide engineering and logistical support to the naval station's base infrastructure for relief efforts to Operation Unified Response, the nation's rescue and relief mission following the devastating earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12. The naval station is serving as a hub for logistics and personnel bound into and out of Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response. The Airmen arrived on board a C-130 Hercules flown from a sister New York unit, the 107th Airlift Wing from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in Western New York and its seven crew members. The 107th Airlift Wing already has two aircraft supporting the Haiti relief efforts, flying missions into Port-au-Prince Airport with supplies and personnel. The 106th CES Airmen are expected to continue their work at Guantanamo Bay improving facilities for the staging of supplies through the end of their two week training

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