Orphan Grain Train - International Efforts

Maxwell reservists fly humanitarian goods to Russia

(This article appears as it first did in July 1996)

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) July 1996 -- Hospital patients in St. Petersburg, Russia, will sleep easier thanks to Maxwell's 908th Airlift Wing and the Denton Amendment program that provides U.S.-run humanitarian assistance.

A C-130 from the Air Force Reserve unit will leave Maxwell July 15 and fly to Syracuse, N.Y., to pick up a planeload of beds, tables, cribs and bedding donated by the Orphan Grain Train, based in Norfolk, Neb. The aircrew will leave for Russia July 17 and is slated to return to Maxwell July 22.

"Our organization primarily ships grain to other countries, but when we saw how much the Russian hospitals needed, we decided to step in and help," said Clayton Andrews of the Orphan Grain Train.

The Reserve plane will be the first military C-130 to fly into Russia for the Denton program, said Heidi Meyer, director of Joint Relief International. "The 908th has gone above and beyond in taking on this mission. It has been a lot of work, but the results will be worth it."

The Denton program is named for former Sen. Jeremiah Denton, an Alabama Republican and former prisoner of war in North Vietnam. In 1985, Denton helped push through an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The amendment permitted the Air Force - working with the Defense Department and the Agency for International Development - to transport, without charge and when space was available, supplies donated by non-governmental sources and intended for humanitarian assistance in Central America. In 1986, the plan was expanded to the rest of the world.

Air Force crews, like those in the 908th AW, transport the cargo to needy charities around the world as part of their regular mission and training routines. The 908th AW regularly flies humanitarian missions and recently returned from delivering medical supplies to Slovakia. (AFRES News Service from a 908th AW news release)

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