Yes, We Said 80 Tons of Tuna

In Pakistan, Air Mobility Command’s 818th Contingency Response Group has been hard at work offloading humanitarian aid for victims of the earthquake that shook the region earlier this month. On Oct. 21, however, the unit faced a different kind of challenge—offloading a Russian-made Antonov 225 with 80 tons of tuna and 35,000 blankets sent from Ukraine. “They open the door and you see 170 metric tons of humanitarian aid strapped to the bare floor,” said 818th CRG Commander Col. Richard Walberg. “I’ve been moving cargo for [a] quarter of a century, and I have never seen anything like that.” The Russians said loading the stuff required 24 hours. Moving the pallet-less cargo was a challenge, but, after about four hours of work, the load was on its way.