December 7, 2009
Alaska Guard transporting bicycles to Afghanistan
Guard and community members work together to help Afghan youth
KULIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Alaska - More than 20 disadvantaged
children in Afghanistan will get new bikes this month thanks to a
groupof Anchorage volunteers and an assist from the Alaska Air
NationalGuard.
The bicycles, together with parts and tools, were donated by the
Anchorage Community YMCA, The Bicycle Shop, Paramount Cycles, Chain
Reactions and REI, Inc. They were then refurbished by Off the Chain, a
non-profit, all-volunteer bicycle collective in Anchorage. Funded
purelythrough donations and grants, Off the Chain offers bicycle
education and maintenance to the community of Anchorage. Their
services are aimed at providing mobility to those whose only
transportation are their bikes and who cannot afford maintenance
elsewhere.
A group of Off the Chain volunteers came up with the idea of giving
bicycles to underprivileged Afghan children. The big obstacle was
getting them there. A couple of months ago, organizers approached Lt.
Col. David Glick, a pilot with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 144th
Airlift Squadron. The squadron routinely flies personnel, equipment
and supplies into the remote, war-torn country.
Chris Himes, a long-term Off the Chain volunteer, said “I can’t
imagineany other way it could have happened. It’s a perfect confluence
of interests and abilities … the Air Guard being on the way anyway
and being able to distribute the bikes, which we would never be able
to do.”
On Dec. 5, a group of Air Guard members arrived at Off the Chain with
a flatbed truck to pick up the bikes. On Dec. 8, Guard members at
Kulis Air National Guard Base, deploying to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, will load them onto a C-130 tactical
airliftplane for the three-day flight. Once there, they will be handed
over to a local U.S. military unit at Bagram Airfield for distribution
to Afghanchildren.
“With our Guardsmen rotating in and out of Afghanistan throughout the
holiday season, it was the perfect opportunity to support a worthy
causeand provide a little cheer for Afghan youth,” said Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus,
adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard.
Alaska Air Guardsman Master Sgt. Tess Walsh hands Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Martin a bicycle from the truck bed on December 5, 2009
Media: For more information or to request interviews, contact 1st Lt.
John Callahan at 306-8665 or Maj. Guy Hayes at 382-5189. Hi-res photos
are available for download via the web at www.176wg.ang.af.mil
<http://www.176wg.ang.af.mil> .