Passengers of the DC-10 military chartered flight de-boarded on the Travis Air Force Base, Calif., flightline early morning March 22, 2011. Operation Pacific Passage was launched in response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan March 11 and the subsequent tsunami that devastated the country and left multiple nuclear power plants damaged. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Michael Battles)

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Staff Sgt. Katie Speer, command chief executive for the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., carries a child off the military-chartered flight March 22, 2011. About 570 passengers arrived at Travis Air Force Base in support of Operation Pacific Passage. On March 17, the Office of the Secretary of Defense approved voluntary assisted departures to the United States for family members residing in Japan. The flights will continue for the foreseeable future to accommodate the needs of servicemember families. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Michael Battles)

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Passengers of the DC-10 military-chartered flight de-boarded on the Travis Air Force Base, Calif., flightline March 22 at about 6 a.m. Servicemembers, dependents and civil service employees voluntarily left Japan in efforts to assist and expedite recovery efforts in Japan by reducing the demand for food, water, fuel and electricity during this national emergency while hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens remain displaced. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Michael Battles)

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AFNORTH supports Operation Pacific Passage in California

Published March 22, 2011
By Angela Pope
AFNORTH Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Five Air Forces Northern staff members deployed to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., March 22 to support the voluntary return of military family members from Japan to the U.S., now known as Operation Pacific Passage.

A representative from AFNORTH's personnel, logistics and communications directorates, along with a staff judge advocate and a public affairs officer were requested to support U.S. Army North's defense coordinating officer in charge of the Joint Reception Coordination Center now active at Travis AFB.

"The DCO has command and control responsibility over the entire JRCC," said Al Bennett, A4 representative for AFNORTH's crisis action team. "With the amount of moving parts in operations like this, the DCO needs a staff to of subject matter experts help him execute that task."

The JRCC is responsible for processing the military dependents through the airport and assisting them as they transition to their next location, be it locally or across the country. Dependents transitioning through the JRCC have access to financial support, medical aid, veterinarian assistance for their pets and transportation to one of the local airports, among other services.

AFNORTH's representatives will offer their knowledge as subject matter experts and will also serve in any capacity necessary to help the DCO smoothly run the JRCC.

The subject matter experts will remain on station until all the family members who request assistance have arrived in the U.S. and their follow-on travel has been established.

So far, more than 570 people have arrived at and processed through Travis AFB's JRCC.

Operation Pacific Passage was launched in response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan March 11 and the subsequent tsunami that devastated the country and left multiple nuclear power plants damaged.