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3/16/2011 - Members from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron download and upload new gear at Sendai Airport March 16. The crew brought water, food, fuel and other general supplies to the members of the 353rd Special Operations Group at Sendai for search and rescue missions. The 353rd Special Operations Group is establishing a usable runway at Sendai Airport to help with Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Steffen)

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3/16/2011 - Maj. Kerry Redman, 17th Special Operations Squadron, flies toward Sendai Airport to drop off supplies March 16. The crew brought water, food, fuel and other general supplies to the members of the 353rd Special Operations Group at Sendai for search and rescue missions. The 353rd Special Operations Group is establishing a usable runway at Sendai Airport to help with Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Steffen)

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3/16/2011 - Staff Sgt. Curtis Hornbeak, 17th Special Operations Squadron, reviews a flight operations guide prior to departing for Sendai Airport March 16. The crew brought water, food, fuel and other general supplies to the members of the 353rd Special Operations Group at Sendai for search and rescue missions. The 353rd Special Operations Group is establishing a usable runway at Sendai Airport to help with Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Steffen)

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3/16/2011 - Senior Airman Ramon Mortensen, 17th Special Operations Squadron, backs up a pallet of fuel at Sendai Airport March 16. The crew brought water, food, fuel and other general supplies to the members of the 353rd Special Operations Group at Sendai for search and rescue missions. The 353rd Special Operations Group is establishing a usable runway at Sendai Airport to help with Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Steffen)

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3/16/2011 - Senior Airman Ramon Mortensen, 17th Special Operations Squadron, communicates with pilot about start up procedures before heading out to Sendai Airport March 16. The crew brought water, food, fuel and other general supplies to the members of the 353rd Special Operations Group at Sendai for search and rescue missions. The 353rd Special Operations Group is establishing a usable runway at Sendai Airport to help with Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Steffen)

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An MC-130H Combat Talon II lands March 16, 2011, at Sendai Airport, Japan. This is the first fixed-wing aircraft to land at the airport since an earthquake and tsunami crippled much of the Japanese eastern seaboard March 11. A team of combat controllers from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, out of Kadena Air Base, Japan, along with Japanese emergency management organizations, cleared a section of the runway and re-established the control tower to direct flights in and out of the airfield. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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SENDAI AIRPORT, Japan -- Combat controllers from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron set up flightline markers to inform pilots of the useable space on the runway here March 16. Members of the 320th STS, stationed out of Kadena Air Base, deployed to Sendai Airport to help clear the runway and make it ready for fixed-wing aircraft traffic. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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SENDAI AIRPORT, Japan -- Staff Sgt. Chris Allen, 320th Special Tactics Squadron special operations weather team, checks the windspeed and temperature here March 16. Sudden snow and low visibility threatened to prevent aircraft from landing at the airfield. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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SENDAI AIRPORT, Japan -- Airmen unload supplies and a forklift from a MC-130H Combat Talon II here March 16. This is the first fixed-wing aircraft to land at the airport since an earthquake and tsunami crippled much of the Japanese eastern seaboard March 11. The opening of this runway to fixed-wing aircraft by combat controllers of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron and Japanese emergency management organizations provides a critical means of transporting fuel, equipment, food and other supplies to areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Tech. Sgt. Ray Decker, 320th Special Tactics Squadron, prepares his rucksack prior to boarding an MC-130P Combat Shadow here March 16. Members of the 320th STS, stationed out of Kadena Air Base, Japan, deployed to Sendai Airport to help clear the runway and make it ready for fixed-wing aircraft traffic. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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SENDAI AIRPORT, Japan -- A combat controller with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron marshals an MC-130H Combat Talon II after a successful landing here March 16. Members of the 320th STS, stationed out of Kadena Air Base, deployed to Sendai Airport to help clear the runway and make it ready for fixed-wing aircraft traffic. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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SENDAI AIRPORT, Japan -- A combat controller with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron marshals an MC-130H Combat Talon II after a successful landing here March 16. Members of the 320th STS, stationed out of Kadena Air Base, deployed to Sendai Airport to help clear the runway and make it ready for fixed-wing aircraft traffic. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)