Currently, There are 142 U.S. service members are currently involved in earthquake relief efforts in Nepal, according to U.S. Pacific Command.
That breaks down to 86 Marines, 38 soldiers and 18 airmen, PACOM spokesman Army Maj. David Eastburn told Military Times on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that as many as 500 U.S. troops could be part of relief efforts, but Eastburn could not verify that figure.
On Sunday, four Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys arrived in Nepal to deliver relief supplies being stored at the Kathmandu airport and elsewhere, Eastburn said. The Marine Corps has also sent three KC-130Js to refuel aircraft.
Marine Forces, Pacific has said the Ospreys are from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan. The KC-130Js are with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.
Additionally, an Air Force C-17 from Clark Air Base, in the Philippines, landed on Sunday in Kathmandu with one Marine Corps UH-1Y Huey helicopter, Eastburn said
Right now, Kathmandu airport is open to all aircraft smaller than C-17s as the Air Force makes sure that the C-17 that landed on Sunday did not damage the runway, Eastburn said.
“Kathmandu airport does not get aircraft the size of a C-17 loaded with a helicopter,” he said. “So the deal is that the government of Nepal would allow us to land the aircraft and then after we land the first aircraft, we needed to do an assessment of the runway to determine that there’s no damage to the runway and it can sustain more aircraft inbound. It was just a precautionary measure. There was no determined damage.”
Two more UH-1Y Huey helicopters are expected to be transported by C-17s to Nepal.
“The helicopters had been participating in the Balikatan exercise in the Philippines which has just concluded, and are being moved to Nepal from there,” said Air Force Col. David Honchul, a spokesman for Pacific Air Forces.
Prior to Sunday, two C-17s had landed at Kathmandu with rescue teams and cargo. One plane came from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, and the other took off from Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. A C-130H from Yokota, Japan, also helped fly a team of 20 service members to Nepal.
