USAID DART: Alaska SmokeJumpers Deploying to Liberia Ebola Crisis

Based on today's SmokeJumper status report a Bureau of Land Management SmokeJumper unit is taking part in a DART USAID Ebola response in Liberia (see image below)

The CONOPS of the response is not explained, but one might assume that aircraft J-17 fits a flight need in remote Liberia, or even that SmokeJumper medics may vertically insert into remote parts of Liberia. One thing seems sure though, the deployment increases the return risk of Ebola to Alaska.

Aircraft J-17

Sources:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:x2ftyCjQ1YsJ:www.nifc.gov/smokejumper/reports/smjrpt.php+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)