to support rescue and relief operations in new orleans, the air national guard used naval air station joint reserve base new orleans, in belle chasse, louisiana, on the mississippi river's west bank. within five hours of its orders, the 136th airlift wing of the texas air national guard deployed 41 air national guardsmen to belle chasse. less than 24 hours later, a c-130h landed at the air station with members of the louisiana air national guard's 159th fighter wing. soon more aircraft arrived, delivering troops and supplies for new orleans; offloaded pallets were stacked 10 deep on the aircraft parking ramp. instead of heading into the flooded city, the 136th team remained at belle chasse and, within 36 hours of arriving, it established a fully functioning air terminal operations center and was keeping pace with the demanding mission schedule. that aerial port team, augmented by u.s. navy cargo handlers and members of the 133d aerial port squadron, 133d airlift wing of the minnesota air national guard, handled over 124 missions with 1.5 million pounds of cargo and 974 passengers in one day. as one of its most crucial tasks, the texas squadron downloaded the german pump system used to drain the city of new orleans because its own pumps were inundated. it also uploaded two kc-135s with 140 kennels filled with rescued dogs bound for adoption in arizona.