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Nepal Earthquake: American Green Berets Reassigned to Help With Rescue

The two 12-man teams, expert in high-altitude and medical training, are expected to join in the search and rescue missions around Everest Base Camp.
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/ Source: NBC News

Two teams of American Green Berets already in Nepal for a military training mission have been reassigned to help with earthquake rescue efforts.

The two 12-man teams, expert in high-altitude and medical training, are expected to join in the search and rescue missions in the area around Everest Base Camp. The teams were in Nepal for a joint training mission with the military of Nepal.

Two Air Force C-17 cargo planes, carrying disaster relief teams and search-and-rescue equipment, are already on the way to Nepal and are expected to arrive in Kathmandu, the capital, on Monday night Eastern time.

The two planes are from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and March Air Force Base in Los Angeles and are carrying more than 100 rescue workers. There are six rescue dogs with each team.

A smaller U.S. military C-130 cargo plane, also on the ground in Nepal, has been assigned to stand by to help with medical evacuation of Americans if needed.

An additional U.S. military contingent, already in Nepal for joint disaster preparedness training, are helping coordinate relief and rescue efforts at Nepal’s emergency operations center.

Also Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States will commit $9 million more to earthquake relief, on top of an existing commitment of $1 million.

IN-DEPTH

— Jim Miklaszewski