The Internal Administration Committee members of the Legislative Yuan visited the National Airborne Service Corps. MOI (NASC) Taichung Station on June 20 in order to gain an insight into the current situation of airborne duties, and aircraft maintenance and repairs. The members applauded the NASC’s undertaking tasks through thick and thin despite the harsh terrain and climate and spoke encouragingly to the employees for their hard work.
The Internal Administration Committee convenor Tang Hui-Jen, legislator Luo Mei-Ling, legislator Wang Mei-Hui, legislators’ aides, etc. accompanied by Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen, visited the Second Squad of NASC stationed in Taichung Qingquangang to inspect duties performed. After receiving a short briefing, they immediately went to the transit shed to find out about aircraft maintenance and repair strategies and momentum. As for the NASC, its main responsibilities include planning and executing various airborne duties and supporting such important duties as sea, land, and air disaster relief, rescue, and first aid. Additionally, difficult tasks are often executed during poor weather or in mountains and seas that are inaccessible. Over the past 18 years, the NASC has admirably deployed more than 27,000 aircrafts to rescue 7,660 people out of danger.
Chen Tsung-yen emphasized that the NASC usually receives tasks during bad weather, sometimes noncompliant with the standards for duty. However, the mission crew continued to monitor the weather conditions and launch search and rescue choppers as soon as the standards for duty were met. The people were successfully rescued by means of suspension and transport, and the processes were alarmingly dangerous. In particular, with the recent pandemic situation, the crew members on the rescue and first aid front line are prone to higher risks. Hence, proper protective measures must be taken before being out on duty.
Lastly, NASC squad leader Jing Ting-Yuan specially extended gratitude to the legislators for their great kindness to the NASC and the opportunity for the commissioners to gain a substantial understanding of NASC’s mission types and operations. He also thanked the commissioners for their support, whether in terms of budget or business promotions. Squad leader Jing said that airborne missions are about racing with speed and time, as every second counts. Life is priceless, and a life can influence a family. The five tasks NASC is in charge of are government funded, which come from the people’s hard-earned tax dollars. Therefore, the money must not go to waste and should be used only wherever needed and saved whenever possible. In the future, the NASC shall continue to abide by the highest guiding principle of “flight safety”, thereby continuing to make improvements and render efforts.