Richland Parish Congressman Ralph Abraham is taking to the skies and flying Harvey missions with the US Air Force.

Abraham is a major in the Air Force Auxiliary and says his assignment began Thursday. He says he flew over Beaumont and Port Arthur.

“Just looking for people in distress, structures that have gone underwater, anything out of the ordinary and anything unusual, and as we know with Hurricane Harvey, there are many things out of kilter right now,” Abraham said.

Abraham says flying these missions is his small way of giving back. He says that’s what we do in the Bayou State, which is why he is so proud to be a Louisianan.

“Anytime our neighbors either right next door or other neighboring states need us, we’re there, and Louisiana has a big heart. We are all about giving back,” Abraham said.

Abraham got practice flying this kind of operation during last year’s floods in Louisiana. He says it’s unclear how long these missions will be necessary. He says it depends on what they find and who requests certain air assets and follow-up groundwork.

“It’s a work in progress. Every day is a little bit different as to who needs us and where we need to go. So we’re just on standby today waiting for some tasks,” Abraham said.

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