– Reuters – The USS George Washington and HMS Daring are on their way to the Philippines to assist.

– US Naval War College Review – In September 1994, the Caribbean nation of Haiti burst into political unrest that drove twenty-six thousand migrants out to sea on board overcrowded and unseaworthy craft in an unprecedented mass migration to the United States. Several months later, over thirty thousand Cubans followed suit, attempting to reach the mainland on literally anything that could float. On 31 August 2005, a “weapon of mass destruction” in the form of a category-five hurricane exploded in the Gulf coast city of New Orleans, killing over 1,300 citizens and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands. Finally, on 20 April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon exploratory oil rig exploded, heralding an unprecedented environmental disaster whose final impact has yet to be determined. What these events shared, with their catastrophic nature and international impact, was a link to the sea. Although vastly different in cause, circumstances, and scope—ranging as they did from a man-made political event to recovery from the wrath of nature—these crises all saw a significant application of sea power in reaction and recovery operations.

– US Naval War College Review – Foreign humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief (FHA/DR) operations are some of the most complicated operations conducted by the military. These missions constitute a core Navy mission; their planning and execution differ from those of a kinetic military campaign, but addressing the key principles early will enable the successful execution. The following lessons learned are based on the author’s experiences over the past two years conducting five FHA/DR operations in the western Pacific.

– Washington Post – General Anthony Zinni says that “No one argues that planning for wars makes them more likely. Yet this seems to be the underlying reason for the military’s allergy to planning for civilian protection. U.S. armed forces should start treating civilian protection missions as seriously as they take wars. It’s only prudent to study mass-atrocity response operations, plan for them and, perhaps most important, conduct exercises with the civilian leaders who would make decisions about potential interventions.”

– Associated Press – U.S. Marines were aboard the USS Iwo Jima in the Carribean Friday preparing to help take relief supplies to Haiti, as Hurricane Tomas battered the small, impoverished country.

Virginian Pilot – Kearsarge group deploys early for Pakistan mission

The Navy dispatched a second wave of ships Friday to support relief efforts in Pakistan, although the vessels may not reach the flood-ravaged country until October.

Express Tribune – With ‘enemies’ like these, who needs friends?

Aboard the USS Peleliu, off of Pakistan.

Defense Technology International – From Mine Sweeping to Swat Valley Rescues

The MH-53E Sea Dragon helos of Navy Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM-15) Detachment 2 – which arrived in Pakistan seven days ago – normally tow a mine-sweeping sled at sea level. For the fuel-eating flight from Pakistan’s Ghazi Air Force Base and the climb over the mountains, they can safely take on only about 10,000 pounds of cargo or 80 people.

Associated Press – US sends Marine ship, helicopters for flood aid

The United States is more than tripling the number of helicopters it is providing to help in flood-ravaged Pakistan. The USS Peleliu is now off the coast near Karachi, carrying 19 helicopters and a complement of about 1,000 Marines.

Virginian Pilot – Bataan on route home from Haiti

After two and a half months in Haiti – longer than any other Navy ship deployed in support of the U.S. military’s relief mission there – the Norfolk-based Bataan has begun its journey home.

Virginian Pilot – Crew bonds with Haitians through karaoke, Cheez-Its, church

Aboard the USS Bataan.

Chronicle Herald – Still a long way to go

Canadian sailors and soldiers have established a beachhead of hope in the port city of Jacmel, cleaning up, delivering aid, medical care and even toys, and laying the groundwork for a more ambitious effort in the weeks ahead. Sailors from HMCS Halifax and members of DART, the military’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, have taken over the concrete pier and waterfront lot in the shadow of the ruined town, where lovely French colonial buildings have fallen to rubble.

BBC – US Navy keen to show its sensitive side in Haiti

We are in Cassagne, an impoverished rural hamlet which felt the full force of the earthquake. Flying in on a marine helicopter, I witnessed Mother Nature’s grim lottery: some houses untouched by the tremor, alongside homes completely flattened. A community in need at the best of times, and now completely shattered, is adapting to a humanitarian invasion.

Virginian Pilot – In a Haitian village of 10,000, five local sailors find a way ahead

Navy Lt. Joel Castillo pulled a notebook from under his arm Friday afternoon and studied his list: The main water distillery broke down during the earthquake. The biggest church in town is half-collapsed and the rubble is blocking roads. The hospital survived but has only three patients; even the severely wounded are too afraid to step indoors for treatment…

Virginian Pilot – On the Bataan in Haiti, need arrives in waves

When the Bataan left Norfolk Naval Station for Haiti eight days ago, its doctors and corpsmen knew they’d be treating casualties of the magnitude-7 earthquake of Jan. 12. But they weren’t expecting so many so fast.

The Times – US to increase troops in Haiti by a third as rescue teams pull back

The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group will join the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group who are already in Haiti.

Virginian Pilot – 10,000 sailors, Marines ready for ‘long haul’ in Haiti

At least 15 U.S. Navy ships and several special units are involved in the Haiti rescue effort and sailors and Marines are starting what is expected to be a “long haul.”

Virginian Pilot – Bataan crew rolls ashore, huge work ahead in Haiti

Defense Technology International – Haiti Updates: Marines, More Troops and Ships Docking

Virginian Pilot – Bataan scouts out best sites to put boots on the ground in Haiti

Marines and sailors traveling with the amphibious assault ship Bataan got their first glimpse of the devastation in Haiti on Monday and identified a handful of sites where they’ll deploy on-the-ground teams as soon as today.

Baltimore Sun – Rife with purpose, Comfort sails on

Aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort on its way to Haiti.

Virginian Pilot – Local military providing aid in Haiti

Sailors and Coast Guardsmen from the Hampton Roads area will play a critical role in the U.S. effort to deliver humanitarian assistance to Haiti, with thousands of locals on standby to deploy to the impoverished country and some already there.

Christian Science Monitor – US sends aircraft carrier to help with Haiti earthquake damage

Virginian Pilot – More Navy ships undertaking humanitarian missions

The USS Kearsarge is just one of the Norfolk-based ships that has undertaken a humanitarian mission in recent months, and these deployments signal a shift in the military’s role on the world stage. As these ships arrive on distant shores, their goal is to back up U.S. talk of friendship with action.

Virginian Pilot – The USS Nassau helps clean up Galveston, Texas after Hurricane Ike.
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Virginian Pilot – The crew of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, diverted from a humanitarian mission to Colombia, has begun delivering food and water to Haiti to help with disaster relief.
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Defense Technology International – The USS Kearsarge’s medical team lands in Colombia.
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Defense Technology International – Canadian Army Captain Daniel Rouest heads up the 15-member Canadian contingent currently aboard the USS Kearsargeóhis team being the first of three teams of Canadian doctors, trauma nurses, and dentists that will spend 6 weeks each aboard the ship, bringing the total number of Canadians to have participated in Continuing Promise to about 42 by time the float ends in December.
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