Defense Technology International – After almost two weeks floating off the eastern coast of Nicaragua, ferrying medical and engineering personnel to shore and patients in need of surgery back to the ship for care, the crew and medical personnel staffing the USS Kearsarge needed a break???
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Defense Technology International – While stretched thin fighting two hot wars, deploying troops on peacekeeping and training missions from southeast Asia to Bosnia, launching a new Africa combatant command, and keeping a battle-ready deployment on the North/South Korean border; the American military still makes it a priority to invest time, resources and personnel to conduct smaller humanitarian missions among poverty-stricken populations in need of medical care.
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San Diego Union Tribune – The U.S.S. Ronald Reagan carrier strike group participated in a humanitarian operation after Typhoon Fengshen hit the Philippines.
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CNN – U.S. Navy ships loaded with supplies for victims of Myanmar’s cyclone will sail away from the country’s coast on Thursday, after the ruling junta refused for three weeks to allow them to deliver aid.
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Associated Press – The senior commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific says the Navy probably will withdraw a group of naval vessels from waters off the coast of Myanmar within days unless the government allows the ships to offload their relief supplies for cyclone victims.
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Associated Press – With their history of xenophobia, no one expected Myanmar’s generals to welcome a flotilla of warships trying to help bring relief to millions affected by Cyclone Nargis. True to form, they didn’t.

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BBC – The US navy aircraft carrier, USS Essex, is moored off the coast of Burma, prohibited by the military government from swinging into action to help cyclone victims. The BBC’s Nick Bryant reports from aboard the ship.
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New York Times – Robert Kaplan discusses whether countries should intervene militarily in order to provide humanitarian relief to the cyclone victims in Burma.
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VOA – Burma’s government is denying entry to helicopters and relief supplies from U.S. Navy ships waiting offshore, near the Irawaddy Delta. Relief groups say as many as two million people remain in desperate need of food, water, medicines and other relief supplies following the storm on May 3 that killed nearly 78,000 people.
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Irrawaddy – A British Royal Navy frigate has been ordered to stand by off Burma with emergency aid for the survivors of cyclone Nargis. The 4,900-ton HMS Westminster will join US and French warships waiting in international waters off the Burmese coast, ready to rush relief supplies to the Irrawaddy delta if instructed by the UN or invited by the Burmese regime.
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Associated Press – The USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group is standing by to assist cyclone-devastated Burma, all it needs is permission to begin relief operations???

US Navy – Marines, sailors prepare for possible operations in Burma.
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New York Times – Michael Gordon writes about a new operations manual that elevates the stabilization of war-torn nations to the same importance as the defeat of enemies on the battlefield.
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Associated Press – The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge was performing maritime security operations off the coast of Somalia when Tropical Cyclone Sidr hit southwestern Bangladesh. The ship rushed toward south Asia, traveling 3,000 miles over five days and reaching the Bangladesh coast on Nov. 22, to begin helping thousands of people left hungry, homeless and without clean water. The storm killed more than 3,200 people.
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BBC – Helicopters from the USS Kearsarge have begun delivering relief supplies to survivors of the devastating cyclone that hit southern Bangladesh 10 days ago.
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Virginian Pilot – The hospital ship USNS Comfort will deploy Friday on the ship’s first-ever foreign humanitarian mission. The Baltimore-based Comfort, docked in Norfolk since May 31 for final preparations, is expected to provide medical care to an estimated 85,000 patients in 12 nations throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The mission is part of Partnership of the Americas 2007, an effort to improve relations with Latin American countries and the Navy’s readiness in the region
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Virginian Pilot – In a region rife with poverty and despair, a Navy-led U.S. task force is using unorthodox techniques to prevent the spread of terrorism – Part 2???
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Virginian Pilot – In a region rife with poverty and despair, a Navy-led U.S. task force is using unorthodox techniques to prevent the spread of terrorism – Part 1???
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US Marine Corps – A new US Marine publication on how to conduct Stage IV Stabilty and Support Operations. Looks like it is on target, the person behind it is General Jim Mattis.
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Foreign Policy Research Institute – An independent review of how the Marines have handled stability and support operations in Iraq.
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Marine Corps Gazette – The regional assistance mission to Solomon Islands, Camp Ramsi, Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 22 December 2004ñ25 January 2005.
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Jakarta Post – The U.S. Navy and Air Force plans to send 100 doctors, nurses and medical technicians to Indonesia to treat victims of the deadly earthquake that struck Central Java.
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Associated Press – The Marines come ashore in the Philippines???
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Associated Press – The USS Essex and the USS Harper’s Ferry, along with 17 helicopters and 1,000 U.S. Marines, were diverted to the scene of landslides in the Phillipines from planned joint exercises.
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Wall Street Journal – The U.S. military wins hearts and minds in Pakistan.
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San Diego Union Tribune – Two Navy vessels based in San Diego are delivering aid to victims of an Oct. 8 earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in the Kashmir region of Pakistan and India.
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