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11 January 2005

Pacific Command Report, January 11: Humanitarian Relief Support

U.S. military has delivered 6.576 million pounds of relief supplies

The U.S. military has delivered 6.576 million pounds of emergency relief supplies to survivors throughout the tsunami-stricken areas of the Indian Ocean since humanitarian operations first began in late December 2004.

U.S. military flight crews have flown 872 missions in support of relief operations across the 12-nation region, according to a U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) fact sheet issued January 11.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Indian Ocean region December 26, 2004, setting off a tsunami that swept across 3,000 miles, killing at least 157,000 people and causing billions of dollars in property damage. 

Relief operations began almost immediately and have continued around the clock in a race to prevent further deaths and the outbreak of disease, U.S. military officials say.

The U.S. military is currently using 57 helicopters to haul much needed relief supplies across the region and to ferry out sick and injured survivors.  Relief supplies have been pouring into the region from foreign governments, nongovernmental relief agencies and ordinary citizens.

Some additional airplanes and helicopters are being used to fly reconnaissance missions to locate survivors and other pockets of people still trapped in remote areas.

Besides the aircraft being provided by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, the Navy is also supporting relief operations with 25 of its ships and a U.S. Coast Guard vessel.

PACOM says that of the 14,450 personnel working in the relief mission, only 2,487 are on the ground serving in five countries, with the rest stationed aboard the ships.

Besides the Navy's USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and the USS Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, the United States has also sent communications units, field medical units, preventive medicine units, engineering support teams, and civil affairs teams.

The hospital ship USNS Mercy is also sailing to the region.  Admiral Thomas Fargo, the senior U.S. military officer in the Pacific, said these assets will help support ongoing relief operations and subsequent recovery operations.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)