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Forward Deployed ARG Arrives in Leyte to Provide Humanitarian Assistance

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060220-04
Release Date: 2/20/2006 7:52:00 PM

 

From Task Force 76 Public Affairs

LEYTE, Republic of Philippines (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines from the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Joint Task Force (JTF) Balikatan and USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) arrived off the coast here Feb. 19 to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the victims of a wide-sweeping mudslide.

The Forward Deployed ARG, 31st MEU, JTF Balikatan, part of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3D MEB), and Curtis Wilbur, are conducting continuous ship-to-shore movements of relief supplies, including food, water and blankets.

An initial group of 96 Marines from the 31st MEU went ashore by CH-53E Super Stallions with digging equipment to immediately assist with rescue efforts. A complement of 22 helicopters, landing craft air cushions, and more than 4,000 Marines and Sailors will be utilized to conduct the disaster relief mission.

"We plan to utilize Forward Deployed ARG assets to effectively provide maximum amount of aid to victims in order to mitigate suffering and prevent further loss of life in the wake of this tragic event,” said Capt. Mark E. Donahue, commodore, Amphibious Squadron 11, the Task Group Commander of the Forward Deployed ARG. "The Sailors and Marines here are extremely dedicated individuals, ready to rise to the challenge ahead.”

USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Juneau (LPD 10), USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), Curtis Wilbur and 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived in Subic Bay Feb. 17 for the bilateral exercise Balikatan '06, but were immediately called to assist in the relief efforts in Leyte.

Days of continuous heavy rain and flooding hit Leyte Island, about 420 miles southeast of Manila, and led to the landslide, which has virtually washed away the farming village of Guinsahugon, as well as two other villages.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has authorized immediate dispersal of $100,000 to the Philippine Red Cross and is airlifting additional emergency supplies to the area.

Essex and another asset of the Forward Deployed ARG, USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), had previously participated in Operation Unified Assistance (OUA), providing aid to victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. The ships delivered approximately 6 million pounds of relief supplies during the operation.

"The Sailors and Marines of the Forward Deployed ARG have a strong history of providing much-needed assistance during difficult times. That legacy, that we do not take lightly, and our long enduring friendship that we have established with the people of the Philippines, gives me confidence that we will together get through this crisis," said Donahue.

The Forward Deployed ARG is part of Task Force 76, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force, which is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan.