4th Fleet Commander Testifies Before Congress on Navy's Relief Efforts
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080925-07
Release Date: 9/25/2008 4:26:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alan Gragg, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/ U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO) and U.S. 4th Fleet testified before Congress' Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Sept. 23, giving an update on the humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) mission in Haiti.
Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, commander of both NAVSO and 4th Fleet, spent eight days aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) coordinating U.S. Naval and Department of Defense (DoD) relief efforts and visiting ship's personnel supporting relief operations in Haiti, which was heavily damaged by recent tropical storms and a hurricane.
"Prior to the response in Haiti, the USS Kearsarge was conducting a humanitarian mission in Colombia as part of humanitarian assistance deployment in Central and South America and the Caribbean region called Continuing Promise 2008," Kernan said in a prepared statement to the committee.
"The timing of and preparation for this mission was purposeful. The USS Kearsarge was not only prepared for its planned humanitarian assistance visits, but also to respond to disasters of this nature during the hurricane season."
The subcommittee members thanked Kernan and Kearsarge and praised the DoD for its swift response and relief efforts.
"All of the efforts… would not have been possible without the coordinated and combined efforts of the U.S. ambassador in Haiti and country team, USAID and our interagency partners, U.N. organizations such as MINUSTAH,(United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti), NGOs (non-governmental organizations), and very importantly, the Haitian government," Kernan added.
"I can testify to the success of these collective efforts in serving the Haitian people and the great work being done by our young Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, DoD civilians, and Coast Guardsmen."
On Sept. 5, NAVSO/ 4th Fleet, which is headquartered at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., diverted the amphibious ship Kearsarge from their Continuing Promise Humanitarian Assistance mission in Santa Marta, Colombia, to assist the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Haitian communities impacted by tropical storms Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Hurricane Ike. The ship commenced relief support operations Sept. 8 and Kernan arrived Sept. 10.
"The Department of Defense brought its unique, sea-based mobility, medical and engineering assets to provide critical support, such as the delivery of food, water, and medical assistance to remote and difficult to access locations," said Kernan.
To date, Kearsarge's embarked helicopters and landing craft have delivered more than 1,400 metric tons of relief supplies, including almost 31,000 gallons of water to devastated communities isolated by damaged roads and bridges. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance prioritizes the areas needing the most immediate assistance.
Medical teams from Kearsarge have worked with other local agencies in Haiti to provide medical services to people in need. Air Force engineers and Navy Seabees are making assessments in areas where heavy rains and flooding from the storms caused damage to roads, bridges and other critical infrastructures.
As the naval component command of U.S. Southern Command, NAVSO's mission, in addition to humanitarian and disaster relief, is to direct U.S. Naval Forces operating in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies within the maritime environment, countering illicit trafficking, building cooperative maritime domain awareness, and conducting a variety of other Theater Security Cooperation operations.
These efforts are enabled by recurring military-to-military interaction and bilateral and multinational training.
Fourth Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO, exercising operational control of assigned forces.
Kearsarge is in the Caribbean supporting phase two of Continuing Promise 2008, a humanitarian assistance mission that includes assisting partner nations impacted by natural disasters and other emergencies resulting in human suffering or danger to human lives.
Kearsarge embarked personnel include service members from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, along with medical personnel from the U.S. Public Health Service, Canadian Army and Air Force, Brazil, Project Hope and International Aid. Select portions of the deployment are also supported by NGOs such as Operation Smile and Project Hope.
For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.
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