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US, Philippine Navies Co-Host Multinational Leadership Seminar

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100408-12
Release Date: 4/8/2010 2:47:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Clarke, Commander Task Force 73 Public Affairs

MANILA (NNS) -- Rear Adm. Nora Tyson, commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73 and Vice Adm. Ferdinand Golez, Flag Officer in Command of the Republic of the Philippines Navy (RPN), began the conference by welcoming the SLS participants, including representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

This year's SLS marked the first time the event had been hosted outside of Singapore, since it was first held in 2006. Thailand is scheduled to host the SLS next year.

Tyson said the conference provided attendees with an excellent opportunity to trade critical HA/DR insights with one another.

"We've all experienced natural disasters of some degree in our own nations and, unfortunately, I guarantee we will again in the future," Tyson said. "The more we learn from our collective experiences and the more we share with each other, the better prepared we will be to respond, to save lives and to alleviate human suffering."

Participants spent the first day reviewing the various aspects of disaster response efforts in the context of a pair of disasters that struck the Southeast Asian region last year.

In September 2009, both the Philippines and Indonesia experienced humanitarian crises in the wake of natural disasters. Typhoon Ketsana brought devastating landslides and floods to Manila and the surrounding area on the island of Luzon in the Philippines before striking the Asian mainland. A few days later, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, necessitating a large-scale international disaster response effort. Aircraft and personnel from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the U.S. and other nations brought water, emergency aid, shelter and medical assistance to the hardest hit and most remote areas of Sumatra.

As if to underscore the importance of HA/DR planning, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the northwestern coast of Sumatra early in the morning of April 7, the first day of the SLS conference.

"It's not a matter of if we'll be called upon to work together, it's just a matter of when," Tyson insisted. "We're collaborating well now, and events like SLS—where we all come together to get to know each other better and share lessons learned and ideas for improving our ability to respond—will help us do it better in the future."

RPN Commodore Miguel Jose S. Rodriguez, commander, RPN Fleet-Marine Ready Forces, said the RPN learned several valuable lessons following the destruction of Typhoon Ketsana. Rodriguez emphasized the importance of the pre-deployment of troops to disaster areas ahead of larger relief efforts, the inclusion of a security component for effective goods distribution, and the establishment of public information desks early in relief operations, among a host of lessons learned.

Rodriguez added that it was easy to find the motivation to continue to refine and perfect the approach to similar disasters in the future.

"It is the resiliency of the Filipino people that keeps us going," Rodriguez said. "When we see the smiles on the people's faces even during an HA/DR relief effort, we feel inspired to move on."

Philippine Secretary of National Defense Norberto B. Gonzales said the Philippines "is like 7-11" for natural disasters: "open 24 hours a day, every day." Gonzales said U.S. capabilities have proved particularly invaluable to HA/DR efforts in his country over the years.

"We have experienced many natural disasters—typhoons, floods—too many," Gonzales said. "But every time we've been hit, right there is the U.S. Navy. And thank God for the U.S. Navy."

On the second day of the seminar, U.S. 4th Fleet Operations Officer Capt. Gregory S. Parker detailed U.S. Navy actions following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti, Jan. 12. The U.S. military's response in Haiti was the largest humanitarian relief effort in U.S. history.

With the lessons of recent events in mind, attendees then looked ahead to additional upcoming HA/DR training opportunities later this year during the annual exercises Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) and Pacific Partnership.

CARAT is an annual series of bilateral training exercises conducted between the U.S. and several Southeast Asian nations. For CARAT 2010, U.S. forces are scheduled to conduct training exercises with Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Indonesia participates in a CARAT-like exercise, known as Naval Engagement Activity.