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Continuing Promise 2008

Continuing Promise 2008 was a humanitarian assistance mission that included assisting partner nations impacted by natural disasters and other emergencies resulting in human suffering or danger to human lives. Any U.S. military assistance to a foreign nation must be requested by the host nation through the U.S. ambassador. Then, as the lead federal agent, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance fields the request and asks the Department of Defense for military assistance, if needed.

Three storms in three weeks have left hundreds of thousands in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.

The town of Gonaives was the hardest hit by the tropical storms, leaving much of the city under water. A landing craft utility and two landing craft mechanized vessels were sent to retrieve supplies from Port au Prince for early distribution the next day to Gonaives.

Kearsarge was in the Caribbean supporting phase two of Continuing Promise 2008. The objective of delivering emergency relief supplies, which included vegetable oil, beans and rice, much of which was provided by Canada to the World Food Program and USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, is to help local governments and relief organizations achieve self-sufficiency as they rebuild from the destruction.

Aerial delivery of relief supplies to Haiti began from USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) 08 September 2008 as two CH-53E "Super Stallions" and a MH-60 launched from the flight deck to transport food and water to areas suffering from the after effects of tropical storms Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Hurricane Ike. U.S. Southern Command directed Commander, 4th Fleet to divert the amphibious ship from its humanitarian/civic assistance mission in Colombia to assist the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in mitigating human suffering and loss of life. The deliveries were made possible with helicopter crews and ground support personnel directing distribution and loading relief supplies. One the first day of operations, the pilots from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 flew two relief missions to Jeremie, Haiti delivering 12 metric tons of pre-packaged food such as flour, beans, rice and high-energy biscuits from the World Food Program. Kearsarge Sailors were also placed ashore at the distribution center and integrated with other agencies in Port au Prince to assist with loading of supplies on to the helicopters.

During the support to USAID-led relief efforts in Haiti, Marine and Navy helicopters aboard Kearsarge flew more than 100 sorties and landing craft transported more than 30 loads of supplies. These operations led to the timely delivery of more than 3.3 million pounds of food, water and other relief supplies to Haitian communities devastated in recent weeks by several tropical storms and Hurricane Ike. In response to a formal request for engineering assistance, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy engineers on board the Kearsarge assisted Haitian officials with assessing the condition of roads and bridges damaged by the storms and determining the extent of repairs needed.

The assessments conducted by Kearsarge engineers were turned over to Haitian officials and other agencies supporting or overseeing reconstruction efforts who will use the assessments as they work to restore damaged critical infrastructure to pre-disaster conditions. Kearsarge engineers also assisted residents of Bainet by replacing damaged pipes vital to the delivery of fresh water in the southern city. A team of medical personnel conducted health assessments in Marose, Dolant, Grande Saline, Gros Morne, Tres Ponts, Terre de Negres, Terre Nueve, Ennery, Saint Michel, Anse Rouge, Bainet, Les Cayes, Jeremie, Chomeil, Belle Anse and Casale and provided basic medical care to more than 1,000 Haitian citizens in affected areas. Doctors from the ship performed health examinations, looking for diseases inherent to natural disasters, and conducted preventive services, such as environmental assessments.

The USS Kearsarge departed Haiti Sept. 29 after completing a 19-day disaster relief mission in the storm-ravaged Caribbean nation. The humanitarian effort included robust helicopter and sealift support to U.S. relief efforts led by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

Kearsarge remained in the Caribbean as part of Continuing Promise 2008, a humanitarian assistance mission that began with visits to Puerta Cabezas, Nicaragua, and Santa Marta, Colombia, where medical teams provided health-care services and engineers completed various construction and infrastructure repair projects. Kearsarge will remain in the region through November and continued her humanitarian assistance mission during scheduled visits to the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. Continuing Promise 2008 was a collaborative effort that includes the participation of U.S. military personnel, military medical personnel from Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands, medical volunteers from the U.S. Public Health Service, and volunteers from NGOs, such as Operation Smile, Project Hope, and International Aid.