The Rainier had 32 “customers” alongside in 20 days. “It’s a multiple mission,” said the ship’s master, Merchant Marine Captain William C. Baldwin. “There has been no lack of business for us.” Rainier provided replenishment at sea for French and Australian ships, in addition to those of the U.S. Navy.

Delivering Supplies to Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force Base
The helicopters aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln took the sailors to Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force Base in Banda Aceh. There, with the help of Indonesian forces, other nations’ forces, and international relief workers, they unloaded trucks and aircraft full of aid supplies, and then loaded it all on helicopters for delivery to towns and villages isolated by the tsunami.

At the air force base, the sailors carried five-gallon (19-liter) jugs of water, boxes of rations, and 50-pound (23-kilogram) bags of rice across a soccer field that had become the improvised helicopter-landing zone. “On average, we loaded about 100,000 pounds [45 metric tons] of food and water each day that I was ashore,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Adrian Jope.

The Lincoln sent a working party ashore every day to facilitate the loading of the helicopters in Banda Aceh. Lincoln sailors looked forward to their turn in the rotation to be a part of the relief operations to help the disaster victims. “The work is hard and it is incredibly hot there, but every sailor I saw had a smile on his face knowing that he was helping out someone in need,” said Senior Chief Aviation Technician(AW/SW) Daniel Stocker after returning from a long day ashore.

A U.S. Air Force mobility support team arrived in Banda Aceh aboard five U.S. Air Force C-130s. The team organized an airport ramp area to help with the relief effort. “That was one of the critical things needed at Banda Aceh,” said U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Robert Krieg. “It’s a small airfield. Many nations are trying to put supplies through there.”

The U.S. Air Force also sent technicians and spare parts to Indonesia to help repair the country’s aging fleet of 24 C-130 transport planes. Only nine of the 24 were in working order, and Indonesia needed all these aircraft, which can land on short and unimproved runways, to deliver humanitarian aid to Aceh Province in Sumatra, where the damage was most severe.

At the air base, Indonesian, Australian, British, and U.S. service members, along with representatives from other countries and international organizations, also coordinated the airlift of injured Indonesians to other medical facilities. Hospitals in Banda Aceh were filled to capacity and unable to handle all the casualties.

Mission Successful
Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, Indonesian Military Commander; Dr. Alwi Shihab, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare; and U.S. Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe flew to the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on 3 February 2005 to thank the crew and the Combined Support Force for their role in providing humanitarian relief. “It is with deep appreciation that I say to all of you – thank you for a great job. Well done,” said Dr. Shihab. “I am pleased that the government of Indonesia no longer needs the full complement of forces that were originally deployed.”

Commenting on the success of the Lincoln’s mission, Ambassador Pascoe told the crew, “You all worked with members of the Indonesian government to save lives and give hope to desperate people. One of our biggest obstacles was how we would deliver fresh water to the people. In a truly heroic effort, your repair division made a water distribution device that in one hour could fill 750 five-gallon [19-liter] jugs. Your fast action providing this water saved thousands of lives, and your efforts made every difference in the world.”

“If you stood on the beach in the northwest of Sumatra and you looked out to sea, you’d see a gray silhouette out there, which was the Abraham Lincoln,” noted Brig. Gen John Allen, the U.S. Department of Defense Director for Asia Pacific Affairs. “And the Lincoln and its helicopters have already passed into the legends of Indonesia because it is now known as the ‘Gray Angel’ . . . by the Indonesian people.”

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Expeditionary Strike Group
The USS Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, in coordination with the Indonesian government, moved rapidly from Guam to Sumatra, where it focused relief efforts off the coast of Meulaboh. The strike group included the amphibious ships USS Duluth (LPD 6) and USS Rushmore (LSD 47), the guided missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69), the guided missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43), the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro (WHEC 724).

The tsunami had isolated Meulaboh, a coastal village, from the surrounding areas. “There are a lot of ships from different nations around Meulaboh, providing hope and assistance,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Michelle J. Howard, Commanding Officer of the USS Rushmore (LSD 47). “It’s amazing to see dozens of countries working together to provide relief, not to mention dozens of world organizations like Red Cross, Red Crescent, and the World Health Organization.”

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