Home

Foreword

Operation Unified Assistance (OUA):
Turning Military Cooperation into Humanitarian Aid

Japan Helps Tsunami Victims

Asia-Pacific Nations Enhancing Military Support to Humanitarian Operations

The aircrew landed at Dampula, a small village near the middle of the island and unaffected by the tsunami. Assisting the relief effort, the villagers hauled boxes of tomatoes and large bags of pumpkins, string beans, cabbages, and onions to the aircrew. “[Victims] need this food to survive,” said Sri Lankan Cyril Wickramaratne, the director of a local export company. “It will be distributed to the refugee camps in the east.”

With his helicopter filled with vegetables, Maj. Ledbetter flew to Ampara near the eastern coast. There, relief workers and Sri Lankan forces brought the vegetables to the people in the camps.

Commenting on relief efforts, U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. Frank A. Panter, Jr., Commander of the Combined Support Group in Sri Lanka, said, “We will continue to work closely with the government of Sri Lanka . . . and the many other countries lending help here to ensure the people of Sri Lanka receive the assistance they need. We are thankful that our [U.S.] forward presence on Okinawa [Japan] allows us to quickly assist the people of Sri Lanka during this tragedy. This is the other side of the U.S. military. This is how we help our friends.”

Thailand
Working with the Royal Thai Government, CSG forces assisted in the search and recovery of bodies along Thailand’s coastline. U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Alex Arvizu noted that the U.S. sent teams of forensic experts to Thailand “almost immediately” to help identify remains. Some of these experts came from USPACOM’s Joint Task Force Full Accounting, whose members normally resolve issues involving Vietnam-era service members listed as missing in action.

The CSG also assisted in distributing relief supplies. When U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. David Mobley arrived in Bangkok to participate in relief efforts, he never imagined that in 48 hours the modest pile of blankets, sleeping mats, food, tarps, and medicines would grow into a mountain of material, bulging the seams of two aircraft hangars, and spilling out onto the ramp.

At the back of the international airport, between two Royal Thai Air Force hangars, hundreds of Thai volunteers sorted the material. Individual cases of bottled drinking water gave way to bigger jugs and 55-gallon (208-liter) barrels. Blankets were bundled, wrapped in tarps, and piled 25 feet (about eight meters) high. Cases of medicine from Germany, Greece, and the United States were inventoried for airlift. Thai volunteers also built and weighed pallets along with U.S. Air Force personnel.

Royal Thai Air Force leaders assigned relief items and locations for the U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft. As each aircraft was loaded, priorities developed – dry ice to Krabi, blankets to Raynong, and body bags to Phuket.

U.S. airmen evacuated the seriously wounded to Bangkok for treatment. The daily flight schedules were vigorous. A single aircraft would fly a round-trip shuttle several times a day. Despite the long hours, Thai volunteers and U.S. airmen were ready to do more. “I’ve volunteered to fly south with the aircrews and help unload planes or assist wherever I can,” said a U.S. airman. “It makes me feel proud to help make people’s lives a little easier.”

 <<back