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Foreword

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

Japan Helps Tsunami Victims

Asia-Pacific Nations Enhancing Military Support to Humanitarian Operations

Operation Unified Assistance (OUA):
Turning Military Cooperation Into Humanitarian Aid
Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff

From our own experiences, we know that nothing can take away the grief of those affected by tragedy. We also know that Americans have a history of rising to meet great humanitarian challenges and of providing hope to suffering peoples. As men and women across the devastated [tsunami-stricken] region begin to rebuild, we offer our sustained compassion and our generosity, and our assurance that America will be there to help.

President George W. Bush
3 January 2005

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a massive tsunami on 26 December 2004, causing unprecedented destruction and suffering across six countries – India, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Over 300,000 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands lost their homes, loved ones, and their livelihoods.

U.S. Forces Response
The U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), anticipating the need for drinking water, shelter, food, and medical support, immediately set up Joint Task Force 536 at the Royal Thai Naval Air Base at Utapao, Thailand. Operating out of Utapao and Diego Garcia, U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft conducted reconnaissance of damaged sites. Three U.S. disaster relief assessment teams moved into the area – one each to Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Carrier Strike Group sailed from Hong Kong to the west coast of Sumatra to focus relief efforts off Banda Aceh. At the same time, the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Expeditionary Strike Group sailed from Guam to Sumatra to focus relief efforts off the coast of Meulaboh.

The U.S. Army also took action, deploying civil affairs soldiers to Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia to help reinvigorate the fishing industry, identify engineering projects, clean up debris, and provide trauma counseling for families torn apart by the tsunami. U.S. Army mortuary affairs specialists helped identify, process, and evacuate the deceased. And Army

CH-47 Chinook helicopter crews evacuated victims, distributed supplies, and provided medical assistance. The U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC), a component of U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), used C-5 Galaxies and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to transport helicopters, relief supplies, military personnel, communications, and aircraft maintenance packages. U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft flew personnel, equipment, and supplies to tsunami-stricken areas, and AMC personnel managed AMC airfield operations at air bases in the affected areas to ensure safe tanker and airlift operations.

USTRANSCOM’s Navy component, the Military Sealift Command (MSC), sent the hospital ship, USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), whose medical personnel treated thousands of tsunami victims. Six MSC ships – each capable of producing thousands of liters of fresh water a day and pumping water from ship to shore up to two miles – delivered water, food, fuel, medical supplies, construction and road building equipment, electrical power generating equipment, airfield matting, and a Navy field hospital. Two MSC oceanographic ships conducted hydrographic surveys of the ocean bottom to ensure safe navigation for ships delivering relief supplies. And two MSC shallow draft, high-speed vessels transported personnel, equipment, and supplies in coastal waters.

Personnel from USTRANSCOM’s Army component, the Deployment and Distribution Command, oversaw MSC operatons at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand. Through radio frequency identification tags, they helped track equipment and supplies to their destinations.

Two U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) C-130 aircraft delivered food, medical supplies, water purification equipment, and assessment teams to the tsunami-stricken countries. The USCG cutter Munro (WHEC 724) shuttled relief supplies from Singapore to the USS Bonhomme Richard for onward delivery to the tsunami victims.
All U.S. military forces drew heavily on the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for support and supplies to aid the injured and homeless and attend to the deceased. The DLA’s vast stockpiles, stored around the world, supported the emergency with relief supplies, human remains pouches, medical supplies, clothing, equipment, and fuel for ships, aircraft, and ground vehicles.

To feed survivors, the DLA provided daily rations, known as Meals Ready to Eat, for tsunami victims. The DLA also tapped fuel stocks to surge airport fueling capacities at Colombo, Sri Lanka; Medan, Indonesia; and Utapao, Thailand. At Banda Aceh, Indonesia, DLA personnel, working with the local fuel company, put in place an 11,000-gallon (about 42,000-liter) refueler.

Combined Support Force
Countries worldwide, including China and Russia, the United Nations, non-government organizations, and individuals responded to the tragedy in the most massive relief effort since the end of World War II. Both China and Russia sent relief supplies, rescue teams, and medical personnel, including doctors, to stricken areas. Russia also sent experts to help identify remains.

As allied forces from the Asia-Pacific region, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom responded to the tragedy, the need for coordination became apparent. USPACOM’s Joint Task Force 536 soon became the Combined Support Force (CSF), headquartered at the Royal Thai Naval Air Base in Utapao, Thailand. The CSF set up Combined Support Groups in Phuket, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Medan, Indonesia.

The CSF immediately began Operation UNIFIED ASSISTANCE, turning ongoing USPACOM security cooperation efforts into humanitarian power that saved lives and brought hope to the victims. Prime examples of cooperation were Thailand’s quick response to USPACOM’s request to center tsunami-relief operations in Utapao, and Singapore’s willingness to serve as a key logistics staging point for processing relief supplies. Singapore Navy ships moved relief supplies from Singapore to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and to the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Bonhomme Richard strike groups for onward delivery to tsunami victims.

In Thailand, liaison officers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States worked shoulder to shoulder in the CSF Combined Coordination Center (CCC). Requests from affected countries for humanitarian assistance went through the CCC. The center facilitated coordination among all the multinational militaries and non-governmental organizations participating in relief operations. “Without this capability here in [Utapao], I don’t think that we would be anywhere near as successful as we have been,” said U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman, the CSF Commander and Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

“The CSF has been very helpful to those nations struck by the tsunami disaster, especially Indonesia,” said Indonesian Navy liaison officer Lt. Col. Suyono Thamrin. “The tremendously large number of victims could never have been imagined.” He added, “The CCC has been the indispensable center of coordination among the nations providing assistance. The CCC constitutes the very heart of the international military organizations that have been dealing with the natural disaster.”

Each affected nation posed different challenges. India took care of its own needs, but Indonesia required immediate international help in the delivery of food and water to locations inaccessible by land, as the tsunami had destroyed roads, airfields, and bridges. Indonesia also needed engineering support to restore infrastructure and massive medical support for the many injured. Sri Lanka and the Maldives needed water, food, and medical supplies as well as engineering support to clear debris and demolish unsafe buildings. Thailand needed help in identifying and recovering remains.

The CSF provided immediate relief by identifying and prioritizing requirements, balancing capabilities with needs, and allocating resources. Before completing operations in mid-February 2005, the CSF transitioned its efforts to non-military agencies for long-term support.