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Foreword

Regional Response Forces ::

VALIANT SHIELD:
Building Trust and Security

GREEN LIGHTNING: Providing Security in the Asia-Pacific Region

Transnational Operations ::

KHAAN QUEST 2006:
Enhancing Multinational Peacekeeping

Humanitarian Support ::

USNS Mercy Bringing Hope to Asia-Pacific Nations

C-17 Aircraft Marking A New Airlift Era in the Pacific

New Zealand Defence Force Providing Security and Reconstruction in Afghanistan

From BALIKATAN to Mudslide Relief

Happenings ::

Happenings

From Balikatan to Mudslide Relief
Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM Staff

Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM staff from articles by David Allen, Jennifer H. Svan, and Greg Tyler. Used with permission from the Stars and Stripes a DoD publication. @ 2005 Stars and Stripes. And from press releases by the BALIKATAN Combined Bureau; American Forces Press Service; Task Force 76 Public Affairs; Capt. Burrell D. Parmer, USMC, assigned to 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs Office; JOC Christina Johnson, USN, assigned to USS Essex (LHD 2) Public Affairs Office; JO1 Scott Comstock, USN, assigned to Commander Pacific Fleet; TSgt. Shane A. Cuomo, USAF, assigned to Air Force Print News, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; PO2 Corey Truax, USN, assigned to the USS Essex Public Affairs Office; Sgt. Tim Meyer, USA, assigned to U.S. Pacific Command Public Affairs; and LCpl. Karim D. Delgado, USMC, and LCpl. Erin F. McKnight, USMC, assigned to Marine Corps Base Camp Smedly D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan.

BALIKATAN means “shouldering the load together” in the Philippine language, and that is exactly what Philippine and U.S. forces did following a massive mudslide on 17 February 2006 on Leyte Island. The mudslide engulfed a village, including an elementary school in session. About 2,800 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and 5,500 U.S. troops were to participate in Exercise BALIKATAN from 20 February to 5 March 2006. However, 1,500 U.S. troops diverted to Leyte to assist AFP forces in the search for survivors.

A forward-deployed Amphibious Ready Group consisting of three U.S. Navy ships already in Subic Bay for the exercise immediately left for Leyte to assist in relief efforts. They were the landing ship dock USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), carrying U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit on Okinawa, Japan; the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2); and the guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur(DDG 54).

While the forces sent to Leyte delivered relief supplies and searched for survivors, the exercise took place with the remaining forces. BALIKATAN focused on promoting interoperability by developing the AFP’s crisis-action planning and enhancing its ability to conduct counterterrorism operations as well as humanitarian and civic assistance.

Opening Ceremony
During the opening ceremony at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Manila, AFP Brig. Gen. Daniel R. Casabar, Commander, Philippine Joint Task Force for the exercise and Co-Director of BALIKATAN 2006, said, “This tragic [mudslide] incident has changed the picture a lot, but it’s the true meaning of BALIKATAN – ‘shoulder to shoulder.’ [The Filipinos] get to learn that the U.S. isn’t only here for the exercise, but also to help out in the operation. BALIKATAN wasn’t cancelled. It wasn’t even disrupted – it was strengthened.”

Disaster Relief
Days of heavy rain and flooding hit Leyte Island, about 420 miles [676 kilometers] southeast of Manila, and led to a massive landslide that virtually washed away the farming village of Guinsaugon and covered an elementary school in session.The mudslide took the lives of nearly 1,000 residents. Guinsaugon is so remote it takes five to six hours to get there from the nearest airport in Leyte’s provincial capitol, Tacloban. Survivors of the mudslide went to the municipality of St. Bernard, which became the staging center for U.S. aid deliveries. Local volunteer organizations managed evacuation centers in St. Bernard while local police and AFP personnel provided security.

The Philippine government had requested U.S. assistance, particularly helicopter support to assist with rescue and relief operations. Both governments worked closely to coordinate relief efforts. U.S. military forces in St. Bernard coordinated with local and regional leaders, the AFP, the Red Cross, and other non-governmental and volunteer organizations in the area. The effective partnership enabled a rapid response to the disaster.

U.S. sailors and Marines arrived off the coast of Leyte 19 February 2006 aboard the USS Essex and USS Harpers Ferry. “The Essex includes a full range of hospital capabilities and is transporting four CH-53E helicopters and eight CH-46 helicopters,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Edward Sisk. “Both ships [carry] three Landing Craft Air Cushion, or LCACs, to quickly move cargo and personnel from ship to shore and back. This is the same configuration used to provide . . . relief assistance . . . after the [December 2004] tsunami in Indonesia.”

Once off the coast of Leyte, the ships’ crews conducted continuous ship-to-shore movements of relief supplies via helicopters and LCACs. An initial group of 96 Marines arrived by CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters with digging equipment.  They immediately plunged into the relief effort, taking up shovels and working with AFP personnel and rescuers from Malaysia and Taiwan.

U.S. military deliveries to Leyte included a reverse-osmosis water purification system, bottled water, blankets, Meals Ready-to-Eat, sleeping mats, pick axes, shovels, rice, medications, diesel fuel drums, chain saws, generators, light sets, and kettles.

The scene on Leyte was grim as hundreds of Philippine, American, and international relief workers gave up hope of finding anyone alive under more than 30 feet to 100 feet (9 meters to 30 meters) of mud and boulders that buried the village. Some 1,000 people, including 240 elementary schoolchildren, were missing, according to Philippine disaster officials. Besides digging, relief workers also cared for 400 villagers who escaped the mudslide and about 1,600 people evacuated from nearby villages.

Aircraft Deliveries
AFP and U.S. military aircraft flew more than 400 hours bringing in supplies and people to support relief efforts in Leyte. The fixed-wing aircraft included C-130 Hercules and a C-17 Globemaster III. U.S. military CH-46E Sea Knight, CH-53E Super Stallion, UH-1N Huey, and H-60 Black Hawk helicopters provided support.

U.S. Air Force personnel, already in the Philippines for BALIKATAN, used their C-130 aircraft to transport more than 40 people and several tons of equipment, including a forklift, to the mudslide area. “Our thoughts are with the families who lost members in the mudslide,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Summers. “We are ready to assist along with our sister services in supporting the relief efforts of the Philippine government.”

After just receiving the first of eight C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Hickam Air Base, Hawaii, U.S. airmen and Air National Guardsmen flew their first disaster-response mission to support relief efforts in the Philippines. Their C-17 carried Meals Ready-to-Eat, water, cots, tents, heavy equipment, and personnel to Leyte. “It’s a total force [active duty, National Guard, and reserves] event,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Chris Davis.

U.S. Marines Aid Taiwanese Rescuers
U.S. Marines used two CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters to rescue nine Taiwanese trapped in the landslide disaster area. Rescue teams from the U.S., Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Spain were conducting search and rescue operations at two sites, including the elementary school in session when the landslide occurred.

When deep mud trapped seven Taiwanese while they were retrieving a body, AFP Maj. Gen. Bonifacio Ramos, the Commanding Officer of the 8th Infantry Division and ground commander for the search and rescue effort, quickly ordered the evacuation of all search and rescue sites. He then requested assistance from the U.S. Marines who had two Sea Knight helicopters unloading relief supplies.

Within minutes, the two Sea Knights were in the air and traveling to the sites. One helicopter located the seven-trapped rescuers and carefully landed on the dangerously muddy surface. “I don’t know how the pilots landed the helicopter, but as we began to rescue the seven Taiwanese, the aircraft began to sink slowly in the mud,” said U.S. Marine First Lt. Rian P. Iglesias. “They didn’t want to leave the body behind, we threw them a cargo strap, but they wouldn’t take it. They tied the cargo strap around the body and we pulled it in first. Then we pulled each of the team up into the aircraft.”

The Marine helicopter crews evacuated 152 rescue members and a K9 unit. On one of the last flights, a U.S. Marine CH-46E helicopter hovering above two Taiwanese, trapped in mud, dropped a lifeline, and airlifted them to safety.

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