The U.S. military has been providing humanitarian assistance to Laos since 1991. A view of the irrigation pumps installed in Savanakhet Province in 1996 by U.S. Navy Seabees and the Civil Affairs Liaison Team (CALT) to provide water for growing rice.

Over the last 15 years, while the rest of the Southeast Asian economies expanded, Laos (the Lao People's Democratic Republic) was left behind. For various reasons, the tiny landlocked country was hesitant to allow other countries' and U.S. assistance to help overcome the effects of war and decades of economic stagnation.

In 1991, with the construction of a rural school, the U.S. armed forces began providing humanitarian assistance to Laos. Over the next five years, U.S. soldiers constructed nine rural schools, installed four large water pumps for irrigation, and renovated one district hospital. As the need for continuing humanitarian assistance in Laos became more apparent, the Lao government requested additional support.

As a result, in 1996 U.S. Army civil affairs soldiers from B Company, 96th Civil Affairs Battalion established a Civil Affairs Liaison Team (CALT) at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane. Their mission was to assist the American Embassy by coordinating U.S. humanitarian assistance projects, and to provide liaison with Laotian officials in support of ongoing projects. The four-man team was trained in Asian cultures and languages, in addition to their expertise in civil-military operations.

In July 1997, Civil Affairs Tactical Support Team 21 (CATST21) deployed to Laos, the fourth CALT sent to that country. CATST21, led by Capt. Philip Clemmons, continued the work of planning and coordinating U.S. military humanitarian assistance projects.

These projects included the donation of 50,000 sandbags for flood control efforts; the donation of 121,000 sandbags for unexploded ordnance disposal; oversight for warranty work on nine U.S. built schools; the construction of a tenth school; and the upgrade and renovation of a district hospital.

To accomplish its mission, the CALT worked with numerous Laotian governmental agencies. The primary contact was with the Laotian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and involved the coordination of ongoing projects, as well as future planning. The team also worked with the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Labour, and Social Welfare and Education.

Working through the government of Laos ensured the effective use of the $1.3 million in military humanitarian assistance provided to Laos in 1997. Most projects involved rural community development, providing long-term benefits for the Lao people. Upon completion, the American soldiers, sailors and airmen involved turned the projects over to the local people.

Community development projects, whether an irrigation system to improve rice production, or a hospital to improve health care, are not short-term. Since resident non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are well suited to provide long-term sustainment of U.S. military projects, the CALT worked with NGOs to take them over once the projects were completed. Developing mutual trust and confidence between the U.S. military and the NGOs enhanced the success of projects.

The largest humanitarian assistance project in 1997 was the renovation of the Xepone District Hospital, in central Laos. The hospital had difficulty fulfilling the standard requirements of a district hospital; treating the many victims of unexploded ordnance. The CALT worked with Mr. Harlen Sandell of World Aid (a local NGO) and with a team of doctors and engineers from the U.S. Pacific Command to develop a plan to upgrade the facility. Sgt. 1st Class Mosher, the team medic, coordinated with local and provincial health officials to ensure the improvements would meet the needs of the people. He also dealt with World Bank representatives to coordinate future construction at the hospital.

The project began in August 1997 when the CALT hired a local contractor to renovate the hospital. Capt. Brian Stoll, the team's engineer, oversaw the construction and repairs to the hospital. With the help of Lt. Col. Steve Green, a logistics officer from Headquarters, U.S. Commander in Chief, Pacific, Sgt. 1st Class Mosher developed a list of needed medical equipment. Lt. Col. Green arranged for three shipments of equipment (approximate value $500,000) which arrived in Xepone in September and was then installed by Sgt. 1st Class Mosher, Mr. Sandell, and Lao technicians and local residents.

In October, a 10-person U.S. Pacific Command team of medical technicians and doctors, led by Lt. Col. Andrew Colon, arrived in Xepone to demonstrate the use of the donated equipment. The medical team stayed in Xepone for five days training the local staff on surgical, dental, x-ray, and hygiene procedures as well as providing classes on the maintenance of equipment. At the end of the project, Mr. Sandell committed his organization to a five-year plan aimed at increasing the medical capabilities of Xepone district.

The CALT worked with two locally based NGOs, Consortium and Health Frontiers, to assist with the U.S. humanitarian assistance plan through donations of medical equipment to small health clinics in northern Laos, and to plan future upgrades of district clinics. Working with NGOs allowed the CALT to better manage the humanitarian assistance projects, ensure equipment and facilities were put to proper use, and provided the projects much needed continuity.

The CALT also assisted in the relocation program of the Hmong minority. The Hmong are an agrarian minority ethnic group from the mountainous regions of Laos who have traditionally used slash-and-burn agricultural techniques to cultivate the land for rice production. Many of them have also grown opium as a cash crop.

The Laotian government has an on-going Hmong relocation program with two objectives: reduction of opium production, and elimination of deforestation caused by slash-and-burn agricultural practices. The government often relocates these people to uncultivated land that has the potential for two rice crops per year. The CALT assisted the Lao plan, using U.S. military engineers with assistance from the UN World Food Programme and various NGOs, to assist a Hmong village in Borikhamxia Province to prepare their land for rice cultivation.

After an initial site survey with the Hmong village chief and irrigation officials, the CALT worked with UN World Food Programme, to initiate a "rice for work" program. The CALT held meetings with World Vision and CARE International to assist the Hmong villagers' transition from their traditional ways of hunting and subsistence farming to lowland rice farming. To encourage this transition, the World Food Programme will provide rice to the villagers in exchange for labor to clear the land. Once the land is cleared, U.S. military engineers will bring in heavy equipment to level the land and prepare it for rice farming. This project is scheduled for Spring 1998. With the combined work of the Lao government, U.S. military personnel, NGOs, and international organizations, the relocated Hmong should have the capability to move beyond subsistence farming.

Assisting the Lao people proved both challenging and very rewarding. Understanding the Laotian people and their culture was the most important factor in the team's success. The CALT did not try to use a preset formula, but developed a program specifically to meet the needs of Laos.

To continue to improve the lives of the Laotian people, the CALT is working with the Lao government to coordinate future U.S. military humanitarian assistance projects to improve education, health care, road construction and agriculture.