Disaster Aid from Air: Edible Drones

Delivering disaster aid to areas stricken with violence or impassible roads or other reasons for inaccessibility is a problem. One company, Windhorse Aero, has a proposed solution - unpowered drones that can deliver food and other supplies and in some forms, be food and fuel for those in trouble on the ground.

For the first time ever, aid will be delivered accurately to those in desperate need with this use of a revolutionary and unique Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV).

There were over 125 natural disasters last year, add this to areas of conflict and the number of people starving as a result gets to breath taking levels.

Access to the people affected can be restricted due to the loss of infrastructure and many other dangers. Also, traditional methods of deploying aid can be ineffective, inaccurate or just impossible to use.

Windhorse has developed a specialist UAV called POUNCER™ that will be loaded with appropriate food, transported to the disaster area and fly independently to its pre-planned destination and land accurately into the selected landing zone, avoiding all infrastructure problems, corruption or hostile groups while saving time, money and more importantly lives.

POUNCER™'s pre-formed shell can be reused to provide shelter, the frame can be burnt safely to cook food, and the payload, which is food and water, provides life saving nutrition.

Windhorse Aerospace from Windhorse Aerospace on Vimeo.

Windhorse lays out some interesting scenarios here.

I assume that some sort of small comms package goes along with these things to allow people on the ground to talk to the aid agencies about what help is needed such as medical needs and the like.

Hat tip to Aviation Week

Fighting Ebola: The National Guard Call Up Makes Sense

Photo Credit: Sgt. Joshua Ford, U.S. Army North PAO

It has been widely reported that President Obama has authorized the federal activation of National Guard units to respond to the Ebola problem - see here:

President Barack Obama on Thursday authorized the Pentagon to call up reserve and National Guard troops if they are needed to assist in the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Obama signed an executive order that allows the government to call up more forces and for longer periods of time than currently authorized. There is no actual call-up at this point.

This makes sense because some Army National Guard units have special training in such matters.

National Guard CERFP Teams

U.S. Navy and the Philippines Relief Effort - Logistics, Logstics and More Logistics

U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Class Ricardo R. Guzman

I am not going to replicate the excellent coverage of Operation Damayan, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps efforts in the Philippines as they "assist" with post-typhoon recovery efforts. For many great stories, the very best site is the Navy.mil Home Page.

It appears that about 1/10 of the U.S. fleet eventually will be participating in these efforts. Unlike a hurricane hitting a major land mass in which over land transport may be restored, the Philippines presents a challenge since it consists of a huge number of islands and water transport is the key to normal life as well as to disaster relief efforts.

As with the "Christmas Tsunami" in 2003-2004, it's "logistics, logistics, logistics" that is the issue, and the U.S. fleet seems to be everyone's "first responder." While it is encouraging that Japan and so many other countries are pitching in their resources, the "international community" could, as I noted about 10 years ago, should really do some advance work in anticipation of what are, after all, common and frequent disasters:

The UN seems incapable of learning from its past failings. Why are there not ships preloaded with the sorts of emergency equipment that might be needed if a major earthquake hits Japan or the Philippines or Nicaragua? Why does the UN not have the humanitarian equivalent of the U.S. military's prepositioned ships? Load up their hulls with water purifiers, medicine, cranes, backhoes, fuel, generators, tents, food, heavy lift vehicles, jeeps, helicopters, field hospitals, etc. Then wait for the inevitable disaster. Have two or three sets of ships - South America, Asia, Africa.

Surely the expense is well within the budgets of the nations who support the UN. If such a system were in place, the only issues would be sailing the ships and arranging to have the necessary aid personnel arrive to marry up with their equipment. Instead, we have the incredible delays caused by the UN having to seek emergency funding from donor nations and then arranging for ships and then loading the ships and then sailing the ships.

I understand the way the UN operates that it is rarely necessary to justify the high salaries of UN employees, but if it was necessary, it would be interesting to see if they have a disaster contingency plan worth a portion of that pay that involves something other than, "Announce disaster in horrific terms. Wait for the U.S. to respond. Claim credit for responding."

From UNICEF progress report on Philippines relief:

UNICEF is working with the government and partners to identify air cargo capacity for the transportation of humanitarian personnel and life-saving supplies.

More from the UN here:

The humanitarian situation in the areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) is catastrophic. Almost 13 million people are affected, including some five million children. 4 million men, women and children have been displaced, many desperate for food, safe drinking water, basic shelter and sanitation.

And the elements of the UN "Action Plan" here:

Existing information and field observations suggest that the most immediate threats to life are (in rough order of urgency):

- Lack of safe drinking water
- Lack of shelter
- Trauma injuries, especially if untreated
- Other acute medical conditions (including contagious diseases) if left untreated
- Disruption of treatment for severe acute malnutrition and for severe chronic disease
- Insufficient food
- Lack of sanitation and personal hygiene items
- Lack of household items and supplies (like fuel), especially for preparing food

U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Peter Burghart

Key capabilities immediately needed to enable fast action to address these include:

- Air and sea transport of relief goods and personnel
- Emergency telecommunications
- Temporary electrical power and fuel
- Debris removal


Medium-term threats to health, dignity and security include:

- Lack of access to primary and specialised health care
- Moderate acute malnutrition
- Psycho-social malaise
- Disruption of education, entailing loss of protective daytime environment for children
- Disruption of livelihoods, which will worsen general deprivation and add to humanitarian needs as soon as coping mechanisms have been exhausted.

My highlights are to point out the key logistics issues.

I attach the plan because I'll be darned after my hasty reading if I can find any reference to the U.S. ( or any other country's) civil-military contribution in the Plan. I am prepared to be corrected.

2013 Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Action Plan

Teaching Disaster Realities

A statistic from 5 Ways to Educate People About the Realities of Disaster Recovery caught my

attention:

A 2010 American Red Cross survey found that an alarming 75 percent of 1,058 respondents expected help to arrive within an hour if they posted a request on a social media site.

I have occasionally volunteered to give presentations on disaster preparation. One part of the standard spiel talks about how many days a family should be prepared to wait for help. The standard speech refers to "3 days" not 1 hour. However, as the article linked above notes, the practicality of major disaster relief logistics is that 5 to 7 days is a far more realistic time period (depending on the scope of the disaster, of course).

I use the 5 to 7 day period and back it up with tales of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.

Oh, and failing to evacuate elderly citizens from highrise retirement communities when a storm is expected is a form of malpractice. See here.

Plan accordingly.

Hurricane season is upon us.

Department of Defense Assistance Following Hurricane Sandy

Here's a portion of a DoD press release on what is happening, found at DOD, FEMA, Other Agencies Aid Storm-affected Areas:

***
Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta has directed that the Department of Defense provide any available disaster response resources requested by FEMA and state authorities as states throughout the Northeast begin to recover from Hurricane Sandy, the FEMA release said.

DOD continues to coordinate with FEMA, U.S. Northern Command and the National Guard Bureau on providing lifesaving and life sustaining assets to FEMA and governors, as requested, the release said.
***
FEMA and the Department of Defense established Incident Support Bases in Westover, Mass., and Lakehurst, N.J., to pre-position supplies, including water, meals, blankets and other resources closer to potentially impacted areas, should they be needed and requested by states, according to the FEMA release. FEMA has moved roughly 245,000 liters of water, more than 174,000 meals and thousands of blankets and cots to Westover Air Reserve Base; and more than 400,000 liters of water and more than 390,000 meals and thousands of cots to Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, N.J., and more commodities are en route, as weather conditions permit.

Soldiers prepare UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for further search and rescue missions on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Oct. 30, 2012, following the passing of Hurricane Sandy. The soldiers are assigned to the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard. U.S. Air Force photos by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen

States, localities and the American Red Cross continue to operate emergency shelters along the East Coast. In addition, the following federal activities are also being coordinated in support of Hurricane Sandy response and recovery efforts, according to the FEMA release:

-- U.S. Northern Command Regional Defense Coordinating Officers and portions of the Defense Coordinating Element deployed in advance of the storm remain on the ground to validate, plan and coordinate potential Department of Defense support of FEMA's response operations and to facilitate DOD support of life-saving and response operations.

-- There are now more than 7,400 National Guard forces on duty supporting the governors of New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maryland. These forces are providing assistance to local first responders and FEMA by providing assistance at evacuation shelters, conducting route clearance and search-and-rescue missions, and delivering of essential equipment and supplies.

-- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mobilized temporary emergency power resources to provide support to areas affected by Sandy. These resources consist of teams with technical expertise to assess critical facility generator requirements and private sector contract support to install and operate generators. Other planning response teams remain on alert for debris management, infrastructure assessment, temporary roofing, water planning, and un-watering. Additional temporary power teams have also been placed on alert status.

-- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and FEMA activated ambulance contracts to support state requirements to evacuate patients as needed and requested. HHS has personnel deployed in support of state response efforts, including two 50-person Disaster Medical Assistance Teams providing triage and basic care in shelters in New Jersey. Additional medical teams are on alert. HHS also has personnel supporting 350 ambulances in New York that were activated through FEMA’s ambulance contracts. An additional Disaster Medical Assistance Team remains pre-staged in the mid-Atlantic, prepared to deploy quickly along the East Coast if needed.

-- The U.S. Department of Energy is working closely with FEMA, and in support of state and local officials who are responsible for working with utilities as they prepare for storms, deployed emergency response personnel to FEMA Regional Response Coordination Centers in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, and additional personnel are on standby to assist. DOE is working with states and local partners as the electric industry engages in power restoration efforts.

-- National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster remains in close communication with the East Coast state VOAD's to coordinate on a regional, multi-state level. Currently 15 states have activated their VOAD networks for readiness actions; the National VOAD is sharing their activities and needs with all VOAD members and partners.

-- FEMA activated its National Business Emergency Operations Center. More than 330 representatives from retail, transportation, food and groceries, building management, and other industries receive daily briefings on key federal response efforts. These briefings assist in federal and private sector planning efforts, and provide a forum to discuss response efforts and challenges that may arise for maintaining business operations and provides the opportunity to collaborate on innovative solutions.

-- In preparation for the storm, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission placed inspectors in all nuclear power plants that could potentially experience impacts from the storm. Inspectors independently verify that plant operators are making the proper preparations and taking actions to ensure plant safety before, during and after the storm. Out of an abundance of caution, three reactors were shut down during the storm while another plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, is being closely monitored due to high water levels in its water intake structure. The NRC will continue to coordinate with other federal and state agencies prior to the restart of the affected plants.

-- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hydrometeorological Prediction Center is now tracking the remnants of Hurricane Sandy and providing regular forecast updates. NOAA National Weather Service weather forecast offices in the affected areas are working closely with local emergency management officials. NOAA navigation response crews are staged and ready to commence waterway surveys in the affected areas.

-- The U.S. Coast Guard has teams along the East Coast to conduct search-and-rescue missions, respond to and mitigate threats to public health and the environment, and it continues to assess and advise status of ports along the East Coast.

-- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is coordinating with FEMA and affected states to identify housing providers who may have available housing units, including public housing agencies and multi-family owners. HUD is also speeding federal disaster assistance to New York and New Jersey to provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes in the most heavily impacted areas. The president’s major disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey allow HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance to some families in the designated counties.

-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s regional Food and Nutrition Service leadership is working with state commissioners and program administrators in the affected areas to meet food needs for emergency shelters and feeding sites and to assist with Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program requests.

-- The U.S. Postal Service is prepared for a quick response before, during and after a hurricane, and it has procedures in place to expedite recovery efforts, including making sure there is timely delivery of mailed ballots.

According to the National Weather Service, dangerous weather conditions continue to exist in many parts of the Mid-Atlantic, according to the FEMA release. Individuals should continue to monitor NOAA Weather Radio and their local news for updates and directions provided by their local and tribal officials.

State, Tribal and local officials make determinations and announcements about evacuations, according to the FEMA release. States, localities and the Red Cross have emergency shelters open in many affected communities. To find a shelter, people can download the Red Cross Hurricane app, visit the Red Cross web site, or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
***

For those most affected by the storm, the arrival of assistance will seem too slow. As you can see, though, delivering aid involves a huge logistics problem and such things simply take time.

Help is on the way. There is a plan.

For those of you who may have missed it, a month or so ago we had a discussion about the military's NORTHCOM and the role in plays in disaster relief on Midrats in an interview with Brigadier General Donald A. McGregor, the Deputy Director of Operations for Domestic Operations, Headquarters, United States Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. You can find the show at Episode 140: NORTHCOM and Disaster Response or at our iTunes page here, Episode 140.

"Pakistan Sucks," Says a NY Times Op-Ed and "It's all America's fault."

Yes, well, ignore billions of dollars of U.S. Aid humanitarian aid poured into the sink hole that is Pakistan and in the midst of a flood, blame the Americans for a failing state, and you have an NY Times op-ed piece by Ali Sethi "Pakistan, Drowning in Neglect":

“That is not advisable,” he said. There were soldiers on the highway, and they wouldn’t want to be on camera. What were soldiers doing on the highway?

The answer came in evasive, fragmented sentences: there was an airbase on the Sindhi side of the highway. This was where the military’s newest F-16 fighter jets were parked. But local residents believed that the base also housed the notorious American drones used to kill Islamist militants in the mountains. If true, this meant that the military was getting tens of millions of dollars a year in exchange, none of which trickled down to the local population.
***
But there is at least one other way of looking at the country revealed by this natural disaster. This is a place where peasants drown in rice fields they don’t own, where mud-and-brick villages are submerged to save slightly less expendable towns, and where dying villages stand next to airbases housing the most sophisticated fighter jets in the world. Such a country is owed more than just aid, it is owed nothing less than reparations from all those who preside over its soil.

This includes politicians and bureaucrats, who are already being brought to account by a rambunctious electronic media, but also an unaccountably powerful military and its constant American financiers, who together stand to lose the most when the next wave comes.

How much aid? How about $17 billion dollars from FY 2002 to FY2011.

President Obama authorized $7.9 billion in October 2009.

Was some of this money spent to further U.S. interests?

I sure as hell hope so.

We are, after all, a country and not a charity.

Even with that, which country has hundreds of members of its military engaged in difficult rescue missions? Who will match the following (as of 16 Aug - I'm sure the totals are higher now)?

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2010 – Four U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters arrived today and U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo aircraft began transporting international aid within Pakistan as part of the continued U.S. humanitarian assistance in support of flood relief from the monsoon floods.

The four helicopters are part of the contingent of 19 helicopters urgently ordered to Pakistan last week by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. They bring to 11 the total number of U.S. military aircraft in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, two Air Force C-130 aircraft from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing in Afghanistan flew to the Pakistani air force base Chaklala in Rawalpindi this morning in response to a Pakistani government request to pick up and transport international relief supplies stored there for delivery to flood-stricken areas. These flights are scheduled to continue daily to assist with getting out urgently needed relief supplies. An estimated 52,000 pounds of relief supplies were delivered today to Sukkur for distribution by Pakistani government and military authorities.

To date, the United States has pledged to provide about $76 million in assistance to flood-affected populations in Pakistan. Support includes both financial assistance and the immediate provision of urgently needed supplies and services, drawing on unique U.S. capabilities and resources.

U.S. military helicopters have rescued 3,555 people and transported 436,340 pounds of emergency relief supplies in spite of bad weather. In addition, within 36 hours of the initial flooding on July 29, the United States began delivering thousands of packaged meals to Pakistan from U.S. stocks in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. In all, 436,944 meals that conform with Islamic law were provided to civilian and military officials in Pakistan for distribution to Pakistanis in need.

Two shipments of heavy-duty, waterproof plastic sheeting to be used in construction of temporary dry shelter arrived in Karachi over the past two days. The 770 rolls bring the number of sheeting materials rolls brought to Pakistan to 1,870, an amount expected to help in providing shelter for 112,000 people. Some 14,000 blankets were brought along with the sheeting last week.

“Our experience has shown that plastic sheeting is urgently needed for temporary shelters, and we know it is urgently needed in Sindh as the flood waters continue to move south,” said U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson. “It will be supplied along with locally purchased materials that can be easily moved when people are able to return home.”

The sheeting material will provide dry shelter for 46,800 people in Sindh province. The cargo is immediately being sent to a logistics hub in Sindh and will be distributed by local and international organizations.

Other U.S. contributions to date include:

-- A month’s emergency food rations to more than 307,000 people through a partnership with the World Food Program.

-- About $11.25 million for the United Nations Refugee Agency, $5 million for the International Committee of the Red Cross, $3 million to the World Health Organization and $4.1 million for Save the Children.

-- A total of 436,944 meals delivered to civilian and military officials in Pakistan within 36 hours of the initial flooding via U.S. Air Force airlift, a contribution of about $3.7 million.

-- Emergency relief items totaling about $4 million delivered to the National Disaster Management Authority. The items include: 18 Zodiac rescue boats, six water filtration units, 10 water storage bladders, 30 concrete-cutting saws and 12 pre-fabricated steel bridges. A 25-kilowatt generator was provided to the Frontier Scouts-KPk to support their flood relief efforts.

You want more? Go review this, which includes only the DoD involvement.

Let's turn the question back to the internal politics of Pakistan:
"Why did not Pakistan invest in more flood control instead of nuclear weapons?" After all, floods have happened for years:

Yet, little attention has been focused on why the flood and other natural hazards that have struck Pakistan have done so much damage. Pakistan has suffered from earthquakes, droughts and floods in recent years. In each case, the cost in terms of human life, suffering and material damage has been magnified by the country’s underdeveloped physical and social infrastructure. Previously, floods occurred in 1950, 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992 and 1993, washing away homes, crops, livestock, roads, schools and clinics. Mercifully, the extensive system of dams, embankments and canals—partly built with U.S. foreign assistance in the 1960s—has permitted some management of the downstream water flow, but this system was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the current flood.  (emphasis added)

I guess, though, to follow the popular phrase, "it would have been worse" without that aid from the 1960s. And, it also follows that if the Americans are willing to pay for flood control, that frees up Pakistani money for things like developing nuclear weapons technology.

Oh, wait, there was a disruption in aid to Pakistan?

But actual U.S. development assistance to Pakistan has been minimal since the large aid programs of the 1960s and early 1970s (the hey-day of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship). At that time, U.S. development assistance helped build roads, power stations and a vibrant agricultural economy. Since then, Pakistan has seen little cash for development projects from the United States.

Let's see, the liberal Brooking Institute couldn't bring itself to identify why the aid dropped, but I will (with the help of Wikipedia):

On the surface as well, Carter's diplomatic policies towards Pakistan in particular changed drastically. The administration had cut off financial aid to the country in early 1979 when religious fundamentalists, encouraged by the prevailing Islamist military dictatorship over Pakistan, burnt down a US Embassy based there. The international stake in Pakistan, however, had greatly increased with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The then-President of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, was offered 400 million dollars to subsidize the anti-communist Mujahideen in Afghanistan by Carter. General Zia declined the offer as insufficient, famously declaring it to be "peanuts"; and the U.S. was forced to step up aid to Pakistan. (emphasis added)

Of course, there was that "Symington Amendment" thingie:

The Symington Amendment (to the aforementioned Foreign Assistance Act) prohibits delivering or receiving economic assistance and military aid unless the President certifies that Pakistan has not obtained any nuclear-enriched material. The Glenn Amendment requires the termination of U.S. government economic assistance and military transfers due to Pakistan's testing of a nuclear device in 1998 (this applies to India as well). It also prohibits U.S. support for non-Basic Human Needs lending at the International Financial Institutes. The Pressler Amendment calls for sanctions on government to government military sales and new economic assistance unless the President certifies that Pakistan does not possess a nuclear device.

The Symington Amendment was first activated against Pakistan in 1979 because of Pakistan's importation of equipment for the Kahuta uranium-enrichment facility, a facility which is not subject to IAEA safeguards. However, the Soviet invasion of Afghansitan in 1979 led to a shift in U.S. proliferation policies towards Pakistan, and in 1981 Congress waived the Symington Amendment, citing national security concerns.

Until 1990, the United States provided military aid to Pakistan to modernize its conventional defensive capability. During this period the U.S. allocated about 40% of its assistance package to non-reimbursable credits for military purchases, the third largest program behind Israel and Egypt. The remainder of the aid program was devoted to economic assistance.

Soon after the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, in 1990 the Bush I Administration declined to make the certification that Pakistan does "not possess a nuclear explosive device and that the proposed U.S. assistance program will significantly reduce the risk that Pakistan will possess a nuclear explosive device." As a result the Pressler Amendment went into effect against Pakistan, ending all government to government military sales to Pakistan.

Speaking of Pakistan's "friends," how about explaining The Pakistan Taliban has threatened to attack foreign aid workers hampering efforts to get relief to the eight million people affected by the flooding?

In the meantime, forgive my lack of sympathy for the picture painted by Ali Sethi. Some beds you make all on your own.

Pakistan flood map from ReliefWeb. Click on it to enlarge.

Haiti Logistics: What the DLA Did

An under-reported story behind the U.S. military aid to Haiti concerning the Defense Logistics Agency as told by the - DLA's Sara Moore:

Immediately after the quake hit, DLA began coordinating with USSOUTHCOM, which had partnered with the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to assess the need for humanitarian support. In the following weeks, DLA deployed a support team to Joint Task Force Haiti, and the Agency’s field activities worked around the clock, filling hundreds of thousands of requests for ready-to-eat meals, bottles of water, medical supplies, health and comfort items, fuel, maps, repair parts for military equipment and construction materials.

The Agency established two DLA support teams to assist relief workers on the ground. Twelve logisticians forming DLA Support Team – Haiti were deployed to Haiti, and two members of the separate seven-member DLA Support Team – Migrant Ops were at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, doing preliminary work in case Haitian refugees were sent there.

Additional DLA representatives were aboard the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, and others worked with USSOUTHCOM in Miami, including members of DLA’s Joint Contingency Acquisition Support Office who helped establish a contracting office and evaluate contracting approaches.

As of March 12, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia had filled more than 9,000 requisitions valued at $76.5 million, including Meals, Ready-to-Eat, group rations, bottled water, ice, produce, commercial pre-packaged meals, tents, uniforms and construction supplies. Notably, DSCP provided 2.7 million ready-to-eat meals in support of the World Food Program, coordinating its effort with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The meals were allocated by USAID to support the World Food Program’s plans for 15 distribution sites, including orphanages and hospitals.

DLA also coordinated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to replenish FEMA stocks of 1 million ready-to-eat meals FEMA sent to Haiti.

In addition to providing food, DLA sourced construction material in support of Port-au-Prince pier reconstruction. DLA also provided hundreds of tents and cots to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which was used as a hub for humanitarian supplies headed to Haiti.

Employees are DLA’s field activities have spent countless hours supporting the Haiti relief efforts.

The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service provided more than $74 million in supplies like sleeping bags, generators and medical supplies, while the Defense Energy Support Center provided more than 500 drums of diesel fuel and 250 drums of motor gasoline.

Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., provided more than 68,000 maps and charts for U.S. forces operating in and around Haiti, and additional tie-down straps that were used to secure loads on aircraft and helicopters as they flew supplies into Haiti.

The Defense Distribution Center’s Supply Chain Transportation Division ran an around-the-clock operation to support disaster-relief efforts in Haiti. DDC SCT is responsible for coordinating transportation requirements for the DDC’s vendor base, including providing carriers, documentation and guidance as freight moves to its destination.

Photo:

BIREY, Haiti (Jan. 30, 2010) Sailors assigned to the amphibious dock-landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) unload a truck bed of meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) at a Birey, Haiti school. Carter Hall is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Monique Hilley/Released)

War in the Future: Satellite Alternatives and More

Very interesting discussion here about some alternatives to GPS satellites upon which the U.S. military (and, in point of fact, a whole lot of other folks, including merchant shipping and others) has grown very dependent:

The air force believes China is developing the ability to carry out a major attack on American military satellites. Their proposed solution is to take GPS out of orbit, and make it portable. High flying aircraft, UAVs or blimps would take over satellite communications, surveillance and navigation (GPS) chores, although for smaller areas. This would make GPS, and other satellite functions, more resilient to attack.

This is part of a trend in which military satellites are getting priced out of the market by cheaper manned aircraft and UAV alternatives. Even small, quickly launched micro-satellites, cost ten times more, per hour over the battlefield, than do alternatives. These now include things like weather balloons carrying satellite grade communications or sensors.

See also here and here. From the latter:

In the face of threats from jamming and attacks on satellites the United States must lessen its dependence on the Global Positioning System when faced with denied environments and develop alternatives to GPS, the top Air Force general said today.

A paper "Balloons in Today’s Military?" (circa 2005) from the Air War College Air & Space Power Journal is sort of on the topic- it involves the "near-space"- can be found here:

Many functions that are currently done with satellites could be performed, for tactical and operational commanders, using near-space assets more cheaply and with greater operational utility. To fully understand this fact, one must be able to grasp what the word “space” means to the war fighter. Sadly, too many people define space as a place where we operate satellites. That mind-set is, in a word, counterproductive. Space is not just a place and is not based on a specific platform type. To the warrior, space is a medium from which war fighters get effects—the proverbial “ultimate high ground.” If it has no direct effect on the battlefield, a war fighter has little use for it, especially in a time of crisis. Typically, space effects are strongly related to C4ISR. Until recently a large fraction of our C4ISR effects has been delivered from satellite platforms. The reason for operating in such a manner was that, in general, no other way existed to obtain similar effects. The extreme costs of space were easily justified due to the monopoly on the ability to provide the needed effects. However, with the advent of near-space concepts, the same effects can be obtained in a different way, especially for operational and tactical users. It is the individual effect that is paramount for the war fighter, not the platform or the environment where the platform resides. The primacy of the concept of space as a set of related effects, rather than a location or a set of platforms, is a true paradigm shift—and one long overdue.(illustration is from the article)

At least one system is being tested Combat SkySat. See here for a report on a 2008 Marine test launched off a Navy ship using the services of an Arizona Air National Guard unit:

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Daniel Barker, USS Boxer Public Affairs

USS BOXER, At Sea (NNS) -- Members of the Arizona Air National Guard embarked aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) demonstrated an advanced communication platform, the Combat SkySat balloon Dec. 5.

The most modern communication balloon platform available, the Combat SkySat is larger than a weather balloon, and has the potential to provide communications between ship and helicopter, ship to shore, and between those on shore.

"There are some places between leaving ships and during insertions or raids where communication can be problematic," said Arizona Air National Guard Master Sgt. Kris Errett.

"Attached to the SkySat balloon is a communications payload containing global positioning systems, radios, and a hanging antenna. There are separate radios, one to control the payload and another, a communications repeater, for personnel to communicate with each other."

Boxer is the first ship in the fleet to have the new communication balloon platform aboard. It has been developed over the past three years, and this is the first operational underway test to determine future utility for embarked Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU).

With a suspended ballast system, the latex balloon can be controlled to maintain an altitude between 60,000 – 85,000 feet above sea level. On its way up, the instrument cluster gathers information on wind direction and speed.

"Helium or hydrogen can be used to enable the balloon to fly" said Tech. Sgt. Craig Armstrong, Arizona Air National Guard. "We use helium due to its stability and accessibility."

In the base of the balloon is a venting system to release gas in order to reach a lower altitude. Hanging below the antennae is a five-pound box of sand, and by releasing sand the balloon climbs to a higher altitude.

"Once we're done with the mission we release the payload from the balloon," said Errett. "The payload has a parachute attached that opens after being released from the balloon. The balloon then climbs up to 120,000 feet, freezes, and bursts into many tiny pieces"

The Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (BOXESG) is currently underway in support of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Certification Exercise to prepare for an upcoming deployment.

Lower photo caption:

A Marine assigned to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) releases a Combat Sky satellite communication balloon from the deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4). Boxer is supporting the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Certification Exercise to prepare for an upcoming deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/Released)

And a report on a January 2009 test here.

While there are many other systems, something like the Combat Sky system would seem to be ideal for localized disaster relief operations, too.

More on some "near-space" ideas here:

Most near-space vehicles, such as Lockheed Martin's High Altitude Airship, are designed to operate in the 60,000-70,000-ft. altitude band, where average wind speeds tend to be low (AW&ST Dec. 19/26, 2005, p. 12). Higher air density at 60,000-ft.--known in near-space circles as the "sweet spot"--also improves engine efficiency, making it easier to move a huge airship. However, "If you go from 60,000 ft. to 100,000 ft., physics [dictates] that you more than double the horizon-to-horizon [sensor] coverage," Hawley notes.

See here and here for info on a system designed for sea launching.

And another Air War College paper here (pdf) on use of "Near Space Vehicles" (NSV) for persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) at the battlefield level.

All this point to an area to keep a tactical eye on.

UPDATE: With a Navy SEAL angle: Pentagon knows it wants an intel blimp, but not how to get it :

The aircraft could loiter above forward operating bases or safeguard friendly forces on the move; it could monitor suspected weapon caches, track people slipping through mountain passes and watch for improvised explosive devices, which have been responsible for an estimated 80 percent of coalition casualties in 2009.
The U.S. has fielded winged, wide-area surveillance aircraft to try to untangle bomb-planting networks through forensic analysis, but hybrid backers said an airship could do the job more effectively because of its persistence. A persistent-stare-type craft allows analysts to “rewind the tape” after a bombing and “see who planted it and where it came from, and so on and so forth,” said Alan Ram, vice president of Guardian Flight Systems, formerly Blackwater Airships.

That Lockheed ship may be a model for the future, but it still reminds of that horrible creature from Ghostbusters:

Which could, of course, strike terror in the hearts of the enemy.

Haiti: Some JLOTS Components in Use

U.S. Navy sailors, Marines and soldiers are working hard to find a means to improve the flow of disaster relief supplies into Haiti. Following are some Navy photographs of the effort to use tools in the military system to put needed materials on the beach.

Photo caption first two photos:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Jan. 24, 2010) Sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2, from Little Creek, Va., depart the Military Sealift Command maritime prepositioning ship USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus (T-AK-3011) after onloading equipment and supplies off the coast of Port-au-Prince. Jack Lummus and ACB-2 are supporting Operation Unified Response in the aftermath of an earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Justin E. Stumberg/Released)


The above photos show a powered component of the JLOTS/INLS system carrying equipment from USNS Lummus and then improvised system to marry a warping tug with a pontoon for delivery of a container. The heavy duty machine getting ready to move the container is a some form of a Rough Terrain Cargo Handler (RTCH) (generally pronounced "wretch").

It appear full JLOTS implementation is pending arrival of several other recently activated MSC/MARAD ships carrying additional components and cranes.

The port workaround is necessary because the main port for Haiti is broken, as the following pictures demonstrate:

The port in Port-au-Prince is left in shambles by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. The U.S. military is working to restore the port to working order. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel C. Pearson/Released)

(Jan. 25, 2010) Service members working with U.S. Marine Corps 8th Engineer Support Battalion use a bulldozer to remove submerged container boxes. Military engineers are conducting salvage and repair operations in the main seaport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Lussier/Released)

Below, sailors are trying to find another place that may work for supply efforts:

PETIT TROU DE NIPPES, Haiti (Jan. 23, 2010) Sailors assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) assess the feasibility of docking supply ships in a bay near the village of Petit Trou De Nippes, Haiti. Normandy is participating in Operation Unified Response, a multi-national humanitarian and disaster relief operation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/Released)

Haiti: Seaboard Marine to Resume Limited Shipping

Press release from Seaboard Marine:

Seaboard Marine is resuming vessel calls to Haiti and will have the first liner vessel to call in the Port-au-Prince area since the massive earthquake of January 12. The M/V Seaboard Sun, a RoRo vessel with a deadweight capacity of 7,748 tons, will call on the Port of Lafiteau on January 27, 2010. Lafiteau is less than ten miles from Port-au-Prince and has clear roads to the main part of the city. Our local personnel are currently repairing and securing the dock and facilities at Lafiteau.

Although the Seaboard Sun can carry all types of rolling cargoes, initial efforts will be solely restricted to humanitarian goods and infrastructure relief projects routed through major international relief entities and U.S. government agencies. The Seaboard Sun will initially utilize a specialized ramp to discharge cargoes. In order to maximize its vessel calls into Lafiteau, the ship will shuttle back and forth between Kingston, Jamaica and Lafiteau. Seaboard Marine has two vessel calls per week from Miami to Kingston and also weekly calls to Kingston from Brooklyn and Fernandina Beach. Cargoes will be relayed over Kingston on to the Seaboard Sun which will provide an all-water service to Port-au-Prince. The Seaboard Sun will call again on Lafiteau on January 30.

We are working closely with government partners and relief agencies. The logistical challenges are immense. As a result, cargo bookings are limited to those groups with consignees that have proven, secure and effective distribution networks in Haiti. Seaboard is committed to moving relief aid in the most efficient manner possible and it is critical that discharged containers be moved quickly to the distribution points and emptied immediately. We apologize for initially not being able to take bookings from all customers but we expect that such restrictions can be eased as the situation stabilizes.

Ro Ro vessel explained here. Vessel picture from Seaboard Marine.

UPDATE: Red arrow points to where I believe Port of Lafiteau, red blob is PaP airport.


With a hat tip to Leesea!

Haiti: Canadian aid

Troops: Canadian military team heading to Haiti:

The 1,000 military personnel, based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec, will be sent to the impoverished Caribbean country in the coming days.

"We have the aircraft available. We have secured time slots [for landing at the Port-au-Prince airport], which makes this a more orderly deployment," the minister said.

The soldiers will be serving as engineers, medics and security forces. They'll join at least 200 members of Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team, who are already in Haiti.

The troops from Valcartier will complement an additional 500 soldiers aboard two Canadian Navy vessels that are expected to reach Haiti's shores early this week.

Three water purification units were to leave CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario on Sunday and arrive in Haiti later in the day to set up "immediately," MacKay said.

Haiti: "Without the port, we'll starve"

CNN.com



Well, time to get the Navy "instant port" teams into action. See my earlier post Aid to Haiti: Port Broken? JLOTS could help.

Need cranes? Navy crane ships should be underway. Photo: SS Cornhusker State (ACS-6), SS Flickertail State (ACS-5) tied up at the Moon Engineering Corporation pier on the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, VA., 21 July 1994 for routine overhaul.US Department of Defense photo # DN-ST-95-00962 by Don Montgomery USN Ret.



About the crane ships:

Description
The six auxiliary crane ships are U.S. Maritime Administration Ready Reserve Force ships that can be quickly activated to support military sea transportation needs. These self-sustaining ships are useful in ports that have limited, damaged or undeveloped port facilities. When activated, they come under operational control of Military Sealift Command.

Features
The auxiliary crane ships are converted container ships with three twin boom pedestal cranes which can lift containers or other cargo from themselves or adjacent vessels and deposit the cargo on a pier or lighterage.

Background
The ten Keystone State Class ships are conversion crane ships the first of which was completed in 1984 and the last of which was completed in 1997. Five of the ships were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1990-91. USNS Gopher State acted as a temporary Army prepositioning ship in 1994. Four of the ten ships have been deactivated and transferred to the reserve fleet.

Update: Thanks to Ken Adams and Fred Fry for the linkage to the MSC ACS site.

International aid efforts for Haiti

BBC News - International aid efforts for Haiti under way:

International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake are under way, with governments across the world and aid agencies mobilising search and rescue teams and aid supplies.

Although the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear that it will pose a huge challenge.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008.

It needs all kinds of help, from emergency and medical aid, to food aid, to the longer-term rebuilding of infrastructure.

Map showing population exposure from here


Best way to flow massive amounts of aid is by sea.

Relief Supply Stockpiles

UN ReliefWeb map of storage sites for certain types of relief supplies:
Click on map to enlarge.

You might note there are some areas (China, southern South America) not well covered.

Ships will carry much of this stuff where needed.

Earthquake Aid

PADANG, Indonesia (Oct. 11, 2009) A relief agency worker photographs children from Hula Banda village as they use ShelterBoxes for cover from the prop blast of a CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 265. Each ShelterBox contains materials to sustain a family of 10 for several weeks. Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet is coordinating U.S. military assistance to victims of the recent earthquakes in West Sumatra, at the request of the Indonesian government. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Greg Johnson/Released)

ShelterBox? Explained here:

The purpose of Shelter Box USA, Inc. is to provide victims of disaster with shelter, by supporting the efforts of the Shelter Box Trust.

The function of Shelter Box USA, Inc. is, within the USA, to raise the money that provides the shelter for disaster victims.

Shelter Box is a grassroots Rotary club project which has rapidly grown to an international level.

The Shelter Box project was conceived and developed by Tom Henderson, a member of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, Cornwall District, in Great Britain as their Millennium Service Project. Struck with the urgent world-wide need for a self-contained emergency shelter unit when disaster occurs, Tom designed a tent, researched suppliers and, through trial and error, developed the Shelter Box.. The international relief agency Feed the Children, has called Tom's Shelter Box ‘the best disaster relief tool they have seen in their 20 years of experience'. Working primarily through UK Rotary clubs, Tom and his Rotary club has succeeded in exposing the Shelter Box project to over 25 million Brits and, as a result, distributed provided shelter for approximately one-third of a million people in the last six years.

In March, 2002, Tom approached the newly formed Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch (near Sarasota, FL) to become the primary Rotary administrator for the Shelter Box program in the United State, known as Shelter Box USA. This commitment involves promoting Shelter Box not only through the established US Rotary club network but to other community groups, corporate groups and individuals, as well. ShelterBox USA became a non profit 501(C)(3) organization, with a Board of Directors, in 2005.

As a result of exhibiting at the 2003 Rotary International Conference, Shelter Box USA was responsible for initiating two other national affiliates: Shelter Box Down Under (in Australia) and Shelter-Box Canada. Shelter Box Japan is the newest global partner.

See here:

ShelterBox was founded by Tom Henderson, a Rotarian and former Royal Navy search and rescue diver. He saw that the aid response to most disasters was in the form of food and medicine to help people survive the immediate aftermath.

Little or no assistance was given in terms of proper shelter to help them through the first few days, weeks and months as they tried to rebuild their lives. ShelterBox was launched to fill that void.

In 1999, Tom started researching the idea, sourcing equipment and twisting arms to get the project off the ground. His persistence paid off in April 2000 when ShelterBox was launched and the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall adopted it as its millennium project. Little did they know that it would become the largest Rotary club project in the world, with affiliates in eight countries.

So far as I know, neither Tom Henderson nor the Rotary Club have been nominated for or awarded a Nobel Prize for their efforts which now have provided shelter for over 1,000,000 people in emergencies. Main (UK) ShelterBox website.

Boxes are customized for different areas of the world:

Only new equipment is used and is carefully selected for durability, practicality and suitability for where it is needed. Tough, lightweight and waterproof, the box itself can also have many useful functions from food container to cot. We also continually work with a range of manufacturers to improve the quality and extend the range of equipment that we have available.

A range of equipment is kept in stock. This lets us adjust the contents of the box according to local conditions and what is most urgently needed. Sometimes particularly if other resources are available locally and the overwhelming need is for shelter we will just send tents and pack two in each box.

Each box is 23.7 (570mm) wide by 33.2 (842mm) long by 22.4 (602mm) deep giving a capacity of 40.7gallons (185 litres). Fully packed, a box generally weighs between 110lbs and 130lbs (50 to 60kg). Each box costs an average of £490 including all materials, packing, storage and distribution to individual recipients worldwide. Based on six months use only this equates to 27 pence per person per day.

Ten years ago we were trying to cobble together materials like this for refugees from Kosovo and for their return as cold weather approached.

International Scouting involved, too:


Hat's off for Tom and the Rotary Clubs behind this project.

And that big helicopter? Brought to you by the U.S. Marines and the United States Navy - and the people of the United States. See here. U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army out there, too.

Disaster Relief: Military Provides Rescue, Humanitarian Support in Pacific

Military Provides Rescue, Humanitarian Support in Pacific:

By Donna Miles and Lt. j.g. Theresa Donnelly, America Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- While U.S. special operators conduct a massive rescue effort after devastating flooding in the Philippines, the Hawaii Air National Guard and USS Ingraham are headed to American Samoa to support rescue and humanitarian relief there following a massive earthquake and tsunami.

The Hawaii Air Guard is slated to fly two C-17 Globemaster III transport jets to American Samoa today in response to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requests, Air Force Maj. Rene White, a Pentagon spokeswoman, reported.

The aircraft will transport cargo and personnel required to support disaster relief efforts, she said.

Meanwhile, USS Ingraham, homeported at Naval Station Everett, Wash., is en route to provide needed support, White said. Ingraham is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate.

FEMA officials asked the Defense Department to provide medical triage, hazardous material response, mass casualty care and strategic airlift. Officials are identifying the appropriate units to provide this support, White said.

An 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck 120 miles south of American Samoa yesterday afternoon, generating 15-foot waves in some of the territories' islands that wiped out entire villages. At least 65 people are reported dead in Samoa, more than 20 in American Samoa, and at least six in neighboring Tonga.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in the affected communities," White said.

Meanwhile, members of Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines assisted the Philippine armed forces in rescuing 52 people stranded by massive flooding during Tropical Storm Ketsana earlier this week.

The storm, known locally as Tropical Storm Ondoy, struck in the Manila area Sept. 27 and 28. The floods displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and the most recent reports indicate that nearly 100,000 people have been relocated, according to Philippines Disaster Management Services.

Members of Navy SEAL teams and Naval Special Boat Teams 12 and 20, and U.S. medical troops attached to the Philippines task force responded, working with the island nation's military and government officials to rescue people from rooftops, deliver food and distribute medical supplies, officials reported.

Joint special operations task force rescue teams launched two F-470 Zodiac boats in the flood waters and worked through the night transporting people to schools, churches and evacuation shelters. The teams also helped to rescue a woman in labor who was stranded in a flooded-out house.

In addition, task force teams delivered 500 pounds of food to a high school Sept. 27 and contracted a civilian helicopter the following day to deliver 4,200 pounds of food and water in Cainta, northeast of Pasig city.

"These people lost their houses [and] cars and might still be looking for family members," said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Porter, a joint special operations task force medic who provided medical care. "I wanted to do anything and everything I could do to help the Filipino people. I was glad I could be a part of the rescue efforts."

Local officials praised the response. "The work the U.S. military did was terrific," said Roman Romulo, Pasig City congressman. "I was very thankful for U.S. support. Your teams were able to successfully go to Santa Lucia High School to help deliver food. It was a big boost that your people were helping us."

American Samoa is the only U.S. possession in the southern hemisphere. It is slightly larger than Washington, D.C., covering 76.2 square miles, and has about 57,000 citizens.

C-17 Photo from Boeing. Philippine map from UN. Somoa map from U.S. Park Service. Clcik on them to enlarge.