SINGAPORE : Humanitarian relief donations have been airlifted
from Singapore onto US naval ships heading to tsunami-hit areas in
Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
With a large volume of relief supplies creating a bottleneck, it is
now a logistical challenge to get them delivered to the
survivors.
US Marine helicopters are more accustomed to transporting troops;
instead they are carrying much needed relief supplies, like bottled
water picked up from Guam.
As soon as the relief aid arrived at Singapore's Paya Lebar Air
Base, it was airlifted by choppers and stored onboard the USS
Bonhomme Richard.
US Rear Admiral Chris Ames, commander of the Expeditionary Strike
Group 5, said, "We have capabilities across the strike group that
is quite unique and particularly well suited for this type of
humanitarian assistance disaster relief operation.
"We have about 29 helicopters that are heavy- and medium-lift
capable and they can provide the reach to take the disaster food,
water that are piling up across the region and distribute them into
the remote sections where they are most devastated by the
tsunami."
The USS Bonhomme Richard left its home port in San Diego in early
December for its scheduled deployment in the Persian Gulf when it
received its new mission order: To pick up humanitarian relief
supplies along the way to the tsunami-hit areas.
There are more than 2,000 US Marines in the strike group and they
will be doing more than just make a quick delivery.
Said Colonel Thomas Greenwood, commanding officer, 15th Marine
Expeditionary Unit,
"We come with a lot of trucks, a lot of equipment which can make
water, a lot of food and engineering gear when we go ashore in Sri
Lanka.
"We cover the spectrum of not just delivering food and water,
medical supplies but we can also remove debris from the roads and
provide limited medical support and infrastructure
improvements."
The USS Bonhomme Richard also has a 60-plus strong medical staff
manning four operating rooms.
Its hospital ward is also capable of taking in nearly 60 patients.
- CNA