via Marines.mil
USS GERMANTOWN (LSD 42) and USS ASHLAND (LSD 48)This roster of men and materials shows why the US method of disaster relief, or more precisely the Pentagon way of disaster relief is a fraud. Its a department failure as well as a Marine/Navy failure.
• 3 Landing Craft Air Cushion – 60 ton load capable
• 2 Landing Craft Utility
• Flight deck w/ 4 helo spots
• 850 Marines
• Water production: 72,000 gallons/day
• 5 tactical water purification kits – 1,500 gallons/hour each
Medical contingent
• 2 doctors
• 2 dentists
• 22 corpsmen
• 16 beds in wards with 4 isolation beds
• 1 X-ray machine
• 1 general surgeon
• 1 nurse anesthetist
• 1 OR nurse
• 1 surgical tech
• 1 ICU corpsman
Transportation/engineering
• 5 rigid hull inflatable boats
• 14 amphibious vehicles (AAVs)
• 8 dump trucks
• 30 multipurpose Humvees
• 20 7-ton, 10-foot bed trucks
• 4 7-ton longbed trucks
• 6 600-gallon fuel tanks
• 12 10Klb forklifts with buckets (TRAM)
• 2 5Klb forklift
• 1 tow truck
• 12 inflatable boats (CRRC)
• 3 bull dozers
• 6 M105 Pull Behind Trailers for Humvee
• 21 generators (8 MEP806s, 5 MEP805, 6 MEP803s)
Water and MREs
• 40,000 MREs
• 9 water tank trailers, 440-gallon water storage capacity, 2,200-gallon water distribution capability
• 2 water tanks - 600-gallon water storage capacity, 1,200-gallon water distribution capability
Why do I say that?
Simple. The Marines rushed MV-22s and C-130s to the disaster. The Navy rushed an aircraft carrier and associated battle group to the area. The Air Force sent its planes....but its all for naught and is relatively meaningless.
Help can't really come till you put men ashore with the proper heavy equipment to finally get a relief effort flowing.
Perhaps the early effort was to keep the population calm. Perhaps it was to prop up the Philippine government.
It really doesn't matter. When the US Navy amphibious ships arrive with their contingent of Marines is when the REAL relief effort begins.
Everything else is just a show.
You forgot to add the 10 pallets of food being delivered by LCS. Expect to see pictures and video, massive media coverage of that major effort....
ReplyDeleteLast I heard it was laid up with broken steering, I wouldn't be surprised if it showed up and started picking around for spare parts...
DeleteYou're wrong, Josh O. What do you think those 10 pallets are? They are spare parts for the LCS! :)
DeleteBesides, that what George Washington is for. The LCS joins with GW and then heads for Tacloban. Should there be an engine failure, GW can "tow" the LCS back to Singapore. Now THAT will be news indeed! A large CVN towing the LCS back home.
the Navy is just following the Marine Corps lead of trying to prop up a piece of gear. the failure is that they were actually honest enough to list what it carries. 10 pallets couldn't help a small town much less the number of people that are hurting. additionally it could have gotten their quicker by other means. but its part of the dog and pony show so its all good.
DeleteThe entire US HA/DR mission is wrong, by doctrine there has to be training value to justify putting boots on the ground. We don't need all the fancy gear, this mission could have been accomplished by airlifting NGOs/IGOs/USAID types in along with some individuals to coordinate and maybe a BLT. The GoP has a fairly experianced military, this is not Botswana here. The GoP is more than capable of handling this, in addition we are flooding the area with individuals who want to do things the "American" way. This is not the Philippine way, you are going to get a bunch of young officers and SNCOs that want to improve the quality of life of the citizens to better than it was before. This will fail, and we will spend millions figuring that out.
ReplyDeleteHA/DR mission = PTSD treatement !
ReplyDeleteGood to see that Dual-Use Gear employed this way to help an ally facing nasty weather odds and a Red Star in the West stealing its fish and geological resources within the Philippines' EEZ.
ReplyDeleteThese tech-data points are politically very important anywhere around the world, but particularly domestically here and in DC budgetary discussions. This is one most obvious and very effective way to underscore the USMC's prime function as amphibious rapid reaction force. Even 'doves' appreciate the Soft-Power Dual-Use of showing up with an MEU/CSG assets-mix.
Good foreign-politically as well.
No other force is there with this foot-print.
Is China PLAN is still war-gaming off Malaysia ??
Cynical, impotent, numb-skull mindset...
Good to see these tech-data publicized in clear support if the relevance of USN/USMC Forward-Position policies. Seeing this Good Will-force materialize is a good reminder for everyone of the potential of such Dual-Use Capabilities. This will roll back the nut-wing PH-nationalism resistance to US-basing.