Capital social, gobernanza y desarrollo territorial

—Admiral Arleigh Burke, USN, 1961

15

_{Chief of Naval Operations}

 C h ap te r 6 H u m an it ar ia n A ss is ta nc e an d D is as te r R es po n se

Chapter 6

Humanitarian Assistance

and Disaster Response

During the nineteenth and most of the twentieth centuries, the very thought that sea powers might regularly use naval platforms to deliver humanitarian aid, as opposed to cutting off and starving an enemy’s supply lines, would have seemed alien. In the twenty-first century, however, national power and prestige are more and more characterized by “soft power.” UNIFIED ASSISTANCE showed that “hard power” assets like aircraft carriers can also be the best providers of “soft power.”17

—Bruce A. Elleman, Waves of Hope, 2007

Naval Historian

Background

On 26 December 2004 major portions of Southeast Asia were ravaged by a tsunami, a broad-ranging catastrophe that impacted thousands of communities and directly affected nine countries. Within days U.S. naval forces from around the globe were mobilized to provide aid. III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) was designated as the command element for Combined Support Force 536 to conduct Operation UNIFIED

ASSISTANCE. Twenty-two U.S. ships, including the ABRAHAM LINCOLN Carrier Strike Group, BONHOMME RICHARD Expeditionary Strike Group, USS ESSEX, USS FORT MCHENRY with a special purpose MAGTF, USCGC MUNRO, USNS JOHN MCDONNELL and six maritime prepositioning ships were diverted from their scheduled routes to render aid that included subsistence, medical support, engineering support, port hydrographic surveys and extensive debris removal. U.S. naval forces did not work in isolation; their immediate response evolved into a multifaceted effort that included other Services, other agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), other countries, non- governmental organizations (NGOs), and private volunteer organizations. Naval Service capabilities to establish maritime security and project combat power have repeatedly proven effective at responding to major

N av al O pe ra tio ns C on ce pt 20 10 6

disasters. From 1970 through 2000, U.S. forces were involved in 366 humanitarian missions, a number made more significant when compared to the 22 combat-related missions during the same period.18 _{In recent} years, U.S. naval forces have responded to an earthquake in Pakistan, Hurricane Katrina on the U.S. Gulf Coast, typhoons in the Philippines, a mudslide on the island of Leyte, a hurricane in Nicaragua, cyclones in Bangladesh, and a bridge collapse in the United States. Even more recently, naval forces deployed to provide leading support to disaster relief operations following the earthquake that devastated Haiti. These forces included the aircraft carrier USS CARL VINSON, USS BATAAN ARG/22nd _{MEU, USS NASSAU ARG/24}th _{MEU, USNS COMFORT, NECC} personnel, PSU 307, USCGC FORWARD, HAMILTON, OAK, MOHAWK, TAHOMA and VALIANT, and more than twenty other U.S. ships. Operating without reliance on ports and airfields ashore, and in pos- session of organic medical support, strategic and tactical lift, logistics support, robust communications capabilities and premier planning and coordination tools, both globally-distributed and regionally concentrated naval forces are ideally suited for “humanitarian assistance and disaster response” (HA/DR) in the littorals where the preponderance of the world’s population resides. Usually performed in support of U.S. government partners, HA/DR activities include, but are not limited to, defense support to civil authorities, humanitarian and civic assistance, foreign humanitarian assistance, foreign disaster relief, foreign assistance, humanitarian evacuation, development assistance, maritime environmen- tal response operations, and selected aspects of security assistance, in accordance with their doctrinal definitions.

Opportunity and Challenge

The world population has been migrating to the littorals, creating a situation in which episodic natural or man-made disasters have greater potential to cause catastrophic human suffering. Both globally distributed and regionally concentrated naval forces will continue to be called upon to conduct HA/DR operations, either in the lead or in support of an international effort. Additionally, geographic combatant commanders are increasingly employing humanitarian assistance proactively to promote safety, security, and stability. Both proactive and reactive HA/DR efforts are undertaken alongside the host nation; other participating nations;

 multinational, regional, and non-governmental organizations; and in

close coordination with counterparts at the Department of State, USAID and other federal agencies. The challenge to U.S. naval forces is to enhance their ability to conduct HA/DR without degrading naval forces’ capability and proficiency to conduct more traditional naval missions. Given their forward presence, inherent mobility and flexible capabilities, U.S. naval forces are frequently the “force of choice” for such missions. However, the demands of emergent, reactive HA/DR can affect readiness, logistical sustainment and operational dwell, and often require contin- gency funding in order to reset those units involved.

Central Idea

HA/DR is a core capability. Proactive HA/DR activities employ U.S. globally distributed, mission-tailored naval forces to address ally and partner needs that may not be directly related to national security, but they reflect the values and desires of the American people to render aid and reduce suffering. In so doing, these activities enhance or restore critical host nation capacity, provide an opportunity to engage with a broader cross- section of the host nation’s population, and build relationships that serve to increase trust. Activities undertaken during reactive HA/DR have a similar effect, but the often extreme circumstances and severe risks to the population that characterize such events demand an immediate response that can only be provided by expeditionary naval forces trained and proficient in diverse crisis response operations.

Proactive HA/DR

Enduring, rotational missions like PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP and CONTINUING PROMISE build critical partner capacity and improve disaster response readiness through training and the development of habitual relationships with relevant partner ministries, departments and officials. Such global maritime partnership initiatives, along with special purpose Marine air-ground task forces (SP MAGTFs) formed to conduct security cooperation activities, complement other joint, intera- gency, international and NGO efforts that leverage their own unique skills, expertise, and host nation contacts. The day-to-day coordination of Naval Service, joint, interagency, international and NGO proactive HA/DR efforts sets conditions for effective collaboration when an in-extremis response is required.

C h ap te r 6 H u m an it ar ia n A ss is ta nc e an d D is as te r R es po n se

N av al O pe ra tio ns C on ce pt 20 10  Reactive HA/DR

Reactive HA/DR operations not only meet the urgent needs of the partner, they enhance Naval Service mission readiness across the full range of military operations. Usually requiring only modest adjustments to how naval forces are organized, deployed, and employed, reactive HA/DR operations pose the same challenges to naval forces as those encountered during security related crisis response operations. Employing expeditionary naval capabilities—intelligence, surveillance, and

reconnaissance (ISR), maneuverability, sustainability, lift, medical care, construction engineering, and more—combined with planning and command and control (C2) proficiency; joint and interagency protocols; habitual military-to-military and political-military relationships with partners; and growing relationships with other international and non-governmental organizations; the Naval Service is uniquely suited to respond to disasters and to provide humanitarian assistance across a broad range of circumstances. Formal C2, supported/supporting, and coordination relationships with the responding entities will be rapidly established to ensure that the responsible authority possesses the latitude and wherewithal to meet the unique demands of the crisis. In this regard, the Naval Service will be mindful of the host nation’s sovereignty and will respond with due regard for the host nation’s desires and the U.S. lead agency’s direction.

The Naval Service has staged critical HA/DR supplies on select ships, and prepositioned larger quantities at forward locations around the world, including Souda Bay in the Mediterranean, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and Guam in the Western Pacific. This posture reduces the response time for reactive HA/DR missions and permits the Naval Service to better leverage the flexibility of globally dispersed, mission-tailored forces.

Summary

In today’s globally connected world, news of humanitarian crises and natural or man-made disasters is reported almost immediately. Although the primary focus of naval forces remains combat effective- ness, their multi-mission capabilities allow those same forces to provide rapid assistance that can mitigate human suffering and restore critical partner capacity.

Events of October 1962 indicated, as they had