UPDATE II:
As mentioned below, other agencies are also contributing to the aid and relief efforts in the Philippines.
One of these is the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Quietly and unheralded, “the Israeli medical mission to the Philippines set up a field hospital in the City of Bogo, at the northern end of Cebu Island, shortly after landing there Thursday morning,” according to Haaretz.
On Thursday morning, two Israeli planes landed in Manila, one carrying 140 medical and support staff to assist in international rescue activities, and the other carrying equipment to build a field hospital in the city of Bogo, at the northern end of Cebu Island.
And on Friday — just hours after the IDF got settled in– five Israeli medics delivered a baby boy. The baby was born in the eighth month of his mother’s pregnancy and weighed less than five pounds.
Guess what the baby’s name is. How about “Israel.”
Read more about this touching story here
UPDATE I
Some photographic updates:
Naval Aircrewman 2nd Class Justin Peach, from Riverside, Calif., prepares to drop supplies from an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Golden Falcons of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12, into Tacloban in support of Operation Damayan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman
U.S. Marines load supplies onto an MV-22 Osprey assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Tacloban, Philippines, Nov. 14, 2013, in support of Operation Damayan.
A U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, center, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 prepares to drop supplies over Tacloban Airfield in Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines, Nov. 14, 2013, in support of Operation Damayan.
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Original Post:
As logistics and security problems begin to hamper rescue and relief operations in the typhoon-devastated areas of the Philippines, the U.S. government, the U.S. military and other agencies continue to assist in rescue and evacuation and deliver supplies and medical aid as more is on the way. But the U.S. government acknowledges the problems.
The New York Times reports a senior official assigned to the effort saying that the effort is focused mainly on food, water, shelter and medicine, but that the provision of fuel in the city was “very much on our radar screen — that is a whole part of the logistical morass we’re working our way through.”
Other officials said, according to the Times, that “the number of American uniformed personnel on the ground in the Philippines, currently at about 300, would rise to 1,000 in the next few days, with most coming from a Marine base in Okinawa, Japan. The official said the United States was helping transport Filipino soldiers assigned to the disaster zone, which cuts through the middle of the country” and “a land route into Tacloban had been reopened, which would ease the bottleneck at the airport. ‘It was like squeezing orange juice through a straw,’ one said. ‘Now we have more straws.’” And “Despite the problems in Tacloban, the World Food Program said Wednesday that it had managed to provide family-size packets of rice and canned goods to nearly 50,000 residents and that 500 tons of rice was en route.”
In the meantime, the U.S. military has created a new joint task force to lead what is now called “Operation Damayan” to perform the disaster relief efforts in the Philippines. “Damayan” means “help in time” in the Tagalog language.
And, this from the U.S. Navy:
Sailors conduct a post-flight safety check of the catapults on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is en route to the Republic of the Philippines to support Operation Damayan, the humanitarian efforts in response to Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Liam Kennedy)
George Washington Strike Group (GWSG) arrived in the vicinity of the Leyte Gulf today to support the Third Marine Expeditionary Brigade in assisting the Philippine government in ‘Operation Damayan’ in response to the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Republic of the Philippines.
“We’ve completed our high-speed transit and linked up with our U.S. Navy logistical assets from Commander, Task Force 73, which brings 7th Fleet naval forces to participate in ‘Operation Damayan’ in the Republic of the Philippines,” said Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, commander, GWSG. “Specifically, the aircraft carrier, USS George Washington and the cruisers USS Antietam and USS Cowpens will go to a position just off the eastern coast of Samar island in order to begin to assess the damage and provide logistical and emergency support to include medical and water supplies.”
In preparation to provide relief support, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 flew a number of fixed winged aircraft to Naval Air Facility Atsugi this morning creating more room on the carrier’s flight deck for helicopter operations.
“One of the best capabilities the Strike Group brings is our 21 helicopters. These helicopters represent a good deal of lift to move emergency supplies around.”
Also, today the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10) transported 11 pallets ashore – 8 pallets containing 1920 gallons of water and 3 pallets of food stores to Tacloban airfield. The Charles Drew is also moving several pallets of water to Guiuan airfield today.
“We have ships conducting a variety of missions. The USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) is surveying water conditions in the Leyte Gulf. USNS Charles Drew and USS Lassen have helicopters and supplies that are bringing emergency supplies into Tacloban, one of the hard hit areas. Emory S. Land also provides a good ship-to-shore hotel services to Tacloban. The George Washington, Cowpens and Antietam are off the east coast of Samar. A third area of focus is Ormoc, where we’re sending USS Mustin right now,” said Montgomery.
Currently, the George Washington Strike Group consists of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Cowpens (CG 63) and USS Antietam (CG 54), Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Lassen (DDG 82) and USS Mustin (DDG 89), and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10), Pathfinder class oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62), and submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS-39).
Here are some images of that relief effort.
U.S. Navy File photo of hospital ship USNS Mercy that has been activated to be ready to support ongoing disaster relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.
Filipino civilians displaced by Typhoon Haiyan board a KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft on Tacloban Air Base, Nov. 12, 2013, for transport to Manila, Philippines. U.S. service members are assisting the Philippine armed forces as they preform recovery efforts for the people affected by the deadly typhoon.
U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Jacques Mason, right, and U.S. Marine Cpl. Zachery Stapf, help an injured Filipino civilian from a C-130 Hercules aircraft at Vilamor Air Base in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 12, 2013. Mason, a crew master, is assigned to Marine Aerial Refueling Transport Squadron 152, and Stapf, a landing support specialist, is assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 4
Lt. Wayne Simonds, medical administration officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), inventories available medical supplies in the medical supply storage room. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is en route to the Republic of the Philippines to support humanitarian assistance efforts in response to Typhoon Haiyan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Liam Kennedy
Lead image: U.S. Marines assist Filipinos displaced by Typhoon Haiyan as they depart a KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft at Vilamor Air Base in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 12, 2013. The Marines are assisting Philippine armed forces in the wake of the devastating typhoon.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.