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How the U.S. is Helping Others! Pacific Partnership, DoD Blogger Roundtable
USNS Mercy off Indonesian Coast – Photo Credit BelowIt was a visual I clearly saw as Captain James Morgan reminded us of the 2004 massive earthquake and tsunami and the tragic events and impact on the Indian Ocean countries (has it really been almost eight years?). The destruction and human misery was beyond our understanding. The plight of the survivors with no water, no food, raw sewage everywhere, clothes sometimes stripped off them and trying to find family members who had been separated was just heart rendering. The fantastic international response also reminded me of the Haitian earthquake and how the US military supported the effort to save lives and…
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Veterans in the News
I love to see relevant and factual stories about veterans in the news. Their service, patriotism, family touches and caring for others despite the tragedies of war are mentioned often. But why does the media insist on placing “Veteran” in the headline when it has no relevance? Caring for injured Haitians DoD PhotoThere seems to be a trend in the news lately. I am a fan of the news and freedom of the press in the US! It is one of our freedoms that makes this country great and allows us to keep up to date as citizens. By the way, I think that bloggers also should be protected by…
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Task Force Kout Men (Helping Hands) in Haiti – DoD Roundtable
With so many things grabbing our attention in this very busy world little notice was made of the recent deployment of forces to continue with the humanitarian assistance programs in Haiti following that country’s devastating earthquake. What is particularly surprising is that the Louisiana National Guard is leading this effort while facing its own disaster at home with the oil spill. Showing our national spirit of supporting those in need once again, the Guard is leading a joint force of responders with components from active, Reserves and Guard forces. Col Michael Borrel, is the Commander of “Task Force Kout Men”, Creole for Helping Hands. Despite an extremely busy schedule he…
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Joint Task Force Haiti to Close – New Horizons to Follow! DoD Roundtable
The Joint Task Force Haiti will close on the 1st of June as the original missions to save lives; provide food and water; reduce suffering and mitigate the effects of rainy season weather on displaced Haitians living in camps have been accomplished! I might say, Accomplished Successfully! I have been meeting with the leaders of this superb humanitarian relief effort since the beginning! From a one on one interview with Lt General Keen, the commander of the Joint Task Force when it was created in January, following the disastrous earthquake, to unit commanders, I have had the opportunity to almost feel like I was on the ground in Haiti! Interviews…
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Wordless Wednesday – A Tribute to Our Service Members in Haiti
If you would like to see more of their story please go to MilitaryAvenue.com’s Our Letters to You for a series of blogs on how our military personnel saved lives in Haiti! Photo Credits: Master Sgt. Douglas Brook and Tech. Sgt Nicholas Wentworth, Air Force Special Operations Command, perform medical care to a Haitian man at the Toussaint L’ouverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 18, 2010. The man was injured in the earthquake that rocked the country Jan. 12, 2010. The Airmen are certified emergency medical technicians. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell E. Cooley IV) Photo Credit: Spc. Brent Nailor of the 82nd Airborne Division 1st Squadron, 73rd…
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“A Little Bit of Hope, Help…” The Engineers in Haiti – DoD Roundtable
“A Little Bit of Hope, Help” … is how US Navy CAPT James Wink, the chief engineer for Joint Task Force-Haiti responded to a question on how the Haitian people are responding to their crisis and what they needed. The resilience of the Haitians according to the Captain is amazing! I have heard this comment repeatedly during other interviews with those involved in the humanitarian assistance efforts since the earthquake on January 12th. I was able to interview CAPT Wink this morning during a Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable. He had some great facts but his description of a young boy, his own child’s age, sitting on the street, seeing…
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“Dignity, Respect, Order”: 82nd Airborne Division in Haiti – DoD Roundtable
The DoD Bloggers Roundtable met to receive an update on earthquake relief efforts in devastated Haiti! Col. Tim McAteer commander of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne, Ft Bragg, NC met with us to provide lessons learned and “2nd BCT Commander’s perspective”. He assumed command in Haiti on 9 February 2010 and the 82nd continues to provide relief while preparing to redeploy and assume its role as the Global Response Force on call Brigade on 1 April 2010. The colonel highly praised all those responders to the Haitian crisis and said the initial response of American forces to provide security and order in Port-au-Prince was critical to the establishment of good…
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US Military Responds to the Earthquake in Chile – DoD Roundtable
The US military continues to respond to natural disasters with our medical, engineers, airlift and numerous other resources! We still have forces in Haiti and have responded to a request of Chile’s government for assistance there after their 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami at the end of February. Our world wide “first responders” are busy and creating goodwill in nations that need help is a critical mission! The DoD Bloggers Roundtable talked with Air Force Colonel Byron Mathewson, commander of U.S. military forces deployed to Chile in support of earthquake relief operations today for an update on their efforts. He specifically addressed USAF C-130 relief support, a Navy Port Assessment…
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The “Can Do” Seabees in Afghanistan – DoD Roundtable
The Afghanistan surge approved by the President includes two additional Navy Seabee Construction Battalions as part of the 30,000 additional military personnel bound for that war zone. Rear Adm. Handley, Commander of the First Naval Construction Division provided some great background and answered the questions of the bloggers present at the DoD Bloggers Roundtable this morning. The Admiral said one new battalion of Navy Seabees just arrived in Afghanistan and a second will arrive in March bringing the force up to four battalions in country. He emphasized the importance of their role in building infrastructure and adjustments to deployment schedules to meet the increased demand for the Seabees’ construction capabilities.…
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Exercise Cobra Gold – DoD Roundtable
As the world watches the humanitarian effort in Haiti we have come to appreciate the capability of the U.S. and allied military resources to respond with such effectiveness to a natural disaster of such magnitude. Despite the claims of some the US military was the only force capable of providing relief supplies and medical care on that scale in those conditions. Meanwhile, 12 time zones away the U.S. military continues its efforts to build international support and cooperation with a large scale exercise in Thailand, the site of another catastrophic disaster several years ago when the tsunami struck. The Department of Defense Live (DoDLive) Bloggers Roundtable spoke with Lt. Gen.…
