Posted on 01/01/2005 1:06:28 PM PST by kingu
Reuters finally broke the story about USS Abraham Lincoln and it's task force bringing aid to the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia, and briefly mentions some of the aid being given to Sri Lanka, but there is more to the story...
Resupply ships, such as AORs, are detaching themselves from the aircraft carrier task force and from Diego Garcia and are fanning out to more isolated islands and using their three launches and two helicopters to bring aid to those in need. The plan is to make two deliveries to each community they come across. The first, sadly enough, is to bring body bags, the most requested aid at the moment. The second delivery brings water purifiers, MREs, aid packs (those infamous yellow bagged kits) and one 50k generator.
After five hours of deliveries, everyone re-boards and the AOR makes way at combat speed to the next aid location, pre-chosen from updated sat imaging.
Islands that have been completely wiped out are being serviced by air drops of floatation devices and aid packs in the vague hope that someone may be alive to use them. All of this has been going on for the last few days, even though the Pentagon has been rather silent on broadcasting this information. (Likely because of diplomatic issues.)
Those who are performing this service are fiercely proud of what they are doing while the media continues to focus on who is giving how much money when. While bucks will be useful in the future, money means nothing when there is no place to spend it. Many islands have lost their vital links with more populous areas as their cargo ships have been beached or destroyed by the tsunami waves and currents.
I'm trying to get clearance to post photos or more detailed stories, but PacFlt is being horribly slow (most of the senior press office folks are on Christmas leave.) I'm only able to post this information because Reuter's made reference to other aid areas.
I hope everyone will lift a glass in support of those who are 'doing' rather than 'talking of doing.'
Thank you! I am sending money.
Your source ought to request an embedded reporter.
Learned long ago that those who talk about things have a tendency to talk things to death, but those who actually take charge and start the physical process are the ones who get the job done. That's the difference between the military and diplomacy.
Less talk - more action.
Go Navy!
(Air Force, too! :)
We're the good guys. Always have been, always will be.
Proud of our armed forces ping!!
bump
| 3 survivors walk for 5 days, find no one alive on coast |
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| Posted by Pikamax On 01/01/2005 3:28:24 PM CST · 1 reply · 23+ views Mercury News ^ | 01/01/05 | Richard C. Paddock 3 survivors walk for 5 days, find no one alive on coast By Richard C. Paddock Los Angeles Times LHOKNGA, Indonesia - For five days, the three friends walked across a 95-mile wasteland of death and destruction. Living on coconuts, cassava and unopened noodle packets they found along the way, they hiked along the west coast of Sumatra through 150 villages that had been reduced to rubble by Sunday's massive earthquake and tsunamis. They swam across 15 rivers where bridges had been washed away. They passed more bodies than they could count, including some that had lain in the tropical... |
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Once again this illustrates the importance of Navy carrier groups and Navy P-3 squadrons positioned around the globe.
Normally we think of the carrier quick response strength and power but today we are reminded of the humaniarian strength that a US Navy carrier group has at its immediate disposal. The generators of ships and the onboard water purifying plants can make the different for entire cities much more quickly than Air Force transports can get smaller pieces of equipment there. Medical staff and the hospital on board the ships bring care faster than field hospitals can be built.
The Navy P-3s were in the air and over the devastated areas faster than any US based Air Force planes could get there. The P-3's used their long range maritime patrol capability to search for survivors floating on debris far from land and to survey the situation on remote islands. They also dropped supplies in remote areas.
Once againt the Navy comes through first.
Thanks for the ping. Go Navy!
GIs wearing clean uniform at airport EQUALS a lame PAO photo
GI with cuts, mud on body, disheveled hair ... looking ugly and "unprofessional" (i.e. not squared away) ... with crowd of refugees EQUALS real and meaningful
Distance shot of Swabbie strapping a pallet to helicopter on a flightdeck EQUALS another lame PAO photo
Swabbie lowering pallet onto a mud field while refugees are whipped by the rotor wash EQUALS real and meaningful
Marines in formation on flightdeck EQUALS yet another lame PAO photo
Marines stripped down to their undershirts dripping with sweat (oh no ... they are not "squared away") while doing something on debris strewn beach EQUALS real and meaningful
Stand by for military PAO lame photos and video
We'll have to wait for the families of servicemen & women to post REAL and MEANINGFUL photos and video to their personal websites
take a look at this.
I was going to write some rather verbose descriptions on what is really needed for the first few weeks. Tnen as my response on two other related posts got long I just stopped writing and quite the thread. I am sure a lot of us Freepers have in the past four or five days a very distinct feeling it was going to come down to the United States,British, and Australian Airforces,Navy, Army, and Marines to get this stuff moving. Some three days back I heard on PBS nightly news that an advanced contingent of US Navy and Marine officers already where in a few areas, such as Sumatra.
At least the UN has made mention of "military". Yea. Our boys will get the job done ASP with "planned" effeciency.
Sad, our press,UN, and Europeans complained earlier this week as why GWB was not doing something when little did they know things the day after where already being put into play.
This administration is short of "big talk", folks of few words............but when the chips are down, things get a cooking. That is why everyone hates em. We know what the hell we are doing often before we must even act.
Go Airforce, Navy, and Marines.....of course or Army to if they end up being involved. And yes go Bush team.
hmmmmm still waiting to hear about a few bucks coming from China, Russia, hey where are the billionare Saudi Princes, the Sultan of Brunel (northeast country on Island of Borneo), the riches man in the world?
Off course we know the answer. Thousands of super wealthy Muslims world wide will have as little to do with departing with their money as humanly possible. At least India had the common decency to say up front they really do not need money to take care of those on the Indian coastlines that are effected. It is hard to believe though, why we cannot hear from those group of Malaysian and Indonesian nations rich in Oil and all the companies from USA that moved their manufacturing to those lands, why they are not listed as contributors for the common good.
Or have I not been seeing the newest list of all nations pledging help?
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