A COMBINED EFFORT TO A REGIONAL DISASTER

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ASIAN TSUNAMI
A COMBINED EFFORT TO A REGIONAL DISASTER
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(No Transcript)
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Brief ROE

• Non-Attribution
• No topic is off limits
• Purpose is to prompt discussion, answer
  questions and provide lessons learned

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Agenda

• Operations Overview
• Thailand
• Sri Lanka
• Indonesia
• Issues
• Wrap Up - Key Take Aways

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Operations Overview
An earthquake measured at 9.0 resulted in a
devastating Tsunami in the Indian Ocean Basin

• 11 countries affected
• Over 295,000 dead and tens of thousands missing
• Preliminary costs in excess of 11.5 billion

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Operations Overview Mission

• CSF-536, in support of USAID/OFDA, provides
  humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief support
  to the governments of Sri Lanka, Thailand,
  Indonesia and other affected nations in order to
  minimize loss of life and mitigate human
  suffering.
• On order, transition US Military HA/DR activities
  to designated agencies and/or Host Nations, in
  order to facilitate continuity of relief and
  redeployment.

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Operations Overview Force Laydown
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Operations Overview Timeline

• December 2004
• 26th - Earthquake and resulting Tsunami
• 28th - Joint Task Force 536 established
• 29-30th
• Initial relief supplies delivered
• JTF Assessment Teams arrive in Thailand, Sri
  Lanka and Indonesia
• JTF (Forward) arrives in Thailand

• January 2005
• 1st - USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group begins
  flying relief missions
• 3rd - JTF 536 re-designated Combined Support
  Force (CSF) 536
• 22nd - CSF 536 operations in Thailand complete
• 29th - CSF 536 operations in Sri Lanka complete

• February 2005
• 4th - USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group departs
• 10th - CSF 536 operations in Indonesia complete
• 12th - CSF 536 disestablished JTF 536
  re-established
• 23rd JTF 536 disestablished

CONCURRENT

• PLANNING
• ASSESSING
• DEPLOYMENT

• EXECUTION
• TRANSITION
• REDEPLOYMENT

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Operations Overview

• U.S. Military only one of many actors - all
  required coordination, de-confliction and
  synchronization
• Combined Support Force vice Joint Task Force
• Combined Coordination Center (CCC)
• 33 foreign militaries 11 represented at CSF CCC
• UN agencies WFP, OCHA, WHO, UNJLC
• U.S. Country Teams
• USAID/OFDA

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Operations Overview

• The U.S. military filled a very specific role
• Rapid initial response by forward-based and
  forward-deployed units
• Command and Control
• Relief of immediate suffering
• Support to host nation and USAID
• Allowed national and international civil relief
  efforts time to organize their long-term response

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Operations Overview

• Regional response, but each affected nation posed
  unique challenges
• Humanitarian requirements
• Political considerations
• Force protection
• Transition criteria

Remains recovery and identification in Thailand
Delivery of food, water and medical support in
Indonesia
Engineering support in Sri Lanka
Tailored Combined Support Groups for each nation
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Operations Overview Thailand
Primary Requirement Remains Recovery and
Identification
5,395 Dead 3,062 Missing
As of 18 Feb 2005
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Operations Overview Thailand

• CSG-Thailand Activities
• Engineering / Recovery / Medical
• Search and recovery of bodies along coastal
  waterways
• Support of forensics effort (JPAC)
• Technical engineer assessments (FEST)
• Transportation/Distribution
• 2375 gallons of water
• 10,000 lbs of food
• 1,118,115 lb of supplies

The Combined Support Group Thailand (CSG-THAI),
has performed superbly in cooperation with the
Royal Thai Government in providing assistance and
disaster relief. U.S. Ambassador Boyce
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Operations Overview Sri Lanka
Primary Requirement Engineering support for
debris clearing
30,974 Dead 4,698 Missing 553,287 IDPs
Internally Displaced Person
As of 18 Feb 2005
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Operations Overview Sri Lanka

• CSG-Sri Lanka Activities
• Engineering
• Cleared roads and villages of debris
• 32 unsafe/damaged building demolished
• Medical
• Medical care in Jaffna area over 2000 patients
  treated
• Repair and maintenance to Jaffna Hospital
• Over 7,000 pounds of donated medical consumables
• 14 IDP Camps supported

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Operations Overview Sri Lanka

• CSG-Sri Lanka Activities
• Supply/Water Distribution
• More than 600K pounds of relief supplies
• 121,000 gallons of water produced and distributed
  in Galle area
• 103,132 gallons of water produced and
  distributed in the Maldives
• Wells pumped and rendered safe for drinking
• Assessments of local village water supplies

Many shattered lives in Sri Lanka and Maldives
have been given a ray of hope and a first
foothold on the path to a new life thanks to the
dedicated men and women of the CSG. U.S.
Ambassador Lunstead
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Operations Overview Indonesia
Primary Requirement Internal distribution of
relief supplies
120,514 Dead 114,897 Missing 672,438 IDPs
As of 18 Feb 2005
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Operations Overview Indonesia
You all worked with members of the Indonesian
government to save lives and give hope to
desperate people. U.S. Ambassador Pascoe

• Transportation / Distribution
• 9,677,672 lb of relief supplies
• 130 MEDEVACs
• Transported other donor nation capabilities
  (French and German Field Hospitals)
• Supported planning and execution of Interagency
  Rapid Health Assessment Team movements

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Operations Overview Indonesia

• Engineering
• Assessments
• Airfields
• Ports
• Landing zones
• Infrastructure
• Damaged structures
• Warehouse construction and immediate repairs to
  generators, hospital equipment and critical
  facilities

Valuable immediate contribution to long-term
recovery and reconstruction efforts
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Operations Overview Indonesia

• Medical
• Interagency Rapid Health Assessment Team
  activities
• Immediate care and MEDEVAC support
• Repair of key hospital equipment
• Facilitated USNS MERCY relief effort

USNS Mercy Operations
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Operations Overview Regional Transition
Enhanced Theater Security Cooperation
PACOM
CSF-536
Long Term Reconstruction
USAID
UN

• Transition supports long-term U.S. engagement in
  Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean Basin

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Issues
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Issues CSF 536 Mission
CSF-536, in support of USAID/OFDA, provides
humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief support
to the governments of Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Indonesia and other affected nations in order to
minimize loss of life and mitigate human
suffering. On order, transition US Military
HA/DR activities to designated agencies and/or
Host Nations, in order to facilitate continuity
of relief and redeployment.
EXECUTABLE?
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Issues Organization and Command Relationships
CSF 536
JFSOCC
AFFOR/ JFACC
NAVFOR
MARFOR
HOW DID IT WORK?
PROVIDE FORCESRETAIN OPCON
COORDINATE LOCAL OPERATIONS
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Issues Whats in a Name?
SPECIAL OPERATIONS
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Issues Building a Joint/Combined HQ
THE JOINT MANNING DOCUMENT
THERE IS NO STANDARD TEMPLATE
III MEF COMMAND ELEMENT
SLOW PROCESS
WHAT SOP DO YOU USE? WHAT SOP DO YOU TRAIN TO?
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Issues Combined Coordination
OFDA
CSF-536
CCC RFA Process
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Issues Force Protection

• EVERY LOCATION IS DIFFERENT
• BALANCE RISKS AND REWARDS OF DIFFERENT
  POSTURES
• POLITICAL PRESSURE

FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
IS THIS THE PICTURE WE WANT?
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Issues Accomplishing the Mission
WHEN IS THE MISSION COMPLETE?
COMMANDERS DECISION?
DINNER PARTY RULES
WHEN DO YOU PICK A DATE?
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Issues Intelligence
PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT
DISSEMINATION CHALLENGE
SOVEREIGNTY ISSUES
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Issues Logistics
REQUIREMENT
SUPPLIES
PULL

• IMMEDIATE RESPONSE
• BACKLOG IN AREAS

PUSH
SEABASING
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Issues Information/Communications
MISSION SUCCESS RELIES ON SHARING INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATING IN AN AUSTERE AND DISPERSED
ENVIRONMENT
US INTERAGENCY
FOREIGN MILITARIES
PACOM
CSG
LNO
US COUNTRY TEAM
CSF
AFFOR
LNO
UN AGENCIES
NGOs
LNO
CSG
HOST NATIONS
NAVFOR
MILITARY MEANS (NIPR/SIPR/RADIO) AUGMENTED BY
CELL PHONES AND WWW EMAIL
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Wrap Up Key Take Aways

• MUDDY BOOTS BUSINESS

HANDS ON LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION

• SPEED OF RESPONSE

AT ALL LEVELS

• MISSION CREEP

• THEATER SECURITY COOPERATION EFFECTIVENESS

ACCESS AND RELATIONSHIPS
GET OFF THE STAGE WHILE THEYRE STILL CLAPPING
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• QUESTIONS?

QUESTIONS?
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KEYS TO FUTURE SUCCESS

• PRIOR PLANNING AND EXERCISING
• IDENTIFY AND EXERCISE SPODS AND APODS
• PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS MATTER
• EARLY DEPLOYMENT OF THE ASSESSMENT TEAM
• DEVELOP A COMMON OPERATING PICTURE
• LOCATE YOUR C-2 AT THE CIV / MIL CENTER OF
  GRAVITY
• FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT IS CRITICAL
• HANDCON VS OPCON
• CIV / MIL COOPERATION ONE TEAM
• INTEGRATED EFFORTS AND OPEN COMMUNCATION
• MAINTAIN MISSION FOCUS
• EXPECT MISSION EVOLUTION
• DEVELOP AN ASSESSMENT PLAN

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LESSONS

• THERE IS NO STANDARD ORGANISATION YOU MUST
  ADJUST
• HAND-CON IS MORE VALUABLE THAN OPCON
• PERSONAL CONTACT AND COMMUNICATION CRITICAL
• TACTICAL C-2 SYSTEMS ARE A TOOL NOT THE SOLUTION
• NON-SECURE COMM IS ESSENTIAL
• REMAIN FLEXIBLE
• CLOSE AND CONTINUOUS CONTACT AND LIAISON WITH
  HHQS, EMB, AID ORGANISATIONS AND THE HOST NATION
  ARE CRITICAL
• STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION REQUIRES LEAD TIME AND
  PLANNING
• CENTRALISED COMMAND CONTROL IS CRITICAL 1 COP
• GOAL - RIGHT CAPABILITY, AT THE RIGHT TIME AND
  PLACE
• EXPECT CAPABILITIES TO BE PUSHED VS PULLED
• STAFFING THE JMD PROCESS TAKES TOO LONG
• GET OFF THE STAGE WHILE THE AUDIENCE IS STILL
  CLAPPING