by admin on November 16, 2013
Water, is, in a word, important. Even for an organization that puts “Warfighting First”, water purification and water distribution weighs in at the top of any commander’s list of concerns. And this is no a trivial matter, as the average requirement for a foot soldier or sailor is estimated to be about 4 to 8 […]
by Craig Hooper on March 10, 2010
The USS Bataan (LHD-5) was one of the first ships directed towards Haiti after the massive January 12 earthquake, but, once the ship arrived to serve in Operation Unified Response, the Bataan ran into a hail of criticism over it’s slow start in accepting and treating wounded Haitians. One of my USNI pals was particularly […]
by Craig Hooper on January 20, 2010
One little-noticed facet of America’s Haiti-bound expeditionary aid effort is the SS Petersburg (T-AOT 9101), a 45-year old vessel that is, right now, tied to a Bay Area pier, preparing to deploy. Why is this Ready Reserve Force asset, one that needs ten days to get going–and one of the furthest-flung pieces of equipment the United States has called into service for Haiti relief–getting activated? Isn’t […]
by Craig Hooper on January 13, 2010
Five years ago, in days after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, I wrote an op-ed for the Boston Globe–a piece that, with the Haiti disaster, remains a relevant cautionary tale today: The tsunami response, being hailed as one of the biggest U.S. military disaster relief missions in history, has been less effective than portrayed. When a deployment of just 40 […]