The Hallmarks of a Ready Force

Team,

One year ago this month our Navy answered the call for assistance when a catastrophic earthquake struck the nation of Haiti killing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying much of that nation’s already fragile infrastructure.
From the moment the disaster struck, our Sailors anticipated the call for help and within one hour our Navy began to respond.
USS HIGGINS (returning from a CENTCOM deployment) was immediately diverted to Haiti and was the first Navy ship to arrive on station just two days later on 14 January.
USS CARL VINSON diverted while underway and was able to off-load elements of her Air Wing for 19 helicopters as she passed Mayport on 13 January. These helicopters were able to arrive or be on their way within 12 hours of notification. Some of our pilots had 30 minutes to pack a bag, get to their squadron, brief the flight, and get their helo aboard VINSON. A sustained, high speed transit allowed VINSON to arrive off of Port-au-Prince by the morning of 15 January.
USS BATAAN ARG (which included USS FORT MCHENRY and USS CARTER HALL) was activated two hours after the earthquake and got underway just 48 hours later (from a dead cold start) on 14 January. She was joined by USS GUNSTON HALL and arrived in Haiti on 18 January.
USNS COMFORT was given the order to activate on 13 January at 0500 and deployed just 77 hours later at 0930 on 16 January – much faster than the 5-day activation time typically required for a hospital ship.
The HIGGINS, VINSON, BATAAN ARG, GUNSTON HALL and COMFORT are just a few examples of our Fleet’s ability to rapidly respond to a significant, no-notice tasking of a core Navy mission – Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief.
By the end of January (18 days after the earthquake), our Navy had 23 ships and more than 15,000 Sailors and Marines on station and contributing to the relief effort.

Last week, the ENTERPRISE Strike Group got underway for its first deployment since 2007. In many ways, this deployment is unlike any other in our Navy’s history. ENTERPRISE is a 49 year old nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (the first ever) making her 21st deployment. The fact she is still an active Navy ship, capable of deploying with a strike group, is truly remarkable. She has certainly had her share of expenses and maintenance challenges the last few years, but her crew and the entire strike group trained hard during workups, and will deploy a full-up round. The ENTERPRISE Strike Group and her 6,000 Sailors are now on their way to conduct operations in the 5th and 6th Fleet AORs.

Our support to Haiti, the ENTERPRISE Strike Group deployment and the many other missions our Navy is executing around the world every day, are all the hallmarks of a ready force. The ENTERPRISE Strike Group did not get underway by chance or luck; our Navy had a plan and our Sailors executed.  It was not by chance our Sailors and Marines were in Haiti saving lives within days of the earthquake; a deployment of that scope and magnitude would simply not have been possible if our people were not prepared for the unexpected and able to adapt rapidly to a catastrophic situation that demanded their best.
But challenging workups to deployment and no-notice taskings are nothing new for our Sailors. In fact, it gets at the heart of who we are and how we do business…and we’ve been doing it this way for 235 years.
All the best, JCHjr

Navy Elevated Causeway System - Modular (ELCAS-M)

Team,

Last January I talked about the Navy Logistics Over-the-Shore (NLOTS) mission we were executing in Haiti. I was very impressed with how quickly our Sailors were able to get the Navy lighterage system in place and fully operational to deliver much needed supplies to the Haitian people. You can read what I wrote about LOTS in Haiti here and here, and see a Power Point overview of our LOTS mission here.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Beach Group 2 and Expeditionary Support Logistics Group to observe our Seabees from Amphibious Construction Battalions 1 & 2 constructing a 500-foot Elevated Causeway System – Modular (ELCAS-M). The ELCAS-M is one of our core systems used to support our Navy LOTS mission. There is a video of the visit here.

The ELCAS-M is essentially a mobile pier system that can be shipped to any location in the world and assembled within days of arriving. A fully functional ELCAS-M is equipped with full-size cranes that offload equipment from vessels (such as the Navy lighterage system) onto vehicles that move the cargo ashore. It can be used to support a wide range of operations – from wartime missions where large quantities of equipment need to be moved ashore to humanitarian missions where an entire port has been destroyed by a natural disaster.

The ELCAS-M may not be widely-known, but it provides our forces with a unique capability that is unmatched by any other nation. And it is a critical part of our LOTS mission and our Sea Basing strategy. The ability of our Sailors to deliver and assemble a massive portable, improvised pier thousands of miles away from their homeport emphasizes my belief that Sea Basing is not a future concept that we should be planning for; rather, it is here and it is now – it is something our Sailors have been doing for many years. And no one does it better than our Sailors. This capability truly is a key element of what makes our Navy an effective, global force.

Altogether, the exercise at Little Creek involved over 200 Sailors, alternating 12-hour shifts for a total of 60,000 man-hours and 13 days to complete the 750-foot causeway. I believe exercises like this are critically important because they give our Sailors an understanding of their job that can only be gained through a hands-on practical experience. And most importantly they provide lessons learned that we can evaluate to improve future performance.

I was very impressed by our Seabees from Amphibious Construction Battalions 1 & 2 and what I saw them do building the ELCAS-M, ready to deliver the goods in just 9 days.
All the best, JCHjr

Haiti Trip

Team, I returned Thursday evening from a visit to our ships operating off Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response and to the Forward Logistics Hub we established at our base in Guantanamo Bay. It's been 25 days since the earthquake struck, and 24 1/2 days since the Navy began responding to the disaster.

What our Sailors have accomplished during that period of time is simply remarkable and fills me with great pride. The Navy responded rapidly and well, putting together a strong team under RADM Vic Guillory, our 4th Fleet Commander, who leads the Navy relief efforts in the Southern Command region as part of Joint Task Force-Haiti.

The role of the USNS COMFORT is well known, but what is not so well known is that Navy Doctors, Nurses, Corpsmen and support personnel from over 100 separate commands came together in just 2 weeks to bring that hospital ship to life and deliver a well-organized, well-led and supremely competent medical team to the relief effort.

I was able to get through quite a few of the wards onboard COMFORT and see some of the seriously injured Haitians whose lives were saved by our medical teams. Of note, many of the linguists who were translating for the Haitian patients and their family members were Red Cross volunteers who were doing 30 day stints helping out onboard - these Red Cross volunteers were simply invaluable. I also met with volunteers from Project Hope and other non-governmental organizations who were aboard providing a wide-array of very important medical services. All in all, a very moving experience to see our Navy medical teams, the various volunteer organizations and the mariners of the Military Sealift Command working together to make such a profound difference for so many seriously injured Haitians. Here is a story that is typical of what our Sailors aboard COMFORT are doing in Haiti - "Comfort Corpsmen Give Infant Another Shot at Life."

USS BATAAN (LHD 5) is the amphibious "big deck" in the Haitian relief operation and the Flagship of the BATAAN Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). She had returned from a regular, 6 month deployment to Central Command on 5 December and was in the middle of her refit when she got the word to get underway as soon as possible, along with the USS FT McHENRY (LSD 43) and USS CARTER HALL (LSD 50), steam to Onslow Bay, NC to onload the Marines of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and then proceed at best speed to Haiti. When the call came, BATAAN was in a status that required her to be ready to get underway for a contingency in 96 hours - she made it in just 48 hours from a standing start; an extraordinary effort for her great crew, but typical of what I've seen BATAAN do throughout this operation.

BATAAN brings extensive command and control capabilities, a large flight deck and the ability to support many Navy and Marine helicopters for an extended period of time, and the largest afloat medical facility in the Navy other than one of our Hospital ships. Most of all, BATAAN brought our Sailors and Marines with all they can do to help in the relief efforts. This story gives you a quick glimpse of what I saw when I visited this ship and her terrific crew - "BATAAN Relief Efforts."

I was also able to visit the USS FT McHenry (LSD 43), one of our amphibious ships that can operate both helicopters and landing craft. All her capabilities were needed after she arrived and went to work as part of the Navy's Task Force 41. As I talked to many members of the crew, I heard one story after another of how our Sailors and Marines went ashore and just "figured it out", using their initiative to deal with the extensive devastation they found and get food, water and medical care to the people as soon as possible. See some of what these FORT McHENRY Sailors did here - "Sailors Ashore from FORT McHENRY Provide Relief in Haiti."

The USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD 44) was already loaded out for a deployment to our Africa Partnership Station when she was ordered to get underway and proceed to Haiti to participate in the relief operations. The first week after I took command of US Fleet Forces in July 2009 I visited the GUNSTON HALL and spent an afternoon onboard learning all I could about this ship and her crew. She was the first of our LSDs to go through the extensive mid-life modernization and I wanted to see the results up close. I had a great visit with the ship and found her crew to be a tough, capable bunch of "get 'er done" Sailors. After departing the BATAAN, I was able to get aboard GUNSTON HALL and see for myself what these Sailors were doing. As on the other ships, I found myself greatly inspired by what I saw and heard. GUNSTON HALL's relief work ashore has been focused on the area around the small town of Killick. This short story can give you a quick picture of what these sailors have done - "Gunston Hall Establishes Killick Landing Zone for Haitian Relief Efforts."

After departing BATAAN, I flew to our Naval station at Guantanamo Bay, about 160 miles from Haiti, and met with many of the Sailors from our Naval Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) who deployed on no-notice and set up the logistics hub through which we're sending many of the supplies to our ships off Haiti. As on our ships, these NECC Sailors were highly motivated, exceptionally skilled and showed great initiative as they created the Navy's logistics chain to Haiti - moving people, relief supplies, enormous amounts of food and water and everything else our Sailors need to get the job done ashore. It's a real joint effort at Guantanamo; here's a clip of our Sailors loading an Army LCU for its trip to Haiti - "GTMO Serves as a Supply Hub."

What I've given you here is just a very small sample of what I saw first-hand when I visited our ships - I think I can sum it up by simply saying that I saw the very best our Navy has to offer. And while I was deeply inspired by what I saw, I was not surprised. We have the best men and women in the nation in our Navy and we're seeing them display their many talents, their extraordinary initiative and their unyielding dedication in Haiti. It's what our Sailors do every day, all around the globe.

When you next see the advertisement and hear the words, "The United States Navy - a global force for good", think of what our Sailors are doing in Haiti. Those words are true, as true as the Sailors who give them meaning. It is the great privilege of my life to serve with them. All the best, JCHjr

Operation Unified Response Update

Team,

I escaped the winter weather in Norfolk and I’m now visiting with the Sailors of the BATAAN ARG and USNS COMFORT supporting the joint force relief effort in Haiti.  I’ll have some great stories and pictures for you of what our Sailors are doing when I get back.

In my last update, I mentioned our Logistics Over-the-Shore (LOTS) capability which is providing a much needed lighterage system until Haiti’s seaport is rebuilt. 

Right now, we have 28 US ships on station, underway, or preparing to get underway in support of OPERATION UNIFIED RESPONSE.  As you can see from the Force Laydown slide, we are joined by ships from many other nations.  The importance of building partnerships and executing our maritime strategy has paid great dividends in developing this multinational response.

Finally, I want to leave you with another update from Captain Dom DeScisciolo (CO, USS BUNKER HILL) -- another great story you probably won’t hear on the news of U.S. Navy Sailors making it happen.    All the best, JCHjr.

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The little town we provided relief for today (Picmi, on the southeast coast of La Gonave) had actually written "SOS" in the sand (picture attached).  Ops had flagged down a helo and gone up for her daily 'aerial recon' the other day and thought she saw the letters while she was taking pictures.  When she got back and we looked at the photos - sure enough, it was there!  We sent in our survey team this morning and found nearly 2,000 residents with no food or water.  Plus we were the FIRST assistance they'd seen since the earthquake 17 days ago.

We began our by now trademark water-and-food shuttle with the RHIBs, and we ended up providing nearly 2,000 meals (MREs) and 400 gal water before wrapping up at sunset.  No medevacs today, but HMC and his team still provided care for over 200 persons (mostly children).  All in all a good day.  And all from an "SOS" in the sand...

Our 6th town in 8 days... V/R Dom

Operation Unified Response Update

Team,

I wanted to provide you another update on our Navy’s efforts in Haiti.  Our Sailors continue to make an extraordinary contribution to the relief efforts and I continue to be impressed with their flexibility and willingness to help in anyway they can. 

For example, the crew of USS HIGGINS had just finished a 6 month round the world deployment and was en route to their homeport in San Diego transiting the Caribbean when the earthquake struck.  USS HIGGINS immediately diverted to help the people of Haiti and was the first Navy ship on station.

Overall, the response of our Navy continues to be rapid and effective.  Since my last post, we have established a Joint Logistics Hub in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and our Sea Base is providing aid by helo and LCAC to remote locations currently inaccessible any other way due to the significant damage to Haiti’s infrastructure.  We’ve also provided a field hospital ashore to improve effective patient flow to our afloat operating rooms.

One capability we are bringing to bear that I find particularly interesting is our Navy Logistics Over-The-Shore (LOTS).  With the damage to Haiti’s port, the investments in Military Sealift Command’s NLOTS are proving invaluable.  With the maritime prepositioning ship, USNS 1ST LT. JACK LUMMUS (T-AK-3011), we are able to transfer large construction equipment and up to 200 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) per day ashore (roughly half the capacity of Haiti’s port in Port-Au-Prince before the earthquake).  Over the coming weeks, USNS LUMMUS will be joined by the CAPE MARY, GOPHER STATE, CORNHUSKER STATE, and PETERSBURG – which will increase our TEU capacity to 1500 per day and offshore petroleum discharge capacity to 300,000 gallons per day.  If you are interested, I have posted a LOTS overview here.  Our Logistics Hub at GTMO, our Sea Base, and our LOTS are all impressive capabilities our Navy has established in Haiti and have greatly relieved the significant pressure on Haiti’s airport, seaport, and hospitals.

One final note, I received the below email from Captain Dominic DeScisciolo.  Dom was one of my former Department Heads when I was the CO of USS CAPE ST. GEORGE and is currently the CO of USS BUNKER HILL (CG-52).  Dom’s email is a great representation of “a day in the life” of our ships and what is being accomplished everyday by our Sailors.

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We are on our fourth town since last week. As you know, we began on the southwest coast of La Gonave at Point-a-Raquettes. We have since distributed relief aid to Anse-a-Galets, La Source, and Gros Mangle on the northwest coast of La Gonave. All of the towns mentioned, if not affected directly by the earthquake, are feeling some sort of indirect need due to the internally displaced people (IDPs) and the disruption of normal supply lines from Port Au Prince. And we've been figuring it out and getting more effective and efficient at delivering relief as we go along. The system goes something like this:

My Ops Boss arranges for a helo flight and takes picture after picture of potential communities in need, ingress and egress points, distribution areas, landing zones, places to access via RHIB and where to moor on the shore. Myself, my XO, CMC, DH's, Chaps, and HMC huddle up that evening and review the photos Ops took that day. We practice the art of the possible in determining where we will put folks ashore and what we could potentially accomplish based on the size of the town, location, natural features, whether there are NGO contacts (like our Fr. Roosevelt from the first town) we could exploit to our advantage, etc.

The next morning I position the ship as close to shore as possible. Due to the lack of sufficient charts in this area, we're being forced to get close to the beach in support of RHIB ops by sight, feel, and fathometer - which can get pretty sporty. Cheng then leads my two RHIBs ashore for a detailed eyes-on survey of the town, scouts out the most suitable LZ, and establishes a security perimeter manned by my Weapons Officer and his team. We then work with the town 'elders' through a combination of translators and our Chaplain, to set up the food and water distribution points. My HMC and his assistants go right to work in the town "clinic" (usually a thatch-roofed affair under a palm tree). The worst medical cases we arrange for medevac. They usually include the IDP's that have sought refuge here on La Gonave from Port-Au-Prince. By around noontime food, water and medicine start flowing in from the ship via RHIB and helo (if avail; we don't have our own embarked helo det - we've been begging helos each day from air ops on the CSG staff) and gets handed out like an assembly line. We can usually get about 2,000 individual meals and about 1,000 gal of water in to the beach each day before we have to wrap up near sunset. We have been averaging 1-2 days per town to try to bring them up to a 'pre-earthquake condition' in terms of food, water, and medical care. We are beginning to see a decline in injuries directly attributed to the quake or its aftermath. We are now seeing more injuries and illnesses that are in keeping with the generally low standard of living, malnutrition, and poverty that prevails in this country.

Anyway - just wanted to give you a glimpse of our day-to-day existence since my last e-mail. No end in sight just yet. But morale is SKY-HIGH and we're happy to keep perfecting our "system" for the time being.

V/r,

Dom

Operation Unified Response

Team,

I wanted to provide an update on our current relief efforts in Haiti.  From the first news report, we sent all available ships, aircraft, and Sailors to help the people of Haiti.  We have set up a webpage dedicated to the Haiti relief effort and will continue to add more information over the coming days.  You can get to it by clicking here.

I could not be more proud of our Sailors who acted on the first report, leaned forward, and were able to get their ships underway quickly to be a part of our Nation’s relief efforts.  Many of our Sailors deployed on a moment’s notice without a known end date. I am also very mindful of the burden we’ve placed on their families and appreciate their sacrifices as we act to provide this disaster relief.

We’ve done this before - humanitarian assistance / disaster relief is one of our core capabilities.  We prepare for this, we practice for this, we're ready for this, and we are moving out.  But that doesn’t mean that there are no more good ideas.  I ask that you give thought to the situation and post your ideas on how we can better support our Sailors, their families, and the people of Haiti.  It’s going to take a very long time for Haiti to recover from this disaster.  Navy is already looking at long-term solutions to ensure we are able to sustain our efforts until they are no longer required.  All the best, JCHjr