US military reduces ‘Yolanda’ relief efforts

From the Daily Tribune (Nov 27): US military reduces ‘Yolanda’ relief efforts

The United States military has started downsizing its personnel and equipment involved in the ongoing massive relief operations in the Visayas region where super typhoon “Yolanda” wreaked havoc two weeks ago.

Brig. Gen. Paul Kennedy, commanding general of the US 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, said that they have started scaling down in number as the operations shift to recovery efforts.

Kennedy, whose unit is supporting the US Joint Task Force 505 now involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations in Tacloban City, expressed elation over his command’s participation in the mission.

“It makes me feel good as an ally of this government that we could respond,” said Kennedy, in a statement issued by the US Marines.

Kennedy stressed that the US troops operated under the direction of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“We were under the direction of the Philippine armed forces the entire time. (The response) was tailored and it was immediate and responsive. We feel pretty good about having participated in this operation,” Kennedy said.

On the other hand, the JTF 505’s Air Component Coordination Element (ACCE), which was primarily responsible in air transport of relief goods in the typhoon-hit areas, has also toned down its operations.

Brig. Gen. James Hecker, commander of ACCE JTF-505, said it was an honor to bring the ACCE’s unique capability to bear alongside joint and coalition partners during Operation Damayan.

“Our ability to coordinate scalable joint and multinational air assets allowed us to augment the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade’s established processes supporting the Philippine government’s airlift mission,” Hecker said.

“With aid now in place where it needs to be, and the lines of communication improving at sea and on the ground every day, the demand for large-scale command and control has ceased. The PAF is fully capable with the scope of the operation where it’s at now, and we will continue supporting them in our normal Pacific theater Joint Force Air Component Commander role,” he added.

The US military has sent more than 13,000 servicemen, including crew members of aircraft carrier USS George Washington, to assist the Philippine government in responding to the havoc wreaked by “Yolanda. The warship was among the first responders in the typhoon-ravaged area.

Meanwhile, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said that the catastrophe brought by Yolanda is not a reason to justify the increased presence of United States troops in the country.

Evardone, whose district was one of the severely affected areas of Yolanda, said that despite the big help extended by the United States for the typhoon victims, the presence of more US troops is not justified.

Evardone, vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations, was reacting to the statement of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario that the calamity had exacerbated the need for more US troops.

“Their (American soldiers) presence was a major factor in the immediate delivery of relief goods. They filled a vacuum because we lack the resources. But that can’t be a basis for increased rotational presence. It just means it pays to have a big brother on your side amid crisis,” Evardone said during the weekly Ugnayan sa Batasan Media Forum at the House of Representatives yesterday.

Among those hardest hit by the typhoon were the towns of Guiuan, Hernani and Basey.
“Without them helping, it would have been more difficult for us. This is because their presence here is for humanitarian purposes, not political,” Evardone said.

“By December, I think they can already gradually pull out,” Evardone said.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/us-military-reduces-yolanda-relief-efforts