Philippine Air Force Helo Launch During Operation Damayan
11/25/2013
11/25/2013: Philippine Air Force members prepare an UH-1H for flight during Operation Damayan. Credit:III MEF:11/20/13
USS Stockdale and USS Princeton at Sea
11/24/2013
11/24/2013: These two destroyers are viewed from a USN helicopter while operating at sea. Credit:Defense Imagery Management Operations Center:9/20/13
The First Few Days: Meeting the Challenge of Getting Started on Philippine Relief
11/23/2013
2013-11-22 by Robbin Laird The devastation from the Typhoon which directly struck the Philippines left in its wake a patch quilt of infrastructure from which to start a relief effort. The Marines on Okinawa, Japan because of their integrated force structure and forward location were able to go early and to…
Aircraft Carrier “Birthing Pains”
11/22/2013
2013-11-22 by Scott C. Truver Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer, the “father” of the Aegis Weapon System, often exclaimed, “There is nothing more complex than the design, engineering and construction of a warship!” That complexity is at its most extreme in the case of America’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). And…
SP-MAGTF Deploys to Senegal
11/22/2013
2013-11-22 With the Ospreys as a key player in the Philippine's relief, another story highlights the flexibility of the aircraft. According to a USMC story by Captain Sharon Hyland: [caption id="attachment_59966" align="alignnone" width="300"] The Senegalese Minister of the Armed Forces, Augustin Tine, and Col. Scott Benedict, commanding officer of Special-Purpose…
Shaping an Infrastructure for Support: The USAF Flies to The Challenge in the Philippines
11/22/2013
2013-11-22 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Dateline Los Angeles: The AFA Pacific Forum A key challenge in any major relief effort is putting together an effective infrastructure from which to support a relief effort. A massive disaster like Katrina or Typhoon Haiyan by definition destroys everything in its path…
AV-8B Harrier Aerial Refueling
11/21/2013
11//22/2013: A U.S. Marine Corps AVV-8B Harrier assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), conducts an aerial refueling with a KC-130 assigned to Command Element 26th MEU, at 18,000 feet over Djibouti, Africa, Sept. 19, 2013. Credit:26th Marine Expeditionary Unit:9/19/13
Operating Conditions at the Tacloban Air Hub
11/20/2013
11/20/2013: This video provides a good sense of what the terrain looks like several days AFTER the rescue effort has been mounted. Marines with 3D Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of Joint Task Force - 505, conduct airfield operations and humanitarian assistance, in Tacloban, Republic of the Philippines, 18 November…