Previously Held NEC HM-0000-Hospital Corpsman
HM-9587-Officer Recruiter
230X-Medical Service Corps Officer
Service Years
1994 - Present
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Operation Damayan (Philippines)
From Month/Year
November / 2013
To Month/Year
November / 2013
Description Operation Damayan is part of the broader U.S. Government effort to support the Government of the Philippines's request for humanitarian assistance. This joint team effort includes coordination by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, in constant consultation with Philippine authorities. The role of US military forces during any foreign humanitarian assistance event is to rapidly respond to host nations' requests for support to help mitigate human suffering, prevent further loss of life and mitigate property damage. The US Navy-Marine Corps team has a particularly successful history of working with international relief organizations and host nations to respond to natural disasters.
Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons on record, tore through the central Philippines on 08 November 2013 and flattened Tacloban, coastal capital of Leyte province. Typhoon Haiyan brought a storm surge five meters high that slammed Tacloban and left countless people dead in its wake. Haiyan, known locally in the Philippines as Yulonda, was a historic storm, making landfall in the central Philippines as perhaps the most powerful tropical cyclone to ever make landfall with sustained winds estimated at 195 mph (~315 kph). The most deadly flooding from Super Typhoon Haiyan was caused by the storm surge, which was reported to be up to 5.2 meters (~17 feet) in Tacloban, located on the northeast tip of Leyte, where the strong cyclonic winds from Haiyan funneled water into the northwest corner of Leyte Gulf between the islands of Leyte and Samar.
In addition to the fierce winds and powerful surge, Haiyan brought copious amounts of rainfall to the central Philippines along with Tropical Storm Thirty and another tropical disturbance (90w), which all passed through the the central Philippines within in the previous ten days. The combined rainfall from these tropical cyclones (first image to the right) in the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation data (TMPA) analysis shown above during the period from November 2-12, 2013. It shows that most of the island of Leyte had rainfall totals greater than 500mm (~19.7 inches, dark red) with a peak amount of over 685 mm (~27 inches, lighter purple) located over the southeast corner of the island.
Presidential Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras told reporters in Manila that coordination remained a challenge. “There has never been anything at the magnitude of what we are trying to do now," Almendras said. "Not in size, not in volume, not in- even the breadth of it. The logistics alone, we discussed over two hours last night, talking about how to move goods, where to move goods, how many trucks you need, even from packing center to shipping center.” According to the United Nations, 673,000 people have been left homeless by the storm. Each day uncovered devastation worse than originally thought, and the U.S. military's effort to get relief to victims was growing. Katrina, which devasted the US Gulf coast in 2005, was responsible for 1833 fatalities.
On 11 November 2013 Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) and her escort ships USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Cowpens (CG 63) and USNS Yukon (T-AO-202) to depart early from a liberty port in Hong Kong and make best possible speed for the Philippines. US Pacific Fleet ships already operating in the Western Pacific were also immediately diverted. USS Mustin (DDG 89), USS Lassen (DDG 82), USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), and USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) are now on station and coordinating with the Philippine government. The US Navy also had P-3 maritime aircraft already supporting the disaster relief effort led by the Government of the Philippines.
By 13 November 2013 the US military was preparing for a large, drawn-out operation in the Philippines, where each day reveals more devastation left by Typhoon Haiyan. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington was approaching the Philippine coast, and two amphibious ships were on their way, along with hundreds more American soldiers to help get relief to victims.
On board George Washington were 11 helicopters as well as medical facilities. The ship can also produce a million and a half liters of fresh water a day. More aid is on the way aboard two amphibious ships, the USS Germantown and USS Ashland. They can deliver tons of supplies, personnel, and equipment to remote beaches in otherwise unreachable areas. The two vessels, being loaded at the U.S. base in Okinawa, were expected to arrive off the Philippine coast within a few days.
On 14 November 2013 the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and a contingent of seven other U.S. Navy ships arrived in the Philippines to begin helping with disaster relief operations. The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet says the ships are carrying 21 helicopters that will be used to assess damage and ferry emergency supplies to remote areas cut off by damage from Typhoon Haiyan. The carrier also has medical facilities and can produce 1.5 million liters of fresh water a day. One of the ships in the carrier group, the USNS Charles Drew, made its first delivery of food and drinking water to the storm ravaged city of Tacloban.
The amphibious ships USS Ashland (LSD 48) and USS Germantown (LSD 42) departed Sasebo, Japan, 14 November 2013 local time. After picking up Marines, equipment and relief supplies in Okinawa, the two ships would arrive at the Philippines in approximately one week. USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) were also heading to the Philippines.
Joint Task Force 505 officially activated 18 November 2013 to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in support of the Philippine government and armed forces in Operation Damayan. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John E. Wissler, commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, was designated as the JTF 505’s commander by Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, U.S. Pacific Command commander, Nov. 13. The Joint Task force continues the work begun by the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, the initial U.S. military response to the Philippine government’s request for lifesaving support and critical relief supplies for the typhoon-ravaged island nation.
JTF 505 initially included nearly 850 personnel on the ground and an additional 6,200 in the USS George Washington Strike Group. Personnel and equipment from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have come from Hawaii, Okinawa, mainland Japan and the continental United States. About 900 Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the Philippines, near Tacloban, 20 November 2013. The Marines were transported to the Philippines from Okinawa aboard two Navy amphibious ships, the USS Germantown and USS Ashland. About 100 additional 31st MEU Marines were scheduled to fly to the region.
