Description Operation Unified Assistance is the name of the United States military's response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
On 28 December, the first elements of the Combined Support Force (CSF-536) were deployed to Utapao, Thailand following that country's approval of the use of that base.
More than 12,600 Department of Defense personnel were involved in the relief effort.
The United States offered assistance from its troops stationed in Japan.
The United States dispatched numerous C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifters and ten C-130 Hercules tactical airlifters containing disaster supplies, nine P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft for search and rescue support, and several teams from the Departments of State and Defense to coordinate additional assistance. They are using Utapao Naval Air Base in Thailand as their regional hub. The deployment of the 615th Air Mobility Operations Group from Travis Air Force Base, California, established a tanker airlift control element where personnel assisted with the safe movement of 6,685 passengers, 5,444 cargo tons of relief supplies and medical aid on 817 airlift missions.
Ships
Carrier Strike Group Nine, led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, which was in port in Hong Kong, was dispatched to the coast of Sumatra to provide support to the Indonesian province of Aceh. Other ships in the group were the guided-missile cruiser Shiloh; the guided-missile destroyers Shoup and Benfold, and the fast combat support ship Rainier.
Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) Hovercraft from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) delivering supplies to the citizens of Meulaboh Indonesia during Operation Unified Assistance.
In addition, an Expeditionary Strike Group led by the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, scheduled for a port call in Guam, was dispatched to render assistance. A total of 48 Navy and Marine Corps helicopters were involved. Each ship could produce around 90,000 US gallons of fresh water per day. Other ships in the group were amphibious transport dock Duluth, the guided-missile destroyer Milius, the dock landing ship Rushmore, the guided-missile frigate Thach, the nuclear-powered submarine Pasadena, guided-missile cruiser Bunker Hill, and the coast guard cutter Munro.
The US Navy also deployed the Mercy, a 1,000-bed hospital ship (initially staffed to support 250 patient beds).
Other logistics ships were also employed such as the combat stores ships San Jose and Niagara Falls.
In January 2005, 24 Navy ships and one Coast Guard vessel were in the area. Among those ships was the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) which relieved the USS Bonhomme Richard and assumed the duties as the primary rotary wing platform for the operation. The USS Essex brought helicopter detachments from US Navy helicopter squadrons HM-15 and HC-5 as well as Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM-262), the Flying Tigers (commanded by Lt.Col. Kevin "Doogie" Wild). The last ship, Mercy, departed the region in April 2005.
During a short-fused change of command on 30 December 2004, LtCol Kevin H. Wild assumed command of HMM-262 and promptly received a Warning Order to deploy to Sumatra, Indonesia for its second consecutive short-notice deployment in two months. The squadron worked around the clock over the New Year’s weekend preparing for the deployment. Two CH-46Es were flown to Kadena AB on 31 December and broken down for C-5 transport to Singapore, and six more were flown aboard the USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) on 3 January. With a detachment of the squadron in Singapore, and the majority of HMM-262 aboard the Fort McHenry, HMM-262 set sail as part of Combined Support Force 536 (CSF-536) to support the largest humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) operation in history – Operation Unified Assistance/JTF-536.
HMM-262 "The Flying Tigers" conducted a mission rehearsal in Phuket on 16 February, followed by mission rehearsals in Banda Aceh on 17–18 February. HMM-262 flew the two former Presidents of the United States (FPOTUS), several ambassadors, numerous diplomatic personnel and members of the Secret Service along the western coast of Thailand north of Phuket on 19 February. Once mission complete, the aircraft recovered aboard the Fort McHenry as it pushed south towards Sumatra to fly FPOTUS Bush and Clinton around the Banda Aceh area on 20 February. The highlight of the mission occurred when FPOTUS Bush and FPOTUS Clinton were flown aboard the USS Fort McHenry to visit the Marines and Sailors of HMM-262 and the Sailors of the USS Fort McHenry. The Flying Tigers enjoyed an unscheduled liberty port in Phuket from 21–24 February once the FPOTUS missions were complete. On 25 February, the USS Fort McHenry began the trip back to Okinawa, Japan. The morning of 3 March, the USS Fort McHenry was approximately 50 miles south of Okinawa as HMM-262 flew six CH-46Es ashore for its return to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma. The remainder of the aircraft and personnel returned via C-17 from Singapore.
Effect
Indonesian public opinion of the United States markedly improved in the year after the tsunami, jumping from 15% in 2003 to 38% in 2005, going against the general trend of less favorable attitudes towards America in that time period. Many Indonesians surveyed indicated that American relief efforts generally improved their view of the United States.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
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January / 2005
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April / 2005
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember VAW-116 CVN-72
Memories Recent U.S. Navy tsunami relief efforts in support of Operation Unified Assistance have dramatically highlighted the capacity and flexibility of carrier and expeditionary strike groups to provide a wide range of capabilities in rapid response to an immense humanitarian crisis.
Led by the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Strike Group, forward-deployed naval forces were among the first to respond to international requests for humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions following the devastation wrought by the tsunami on 26 December in the Banda Aceh region of Indonesia. Within days of the disaster, U.S. Navy helicopters from the Lincoln Strike Group, as well as the Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) and later Essex (LHD-2) Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESGs), established round-the-clock relief operations that were widely credited with stemming suffering and saving thousands of lives in the aftermath of the disaster.
Planning for the tsunami relief operations began on 28 December as the Lincoln Strike Group sprinted toward the Andaman Sea. With news arriving by the hour highlighting the scope and magnitude of the disaster, it became apparent that the enormous capability of deployed carrier strike groups (CSG) and amphibious expeditionary strike groups (ESG) were our nation?s most capable option to assist the people of Banda Aceh.
Strike Group Helicopters Bear the Burden Relief operations commenced on 1 January 2005. Lincoln, situated 15 miles northwest of Banda Aceh, cleared its flight deck of fixed-wing aircraft to make way for rotary-wing operations. The CVW helicopter team launched 13 of the 15 available H-60s (11 on Lincoln, two each on the cruiser Shiloh (CG-67) and destroyer Shoup (DDG-86)), to commence an unprecedented carrier-based helicopter airlift surge operation. Carrier Air Wing Two, acting as air combat commander, was optimized for a primarily rotary-wing relief effort. For the first time in U.S. Naval history, the helicopter force was comprised of three distinct squadrons that represented the future helicopter organization within the CSG: Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Two (HS-2), Helicopter Anti-Submarine (Light) Squadron 47 (HSL-47) and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 11 (HC-11) Detachment 2. As part of the ?Bravo to Sea? proof-of-concept, the SH-60B squadron deployed not in the customary detachments but as an integrated squadron that included a four-aircraft command element on board Lincoln and two combat elements (previously termed ?detachments?) on the cruiser/destroyer units of the strike group. This precedent-setting operational arrangement gave RADM William D. Crowder (Commander Strike Group Nine) and CAPT Lawrence D. Burt (Commander Air Wing Two) enormous flexibility and control over the CSG?s rotary-wing support.
The helicopter assets of the CSG and ESG were especially well-suited for this disaster. The force of the tsunami destroyed more than 75 percent of coastal bridges and 25 percent of coastal roadways, making many villages and refugee camps accessible only by rotary-wing aircraft. Initial humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations focused on delivering critical supplies and evacuating the most critically injured victims. Additionally, Navy helicopters flew representatives of international relief agencies as they assessed the magnitude of the damage and the condition of remote villages across the region.
Over the course of the relief operations, HS-2, HSL-47, and HC-11 aircrews, in addition to several air-wing volunteers, developed a ground communications and relief distribution center at the Banda Aceh Airport. As loading operations became increasingly efficient and delivery more organized, the combined efforts of all the Navy helicopters began to average more than 100,000 pounds of aid materiel daily.