Defense Logistics Agency (DLA tsunami relief

DLA at forefront of tsunami relief

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of supplies winging in on hundreds of U.S. military sorties are finding their way to those hardest hit by last month’s catastrophic tsunamis in South Asia. The death toll exceeds 150,000 people with another 1.5 million displaced by the disaster.

In size and scope, Air Force Brig. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas, director of Combined Support Force 536’s air component coordination element at Utapao, Thailand, said this is "the largest humanitarian relief effort since the Berlin Airlift of 1947." He told reporters during a Pentagon teleconference Jan. 9 that the challenges include the great distances that have to be covered and the complexities of working from assorted locations in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

At the foundation of the operation are myriad essentials ranging from first-aid equipment and goods to pre-prepared rations, all arranged through Defense Logistics Agency activities and contractors around the world.

In its normal activities, DLA provides supply support, and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations. The unprecedented tsunami-relief operation shows, according to officials, how DLA can jump into a huge humanitarian-relief operation while still supporting far-flung troops in the ongoing global war on terrorism.

Calling from his newly set up post, Marine Brig. Gen. Christian B. Cowdrey, commander of Combined Support Group-Indonesia, described to Pentagon reporters Jan. 8 how all the military services are working together to deliver supplies to people most in need. Less than two weeks after the Dec. 26 disaster, C-130 aircraft had reached out on an air bridge created from Medan near Banda Aceh, Indonesia, to sites near devastated costal areas, from which helicopters fly the last legs to make direct deliveries to tsunami victims.

"All the services are playing a part," the senior military lead for all U.S. military efforts in Indonesia said. "We’re getting better at it every day."

Just during the 24 hours closing out Jan. 9 in Indonesia, Marines and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Group and USS Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Group flew 60 sorties to the towns of Kalang, Lamno, Kuede Tennom, Meulaboh, Lhdong, Kreung Raya and Panga Jaya, transported 98,600 pounds of water, food and relief supplies, and medically evacuated 30 Indonesians.

Through Jan. 9, Combined Support Group-Indonesia had flown 266 sorties to deliver 479,600 pounds of relief supplies, transported 200 relief workers, supported 264 reporters and evacuated 158 seriously injured Indonesians.
"We’ve got a lot of people, both in and out of uniform, doing great things for a devastated area," Cowdrey said, talking with reporters Jan. 8.

During his teleconference, which he shared with U.S. Agency for International Development officials, Cowdrey was asked how well Defense Logistics Agency supported what is now designated as Operation Unified Assistance. The general said, at that point, his focus was on delivering the goods rather than the warehousing aspect. However, he added, the end result speaks for DLA’s success.

"We’re taking planeloads of [humanitarian daily rations] to everybody, and we pay attention to those in need," Cowdrey said. "We defer to what they say and deliver what they need, and we’re getting better at it every week. The AID officials with me are nodding in the affirmative."

Less than 24 hours after the widespread tsunami struck South Asia, the U.S. military mobilized its forces for the huge recovery operation, drawing on the Defense Logistics Agency for support and supplies to aid the injured and homeless and even attending to the deceased.

U.S. Pacific Command took the lead in the relief operation, anticipating the need for drinking water, shelter, food and medical support. For these essentials, the Defense Logistics Agency was already on the job.

Fortunately, only weeks before the tsunamis struck, DLA had evaluated its Pacific Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center concept with DLA-Pacific employee Allen Frenzel, DLA’s liaison officer for U.S. Pacific Command, playing a key role in the exercise. The center unexpectedly switched from concept to reality when the tsunamis roared ashore.

Suddenly, Frenzel was again called on to coordinate DLA support for disaster relief supplies.

Frenzel was far from alone. The operations center was initially staffed by people within DLA-Pacific, including Danny L. Baker, Jose B. Bermudez, Mary K. Horimoto and Janice M. Niizawa from Defense Distribution Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Lt. Col. Cal Reid, DLA’s liaison officer to U.S. Forces Korea.

Together they teamed to draw from Defense Logistics Agency’s vast stockpiles of supplies stored around the world to support any emergency. The agency’s Far Eastern branch, DLA-Pacific, based at Camp Smith, Hawaii, is now the focal point for Indian Ocean operations. DLA-P routinely provides customer assistance, liaison, services, war planning interfaces and logistics support to U.S. Pacific Command.

While the United States has officially pledged $350 million to tsunami relief, that figure does not include millions of dollars per day pouring into the stricken region in the form of $65 million worth of articles and services now being drawn down, at presidential directive, from Defense Department inventories and resources.

This support includes not only massive ships and multitudes of aircraft, all powered by fuel arranged through DLA’s Defense Energy Support Center, but also large stocks of medical supplies already on scene and aboard the USNS Mercy, a Navy hospital ship en route from San Diego to the Indian Ocean.

Medical supplies are contracted through the Medical Directorate at DLA’s Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, which is the wholesale-level partner in the Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support program. Items supplied include thousands of bandages, surgical gear and equipment, first-aid kits, water purification equipment, blankets and disinfectants.

Besides medical supplies, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia calls on its Clothing and Textiles Directorate to provide clothing, textiles and equipment. Human remains pouches are also being delivered in the tens of thousands to the disaster area.

To keep survivors fed, the supply center’s Subsistence Directorate serves as the key link between the armed forces and the U.S. food industry. For Operation Unified Assistance that means providing humanitarian daily rations, also known as Meals Ready to Eat, for the thousands of hungry tsunami victims. In Singapore alone, almost 40,000 humanitarian daily rations had arrived by Jan. 7.

Putting all this together is the task of Defense Supply Center Philadelphia’s Pacific Region office at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, working with DLA-Pacific to support U.S. Pacific Command.

Other DLA activities at the forefront include the Defense Energy Support Center, which has tapped existing fuel stocks and modified fuel-servicing contracts to surge airport fueling capacities at Colombo, Sri Lanka; Medan; and Utapao, Thailand. At Banda Aceh, DESC has worked with the local fuel company to put in place an 11,000-gallon refueler to increase capacity. The airport at Banda Aceh is operational, but supply is very limited. Truck deliveries to Banda Aceh are bringing in 23,000 liters of fuel per day, having to make continuous roundtrip cycles taking six days each due to poor road conditions.

Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service’s Operations Asia Pacific Forward Support Team, Pacific Command Customer Support and Defense Reutilization and Marketing Offices are providing global coverage to support requests for critical medical equipment and life-support items, and other requested property in DRMS stocks. DRMS people are also helping the Defense Department by researching DRMO inventories and processing requisitions for supporting activities in the shortest time possible.
Other Defense Logistics Agency activities at the forefront include Defense Supply Centers Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Va., which have provided critical consumables and repair parts. Water purification and reverse osmosis water purification units were foremost on their list of contributions.

The Defense Distribution Center at New Cumberland, Pa., was instrumental in overcoming time and distance challenges of an operation more than 10,000 miles and 12 time zones away, most of which is over water. Workers at Distribution Depots in San Joaquin, Calif.; Pearl Harbor; and Yokosuka, Japan, had many items palletized and ready for air shipment long before customers began to think of their requirements.

Even Celia Pinkston and others at DLA Operations Research and Resources Analysis in Richmond have played a large role as that office helps DLA Pacific capture requirement data to not only document and improve current operations, but also help the agency further improve support of similar operations in the future.

DLA provides supply support, and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations.

January 13, 2005 05-05 Media Contact: Dawn Dearden 703-767-6310 dawn.dearden@dla.mil
SOURCE: The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)