Page 9 - Beacon 5-29-15

The Beacon
Joint Task Force 505 begins drawdown in Nepal
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFNS) --
Joint Task Force 505 is drawing down its
earthquake relief operations as the Nep-
alese government and international aid
agencies have postured for long-term re-
covery and reconstruction efforts.
Nepal announced its transition from
relief operations to the recovery phase of
disaster response May 19.
“We are grateful for the essential con-
tributions of Operation Sahayogi Haat
to the post-earthquake relief efforts,”
said Peter Bodde, the U.S. ambassador
to Nepal. “The joint relief missions con-
ducted by the U.S. and Nepalese militar-
ies brought life-saving aid to those who
needed it most and reinforced the United
States’ close partnership with Nepal and
its people.”
The redeployment of JTF 505 units in
the coming days is able to occur quickly
because the capacity of Nepal and the in-
ternational community to meet the needs
of the relief effort continues to grow and
“together they are able to meet the require-
ments the U.S. joint task force would oth-
erwise provide,” said Bill Berger, the U.S.
Agency for International Development’s
disaster assessment response team leader.
Emergency food and supplies
During the operation, JTF 505 de-
livered about 114 tons of emergency
relief supplies, including plastic sheet-
ing, shelter kits, blankets, water, medi-
cal supplies, and emergency and supple-
mental food in support of USAID. In
addition to delivering aid, the task force
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A CFC Participant. Provided as a public service.
May 29, 2015 9
transported 534 personnel and conduct- U.S. Marine Corps photo/Cpl. Isaac Ibarra
ed 63 casualty evacuations.
U.S. Marines and Nepalese soldiers unload tarps off of a UH-1Y Huey at Orang,
Demand has decreased for unique JTF Nepal, during Operation Sahayogi Haat, May 19, 2015. Joint Task Force 505 is
505 capabilities in further recovery ef- drawing down its earthquake relief operations as the Nepalese government and
forts, said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John international aid agencies have postured for long-term recovery and reconstruc-
Wissler, the JTF 505 commander. tion efforts. Nepal announced its transition from relief operations to the recovery
phase of disaster response May 19.
Aid stockpiles are no longer back-
logged because of the logistical expertise Force C-130 Hercules and two Marine 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck
of the 36th Contingency Response Group, Corps KC-130J Hercules, as well as vari- central Nepal April 25, and continued the
a uniquely qualified Air Force unit out of ous ground and aviation command and response after the 7.4-magnitude earth-
Guam specializing in airfield manage- control assets, contributed to the effort. quake that struck May 12. More than
ment. The 36th CRG have trained mem- 8,600 people died, and more than 16,000
bers of the Nepalese army and airport per- About 900 U.S. military and civilian per- were injured as a result of the earthquakes,
sonnel during their ongoing operations. sonnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and according to latest official numbers.
Marine Corps contributed to the Nepal relief
“We will continue to work closely with efforts under the joint task force’s auspices. “We people, are men and women of
our Nepalese partners and USAID to en- About 300 task force personnel worked in the armed forces,” said Maj. Gen. Binoj
sure we meet the needs that may emerge Nepal, 320 others worked in the main head- Basnyat, the commandant of the Nepalese
during the coordinated transition and quarters in Japan, and 280 worked at the in- army’s command and staff college. “We
retrograde of our military capabilities as termediate staging base in Thailand. understand each other; we know what the
long as we remain in Nepal,” Wissler said. need is. So it has been a tremendous help
“Once we have returned to Okinawa, we JTF 505 initiated Operation Sahayogi for us while you were here, and helping
will reset our ability to respond to any fu- Haat -- meaning “helping hand” in Nepali us to get things in the proper direction. It’s
ture disasters requiring our support. We -- to limit further loss of life and human been a great help.”
stand with Nepal.” suffering in response to the devastating
This experience has forged a stronger
relationship, Wissler said. “I look forward
to future training opportunities to further
improve our interoperability, refine our
bilateral and multilateral processes, and
continue to learn from our experiences
working side by side,” he added.
Air assets
JTF 505 contributed three Marine
Corps UH-1Y Hueys and four Marine
Corps MV-22B Ospreys to the relief ef-
fort throughout Nepal. Additionally, four
Air Force C-17 Globemaster IIIs, four Air
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