Photo By Sgt. Ian Leones | U.S. Marine Col. Michael V. Samarov, the commander of Joint Task Force - Leeward...... read more read more
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After one month of providing humanitarian assistance to areas struck by hurricanes Irma and Maria, Joint Task Force - Leeward islands wrapped up their mission in the Caribbean, Oct. 8.
The task force is a U.S. military unit composed of Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen, and represents U.S. Southern Command’s primary response to the hurricanes that have affected the eastern Caribbean.
Operating on the islands of St. Martin, Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe in the wake of the storms, the task force deployed aircraft and service members to assist in delivering relief supplies.
“We received indications around Sept. 5 that the weather in the Atlantic was going to turn very badly, and that we were going to need to respond to the affected areas” said U.S. Marine Col. Michael V. Samarov, commander of JTF-LI. “Our goal was to find and evacuate American citizens who had been affected by the disasters, and work with our counterparts to do whatever we could to minimize human suffering.”
The core of the task force was formed by Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Southern Command, which deployed to Central America in June to conduct engineering projects and theater security cooperation training with partner nation forces there. The Marines and Sailors of SPMAGTF-SC are also on standby to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support during their deployment, which is timed to coincide with hurricane season.
The partnership between the different service branches that came together to make up the task force was a key component to the success of the mission.
“The combined asset that each branch brought to the table was crucial to meeting our goal on the islands,” Samarov said. “The aircraft provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force was essential for transporting personnel, gear and relief supplies. The U.S. Navy provided us support with the USNS Spearhead and its assets to assist in moving things over the ocean. What we accomplished would not have been possible without these branches working together.”
After Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean, the task force immediately deployed personnel to the island of St. Martin to begin the relief efforts.
“On St. Martin we had two sites that we were doing water purification with the Light Weight Water Purification Systems,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jebadiah A. James, the supply and logistics chief with JTF-LI. “We produced and distributed over 80,000 gallons of water to the local populace that was in need. We also did a lot of work with the French and Dutch governments and delivered about 250,000 pounds of relief supplies for them to distribute out.”
As the service members continued their operations on St. Martin, Hurricane Maria formed as a Category 5 storm and caused additional damage to the Caribbean. As they sheltered in place in Puerto Rico during the storm, the task force went to work planning how they would extend relief operations to the area impacted by the second hurricane.
“Weathering Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico was a challenge in itself,” Samarov said. “Once that was over, we shifted to a completely different island of Dominica which is much bigger than Saint Martin. We got our supplies and personnel ready and as soon as we could, went to the island to start our humanitarian aid.”
“Immediately when we got to Dominica we hit the ground running with operations,” James said. “We had evacuations of American citizens taking place and airfield operations going on with delivering cargo. When we arrived, there was already an aircraft on the ground with supplies from the U.S. Agency for International Development that we helped unload, and we continued to work with them throughout our time on the island.”
The U.S. Agency for International Development is the lead U.S. agency responsible for coordinating humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in a foreign country. The partnership between the task force and USAID helped make a positive impact on the communities that needed their assistance.
“The partnership is absolutely vital to the mission accomplishment,” Samarov said. “The professionals within USAID are the experts of administering humanitarian aid. We had a good working relationship with them and were able to come together to distribute relief supplies to several communities in need throughout the island.”
As their relief efforts come to a close, senior leaders hope that those involved with JTF-LI have a chance to reflect on the impact they have made to the people of the affected areas.
“The events over the past four weeks have been intense,” Samarov said. “Many people talk about what they would do in a crisis and how they would respond. Few have a chance to get tested. The service members of this task force were tested and were ready for the challenge. I hope that everyone holds their heads high and are proud of what they did under these extremely challenging circumstances.”
| Date Taken: | 10.09.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.13.2017 10:17 |
| Story ID: | 251587 |
| Location: | FORT-DE-FRANCE, MQ |
| Web Views: | 241 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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