PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – U.S. Northern Command, its component and subordinate commands, and the military services are actively providing assistance to the relief efforts in The Bahamas.
Under Foreign Disaster Relief Authority, USNORTHCOM is conducting assessments of critical transportation nodes to facilitate humanitarian assistance and maximize the flow of disaster relief into the area. Additionally, the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the lead federal agency for foreign disaster response, has requested DoD to facilitate the movement of humanitarian commodities and personnel throughout The Bahamas.
Below is a summary of the DoD support to the Bahamas as of September 4, 2019:
- Four U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys transported a U.S. Air Force Airfield Assessment Team into the Bahamas to conduct assessments of critical transportation nodes to facilitate Non- Governmental Organizations (NGO) and whole of government response efforts.
- While not a DoD asset, the U.S. Coast Guard has established a Command Center at the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island, Bahamas, to coordinate assessment overflights, medevacs, and search and rescue missions.
Due to the susceptibility of The Bahamas to natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding, USNORTHCOM routinely collaborates with The Bahamas’ National Emergency Management Agency and Royal Bahamas Defense Force to enhance disaster preparedness and response capacities.
Support to USAID and The Bahamas does not impact the Department of Defense (DoD)’s ability to provide assistance in the U.S. should DoD assets be requested, and the nation’s military, with our unique capabilities, remains fully postured to defend the homeland.
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For additional imagery of DoD’s hurricane support mission visit
https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/19DODHurricane
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