Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
May 17, 2008
Pg. 5
By Tom Wright
ON BOARD THE USS ESSEX -- The crew of the USS Essex can almost see the coast of Myanmar from their anchor 60 nautical miles offshore.
But for now, they are sitting idle in the Andaman Sea. On Friday evening, the 2,200 crew occupied itself with diversions such as film night -- featuring "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" -- accompanied by sodas and chicken wings. Other crew members worked out in the gym, made calls home via prepaid phone cards or played Scrabble.
Myanmar's ruling military junta has refused so far to accept the ship's aid. That is the source of great frustration on the Essex, an 844-foot-long amphibious assault ship, which has been here since Tuesday. It is one of four U.S. Navy ships that are part of the American humanitarian response.
The Navy would like to begin flying helicopter and amphibious-landing-craft missions into the Irrawaddy Delta, which bore the brunt of devastation wrought by Cyclone Nargis. The ship is only a half-hour helicopter flight from the delta, but so far pilots haven't made a single sortie.
The junta as of Thursday had allowed the U.S. to send in 13 C-130 transporters packed with relief supplies to Yangon, the biggest city. But in a move that has caused consternation world-wide, the regime has declined to allow foreign workers unfettered access to the delta. That includes the Navy, presumably because the junta wants to control the flow of aid.
The junta's political decision comes at a humanitarian cost. The Essex alone has the capacity to turn 200,000 gallons of sea water into fresh drinking water every day, and there are 50,000 gallons available after the crew's needs have been met. Clean, fresh water is one key to survival for more than one million people displaced by the cyclone.
The Essex, based in Sasebo, Japan, also has 12 helicopters and landing craft that could ferry supplies directly to survivors who have been cut off by the patchwork of rivers that make up the delta. Its huge flight deck can operate six helicopters at one time. Its "well deck" under the main deck can fill with water to allow amphibious landing craft to disembark. There's even a team with a bulldozer that specializes in preparing landing zones for the amphibious craft in remote areas.
Many on the Essex are veterans of relief efforts that followed the Asian tsunami in 2004 and the Bangladesh cyclone last November. The ship also helped out when a mudslide struck the Philippines in 2006.
The stalled Myanmar mission stands in stark contrast to the tsunami, when U.S. Navy helicopters flew hundreds of missions into Indonesia's Aceh province. Then, pilots worked around the clock, loading choppers with relief supplies and landing wherever they saw groups of survivors.
It is a strange waiting game for the crew of the Essex, who were in the region on training exercises with Thailand's military when the cyclone struck. The Essex's crew watches television news on board and is well aware of the scale of suffering just over the horizon. "We're all ready to go," said Cpl. Preston McFarland, standing near a group of sailors who were filling huge water sacks from giant spigots. "I wish they'd allow us the opportunity to provide the aid."
For now, many of the crew -- a combined force of regular navy sailors and marines -- are biding their time, cleaning equipment, monitoring the seas for approaching craft and conducting abandon-ship drills. A team of surgeons and doctors wait in an empty hospital, which has 45 beds and six operating rooms.
The commander of the U.S. Navy's Amphibious Force 7th Fleet, Rear Adm. Carol Pottenger, says the mission can remain here "for a long time." On Friday, a supply ship packed with mosquito nets, blankets and food -- as well as fuel oil for Essex -- began unloading its cargo via helicopters after making a nonstop three-day sail from the U.S. Navy's logistics base in Singapore.
A team of U.S. Navy surveyors joined the Essex on Friday with detailed maps of the delta. Using sonar, they hope to find how the riverbeds of the area have shifted after the cyclone to make sure any amphibious relief mission doesn't run aground.
But sensing Myanmar is unlikely to allow access, Ms. Pottenger talked Friday about flying helicopter missions instead to Yangon, a route the Myanmar generals prefer because it allows them to keep control of distribution in the delta. That would mean moving the Essex and its sister ships away from the delta and closer to Yangon. But it could be the only way these sailors can get involved.
May 17, 2008
Pg. 5
By Tom Wright
ON BOARD THE USS ESSEX -- The crew of the USS Essex can almost see the coast of Myanmar from their anchor 60 nautical miles offshore.
But for now, they are sitting idle in the Andaman Sea. On Friday evening, the 2,200 crew occupied itself with diversions such as film night -- featuring "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" -- accompanied by sodas and chicken wings. Other crew members worked out in the gym, made calls home via prepaid phone cards or played Scrabble.
Myanmar's ruling military junta has refused so far to accept the ship's aid. That is the source of great frustration on the Essex, an 844-foot-long amphibious assault ship, which has been here since Tuesday. It is one of four U.S. Navy ships that are part of the American humanitarian response.
The Navy would like to begin flying helicopter and amphibious-landing-craft missions into the Irrawaddy Delta, which bore the brunt of devastation wrought by Cyclone Nargis. The ship is only a half-hour helicopter flight from the delta, but so far pilots haven't made a single sortie.
The junta as of Thursday had allowed the U.S. to send in 13 C-130 transporters packed with relief supplies to Yangon, the biggest city. But in a move that has caused consternation world-wide, the regime has declined to allow foreign workers unfettered access to the delta. That includes the Navy, presumably because the junta wants to control the flow of aid.
The junta's political decision comes at a humanitarian cost. The Essex alone has the capacity to turn 200,000 gallons of sea water into fresh drinking water every day, and there are 50,000 gallons available after the crew's needs have been met. Clean, fresh water is one key to survival for more than one million people displaced by the cyclone.
The Essex, based in Sasebo, Japan, also has 12 helicopters and landing craft that could ferry supplies directly to survivors who have been cut off by the patchwork of rivers that make up the delta. Its huge flight deck can operate six helicopters at one time. Its "well deck" under the main deck can fill with water to allow amphibious landing craft to disembark. There's even a team with a bulldozer that specializes in preparing landing zones for the amphibious craft in remote areas.
Many on the Essex are veterans of relief efforts that followed the Asian tsunami in 2004 and the Bangladesh cyclone last November. The ship also helped out when a mudslide struck the Philippines in 2006.
The stalled Myanmar mission stands in stark contrast to the tsunami, when U.S. Navy helicopters flew hundreds of missions into Indonesia's Aceh province. Then, pilots worked around the clock, loading choppers with relief supplies and landing wherever they saw groups of survivors.
It is a strange waiting game for the crew of the Essex, who were in the region on training exercises with Thailand's military when the cyclone struck. The Essex's crew watches television news on board and is well aware of the scale of suffering just over the horizon. "We're all ready to go," said Cpl. Preston McFarland, standing near a group of sailors who were filling huge water sacks from giant spigots. "I wish they'd allow us the opportunity to provide the aid."
For now, many of the crew -- a combined force of regular navy sailors and marines -- are biding their time, cleaning equipment, monitoring the seas for approaching craft and conducting abandon-ship drills. A team of surgeons and doctors wait in an empty hospital, which has 45 beds and six operating rooms.
The commander of the U.S. Navy's Amphibious Force 7th Fleet, Rear Adm. Carol Pottenger, says the mission can remain here "for a long time." On Friday, a supply ship packed with mosquito nets, blankets and food -- as well as fuel oil for Essex -- began unloading its cargo via helicopters after making a nonstop three-day sail from the U.S. Navy's logistics base in Singapore.
A team of U.S. Navy surveyors joined the Essex on Friday with detailed maps of the delta. Using sonar, they hope to find how the riverbeds of the area have shifted after the cyclone to make sure any amphibious relief mission doesn't run aground.
But sensing Myanmar is unlikely to allow access, Ms. Pottenger talked Friday about flying helicopter missions instead to Yangon, a route the Myanmar generals prefer because it allows them to keep control of distribution in the delta. That would mean moving the Essex and its sister ships away from the delta and closer to Yangon. But it could be the only way these sailors can get involved.