Navy Helos Provide Aid to Pakistani Flood Victims

(Washington, August 19, 2010) -- Members of the Navy's Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15 Detachment 2 spoke on a DoDLive blogger's roundtable Aug. 19 to explain the ins and outs of their mission.

As flooding continues to plague Pakistan, the U.S. Navy is providing helicopters from HM 15 Detachment 2 in Bahrain to carry supplies into the Swat Valley.

To date, the United States has pledged to provide approximately $76 million in assistance to flood-affected populations in Pakistan. There currently are 22 U.S. military and civilian aircraft in Pakistan in support of flood relief operations. U.S. helicopters have evacuated more than 5,000 people and delivered more than 500,000 pounds of relief supplies. In addition, U.S. military cargo aircraft based in Afghanistan have transported more than 268,000 pounds of international aid from the Pakistan Air Force's Central Flood Relief Cell in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, to other locations throughout the country.

In the past five days, HM 15 and their MH-53E "Sea Dragon" aircraft have been able to evacuate more than 1,600 people and deliver more than 271,000 pounds of food and other relief supplies. The unit has been at Ghazi Air Base for a week, but rain and cloud cover limited their ability to get to the people in Swat.

Lt. Sean Snyder, one of HM 15's pilots, said the high altitudes have been difficult to get accustomed to. The aircraft responds differently to thinner air at higher altitudes, so controlling the helicopter under a full load has been harder than it would be regularly.

"It's been a challenge getting the mission done every day," said Snyder. "Had it been a sea-level situation, we probably could have doubled [the amount of evacuations and deliveries]."

Although Snyder and Navy Air Crewman 2nd Class Kevin Strickhouser, a part of Snyder's crew, only operate in one area, they said it's been apparent as they fly over the country how widespread the damage is. The fact that the United Nations is pressing for more aid and more organizations are rallying to help the country is heartening, said Snyder and Strickhouser.

HM 15 is doing fine moving things but any more help would be appreciated, because Swat is only a small part of the problem, said Strickhouser.

"Anything anybody can send won't be enough to stop the suffering that people are going through right now; I don't think that there's anything that can be done [to fix things right away]," said Snyder. "The more they can provide, so the assets can be spread out to help the whole country, would be very useful."

Snyder, his crew and the other MH-53E crew from HM 15, have all been working tirelessly to carry food to people and get as many people out of harm's way as possible.

Usually about five trips to and from the valley can be made daily by each aircraft, Snyder said.

And though concerns have been raised that the Taliban in the Swat Valley may somehow be using the flood to their advantage, either by helping people as a recruitment tool or planning to attack U.S. equipment, the two have seen nothing firsthand to indicate a problem.

"Other than what we're taking in and what the Pakistani government is providing, I haven't seen any other groups doing any assistance," Snyder said, adding that he's seen nothing of the Taliban firsthand or anecdotally. "People from the World Food Program are here, but I haven't seen anything else."

Strickhouser added that there has been little disruption of any kind to missions beyond the bad weather on their arrival. The Pakistani Army is providing security and has landing zones prepared for U.S. aircraft, and generally the people waiting for aid have been orderly outside the established landing perimeter.

"We're only there for a short period of time before they take off, so they don't see a lot on the ground throughout the day," said Strickhouser. "But there haven't been any problems. The only people who approach the aircraft are there to get the food we're bringing, and they take it to the others outside our perimeter."

Whether the United States will provide more aid, or ask the crews at Ghazi to expand their reach, is yet to be determined. Snyder said the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and a collection of non-government organizations are in Pakistan trying to help nationwide. Ultimately, it's a decision their leadership needs to make if asked by Pakistani leadership, said Snyder and Strickhouser.

"The Pakistani government determines where they need U.S. aid, and then the United States decides if they're able to help there with the equipment they have," Strickhouser said.

Source : US Navy