A bit of help from the air
LAMNO, INDONESIA--On a grassy soccer field, Indonesian soldiers hold back a crowd of several hundred villagers as a U.S. Navy SH-60 Seahawk helicopter touches down. At least 15,000 people have been left homeless by the tsunami in this coastal town, a 30-minute flight south of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. Nearly all are hungry. Some are seriously injured or ill. The helicopter has become their lifeline.
As the Seahawk's cargo of biscuits, noodles, and rice is unloaded, the pilot signals to two Indonesian soldiers carrying a young boy, who shivers violently. The soldiers place 8-year-old Sudirman aboard the helicopter, which is bound for the only working medical center in hard-hit Banda Aceh. The boy has caught pneumonia, and his arm is broken. Petty Officer 2nd Class Maxwell Bjerke begins molding a flexible rubber splint, and the boy's mother, Sitiaminah, recounts how her son spent three days in the ocean before he was rescued by a small fishing boat. Sudirman groans as Bjerke binds his arm.
Deliveries. Bjerke's Seahawk was one of 54 U.S. military helicopters taking part in the relief mission last week. The helicopters, most based on the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Bonhomme Richard, had by late last week delivered 277,000 pounds of food and other supplies to isolated towns hit by the tsunami. An additional 35 Air Force planes had brought in millions of pounds of food, water, and equipment to the region; about 13,000 military personnel had been deployed to aid relief efforts, and thousands more were expected.
With bridges to coastal towns wiped out by the waves and many airstrips jammed, the U.S. Navy helicopters have so far proved to be the most important piece of American relief aid--and the military last week pledged to double the number in use. "The situation changed dramatically once the helicopter fleets arrived," says Gordon Weiss, spokesperson for emergencies with UNICEF. "We wouldn't have been able to reach many of these communities."
Last week, the U.S. military was bringing 30 to 50 injured survivors daily to Banda Aceh. With only one functioning hospital there, the military has been looking for ways to help expand the hospital capacity both in Indonesia and across the region. "We want to respond to the need," says William Winkenwerder, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. Immediately after the disaster, the Navy deployed a preventive medicine team to Indonesia to help stave off epidemics. And last Wednesday the hospital ship USNS Mercy set sail for the region. Because the Mercy may take a month to reach the area, the military is also preparing to deploy mobile field hospitals. While the Pentagon waits for formal requests for the hospitals from the countries hit by the tsunami, military teams are working to determine where they are most needed--and where they can save the most lives. -Marianne Kearney
With Julian E. Barnes
This story appears in the January 17, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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