Blog Posts tagged with "Pakistan"

As we learn time and again, Mother Nature demands our respect. Although the core competency of militaries is not humanitarian work, we are sometimes called upon to help respond to natural disasters, providing life-saving support to affected communities.

During the past couple of weeks, I’ve been focused on two very different disasters: the flooding in Pakistan and the wildfires raging in Russia. Each is a case study in the complexities of delivering security in the 21st Century.

A member of the Pakistan military helps civilians unload from the back of a U.S. Army helicopter in the town of Khwazahkela, during the evacuation of civilians,as part of the disaster relief effort to help the flood victims of Pakistan, Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.

In the case of Pakistan, 20 million people have been affected by the flooding – nearly a fifth of the country. The need is tremendous. The U.S. has pledged substantial assistance, along with many other nations and international organizations. From the NATO side, we have sent an assessment team to determine what help the Alliance can provide, pending authorization from the North Atlantic Council (NAC). I am anticipating an effort using an air bridge to help move desperately needed supplies. Pakistan is, of course, a key strategic partner in Afghanistan. At SHAPE, we are engaged heavily in planning so that if the mandate comes from the NAC, we are ready to spring into action.

Sergeant Terrill Wright, 37th Airlift Squadron, pushes a pallet of firefighting and humanitarian supplies on to a C-130J at Trondheim Airport, Norway, after an official request from the government of Russia to the US.

In the case of Russia, we are pushing assistance via U.S. European Command in concert with and under the lead of other U.S. federal organizations (State, USAID, and so on) and, of course, in full coordination and at the request of the Government of Russia. Russia is, without a doubt, an important and complex partner; there is real need, from a humanitarian perspective, to provide assistance. We have a lot of military capabilities that can be helpful, from aircraft to specialized equipment to knowledge from our own U.S. experiences in battling wildfires on the West Coast. A USAF C-130s relief support mission from Ramstein to Russia took place over the weekend, loaded with equipment. We’re ready to provide additional support if requested by Russia.

It’s heartening to see the international community come together to respond to these tragedies. And although we hate to see these disasters occur, it’s an honor to be a part of military organizations which are so quick to respond and capable of providing much needed assistance.

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

See more stories about the international response at:
http://bit.ly/9z4j8r and http://bit.ly/9RaYJP