U.S. Military Begins Air Drops in Haiti

(CBS)  With ground transportation in Haiti severely limited following last week's massive earthquake, the U.S. military begun a series of air drops Monday afternoon to deliver aid supplies to the Haitian people.

CBS News has learned that the Air Force is flying C-17 transport planes out of Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, N.C. Each plane will deliver 40 aid bundles per trip and the military is planning to deliver 600 bundles over three days. The military has secured three drop zones where the aircraft can unload from an altitude of about 1,000 feet.

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A plane already in the air is set to deliver 14,000 MREs - the calorie-dense "meals ready to eat" used by the military in combat zones - and 14,000 quarts of water.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Reuters Friday that air drops in the immediate aftermath of the quake would have been "a formula for contributing to chaos rather than preventing it."

"Without having any structure on the ground, in terms of distribution, that an air drop is simply going to lead to riots as people go after that stuff," he said.

Sixteen ships and 48 helicopters are offshore flying in water and taking out the injured, but the help the U.S. promised has not arrived as quickly as planned, reports CBS News correspondent David Marin. The Pentagon said it would have 10,000 men and women either ashore or afloat by Monday. The actual number is less than 7,000. Delays at the airport have put the 82nd Airborne two days behind schedule, and a U.S. officer said Haitian air traffic controllers were simply unable to handle all the incoming flights.

Governments and humanitarian groups have struggled to get aid to the neediest Haitians in the week since the earthquake.

Some incidents of violence in Haiti have hindered rescue workers trying to help earthquake victims, a top official leading the U.S. government's relief efforts said Sunday.

Providing humanitarian aid requires a safe and secure environment, said Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the U.S. Southern Command. While streets have been largely calm, he said, violence has been increasing.

A leading aid group complained of skewed priorities and a supply bottleneck at the U.S.-controlled airport. The general in charge said the U.S. military was "working aggressively" to speed up deliveries.

[stevewaterman]

I agree with those they say we air drop right away. The issue about riots could be easily avoided. It is a simple matter of supply and demand. just keep air drooping stuff. If they take it away GREAT....that is what we want. Just keep flooding ALL areas with air drop from day one.

So, this waiting to secure these drops is completely a futile and consequently very deadly approach. Even now over a week later...all we do is keep dropping supplies. Again, even drop the medical supplies and let the Haitians have them. If they take them away...drop them more there....until they stop taking them away. Why is this rocket science ?

We should have given the Haitians antibiotics, stretchers, tents, tarps, splints, bandages, tape, etc by now. WE have forced starving injured people to stand in line at gun-point to wait for water ? That precious water, WE have made it so. Just drop, drop, drop, until you have a mountain of supplies that no-one wants. WE have created this fiasco. We have pushed the demand to the point of live or death for packets of 7 cents antibiotics and bottles of water ?

This was not done in New Orleans either. Think about it...supply and demand...excess or dropped supplied do NOT need to be protected. imagine letting them have medical supplies like stretchers and splints and tents from even say day 2. Has this "keep dropping until a pile remains" tactic EVER been tried in one area yet ????

[finkfurst]

by stevewaterman January 20, 2010 7:49 AM EST
I agree with those they say we air drop right away.
-----------------------
No...... you air drop LAST WEEK!!!!!

[finkfurst]

So............ you've all gone quiet now! You're all just typical idiot Yanks who can't do anything but eat, pollute, and clamour for killing, aren't you?

[finkfurst]

I was just wondering, are there any experienced small boat owners in Florida reading this who have a boat with sufficient range? How about loading up with food and water and getting going? You could refuel in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos if necessary.

Come on..... if you're rich enough to own the boat then you can afford it.

[finkfurst]

Use the Guantanamo military base as a staging post for supplies, as it has a deep water harbor and a large airport. It is within 200 miles of Haiti so short range helicopters can operate food, water and medical supplies drops to any location from there. Small boats could also be used to land supplies on the shore. The supplies and fuel would be transported there from Florida by cargo plane and by sea. Organising that should have taken 2 days MAXIMUM.

[Empire-George-]

by finkfurst January 19, 2010 10:45 AM EST
Well... I would start by not having all the long range helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan!
___________________

Again, you don't have a clue, do you ?

We have plenty of long range helicopters, that are no in the middle-east, plenty !

We also have Coast Guard, and National Guard and Emergency Response Helicopters available.

FinkFirst, your desperate attempt to disrespect the American Military is falling flat, useless.

See, when you are a real country, like America....we can do many different things....but when you are a Euro-Trash country like yours, weighed down with bloated Socialist programs, you can't do anything, you have nothing, no military to speak of, no rescue ability, nothing.

[finkfurst]

Perhaps I can ask you how many American long-range helicopters such as Chinooks you think are operating into Haiti at the moment? I know the answer, but apparently you don't!..... Saying "plenty" twice does not make it so!

I won't argue with your ignorant Euro-bashing, because you only need to check the news media to know that many European rescue and medical teams have been working in Haiti for several days now.

[Empire-George-]

You are doing a "Heck-of-a-Job Bammie" !

[rochest]

Today is Saturday, five days after the earthquake in Haiti. Even though there are massive amounts of water and food on the ground at the airport, the aid agencies are presently squabbling over how to distribute it and waiting for more and more security. I have watched this natural disaster occur in front of my eyes through television and the Internet. I donated my money to various charities on Wednesday. But now I sit in my upstate New York home increasingly frustrated that the aid sits on the ground at the Haitian airport and is not being distributed to the folks that suffered this tragedy.

Many people are warning that the situation is about to spiral out of control, with angry mobs fighting over what little food or water there is presently. Of course, what did anyone expect by delaying food and water shipments, while waiting for security? Many people have now been without food or water for days or the small supplies they were able to forage have been exhausted. It has been well documented that in the early days of any natural disaster the victims pull together, share what they have, and take care of lost children. However, as the length of time grows, where there is no help or relief folks stopped sharing, begin hoarding what meager resources they have or can forage, and begin taking care of only their small group not the community at large.

People are being accused of looting. This is such a pejorative term! I see people carrying food, water, and ice. I do not see people carrying TVs, jewelry, fur coats, or luxury goods. One news report spoke of people looting a warehouse where food and water was stored by an aid agency to be distributed during times of emergencies. The article ended by saying that the agency was relieved to find that not everything had been taken. Instead of seeing this as looting. I tend to see this as local control of distribution to the neediest or local forging. What good does it do to have these warehouses full of supplies, while people around them are suffering greatly? It seems that if supplies are available early on in disasters, while people still have some supplies, the best of humanity's attributes are reinforced. It seems to me that there has been very little rioting or civil disobedience up to this point. I have seen long and orderly lines at gas stations and makeshift hospitals. People waiting patiently, maybe yelling, but waiting without violence for help.

It appears to me that the people are doing their part, but are the aid agencies doing theirs? The world has responded with incredible generosity. Many people have donated money, and many governments have donated supplies and military support. But the aid sits on the ground undistributed, while the security situation gets worse, because folksdesperate. It seems to me that there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way aid agencies deal with natural disasters. In natural disasters, the infrastructure has been destroyed, but societal norms remain. Early on small material drops from helicopters would be pretty effective, encouraging local leaders to emerge to deal with this situation. When we wait five or six days that people are so desperate that aid drops cause near right conditions as folks scramble for food or water!

Looking at helicopter material drops, why are they from closed helicopters? These require large areas to be cleared so the helicopter can land and take off safely. Since this is not a war zone, with people shooting RPG's at helicopters it would seem that the supplies could be dangled underneath where they could be quickly dropped, released, and returned to base for another load; leaving the distribution in the hands of local population. Security and permanent aid stations could be set up later. This would encourage and empower the local population to maintain civil actions rather than wait for days for aid and descending into more and more desperation and accompanying lawless behavior.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/17/world/main6107810.shtml?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea offers a disturbing story about what happens in the slums where an already desperate population becomes even more and more desperate. One man has died and many others will die tonight without food or water. They plead with the reporter to get them some help. How did the reporters get there if the aid agencies cannot? Is this report being given to the people who can do anything about this or is it for viewers at home? How does targeted aid get delivered without causing a riot, especially five days after the disaster?

Because of these questions and many other situations it appears that this Haiti disaster response needs to be studied and the military paradigm for aid agencies in natural disasters questioned. The question being, how best to support a civil society in maintaining a high level of societal values, while meeting Maslow's survival needs: food, water, shelter, safety.

[Empire-George-]

Watch The "Military Industrial Complex" that Liberals hate, in action !!!

[symanpons]

Response to: foulkes-2009, finkfurst

You have a great deal of critical comment, but you have no solutions.

Now is a time to put you hearts and minds to work on coming up with solutions to the problems posed by the developing catastrophe.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Look further. I explain in great detail why there must be secured areas for this stuff to be dropped into, and also give ideas.

[finkfurst]

Well... I would start by not having all the long range helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan!

[TorstenMandal]

See my comment on new ways of dropping to unsecured areas