A Humanitarian Mission Outside of the United States - Research Paper Example

 Introduction Planning serves as an important part of military strategy whether it is geared for combatant or non-combatant purposes. Appropriate planning measures ensure that the performance of forces is successful in meeting their underlined objectives and aims. The planning process in itself is composed of a number of different measures starting out from the initial reports about the problem to the final execution. The urgent nature of military affairs makes it appropriate for the commanding officers to be quick on their feet in terms of planning and execution. The deployment of military teams for non-combatant tasks means that military commanders need to be fully prepared for any such deployment. This paper will deal with an assumed scenario involving the deployment of troops to assist in a humanitarian mission outside of the United States. Background to Problem An earthquake has hit Guam on July 17, 2012 around 0200 EST. The earthquake has had a devastating effect on the entire country. Initial reports suggest that around 1,000 people are dead while hundreds of other people are missing. It is expected that thousands more are now homeless and will require food, immediate medical attention as well as rehabilitation. The situation in Guam resembles a humanitarian crisis in the making. The government of Guam has notified the United States government regarding the earthquake and has asked for humanitarian assistance. The country is currently in a state of emergency and any help is welcome. The President of the United States is expected to shortly get to the airwaves to address the situation in Guam. Meanwhile, a decision has been made to send in troops from the United States Marine Core (USMC) and the United States Navy in order to help the people of Guam. Systematic Response to the Crisis There is little doubt that the situation in Guam is a humanitarian crisis. All efforts need to be made to ensure that this humanitarian crisis does not turn into a humanitarian disaster. There are a number of different problems that must be tackled simultaneously in order to deal with the situation in Guam. On the one hand, troops must be mobilized along with their equipment for short-term measures while, on the other hand, long-term planning such as rehabilitation has to be initiated as well. One method of dealing with this situation could be to take action as needs become apparent. However, this approach would be wasteful in terms of costs as well as repeated tasks. The real method of dealing with this situation is to initiate Crisis Action Planning (CAP). The various stages of CAP ensure that the problem is tackled simultaneously on many fronts, and a focus is kept on both short-term and long-term goals and objectives. The CAP approach can be divided into six distinct phases. These phases cover the planning and actions required from the initial event occurrence to the actual ground deployment. The phases for CAP are[JFS10]: Situation Development; Crisis Assessment; Course of Action (COA) Development; Execution Planning; Execution. All of these phases will be covered systematically in the appropriate order to elucidate the response to the crisis. Situation Development Guam is an island situated towards the southernmost edge of the Marianna Islands archipelago. The island of Guam serves as an unincorporated territory of the United States. The location of the island in the western Pacific makes it strategically important (Rogers, 1995; Gruhl, 2007). The island has been in use for military purposes as far back as the Second World War. Currently Guam has a United States naval base as well as an air force base better known as the Anderson Air Force Base[Rav84]. The location of the island and its allegiance to the United States makes it an important part of the Western Pacific defense strategy. The situation development phase shows what possible developments are taking place on the global arena which may affect the United States. The news of an earthquake in Guam has been confirmed by multiple news agencies on television and through the internet. There is also confirmation available from the military installations on the island that an earthquake has occurred. In lieu of these pieces of evidence it is apparent that Guam has been affected by an earthquake and that action needs to be taken. However, before any further action is advised, the CINC will report the matter to the NCA and the CJCS so that further action is advised. The CINC also presents a brief assessment regarding the situation on ground such as the number of expected causalities, the scale of the overall disaster and the expected course of action. Crisis Assessment Crisis assessment is the first real step in moving towards the resolution of a crisis or emergency. The contention behind crisis assessment is not to assess everything in terms of exactness, since it may not be possible but instead to develop a general idea as to the amount of assistance required. Typically, the CINC performs the crisis assessment in the immediate aftermath of an event. In performing the crisis assessment, it may not be possible for the CINC to extract completely authentic information. A large part of the information provided to the CINC relies on estimates that are reliable enough to initiate planning and action. In the current situation, information from ground sources and media reports suggests that around 1,000 people are feared dead under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Reports also indicate that hundreds of people are injured and require medical support. The lines of communication have also broken down as roads and bridges have been affected. This indicates that food and medical supplies may not be able to reach the affected people through road linkages alone. This would present another challenge since the provision of medical supplies is an urgent task that could save thousands of lives. Additionally, there is a constant need to provide the locals with food supplies while looking into the possibility of constructing temporary shelters. The provision of food supplies is one of the most urgent matters at hand since untimely provision would lead to looting in the existing food depots and shops. In order to conserve law and order and to preclude the possibility of rioting and fighting, it would be appropriate to take action regarding food supplies as soon as possible. The state and amount of destruction on Guam also tends to indicate that hospitals on the island may not be able to deal with the large number of causalities. This would necessitate the creation of field hospitals across the island, especially in the major urban center. The search and rescue activities on the island may be assisted through the use of heavy machinery and equipment on the island in private hands as well as heavy earth-moving machinery available at the United States military bases. Course of Action Development The situation at hand demands that a number of actions be taken in order to alleviate the situation in Guam. The most immediate priority for the execution team is to set up relief centers that provide food and shelter to the surviving people. This needs to be complemented with the creation of field hospitals that deal with survivors who are removed from the rubble. The best possible line of action would be to create a joint team composed of servicemen and servicewomen serving on the island of Guam as well as regular USMC and Navy units. The first course of action would be to clear up landing zones on the island, especially in areas that have been cut off due to road and bridge failures. In areas where some form of heavy machinery is available, it could be deployed. However, for more remote areas such as the highlands, it would be appropriate to send in ground teams that could clear up landing pads for helicopters to fly in food and medical supplies along with paramedics. This would need to be done on a demand basis since creating landing pads all across the island would not be a possibility. The first food and medical supplies and staff would need to be flown in to Anderson Air Force Base. From here, they could be transported by road to the internal areas of the island that require support. The outage of large bridges would mean that food supplies and medical supplies would reach in limited quantities. In order to deal with the situation, an engineering corps deployment will be carried out to repair the damaged bridges as quickly as possible. This would also provide for bringing in tents to set up temporary housing for the affected people. Course of Action Selection The COAs drafted in the previous section will then need to be refined and then routed to the NCA through the CJCS. The NCA will be advised by the CJCS as to the extent of action required on the part of the United States military. Given the nature of the earthquake in Guam and the need for immediate action, it is highly likely that the CJCS will issue planning orders to begin immediate planning execution. As the directives from the NCA arrive, they will then be included into the overall COAs drafted to that point in time. The commitment of troops (in the form of USMC units and navy units) on the part of the CJCS shows that COA Selection is already underway. For the execution planning to begin, more important matters at hand such as providing food and medical supplies will be addressed immediately. Execution Planning As soon as the COA Selection phase is over, the CINC is provided the alert order or, alternatively, the planning order to begin. Given the ground modalities, the CINC develops the OPORD that effectively resonates the actual ground plan and the sequence of actions in it. The force to be deployed is ordered to prepare itself. In the current scenario, units from the USMC and the United States navy have been told to prepare for immediate deployment to Guam for humanitarian assistance. Moreover, a unit of engineering corps has also been told to prepare for deployment in Guam as quickly as possible. Temporary command of the troops in Guam has been handed over as well to prepare the ground for larger deployment taking place later. Execution Once the respective forces have been prepared for deployment, the NCA orders the execution of the OPORD. The CJCS sends the execute order to the CINC so that OPORD may be executed. As soon as the deployment begins, the JOPES databases are maintained while the JPEC begins reporting on the execution status. As the execution proceeds, COA changes may occur such as the need for more troops to help out with the search and rescue efforts. In case that such a situation takes place, the appropriate channels are used to notify the NCA that then approves or disapproves of the new COA or a modification in the existing COA. The status of execution is updated often to ensure that the execution remains in the context of the original objectives. Once the execution phase is over, the redeployment begins. In the case of Guam, this is only going to be possible once civilian rule of law is restored, food supply and medical supply lines restored, and temporary bridges put up. The humanitarian mission in Guam may last for an entire year to come depending on the actual situation on ground. References JFS10: , (JFSC, 2010), Rav84: , (Ravenstein, 1984), Read More