US-Philippines military ties bolster typhoon relief work
| Tacloban, Philippines
The moon is rising over the devastated聽coastline of Tacloban as the US military cargo plane circles the聽runway.
Marines take catnaps on top of 7-ft.-tall pallets of rice and other聽supplies, their feet dangling above the heads of aid workers who pack聽the jump seats, hitching rides to the hardest-hit areas.聽Below, bonfires dot the landscape in areas where the water has begun聽to recede after a 20 ft.-high storm surge.
As US military personnel continue to flow into the country, the large and growing US footprint is in full evidence. But American commanders on the ground here emphasize,聽repeatedly and robustly, that they take their cues from the Philippine聽military and national police.聽Indeed, military cooperation between the US and The Philippines has been fostered over years of joint US-Philippine military exercises 鈥� and those ties are being borne out now, US military officials say, as the US pulls its Pacific assets into the country to assist with relief efforts.聽
鈥淭hey fly American-made helicopters and train with us constantly,鈥澛爏ays Col. John Peck, chief of taff for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary聽Brigade. 鈥淭hey are extremely capable.鈥�
'I know that guy'
Beside the runway, dozens of Tacloban residents wait in neat lines for聽evacuation from what the Weather Channel鈥檚 hurricane experts have聽dubbed 鈥渢he top end of any tropical system that we鈥檝e seen on our聽planet.鈥�
There is the earliest beginning of some sign of life on the roads,聽where cars can now begin to try to make their way through through the聽coastal city as bulldozers work round the clock to clear the rubble, a聽top priority.
A team of US Navy amphibious ships is scheduled to arrive into the聽region聽Tuesday, bringing with them heavy engineering equipment,聽including more bulldozers, as well as backhoes, dump trucks, and聽wreckers, at the request of the Philippine government.
These vehicles will clear roads in order to allow the Philippine聽military to start moving in food, shelter, water, and gas 鈥渙n their聽own,鈥� says Rear Admiral Denny Wetherald, who commands the US Navy鈥檚聽7th Fleet. 鈥淲e can move stuff, but it鈥檚 important to get the聽indigenous transport going.鈥�
Exercises with the Philippine military over the course of his career聽has helped build these relationships between the militaries. 鈥淚 was聽just here a month ago,鈥� says聽Brig. Gen. Paul Kennedy, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade commander.
And so when his brigade arrived in the wake of the typhoon, they聽recognized their counterparts immediately. 鈥淵ou look around and it鈥檚,聽鈥楬ey, I know that guy,鈥� 鈥� General Kennedy says.
鈥淚鈥檝e been here for 30 years in and out,鈥� Kennedy adds. His executive聽officer has spent time stationed in The Philippines, working out of聽the embassy. With his relationships now, he can work his considerable聽connections to move aid more quickly, Kennedy adds.
A former Philippine Navy SEAL, Capt. Roy Trinidad, directs the aid聽effort at the Tacloban airport, where the building鈥檚 typhoon-pummeled聽roof now resembles a grade-schooler鈥檚 hastily abandoned popsicle-stick聽project.
Kennedy 鈥渉ijacked鈥� one of his unit鈥檚 all-terrain vehicle for Captain Trinidad, who had聽a lot of ground to cover but 鈥渨as spending all this time walking聽鈥� it聽was inefficient.鈥�
If a US military presence on the ground is rarely hailed as a plus聽in other parts of the world, here the population expresses gratitude聽on a frequent basis to US service members they see in hotel lobbies聽and coffees shops around Manila.
As the flight from Tacloban lands, one evacuee sitting cross-legged in聽the belly of the C-130 shouts 鈥渢hank you!鈥� over the roar of the聽taxiing engine.
He is quickly joined in a chorus of 鈥渢hank you鈥檚鈥� as evacuees,聽carrying their worldly possessions in tattered school backpacks and聽plastic bags, file off the ramped rear of the plane.
