DSCA Warehouse Ships Emergency Supplies to
Haiti
1st Lt. Caleb D. Eames,
USMC
Public Affairs
Officer, MCLB Albany
(ALBANY, GA, January 15, 2009) Tons of
emergency supplies staged at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany
are on their way to earthquake-ravaged Haiti immediately, with
more expected to follow in the coming days.
The Department of Defense's Humanitarian
Assistance/Excess Property Program, which stores humanitarian
supplies and coordinates efforts from MCLB Albany, began loading
and shipping materials Thursday. Five trucks were loaded with
prepackaged meals and sent out Thursday, the first items to go
in this situation.
We received official notification Thursday
afternoon to start sending the priority shipments, which in this
case is our humanitarian daily rations, said Bill Lane, HAP
director. But we were on standby as soon as we saw the disaster
in the news on Tuesday evening. We knew we were going to be
involved somehow, so we went ahead and started getting ready.
A total of 36 trucks are scheduled to be on
the way Friday with 600,000 meals for those in need. The trucks
will travel to a staging area in Florida, from where the
supplies will then be airlifted into Haiti. Officials expect
more equipment will be needed in the coming days, and are ready
to react to whatever is requested.
There is a whole laundry list of materials
available, from generators, tents, stoves, medical supplies,
blankets, clothing for adults and children, meals and more, said
Lane. We are poised and ready to go with everything that we have
here, and are getting it into a shipping posture, based on the
requirement.
The rapid movement of gear from here
demonstrates the HAP's and the Marine Corps' ability to remain
flexible when rapid response is needed in a wide variety of
operations.
The International Red Cross reported that three
million people were affected by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake,
which Haitian officials have called a catastrophe of major
proportions.
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke Wednesday of
a quick, aggressive U.S. response to help those affected by the
earthquake.
The people of Haiti will have the full support
of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those
trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian
relief - the food, water and medicine - that Haitians will need
in the coming days, Obama said.
The HAP facility here at MCLB Albany is the
only one in the United States, and one of only three in the
world, where excess DoD property is stored for quick shipment to
areas of critical need. The HAP program is managed by the
Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The HAP utilizes two warehouses on the base,
and besides responding to critical disasters such as the one in
Haiti, also regularly ships supplies overseas for non-emergency
situations as requested by other federal agencies.
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