Fort Bragg Soldiers Assist St. Thomas Hurricane Relief Efforts

By Army Pvt. Alleea Oliver, 49th Public Affairs Detachment

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sept. 28, 2017 — Soldiers of the 602nd Area Support Medical Company, 261st Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 44th Medical Brigade, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, arrived here Sept. 12, within 24 hours of notification to start disaster relief efforts in response to Hurricane Irma.

The 44th Medical Brigade is capable of rapid deployment with flexible teams and conducts Defense Support of Civil Authorities operations to assist civilian responders in saving lives, relieving human suffering and mitigating property damage in response to a catastrophic disaster as directed by the Defense Department.

Close to 90 service members comprised of soldiers of the 602nd ASMC, Army doctors attached through the professional filler system and an Air Force field surgical team out of Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, assist the Schneider Regional Medical Center's staff after the hospital sustained major damage following Hurricane Irma and later Hurricane Maria.

‘This Is What We Train For’

"This is what we train for," said Army Capt. John Pennington, commander of the 602nd ASMC. "This is what we have been focused on. Soldiers are augmenting the hospital’s staff and our medevac section has the lead for the patient evacuations.”

The soldiers augmented hospital services, Pennington said, by providing triage care, X-rays, medical evacuations, laboratory and preventive medicine services, and debris clean up in order to lighten the load of the medical center's staff.

“The military assist wherever they can, whether on the medical side ... in our kitchen, [or] manual labor,” said Darryl Smalls, a native of St. Thomas and the vice president facility manager of the Schneider Regional Medical Center.

“Without the military, I am not sure where we would [have] been at this stage,” he said.

Some of the soldiers assisted in the emergency room to augment where there is a lack of medical providers, said Pennington, who hails from Waldorf, Maryland.

In four days, the 602nd ASMC treated approximately 100 patients, where 14 patients were transported to the Cyril E. King Airport and evacuated to medical facilities off the island.

Anything the soldiers have been asked to do, they have done it with outpouring support, Smalls said.

Addition to the medical support, the 602nd ASMC gave moral support, he added, like hearing soldiers say everything is going to be alright.

The soldiers of the 602nd ASMC continue to provide medical assistance in support of the St. Thomas residents and are prepared to stay longer as needed.

“The soldiers are excited to go out and help U.S. civilians in a time of need,” Pennington said. “It is good to answer the nation’s call.”

With a force of approximately 2,000 personnel, the 44th Medical Brigade has over 35 military occupational specialties to provide health services support during a humanitarian crisis.

DoD Continues Support in Hurricane-Ravaged Areas

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2017 — The Defense Department is continuing relief operations in areas of the Caribbean Sea stricken by hurricanes in recent weeks.

In Puerto Rico, DoD continues ongoing relief operations and deployment of additional response capacity, expanding airfield and seaport throughput and supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements, Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement this morning.

Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, DoD's liaison to the FEMA-led effort, and his deputy, Army Brig. Gen. Rich Kim, are in Puerto Rico and are coordinating with FEMA, the Puerto Rico National Guard, commonwealth leaders and other key response stakeholders, Davis said. The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp is returning to support response operations in and around Puerto Rico, he added.

U.S. Northern Command will pair Wasp MH-60 helicopters with additional helicopters to bring the total of tilt- and rotary-wing aircraft supporting the response to 52 aircraft, he said.

Hospital Assessments Continue

FEMA reports that assessments are complete at 62 of Puerto Rico's 69 hospitals, Davis said -- one is fully operational, 55 are partially operational, five are closed, and the status of eight is as yet unknown.

An assessment of the Schneider Regional Hospital on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands will be completed today to determine when patient services may resume, Davis said. Meanwhile, he added DoD is working to fulfill a FEMA request to establish a mobile medical facility on St. Croix.

The hospital ship USNS Comfort will depart its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, today, bound for Puerto Rico, and Northcom is sourcing a Role 3 medical capability and additional medical support, Davis said. The capability includes a self-sufficient deployable medical/surgical treatment facility, including inpatient care with 50 inpatient beds for up to 10 days, he explained.

The Army Corps of Engineers has completed a damage assessment at Puerto Rico's Guajataca Dam, Davis said, and are consulting on repairs. A flash flood watch is posted there, with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected over the weekend, he added.

Ten of 12 regional staging areas, including 12 Puerto Rico National Guard armories, are open, he said, supporting more than 100 distribution points for meals, water and other commodities.

Eight airports are open in Puerto Rico and one remains closed, he said. Five of six FEMA-priority sea ports are open or open with restrictions, he added, and surveys of Ponce and Roosevelt Roads are ongoing. U.S. Transportation Command lifted a replacement generator for San Juan Combined Center/Radar Approach. When installed, the generator will enhance air traffic control capability and increase air traffic capacity.

Elsewhere in the Caribbean region, U.S. Southern Command's Joint Task Force Leeward Islands continues evacuations on Dominica, Davis said, noting that Southcom assets rescued one British and one French national whose civilian aircraft crashed outside Guadeloupe.

Senate Confirms Dunford for Additional 2-Year Term as Chairman

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2017 — The Senate yesterday agreed to Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford’s reappointment for another two-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dunford will continue to serve as the principal military advisor to the president, the secretary of defense and the rest of the National Security Council through Sept. 30, 2019.

The general’s reconfirmation as chairman came via voice vote.

Dunford was nominated as the highest-ranking U.S. military official in 2015. President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to renominate the general in June.

Vast Experience

Dunford has been on active duty for more than 40 years. A native of Boston, Dunford received his commission after graduating from St. Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont. He commanded at every level from platoon to Marine expeditionary force. He served as the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul before being named commandant of the Marine Corps -- the job he held prior to his present position.

Legislation allows for the chairman to serve up to six years in the position, but tradition is generally to serve four years.

Dunford succeeded Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as chairman. In his time as chairman, he has promulgated a new National Military Strategy, worked with the strategy to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, helped formulate the South Asian strategy and established ways to lessen the chance of miscalculations between Russian and U.S. forces. He has also worked to better military-to-military relations with nations across the globe to include China, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

The chairman continues to deal with the growing threat from North Korea.