Operation Unified Assistance was the American military's

humanitarian response Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

to the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. On 28 December 2004, elements of the Combined Support Force were deployed to

U-Tapao International Airport U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานอู่ตะเภา ระยอง–พัทยา; ) also spelled ''Utapao'' and ''U-Taphao'', is a joint civil–military public airport serving ...

in Thailand. More than 12,600 Department of Defense personnel were involved in the relief effort.

Background

The United States dispatched numerous C-5 and C-17

strategic airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...

ers and 10

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

tactical airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...

ers containing disaster supplies, 9

P-3C Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

and the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

to coordinate additional assistance from Utapao Naval Air Base in Thailand.

Carrier Strike Group 9 Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG-9 or CARSTRKGRU 9) is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore. Commander Carrier Strike Group 9 (COMCARSTRKGRU 9 or CCSG 9) is res ...

was dispatched to the coast of Sumatra to provide support to the Indonesian province of

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

. It was led by the , with support from the , , , and . An

Expeditionary Strike Group In the United States Navy, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, and other naval assets. In contrast to carrier strike groups (CSGs), which emphasize air power and are led by a super ...

led by the amphibious assault ship , scheduled for a port call in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, was dispatched to render assistance. A total of 48 Navy and Marine Corps helicopters were involved. Each ship could produce around 90,000 US

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austral ...

s of fresh water per day. Other ships in the group were amphibious transport dock , the guided-missile destroyer , the dock landing ship , the guided-missile frigate , the nuclear-powered submarine , guided-missile cruiser , and the coast guard cutter . Kadena HH-60G at Sri Lanka

The

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

also deployed the , a 1,000-bed

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

(initially staffed to support 250 patient beds). Other logistics ships were also employed such as the combat stores ships and . In January 2005, 24 Navy ships and one

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

vessel were in the area. Among those ships was the amphibious assault ship USS Fort Mchenry (LSD43), which relieved the , and assumed the duties as the primary rotary wing platform for the operation. also brought helicopter detachments. The last ship, , departed the region in April 2005. Indonesian public opinion of the United States markedly improved in the year after the tsunami, jumping from 15% in 2003 to 38% in 2005, going against the general trend of less favorable attitudes towards America in that time period. Many Indonesians surveyed indicated that American relief efforts generally improved their view of the United States.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unified Assistance, Operation 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Humanitarian aid Non-combat military operations involving the United States United States Marine Corps in the 21st century

Background

See also

References

External links