WEBVTT 00:10.977 --> 00:13.000 - [Kevin] Natural disasters are one of 00:13.000 --> 00:15.330 the biggest threats to security and stability 00:15.330 --> 00:18.100 in the Pacific, which brings us to Tonga, 00:18.100 --> 00:20.310 which looks an awful lot like a training area 00:20.310 --> 00:22.550 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. 00:22.550 --> 00:25.480 The US Army Pacific Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team 00:25.480 --> 00:28.120 is deployed here to train on its capability 00:28.120 --> 00:31.300 to assist partner nations with disaster recovery. 00:31.300 --> 00:33.130 - In this scenario, although we're 00:33.130 --> 00:35.650 in the field here at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, 00:35.650 --> 00:38.030 we are simulating that we've deployed forward 00:38.030 --> 00:41.330 to the Kingdom of Tonga, at their request, 00:41.330 --> 00:43.940 in response to a major typhoon. 00:43.940 --> 00:45.170 - [Kevin] The HAST is the first 00:45.170 --> 00:47.230 US military force on the ground, 00:47.230 --> 00:49.680 once the affected nation asks for help, that is. 00:49.680 --> 00:52.620 Their mission: determine how to get the ports open 00:52.620 --> 00:54.640 so relief supplies can flow in. 00:54.640 --> 00:57.600 - We go forward, we do some small scale assessments 00:57.600 --> 01:00.940 and determine the ground truth of what's going on, 01:00.940 --> 01:04.040 send that back to the main command post in Hawaii. 01:04.040 --> 01:07.330 And then we also do these assessments 01:07.330 --> 01:09.340 in order to better enable the command 01:09.340 --> 01:11.180 to attach, organize the forces 01:11.180 --> 01:13.860 to support whichever foreign nation that we're working in. 01:13.860 --> 01:16.260 - Today we're at the Port of Tonga and we're going to 01:16.260 --> 01:19.245 evaluate some reported damage to the port, 01:19.245 --> 01:22.820 what needs to be done to reestablish operations. 01:22.820 --> 01:24.110 So the checklist he's going down writing, 01:24.110 --> 01:26.570 just keep working, totally ignore me, 01:26.570 --> 01:30.760 is the checklist from the USAID Field Operations Guide, 01:30.760 --> 01:33.990 specifically the assessment section on seaports. 01:33.990 --> 01:35.670 So this is what USAID is looking for 01:35.670 --> 01:36.910 in order to pass this information on 01:36.910 --> 01:39.210 to humanitarian agencies for further use. 01:39.210 --> 01:40.660 So he's going down line by line 01:40.660 --> 01:42.570 and doing the best he can to answer all the questions. 01:42.570 --> 01:44.410 We may not be able to answer all of them, 01:44.410 --> 01:46.050 but we'll do our best here and see 01:46.050 --> 01:49.350 if we can meet up with anybody that's a harbormaster 01:49.350 --> 01:50.710 who can fill in the details as well. 01:50.710 --> 01:51.980 - Right now we are here at 01:51.980 --> 01:54.170 the international airport of Tonga. 01:54.170 --> 01:56.690 So we're doing a runway assessment, 01:56.690 --> 02:01.010 just to make sure all the aid can be flown by air. 02:01.010 --> 02:03.110 So we have to take some accurate measurements, 02:03.110 --> 02:05.260 so it means not guess-estimating, 02:05.260 --> 02:07.960 but gives them an accurate measurement. 02:07.960 --> 02:10.360 And all this information we're gathering right now 02:10.360 --> 02:12.170 going to be important for the Air Force 02:12.170 --> 02:14.440 to do the assessment as far as knowing 02:14.440 --> 02:17.250 what kind of airplanes they can land here. 02:17.250 --> 02:19.260 - [Kevin] Once the team completes assessments, 02:19.260 --> 02:21.120 which should take only a day or two, 02:21.120 --> 02:23.860 they then prepare to accept follow-on forces, 02:23.860 --> 02:27.220 with the understanding that the host nation and aid agencies 02:27.220 --> 02:28.370 are in the lead. 02:28.370 --> 02:30.660 - We provide a unique capability 02:30.660 --> 02:33.240 in that we are a team composed 02:33.240 --> 02:36.876 of personnel from engineer, logistic, medical, 02:36.876 --> 02:41.020 military police, chemical backgrounds. 02:41.020 --> 02:44.470 So we can provide a very holistic assessment 02:44.470 --> 02:46.630 to the commander about the situation 02:46.630 --> 02:49.130 on the ground in a disaster area. 02:49.130 --> 02:51.280 - [Kevin] Reporting from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, 02:51.280 --> 02:53.203 I'm Sergeant First Class Kevin Bell.