Tsunami Relief

Once again the domestic news outlets, particularly the TV stations, have failed to describe American aid to the tsunami ravaged Indian littoral countries. Here are more detailed reports. The first is from Australia's North Territories News.. Another describes why ships are so important when clean drinking water is the main concern. They can provide 50,000 gallons of drinking water per day. And The Australian has more details.

We’re sending the Abraham Lincoln carrier group consisting of the Abraham Lincoln CVN 72, Shoup DDG 86, Shiloh CG 67, Benfold DDG 65 & Ranier T-AOE 7.

Additionally, we are sending Expeditionary Strike Group 5 with Marines aboard. The group consists of the Bonhomme Richard LHD-6, Duluth LPD-6, Milius DDG 69, Rushmore LSD 47, Thatch FFG 43 and Pasadena SSN 752 with the Coast Guard cutter Munro WHEC 724 attached.

Note that the Abraham Lincoln group will be going to Aceh province in Indonesia, a hotbed of Islamofascists. It has 12 desperately needed helicopters. Expeditionary Strike Group 5, with 25 helicopters, will be going to the Bay of Bengal. It will have access to northern Sri Lanka, home of the Sea Tigers. Here is a quote from the December 2004 issue of Proceedings page 54, “the Sea Tigers, the maritime component of the Tamil guerrilla groups operating in northern Sri Lanka, frequently use maritime attacks to disrupt the Sri Lankan Navy. They seem focused on suicide techniques, but to attack targets in port, this group uses innovative maritime technologies such as midget submarines, covert infiltration/exfiltration of suicide divers, and one-man suicide torpedoes. Since July 1990, the Sea Tigers have executed more than 40 sea borne suicide attacks, killing an undisclosed number of people”.

Won’t the native population be surprised to find themselves visited by a Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable MEU(SOC)?