“More than just a fighting force, the Defense Department delivers health care, disaster relief and other support to people around the world in humanitarian missions every day.” Helping Hands (defense.gov)
When a large-scale disaster occurs the international community rallies relief assistance and the U.S. military may be called in to support. Such is the case in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria as U.S. support in the humanitarian assistance efforts is underway. EUCOM is working to position additional assets to support relief efforts and respond to new requests. The death toll from the early February quakes has surpassed 35,000 and hundreds of thousands of people are currently in temporary shelters.
International disaster management and humanitarian assistance involve complex operations requiring coordination between the Department of Defense and other agencies. 728th Air Mobility Squadron and 39th Operational Support Squadron Support Key Earthquake Relief Deliveries > United States Navy > News-Stories.
To learn more about how humanitarian assistance relief efforts are managed and the role of the military check out these courses on JKO:
USAID -001-Humanitarian Assistance Essentials (1 hr)
This course is designed and conducted by USAID Bureau for International Assistance BHA and highlights international disaster response best practices and the U.S. military's role when supporting Foreign Disaster Relief operations as provided for under DOD Directive 5100.46 enhancing DoD's ability to work collaboratively during humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.
J3O P-US1256-Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) (9.5 hrs)
The purpose of this course is to meet the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance's legislative mandate to provide and facilitate education, training, and research in operations that require international disaster management and humanitarian assistance and require coordination between the Department of Defense and other agencies.