U.S. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Papua New Guinea aid worker load supplies onto a CH-53E Super Stallion during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operation on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, Aug. 12, 2023. (Bridgette Rodriguez/U.S. Marine Corps)
Sailors and Marines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America are flying emergency relief to parts of Papua New Guinea hit by recent volcanic eruptions, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced recently.
Eruptions from Mount Bagana on the island of Bougainville over the past five weeks have produced ashfall, gas, lava flows and steam plumes , according to a USAID news release.
“The volcano has adversely affected more than 6,300 people living in Torokina and Wakunai districts and could impact up to 17,000 people total living near the volcano’s crater,” the statement said. “Ongoing volcanic activity continues to restrict people’s access to food and water and families from returning home.”
The USS America diverted from a planned port call to lend assistance in Papua New Guinea, ship’s commander Capt. Manuel Pardo wrote in a letter to the crew and their families Aug. 7. The America, with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, was just south of Papua New Guinea following the conclusion Aug. 4 of the Talisman Sabre military exercises in eastern Australia.
“The Team is flexing to prepare for our next mission without missing a beat — in true AMERICA style,” Pardo wrote.
An aid worker worker grabs supplies to load onto a CH-53E Super Stallion during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operation on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, Aug. 12, 2023. (Bridgette Rodriguez/U.S. Marine Corps)
Bougainville already holds historic significance for the two services, which fought the Japanese there from November 1943 to April 1944 during World War II.
Now the Marines are using CH-53 Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters and MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors along with Navy SH-60 Seahawks to haul supplies to remote locations in the island nation of 10 million people, according to USAID.
The agency is providing $200,000 to the International Organization for Migration to provide emergency shelter kits and other relief supplies, protection assistance for women and children, and logistical support to deliver essential relief items and other critical relief services, according to the release. The aid is delivered at the request of the Papua New Guinea government.
Four water tanks and 127 collapsible water containers — prepositioned through USAID support— were delivered to locals to improve access to drinkable water while a public health specialist has deployed to conduct health assessments, according to the agency.
“To help transport this life-saving emergency assistance to hard-to-reach locations, the U.S. Department of Defense… has assigned personnel aboard USS America to help deliver critical relief supplies to these remote locations,” the statement read.
The U.S. has sought to boost ties with Papua New Guinea amid Chinese efforts to gain influence in the region. Last year China signed a security pact with the nearby Solmon Islands.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Prime Minister James Marape in the islands July 27 and discussed the Defense Cooperation Agreement signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Port Moresby in May.
