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The
Iraq Conflict provided a unique challenge to the USAID's
Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) in that
for the first time they were able to prepare specifically
for and in advance of a humanitarian emergency. A major
component of the preparations involved enhanced training
for USG employees expected to take part in the response
including those belonging to the Forest Service International
Program's Disaster Assistance Support Program (DASP).
In addition to the training received by its permanent
staff, DASP initiated an augmented training regime for
BLM and FS employees in the program to ensure all detailers
would have the required training prior to deployment.
The first five detailers were put through the requisite
classes/training in May 2003, and the number of deployable
and qualified DASPers continues to grow thanks to this
commitment.
Another
aspect of the preparations and actualization of the
response included the deployment and staffing of Disaster
Assistance Response Team (DART) components to several
countries within the Middle East. One such team that
was originally based in Turkey but eventually moved
into northern Iraq was lead by Ron Libby, a DASP Disaster
Response Specialist. Once in northern Iraq, the team
began assessing humanitarian needs. They were responsible
for providing information and making programmatic recommendations
for disaster response activities to the core DART, based
in Kuwait City. The northern Iraq team coordinated with
representatives from other non-governmental and international
organizations, the United Nations and Coalition Civil
Affairs forces in northern Iraq to ensure that needs
were being addressed. Ron returned to the United States
on June 6, after a 90 day deployment.
A
Forest Service logistics specialist from the Sequoia
National Forest in California, Steve MacLaurin, completed
a six week assignment from June 8, 2003 to July 26,
2003 serving as a DART Logistics Officer, based in Kuwait
City. He coordinated the transport of humanitarian aid
shipments from stockpiles in Kuwait and elsewhere to
locations within Iraq, in response to assessments and
requests from other DART components working in Iraq.
Steve, a Hotshot Captain by day, is but one example
of the many trained and experienced Forest Service (FS)
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) personnel who can
be called upon to provide assistance to DASP and OFDA
in responding to emergency humanitarian assistance needs
throughout the world.
DASP
also provided OFDA with personnel resources assigned
to various positions in Washington DC, in support of
the USG disaster responses in Iraq. This support included
personnel assigned to the Washington-based Iraq Response
Management Team (RMT), logistics specialists assigned
to the OFDA Logistics Unit, and Geographic Information
Support (GIS) specialists assigned to OFDA's GIS and
Cartographic Unit, etc. For the Iraq RMT alone, DASP
supplied multiple detailers from the BLM and the FS
filling the roles of Communication and Records Recorder
and the Logistic Coordinator. Over 190 days of service
was provided to support the humanitarian effort in Iraq.
The
expense of this support is borne by DASP, which is funded
through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Agency
for International Development, Office of U.S. Foreign
Disaster Assistance. The FS and BLM home units are providing
the expertise in support of these international humanitarian
efforts, but are not expending funds intended for domestic
programs.
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