Military support to EU disaster response:- Identification and coordination of available assets and capabilities - Main contents

Document date	25-10-2006
Publication date	12-08-2009
Reference	9462/3/06 REV 3
From	General Secretariat of the Council
To	Political and Security Committee
External link	original PDF
Original document in PDF

COUNCIL OF PUBLIC Brussels, 25 October 2006

THE EUROPEAN UNION

9462/3/06 REV 3

LIMITE

COSDP 373 PROCIV 94

NOTE from : General Secretariat of the Council to : Political and Security Committee Subject : Military support to EU disaster response:

• - 

  Identification and coordination of available assets and capabilities

• 1. 

  Delegations will find attached a revised version of the document on Military support to the EU

  disaster response, following discussions at the PSC meeting on 24 October.

• 2. 

  The arrangements set out in this document are designed to enhance the rapidity and

  effectiveness of EU's response to disasters with military support. They will be subject to review, as necessary, in the light of experience gained.

• 3. 

  In further developing the measures outlined in this document, in particular paragraphs 21 to 28,

  the following shall be taken into account:

  • - 

    Possible use of military assets and capabilities, based on Member States´ voluntary

    contributions, would supplement civil protection and humanitarian aid; the arrangements set out do not in any way infringe on the established roles of the Commission and the Member States when dealing with civil protection and humanitarian aid.

9462/3/06 REV 3 1

• - 

  The Secretariat (EUMS) coordination of military assets and capabilities in support of EU

  disaster response is understood as assisting with the facilitation of Member States´ contributions of military assets and capabilities in support of the overall coordination of EU disaster response.

• - 

  As already established, this overall coordination takes place within the Community Civil

  Protection Mechanism and Council Regulation 1257/96 i concerning humanitarian aid. The Commission should continue to receive all requests for assistance from affected states and UN-OCHA. The Secretariat will consult with the Commission when the request for EU military support for disaster response is not directly received via the Commission’s DG ECHO or the MIC."

  _________________

  ANNEX

  Military support to EU disaster response:

Identification and coordination of available assets and capabilities

A. INTRODUCTION

• 1. 

  In his initial orientations on the follow-up to Hampton Court 1 , SG/HR Solana underlined that

  military resources, in particular transport means, can make an important contribution to disaster response. He agreed to present more detailed suggestions to improve the planning and coordination of possible military support to EU disaster relief activities, focussing in particular on the speedy delivery of assistance. At the informal meeting of the EU Defence

Ministers in Innsbruck on 6 March 2006 2 , he announced suggestions for strengthening the

Union's response capacity, in particular on identifying and deploying military assets and capabilities in support of disaster response and strengthening the European Union's reaction capability.

• 2. 

  Following Council notation on 15 May 2006 of the "General framework for the use of

Member States' military or military chartered transportation assets and EDSP coordination

tools in support of disaster response" 3 , and agreement of the proposed way ahead, this

complementary paper sets out how other military assets and capabilities can be used to support the Union's emergency response capability.

1 Doc 15780/05, 14 December 2005.

2 Doc. 6979/06, 3 March 2006.

9462/3/06 REV 3 3

B. AIM AND SCOPE

• 3. 

  The issue is how, when deemed necessary, the EU can enhance its disaster response efforts by

  making available in a timely manner specific and adequate military assets and capabilities that

  could complement civilian means and capabilities. This paper aims to:

• identify a range of potential military assets and capabilities which could support the

overall EU disaster response efforts, and

• to present proposals for the coordination of the use of Member States' voluntary

contributions of military assets and capabilities with a view to enabling an immediate response (these proposals are in addition to, while consistent with, the considerations and

proposals concerning transport 4 ).

• 4. 

  These proposals are in respect of an EU response to a disaster outside the EU. The

  arrangements for co-ordinating Member States’ military assets and capabilities in potential support of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism for disasters occurring within the EU are the same as those agreed in the context of terrorist attacks on a civilian population,

including CBRN 5 . In the event of a disaster simultaneously affecting an EU Member State

and a third state, decisions on the application of the arrangements in this paper would be taken

on a case by case basis.

4 Doc 8976/06, 4 May 2006.

5 PSC Report to the Council on modalities, procedures and criteria for making available to the Community Civil

Protection Mechanism the content of the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection of civilian populations against the effects of terrorist attacks, including CBRN. (doc. 6644/4/04, 11 May 2004).

• 5. 

  The outcome of this work should be an examination and possible improvement of the existing database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection of civilian populations 6

  (originally developed for response to terrorist attacks), with a view to covering the requirements of responses to both natural and man-made disasters. This paper takes into account the processes of HLG 2010, CHG 2008 and the Requirement Catalogue 05, wherein scenarios include elements that may be relevant for civil protection and humanitarian relief aspects. This paper does not propose or initiate the development of new military capabilities relevant for disaster response. The purpose is to achieve effective coordination of existing capabilities.

• 6. 

  The present paper is based on the general assumption that military assets and capabilities

  would supplement civil protection and wider humanitarian efforts, for example in the case of a large-scale disaster response or in specific circumstances (e.g. difficult access to a region affected by a disaster). In this context it is noted that strategic airlift has already been

  acknowledged as a critical military capability relevant for disaster response 7 .

• 7. 

  This paper does not address support to humanitarian and rescue operations in which military

  forces may be tasked to create a safe and secure environment to enable relief workers to deliver humanitarian assistance. Such operations fall under article 17.(2) of the TEU and will follow agreed EU concepts and procedures for conducting ESDP operations.

• 8. 

  The suggestions set out in this paper for coordinating military assets and capabilities take full account of the approach offered in the transport proposal 8 . The Council Secretariat has

  consulted relevant Commission services in pursuing its work on the various issues involved.

6 Doc. 12446/05, 11 November 2005.

7 Doc. 8976/06, 4 May 2006.

8 Doc 8976/06, 4 May 2006.

• 9. 

  The arrangements as set out in this paper, which are in support of existing Community

  instruments, do not in any way infringe on the established roles of the Commission and the Member States when dealing with civil protection and humanitarian assistance and notably when acting in the framework of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism and Council Regulation 1257/96 i concerning humanitarian aid. In cases of civil protection interventions,

  the Modalities as specified in doc 6644/4/04 9 continue to apply. The aforementioned

  document sets out that “The Commission Services will regularly inform the PSC on each activation of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism involving military assets and capabilities in operations, training and exercises. The EUMS will report accordingly to the EUMC.”

C. IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL MILITARY ASSETS AND CAPABILITIES

• 10. 

  In order to identify the type of military assets and capabilities that could support disaster relief

  actions, a pragmatic four-step approach has been followed (see also the diagram in Annex A) consisting of:

  • - 

    an overview of different types of disasters where military support could be used and an

    analysis of their nature, scale and severity of impact;

  • - 

    a compilation of typical major damage characteristics and effects;

• - 

  an identification of overall needs for relief and assistance, based on the listed damage

  effects;

• - 

  an identification and prioritisation of a list of relevant military assets and capabilities

  that could be useful in disaster response.

Member States can, if they so wish, provide their contributions in the form of modules.

9 PSC Report to the Council on modalities, procedures and criteria for making available to the Community Civil

Protection Mechanism the content of the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection of civilian populations against the effects of terrorist attacks, including CBRN. (doc. 6644/4/04, 11 May 2004).

• 11. 

  Initially, a range of disaster types (both man-made and natural) was examined, as were

  insights from analysis of previous disasters. This experience shows that different disaster types can result in similar types of damage (e.g. flood damage may result from either heavy rains, hurricanes or an earthquake) and may often generate similar generic needs for assistance. Therefore, a set of common damage characteristics for large-scale disasters has been identified, independent of whether these may be related to sudden-onset or gradually emerging disasters (steps 1 and 2 in Annex A). Based on this compilation of typical damage characteristics, a range of disaster response needs was derived and listed (step 3 in Annex A). An assessment was then made of the potential military assets and capabilities which could respond to these needs. The assessment led to identifying a list of relevant military assets and capabilities (step 4 in Annex A; further details in Annex C).

• 12. 

  This approach builds upon experiences of previous activations of the Community Civil

  Protection Mechanism. It also takes into account an examination of the main characteristics of recent disasters and lessons identified from the subsequent relief operations where military assets and capabilities have been employed (Annex B), on the basis of an analysis of information available from the countries and international organisations involved in those disaster response operations, in particular UN-OCHA, UNHCR, the UN World Food Programme, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and

  NATO 10 .

• 13. 

  Clearly, in the case of any specific disaster, the extent to which any of the identified generic

damage-characteristics will occur, and the resulting need for civilian and/or military relief

capabilities, will vary considerably. Each disaster generates an individual damage profile,

which depends on the scope and severity of the disaster 11 , geographical and climatic factors 12

, as well as the affected country's own capacity to cope with the consequences. This 'damage profile' of a disaster then determines the overall assistance needs.

10 The analysis was based on information available from open sources: UN-OCHA reports, (e.g. “South East Asia

Earthquake 2005-Compilation of commitments”), NATO/EADRCC Situation Reports, IFRC “Tsunami Emergency and Recovery Plan of Action 2005 – 2010”, the U.S. White House Report on Lessons Learnt from Hurricane Katrina.

11 I.a. number of victims, damage to critical health/logistics/energy infrastructure, etc.

12 I.a. densely populated urban vs. remote sparsely populated areas, needs for winter shelter, etc.

• 14. 

  In order to improve the EU response, the list of relevant military assets and capabilities was

  focused on responding to the most critical needs. The list is based on an examination of the actual use of military assets and capabilities in large scale disasters such as the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in South-East Asia; 2005 Katrina hurricane; 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and also recent examples of the Tindouf floodings and the Java earthquake. An overview is provided in Annex B. The five summaries in this Annex identify the main focus of the military contributions to each of these disaster responses:

  • - 

    2004 Earthquake and tsunami in South-East Asia: Strategic Transport, Tactical Transport, Medical Support, Engineering Support, Logistic Support;

  • - 

    2005 Katrina hurricane: Strategic Transport, Tactical Transport, Medical Support, Logistic Support / Communications Support;

  • - 

    2005 Pakistan earthquake: Strategic Transport, Tactical Transport, Medical Support. - 2006 Algeria (Tindouf) flood: Strategic Transport; - 2006 Indonesia (Java) earthquake: Strategic Transport, Medical Support.

• 15. 

  Based on the examination of the main types of military support to the disasters identified

above, and taking into consideration the broad analysis of deficits and shortfalls within the

civil protection means available for responses to major terrorist attacks 13 , as indicated by the Commission in its Communication of 8 November 2005 14 , military assets and capabilities that

were used in past disasters and that would be likely to remain the main focus of potential

military involvement in the future include 15 :

• - 

  Strategic transport (air/sea); - Tactical transport (e.g. in-theatre use of helicopters); - Medical units and/or field hospitals; - Logistics;

13 The following priority areas of needs for assistance were identified: transport, vaccines, specialised facilities for

burns victims and contagious patients, CBRN assets, logistical support and rapidly deployable emergency communication means.

14 Communication from the Commission to the Council "Report on the assessment of civil protection assistance

available through the Community Civil Protection Mechanism in case of major terrorist attacks in the Union" (doc. SEC(2005)1406; 14667/05 PROCIV 14 COSDP 38 JAI 33 SAN 16), 8 November 2005.

15 It is also understood that further capabilities, apart from what has been reported to the database, could be made

available on a voluntary case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the disaster.

• - 

  Engineering capabilities; - Communication support; - CBRN capacities; - Search and Rescue; - Specialised military expertise and liaison capability; - Specific Maritime support.

These assets are broadly reflected in the content of the existing military database. Therefore there is no need to change the structure of the database. However, the database needs to be regularly updated on the basis of voluntary contribution from the Member States.

• 16. 

  When responding to the questionnaire on the above mentioned military database, Member

  States wishing to do so may provide additional information, including on the potential availability of the military assets and capabilities outlined above, in particular of critical assets such as transport and medical support. Such indications would improve planning for possible military support to disaster response at EU level.

D. COORDINATION OF THE USE OF MILITARY ASSETS AND CAPABILITIES IN

EU DISASTER RESPONSE

General principles

• 17. 

  Any use of Member States' military resources in support of a coordinated EU disaster

response will follow international guidelines, notably: the Oslo Guidelines on the Use of

Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief as developed by the UN 16 , as well as the

Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support United Nations

Humanitarian Activities in Complex Emergencies 17 . These guidelines reflect the following

key criteria/principles: - humanity, neutrality and impartiality, when delivering humanitarian assistance or emergency relief;

16 Project DPR/213/3 MCDA, dated May 1994

17 Dated March 2003

• - 

  the complementary nature of military support to civilian efforts ; - the use of military assets and capabilities as a last resort when civilian resources are overstretched or inadequate; - the fact that the use of military assets and capabilities should be limited in time and focus on initial immediate relief, and should not extend to more structural support.

• 18. 

  Another guiding principle is the primary responsibility of an affected State to make a request

  for external support and to be responsible for coordinating the relief activities within its borders. The consent of the affected state is particularly important where military assets and capabilities are involved. In principle, military units and personnel in support of civilian disaster relief activities operate unarmed and the host state is responsible for their security. Where specific situations may require exemptions, these should be clearly agreed between the parties involved in accordance with internationally agreed principles.

• 19. 

  Military support would be complementary to the overall coordination of civil protection

  measures facilitated by the MIC in the framework of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism and Community humanitarian assistance managed by DG ECHO. With regard to EU civil protection contributions, the Presidency, with the support and facilitation of the Commission, has the overall responsibility for the coordination of assistance in accordance with agreed principles and fully respecting the role of the authorities of the affected country. DG ECHO is responsible for the management of Community financed humanitarian aid which aims at providing assistance to the victims of natural and man-made disasters outside the Union in accordance with the core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality and independence and carried out by its implementing partners (UN agencies, Red Cross family and NGOs). Community Civil Protection Mechanism and Humanitarian assistance both work

  in close coordination with, EU Member States and other major donors, notably UN-OCHA 18 .

  The General Secretariat of the Council (EUMS), when requested, facilitates the coordination of Member States' voluntary contributions of military assets and capabilities. Military assets would be required only where there is no comparable civilian alternative and only where the use of military assets can meet a critical humanitarian need. The EU fully acknowledges the leading role of UN-OCHA, when present, with regard to disaster response.

18 The existing MoU between the Commission and UN OCHA continues to apply.

• 20. 

  It is underlined that coordination of EU actors in theatre is necessary, including with regard to

  coordination of Member States’ military assets and capabilities.

Arrangements for coordination of military contributions

• 21. 

  The development of arrangements for coordination of military support to EU disaster relief

  will be based on existing structures and mechanisms and will not affect the roles of DG ECHO or the Presidency/MIC/civil protection assessment-coordination teams on site. In the context of Community Civil Protection Mechanism interventions outside the EU, the Presidency, when informed by the Commission of a request, will consider military assistance and the possible requirement for EUMS assistance with the facilitation of military support to EU disaster response.

• 22. 

  Requests from the affected state or the UN-OCHA for military assets and capabilities to

support EU disaster relief activities will be forwarded immediately to the Presidency and to

the EUMS via the SITCEN 19 . Subsequent actions to be taken: − in all cases of requests received for military support to disaster response, immediate

consultations will take place between the Presidency, the Secretariat and the Commission ;

− the Secretariat may start internal contingency preparatory work; − to ensure that the Member States maintain political oversight the Presidency will

consult them and, if necessary, convene the Political and Security Committee in order to allow an assessment of the possible use of the Secretariat support to coordination of Member Sates military assets ;

− possible Secretariat support to coordination of Member States military contributions,

could include inter alia facilitating information exchange, provision of military expertise and liaison officers and/or a clearing house mechanism;

− in line with the modalities document 20 the PSC and the EUMC will be informed on the

commitment of Member States military assets and capabilities.

19 The Secretariat will consult with the Commission when the request for EU military support to disaster response

is not directly received via the Commission’s DG ECHO or the MIC. Interim practical arrangements are already in place to ensure adequate exchange of information between the SITCEN and DG ENV/MIC.

20 PSC Report to the Council on modalities, procedures and criteria for making available to the Community Civil

Protection Mechanism the content of the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection of civilian populations against the effects of terrorist attacks, including CBRN. (doc. 6644/4/04, 11 May 2004).

• 23. 

  The Council General Secretariat will also inform the Crisis Steering Group of the

commitment by Member States of their military assets and capabilities in cases where the

arrangements for EU emergency and crisis coordination 21 are activated (i.e. in situations that

require political coordination in Brussels in emergencies inside or outside the Union which have a direct effect on a number of Member States or which would engage the entire Union and in situations that affect more than one Member State simultaneously or where the interests of several Member States are engaged together with the responsibilities of the EU institutions).

• 24. 

  The Secretariat (EUMS) will replace existing ad-hoc arrangements by the necessary

  permanent detailed procedures with a view to enhance readiness to coordinate potential EU military support. These should not lead to a new layer of decision-making. Internal arrangements will be implemented inside the General Secretariat of the Council to enable the

SG/HR to assess whether or not the use of the EUMS coordination capacity 22 for military

contributions is likely to be necessary and direct internal contingency preparatory work. Close

coordination with UN-OCHA, in particular the Civil Military Coordination Section, will be

ensured.

• 25. 

  In this context, Member States are invited to identify 24/7 points of contact in Member States

  for potential coordination of military assets and capabilities for disaster relief. These POCs should be able to communicate relevant specific information to the EUMS on national military capabilities offered or potentially available, notably in response to a specific request for military assets. This will also enable the EUMS to interact and coordinate efficiently with the Member States as necessary whilst keeping the Military Representatives to the EUMC informed. Existing national civil protection points of contact may play this role if a Member

21 Doc. 6747/06, 24 Feb 2006 and doc. 8380/06, 11 April 2006.

22 This capacity will consist of the EUMS/CivMil Cell personnel and could be further reinforced with additional

EUMS experts from specific fields of expertise, including, on a voluntary basis, experts from Member States and the Commission. There may also be provisions to allow for the exchange of short term operational liaison from the EUMS and from the relevant Commission services as appropriate. Since military transport contributions to disaster response forms a key component of the overall effort, the EUMS disaster response capacity will work alongside the EU Movement Planning Cell (EUMPC).

State so decides. Identification of such points of contact in Member States will respect the overall coordinating role of the national civil protection points of contact as established within the Community Civil Protection Mechanism and should not lead to duplication. Details for setting up points of contact for military assets and capabilities will be elaborated in close

coordination with Member States and relevant EU players 23 . The establishment of the

Member States' points of contact for coordination of military assets and capabilities will need

to be consistent with the work undertaken in the transport proposal 24 .

• 26. 

  The Council may decide to activate the Operations Centre in this context.

• 27. 

  In addition to the development of military coordination at EU level, past experience from

  particular disaster response operations has shown the need for on-site coordination of EU Member State's deployed military capacities with other civilian and military actors in theatre.

F. WAY AHEAD

• 28. 

  The next steps:

  • a. 

    Updating of the database - by the end of 2006;

  • b. 

    Identification of Member States' points of contact on a voluntary basis for coordination of military assets and capabilities in support of EU disaster response and modalities for

  communicating with the EUMS - by the end of 2006;

  • c. 

    Development by the Secretariat of the necessary internal procedures concerning EUMS support to coordination - by the end of 2006;

23 Military Representatives to the EUMC need to be kept informed.

24 Doc. 8976/06, 4 May 2006. It should be considered that the points of contact for coordination of military assets

may differ from the points of contact for strategic transport assets and will depend on each Member State's internal arrangements.

• d. 

  Development, by the Council General Secretariat (EUMS) and relevant Commission services, of necessary permanent detailed procedures for the coordination of military support by early 2007 to be presented to Member States for consideration. In the interim period before such arrangements are established, the current provisional arrangements will apply.

  _________________ MAIN REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

• - 

  Joint Declaration between the Council and the Commission on the use of the Community Civil

  Protection Mechanism in Crisis Management referred to in Title V of the Treaty on the European Union (doc. 10639/03), 29 September 2003.

• - 

  Council conclusions on the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection

  of civilian populations against the effects of terrorist attacks, including CBRN (doc. 15564/03), 3 December 2003.

• - 

  PSC Report to the Council on modalities, procedures and criteria for making available to the

  Community Civil Protection Mechanism the content of the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection of civilian populations against the threat of terrorist attacks, including CBRN (doc. 6644/4/04, rev 4), 11 May 2004.

• - 

  SG/HR “Follow-up to the EU Action Plan following the earthquake and tsunamis in the Indian

  Ocean” (doc. 8204/05), 20 April 2005.

• - 

  Follow-up to the extraordinary meeting of the GAERC on 7 January 2005 on the earthquake and

  tsunamis in the Indian Ocean – EU Action Plan (doc. 5788/05), 28 January 2005.

• - 

  Military Advice on SG/HR “Follow-up to the EU Action Plan following the earthquake and

  tsunamis in the Indian Ocean” (doc 8975/05), 17 May 2005.

• - 

  Communication from the Commission to the Council "Report on the assessment of civil

  protection assistance available through the Community Civil Protection Mechanism in case of major terrorist attacks in the Union" (doc. SEC(2005)1406; 14667/05PROCIV 14 COSDP 38 JAI 33 SAN 16), 8 November 2005.

• - 

  Draft report on the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to the protection of

  civilian populations (doc. 12446/05), 11 November 2005.

• - 

  Presidency paper to the GAERC “Earthquake and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean – follow-up to

  European Union Action Plan (doc. 14620/05), 17 November 2005.

• - 

  Military Advice on “Draft report on the database of military assets and capabilities relevant to

the protection of civilian populations” (doc. 15163/05 RESTREINT UE), 30 November 2005.

• - 

  Initial orientations by SG/HR on follow-up to Hampton Court, annex II, (doc. 15780/05),

  14 December 2005.

• - 

  Presidency paper “Reinforcing EU’s emergency and crisis response capacities” (doc. 5228/06),

  13 Jan 2006.

• - 

  SG/HR “Response capacities for natural and man-made disasters –ESDP assets” (doc. 6973/06),

  3 March 2006.

• - 

  Interim EU emergency and crisis coordination arrangements in Brussels, (doc. 8380/06), 11

  April 2006.

• - 

  Civil-Military Co-ordination: Framework paper of possible solutions for the management of EU

  Crisis Management Operations (doc. 8926/06), 2 May 2006.

• - 

  General Framework for the use of Member States' military or military chartered Transportation

  Assets and ESDP Coordination tools in Support of EU Disaster Response (doc. 8976/06), 4 May 2006.

• - 

  Council Conclusions on EU Emergency and Crisis Response: Getting assistance quickly where

  it is needed (doc. 9109/06), 10 May 2006.

  Annex A to the ANNEX METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ASSETS AND CAPABILITIES

Step 1: Range of disaster types (man-made and natural disaster) involving possible military support

Earthquake Floods Tsunami Hurricane Droughts Volcanoes CBRN

Step2: Compilation of typical effects/characteristics

• Individuals killed / trapped / evacuees / displaced on a mass scale • Insufficient strategic and/or tactical air, sea, or land transportation • Insufficient medical care (facilities missing/damaged, mass injuries and increased disease) • Insufficient shelter against heat, cold, snow, and rain • Food supplies destroyed, crops destroyed • Clean water lacking • Sanitation systems lacking • Power grid destroyed or severely damaged resulting in electricity disruption • Communication networks destroyed (i.e. GSM, telephone, radio, television) • Massive destruction or disruption of roads • Contamination of water, air, or land at a large scale in case of a CBRN disaster • Flooding, which further compounds damage and hindering relief efforts • Fuel either lacking, contaminated • Risk of pandemic

Step 3: Range of disaster response needs

• Transportation (strategic and tactical for movement by air, sea, and land) • Medical assistance • Shelter provisions • Food supplies • Clean water • Sanitation • Electricity • Communication systems • Clean-up of destruction and repair of road networks • Decontamination • Search And Rescue (SAR) • Fuel and fuel storage

Step 4: Relevant Military assets and capabilities for disaster response (further details in Annex C)

• Strategic transport (fixed wing and maritime) • Tactical transport (fixed wing, rotary wing, boats, and ships) • Medical support (elementary first aid and specialised support) • Logistic support (water purification, power generation, food kitchens) • Engineering capabilities (earthmoving machines, bridging support) • CBRN related capabilities (analysis, decontamination) • Search and Rescue (to include in contaminated areas) • Specialised expertise and liaison capability (i.e., logistic management) • Maritime support Annex B to the ANNEX

EXAMPLES OF MILITARY ASSETS / CAPABILITIES DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF

RECENT DISASTER RESPONSES

EXAMPLE I: EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMIS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA (2004)

Nature of the disaster: The Tsunami resulted in an enormous number of casualties, reaching more then 200.000 dead/missing, 125.000 injured, and more then 1.7 million homeless/displaced people. This led to immediate needs for capacities to provide medical care to casualties, to organise large-scale evacuations and to identify victims. The Tsunami affected 13 countries, and mainly coastal areas (12.000 km of coast line over 12 countries). In addition, the tsunami caused severe damage to infrastructure, including roads, housing, hospitals, energy and water supply systems.

Military support deployed: During the Tsunami “foreign and national military forces played a key role in search and rescue

as well as in delivering assistance in the first week.” 1 The military forces of Indonesia, Sri

Lanka and Thailand contributed with 27 airplanes, 15 helicopters and 40 ships. Relief efforts were supported by national military contributions from eighteen countries participating in concerted military support (“Unified Assistance” under US Pacific Command). The U.S. was

the major military contributor, committing: air assets 2 , marine assets 3 , logistic and medical

support, as well as mortuary affairs teams and psychological teams 4 . A further 16 participating

nations contributed with national military assets and capabilities, including 31 aircraft, 39

helicopters, 22 ships, 12 medical support teams, 2 logistics teams, and 10 engineering teams 5 .

Among these combined efforts, the contributions from the EU Member States were 4 aircraft,

23 helicopters, 8 ships, 3 medical teams, 2 engineering teams, and also 1 water system support

team 6 .

1 Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC), “Initial Findings”, Dec 2005. (TEC is an initiative constituted by 50

member agencies from across the humanitarian sector including i.e. UN agencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement.)

2 Seven C-130C, ten HH-60 airlift helicopters, ten HH-60 evacuation helicopters, KC-135 transport, C-17/C-5

inter theatre airlift;

3 Service Support, Heavy Helicopter Squadron, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron, six CH-53D Sea Stallion

helicopters, Medium and Heavy Lift Helicopters, four C-130s to deliver relief personnel and supplies to conduct medical evacuations, communication battalion to provide communication support;

4 Four mortuary affairs teams for mass casualties incidence to help with identification, processing, and evacuation

of deceased; medical and logistics units including CH-47 Chinook helicopters; engineering support teams for infrastructure assessment and reconstruction planning, 1 civil affairs team and 1 psychological operations assessment team with its broadcast and production capabilities focused on information distribution in concert with local officials and relief organizations in the region.

5 The 17th contributing nation was India. However, the numbers have been separated as any illustration of the

large contribution of Indian military assets (34 aircraft, 42 helicopters, 40 ships, 6 medical units) would blur the scale of contributions from other nations participating in "Unified Assistance";

6 4 Aircraft (FR, AUT, ES), 23 Helicopters (2 DE, 2 ES, 2 UK, 17 FR/CH), 8 Ships (DE, ES, UK, FR/CH), 3

Medical Teams (DE, ES, FR/CH), 2 Engineering Teams (FR/CH, UK), 1 Water System Support Team (95 personnel, AUT).

Liaison officers from the European Union Military Staff and Member States were posted to the OCHA offices in Bangkok and Rome to help coordinate the military resources made available by EU Member States to the UN and to pinpoint actual and emerging needs.

Summary:

Although the overview of contributions of military assets and capabilities as presented above may not reflect the full extent of national military commitments, it can be summarised that military support to Tsunami disaster relief focused on strategic and tactical (air/sea) transport, as well as medical, logistic and engineering support.

EXAMPLE II: HURRICANE KATRINA, US (2005)

Nature of disaster:

Hurricane Katrina caused severe damage to the southern coast of the U.S. over an area covering

237.000 km 2 . Around 1.500 deaths were confirmed and around 2.000 others still remain

unaccounted for. While the numbers of casualties were significantly less than in the cases of the Pakistan earthquake and the Tsunami, the scale and severity of infrastructure devastation was very high. Housing was badly damaged and roads were flooded on a massive scale. The hurricane also had a significant impact on many other sectors of the region’s critical infrastructure, especially the energy sector. In addition, the storm led to oil spills into Gulf Coast waterways and destroyed or compromised numerous drinking water facilities and wastewater treatment plants. Meanwhile, the hurricane created enormous public health and medical challenges with tens of thousands of people requiring medical care. Several large hospitals were totally destroyed and many others were rendered inoperable. Nearly all of the smaller health care facilities were shut down. The storm also incapacitated emergency call centres, thus disrupting local emergency services.

Military support deployed:

The U.S. government report “The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned”

(Feb 2006) highlighted the important contribution made by military assets and operational capabilities. In the case of Katrina there was extensive use of military assets and capabilities for tactical transport purposes. Military helicopters were used for search and rescue, evacuations and delivery of supplies (963 operations by 5 Sept 2005). The National Guard ensured that 65 helicopters were available throughout the affected area. In addition to other medical units, the hospital ship USNS Comfort assisted with medical support. Furthermore, the military contributed logistical support to the Katrina response, including through provision of communications infrastructure. The report also noted that fire-fighting operations were supported with military assets (2 fire-fighting C-130 aircraft and 7 helicopters).

NATO provided strategic airlift to move donations from Europe to the United States. The NRF provided tactical transport to gather supplies within Europe.

Summary:

In the response to the Katrina disaster the military support was focused on strategic and tactical transport capacities as well as medical support. In addition, logistics support facilitated the provision of communication infrastructure.

EXAMPLE III: PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE (2005)

Nature of disaster:

The earthquake affected three countries and an area of 28.000 km 2 , mostly in mountainous

terrain. Approximately 73.000 people were killed and another 70.000 severely injured. Around 2.8 million people were left without shelter. Additionally there was extensive damage to infrastructure and major disruption to social service delivery, commerce, and communications. The approaching harsh winter weather conditions brought the risk of blocked roads preventing delivery of aid by surface transport means. There were many large scale land-slides resulting in additional casualties and blockage of roads, further hampering the rescue and relief efforts. In addition, land-slides contributed to the flooding of rivers in the city of Muzaffarabad. Tactical air transport and heavy off-road vehicles were thus vital requirements for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Military support deployed: As underlined in the “Final Situation Report - Earthquake Pakistan” (Feb 2006) of the Euro Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), the major military contribution was made through strategic airlift establishing the air-bridge for delivery of humanitarian assistance. SHAPE was responsible for the execution of the movements. Eventually, 164 NATO controlled or coordinated relief flights took place. NATO also contributed through tactical airlift for repositioning aid supplies within Europe prior to transfer to the affected zone. Military

contributions included tactical transport helicopters (US - 33 1 , GE – 4, UK –3), and also military

field hospitals and units. Summary: In the case of the Pakistan earthquake, military contributions focused on both strategic and tactical transport, as well as medical support.

EXAMPLE IV: TINDOUF ALGERIA (2006)

Nature of request: Following floodings in Algeria in February 2006, UN-OCHA requested assistance for the movement of 2000 tents from Amman, Jordan to Tindouf, Algeria by civilian or military airlift. It was estimated that either five or six flights by C-130 type aircraft would be needed to fulfil the initial request. Three days later a follow-up request was made by the UN for transport of additional relief goods from Jordan to Algeria. It was estimated that 12 flights by C-130 type aircraft would be needed to fulfil the subsequent request.

9462/3/06 REV 3 19 Military support deployed:

Following the activation of the EUMS preliminary co-ordination arrangements on the basis of a MIC request for assistance, several MS contributions were reported back by the MS's to the DG ENV/MIC and the EUMS. The information on these contributions was forwarded to the MIC, who in turn liaised with the UN. Several flights by military aircraft were executed (IT, PO, FR) and reported via the civil protection mechanism to the MIC and concurrently to the EUMS.

Summary:

In the response to the flooding, the military support was focused on transport capacities.

EXAMPLE V: INDONESIAN EARTHQUAKE - JAVA (2006)

Nature of request:

In May 2006 following the earthquake in Indonesia, the EUMS received from DG ENV/MIC a request for military transportation support to facilitate the movement of relief assistance offered by several EU Member States. The goods consisted of relatively small quantities and were stored in different EU Member States. The EU Movement Planning Cell, which was also activated within the EUMS, informed - as a matter of pre-warning - the Multinational

Movement Co-ordination Centres (MMCCs) of the current situation and asked them to identify any innovative solutions that warrant Member States' attention (e.g. transport assets due to undertake similar routing with spare capacity).

Military support:

Considering the long distance from Europe to Indonesia, would have required strategic military aircraft or military chartered aircraft, rather than tactical military transport planes (C-130 type). Also, the quantities of any individual offer would not have been sufficient to fill up a complete strategic aircraft. An additional effort to collect and assemble these goods to one single hub would have been required prior to strategic movement to Indonesia. Ultimately, no positive responses to the request for military transport support were received.

On a bilateral basis France used military airplanes to transport medical personnel and facilities to Indonesia.

Summary:

In the case of the Indonesian earthquake, the needs were focused on both strategic transport support and medical support.

Annex C to the ANNEX

LIST OF RELEVANT MILITARY ASSETS AND CAPABILITIES

• 1. 

  The content of the Annex expands on the indications shown in Annex A. This list is not

  exhaustive and can be further modified based on future events and lessons learned.

  • a) 

    Strategic transport: • Fixed wing strategic air transport, for transport of cargo, relief experts and/or

    passengers (e.g. in case of evacuation operations); they could include specialised MEDEVAC;

    • Sea lift assets and capabilities, preferably with Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) capacity.

  • b) 

    Tactical (in-theatre) transport : • Fixed wing transport aircraft; • Heavy/medium transport helicopters, MEDEVAC helicopters; • Off-road going trucks (for solid cargo as well as liquids such as water and fuel); • Inland water barges and inflatable boats of various sizes; • Amphibious transport,

    • Ambulances.

  • c) 

    Medical support: • Field hospital facilities with capabilities in first aid, triage, anaesthesiology,

    internal medicine, surgical and emergency trauma care, general medical support. In addition, capabilities for the treatment of casualties with burns, contagious patients, as well as CBRN contaminated patients should be included;

    • Ambulances with off-road going capacities; • Victim identification capacity.

  • d) 

    Logistic support:

    Logistic assets and capabilities may be required in support of deployed (civilian) relief teams as well as for general relief tasks:

    • Water supply capabilities to include purification, distribution and quality control

    of drinking water;

    • Power generating capabilities to allow for set-up of temporary auxiliary systems

    for energy supply;

    • Shelter/housing capabilities; • Field food support and catering, mobile kitchens; • Supply system in field conditions over a longer period of time; • Logistic management experts; • CIS capabilities (satellite-communications, local radio network,

    telecommunication equipment).

• e) 

  Engineering Support:

  • Barrier construction capabilities; • Earthmoving and lifting machines; • Capability for vertical and horizontal constructions (including bridging vehicles);

  Capability for clearing and disposal of explosives.

• f) 

  CBRN capabilities:

  • CBRN reconnaissance, detection, marking and monitoring capabilities including

  quality control (specialised teams with the necessary equipment including analysis/laboratory facilities);

• Capability for the decontamination of CBRN affected personnel, terrain and

infrastructure;

• Capability for medical treatment of contaminated patients; • CBRN specialists.

• g) 

  Search and Rescue (SAR) capability, which may require specialised aircraft, helicopters

  or boats:

• Specialised SAR teams and related assets and capabilities for search and rescue of

victims in an urban environment;

• Specialised SAR teams and related assets and capabilities for search and rescue of

victims over lakes/sea waters.

• h) 

  Fire fighting capacities, in particular helicopters or fixed wing aircraft with fire fighting

  capability, high capacity pumps, foam supplies.

• i) 

  Liaison officers and military expert teams:

  Although liaison officers and military expert teams are normally not listed as specific assets and capabilities, they represent a valuable category. They include:

• Liaison or expertise to On-site Operations Coordination Centres (OSOCC),

national or international coordination teams.

• j) 

  Maritime support

  Maritime assets and capabilities may overlap other categories. However special attention should be given to the maritime dimension and its specific capabilities, including in particular mobile offshore operating base facilities (such as helicopter platform, hospital facilities, command and control, food supply, water purification).

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