An Analysis of United States Navy Disaster Relief Operations
Abstract
Over the past decade, there have been numerous disasters for which the United States
Navy (USN) has provided a significant amount of effective assistance in terms of scope, scale
and timing due to its many unique and critical capabilities. During each disaster response the
USN has deployed many different types of ships. However, not all ships are equally suited to
contribute effectively to each disaster. Currently, there is no mechanism to explicitly evaluate the
utility of vessel types for disaster response. We discuss the characteristics of specific USN
vessels in the context of three events – the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2005 U. S. Hurricane
Katrina, and 2010 Haiti Earthquake – so as to illustrate their relative utility for disaster response.
Our contribution to the research literature is threefold. First, we present a case methodological
approach to evaluate the capability of an organization to provide assistance during a disaster
response operation; this methodological approach may be used in future research to evaluate the
disaster response capabilities other types of organizations. Second, we determine which USN
assets are best suited for specific disaster relief efforts based upon the capabilities and limitations
of the vessels and the traits of the disaster. Finally, our results will assist the U.S. Congress as
well as the USN with its decisions when considering the types of vessels it will retain or procure
in the future to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Selecting Maritime Disaster Response Capabilities
Apte, Aruna; Yoho, Keenan D.; Greenfield, Cullen M.; Ingram, Cameron A. (2013);Using a structured, qualitative evaluation schema complemented by expert rating, we evaluate the capabilities and utility of ships in the United States Navy and United States Military Sealift inventory. We find that there ... -
An Analysis of United States Navy Disaster Relief Operations
Apte, Aruna; Yoho, Keenan D. (WDSI, 2014-04);Over the past decade, there have been numerous disasters for which the United States Navy (USN) has provided a significant amount of effective assistance due to its many unique and critical capabilities. During each disaster ... -
Right Technology, Right Now An Evaluation Methodology for Rapidly Deployable Information and Communications Technologies in Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief
Gabriel, James Gregory (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2012-03);The most significant technological challenge after a major humanitarian disaster is the rapid deployment of information and communications technologies (ICT) for initial responders. Reliance on ICTparticularly wireless ...