Faces That Always Will Remain By LCdr. Ryan Dunn
’d like to share a recent experience I had involving a humanitarian-assistance, disaster-relief (HADR) operation. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) Strike Group provided immediate relief supplies to Filipinos affected by Typhoon Fengshen (or Frank, as it was known around the islands), which had struck June 20. The Philippine government requested we assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Our efforts were directed to one of the hardest hit areas, the Visayan region, which includes the provinces of Iloilo, Aklan and Antique on Panay Island. Also included are the North and South Gigante Islands. Outside of the Navy and the Philippine media, this operation was not publicized widely. You probably didn’t see it on the front page of any .com or newspaper. I was the pilot-in-command of Red Stinger 104, one of two HSL-49 Det 4, “A Team,” SH-60B helicopters embarked on USS Chancellorsville (CG-62). We landed our Seahawk at Santa Barbara Airport, a small, newlyconstructed international airport located on the southern end of Panay, just outside the island’s major city of Iloilo. My copilot, Lt. Troy Leveron, and I were given GPS coordinates on a piece of scratch paper by the
EA-6B squadron XO, who was coordinating helicopter HADR operations. We were loaded with boxes of water.
As we approached the tiny island of Tambaliza, situated just northeast of Panay Island, it looked like a ghost town. We saw several shacks edging the water, some bulls in a small pasture, a couple of dogs, and two locals next to a shelter waving a white flag at us. We flew over them and landed in a clearing just east. When we were 60 feet above the landing zone, more than 100 local residents appeared. Men, women and children came out of the surrounding areas and descended on our intended landing spot. These folks seemed to have no fear of our aircraft. Our presence was their first sign of help, and they were desperate. As we continued trying to land, the rotor wash blew into the gathering mass of curious people and forced them to stop in their tracks. But, the moment we finally landed, they had no regard for the 20,000-pound helicopter with almost 2,000-shaft horsepower. The local residents ran straight under the rotor arc to the cabin opening, where they saw my aircrewman, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 1st Class Nathaniel Watts, with boxes of water. When I saw everyone rushing to accept our supplies, my heart skipped a beat. I had that funny feeling
The coast of Panay Island in the Philippines that was hit hard by Typhoon Fengshen receivied assistance from the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group.
November-December 2008
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