U.S. Aid from Humanitarian and Civic Assistance, Entire Region, 2009-2014
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Deployments and Operations via Humanitarian and Civic Assistance, Entire Region, 2009-2014
| Country | 2009 | Country Total |
| Nicaragua | 887,000 | 887,000 |
| Colombia | 794,000 | 794,000 |
| Dominican Republic | 659,000 | 659,000 |
| El Salvador | 569,000 | 569,000 |
| Haiti | 376,000 | 376,000 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 286,000 | 286,000 |
| Panama | 285,000 | 285,000 |
| Guatemala | 270,000 | 270,000 |
| Guyana | 270,000 | 270,000 |
| Jamaica | 238,000 | 238,000 |
| Honduras | 180,000 | 180,000 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 180,000 | 180,000 |
| Paraguay | 180,000 | 180,000 |
| Ecuador | 135,000 | 135,000 |
| Peru | 135,000 | 135,000 |
| Costa Rica | 90,000 | 90,000 |
| Belize | 90,000 | 90,000 |
| Suriname | 90,000 | 90,000 |
| Chile | 45,000 | 45,000 |
| TOTAL | 5,759,000 | 5,759,000 |
All amounts in U.S. dollars.
Official Descriptions of Aid from Humanitarian and Civic Assistance
Document: SOUTHCOM, partners prepare to respond to natural disasters
Country: Haiti, Honduras, Western Hemisphere Regional
SOUTHCOM is collaborating with regional partners to increase their ability to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Fraser described a three-part effort through SOUTHCOM's humanitarian assistance program, disaster preparedness projects and annual humanitarian assistance exercises.
Last year, those efforts included building disaster-response warehouses, wells, potable water systems and emergency operations centers, he said. In fiscal year 2011, SOUTHCOM also conducted 169 projects designed to increase disaster preparedness in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
In addition, the command supports the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, a regional effort to increase disaster resilience and response capabilities among the 18 Caribbean nations involved.
A new project SOUTHCOM sponsored in the wake of the Haiti earthquake involves forward-staged kits that provide disaster-response teams with essential services, including potable water, hybrid renewable power, communications and situational awareness.
"Past experience has demonstrated that one of the biggest challenges in providing an effective response is the ability to accurately assess the situation on the ground after communications go down and transportation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed," Fraser noted in his commander's blog.
Pre-positioned Expeditionary Assistance Kits, or PEAKS, developed in partnership with the National Defense University, "enable decision makers to gain a better understanding of how best to deploy relief efforts," he said.
The kits underwent a joint capability technology demonstration last year at Soto Cono Air Base, Honduras, less than a year after the program's inception, Fraser said. Joint Task Force-Bravo in Honduras, SOUTHCOM's main expeditionary organization, and members of Honduras' military and civil-relief agencies, put the kits to the test under realistic field conditions.
Meanwhile, Fraser emphasized the importance of training to ensure the SOUTHCOM staff is prepared to support USAID, the lead federal agency for international disaster response, if called upon. This includes a joint operations course it hosts, with classes presented by USAID.
Document: Joint Task Force-Bravo deploys to support damage assessment team in El Salvador
Country: El Salvador
Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel deployed Nov. 11 to El Salvador in response to recent torrential rains that have caused flooding and landslides there.
Thirty-seven Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel, four helicopters (one HH-60, one CH-47 and 2 UH-60s) and a command and control package departed for El Salvador, where they will meet up with a team of U.S. Army engineers to conduct damage assessment.
“Joint Task Force-Bravo will play a critical role by providing air capability to the damage assessment team,” said the mission commander U.S. Army Lt. Col. Curtis Anderson. “With help from our helicopters, the assessment team will be able to get a broad, bird’s-eye-view of the damage done by the recent storm.”
Document: MEDRETE provides free medical care to El Salvador villagers
Country: El Salvador
Twenty-three members of Joint Task Force-Bravo worked alongside members of the Salvadoran military and the Salvadoran Ministry of Health to make the MEDRETE a success. Together, the medical team provided care to more than 900 patients during the two-day exercise.
Document: Ear, nose and throat specialists provide care to local Guyanese
Country: Guyana
A U.S. Air Force medical team has begun work here at the Georgetown Public Hospital in the ear, nose and throat clinic to assist local doctors in providing specialty medical care to hundreds of Guyanese as part of New Horizons Guyana 2009. The team, from the 59th Medical Wing at Wilford Hall, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, are subspecialists for medical conditions of the ear, nose and throat. Their skills range from pediatrics to sinus surgery to audiology.
The team came equipped with a rhinologist who can provide sinus surgery, a neurotologist for brain and ear conditions, an audiologist for hearing related concerns, an oncologist for cancer of the head and neck, two anesthesiologists and two operating room technicians.
The team will perform approximately 32 surgeries and see more than 500 patients in eight days. The team also brought several hundred pairs of hearing aids to give out.
Document: Airmen Begin Dental Care Mission in Guyana
Country: Guyana
More than twenty Airmen brought mobile dental equipment and skills to match, to provide free dental care to local residents in the Georgetown and outlying areas. Residents will be able to receive dental care not normally available or affordable to them such as cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals and tooth repairs.
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Dental Team One will be in Guyana for two weeks before the next rotation arrives. They have enough dental equipment like chairs, lights, specialized instruments and computers for viewing x-rays and records to provide a large amount of dental services.
Document: 'Beyond the Horizon' Humanitarian Mission Underway in Colombia
Country: Colombia
At the invitation of the Colombian government, distinguished visitors from Colombia and the U.S., community leaders and members of the U.S. and Colombian military gathered at an opening ceremony in Cartagena to kick off the humanitarian civic assistance mission Beyond the Horizon (BTH) on July 8.
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Beyond the Horizon is an operation in support of the U.S. Southern Command initiative called Partnership for the Americas Collaboration and Coordination Element (PACCE). It offers opportunities for the U.S. military to work with members of the Colombian military to improve interoperability in order to promote trust and foster willingness for continued collaboration and teamwork.
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During the month-long operation, units under the direction of U.S. Army South will conduct six renovation projects and medical readiness training exercises (MEDRETEs). The MEDRETEs will be conducted at the Omaira Sanchez community center, while the engineering projects will take place at the elementary school, Hogar Infantil La Candelaria.
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In addition to providing humanitarian assistance, BTH also provides valuable opportunities for U.S. medical and engineering personnel to learn from and train with Colombian experts. This experience contributes to the ability of the U.S. military to respond rapidly in support of relief efforts anywhere in the world.
Document: Acting U.S. Surgeon General Visits USNS Comfort, Humanitarian Mission in Nicaragua
Country: Nicaragua
Teams aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) welcomed Rear Adm. Steven K. Galson, currently serving as the acting U.S. Surgeon General, as he came to visit Comfort and observe Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09) July 4 and 5 here.
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The admiral visited each of the medical, dental, veterinary and engineering sites Comfort teams will operate during the mission’s final stop here.
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The Continuing Promise mission has done much more than provide health care to the host nations. It has also provided training to improve responses to a potential natural disaster.
Document: Honduras-based U.S. Army Helicopters Supporting Continuing Promise Mission in Nicaragua
Country: Nicaragua
Joint Task Force- Bravo (JTF-B), a U.S. Southern Command task force based at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, sent both aircraft and personnel to the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) in support of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).
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CP09 is a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission through Latin America and the Caribbean that partners U.S, military, NGO volunteers and host nation personnel to provide free medical, dental, veterinary, educational and engineering services and programs to communities throughout the region.
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“We brought two UH-60L Blackhawks and one HH-60 Blackhawk (MEDEVAC) from Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras,” said Army Capt. Charlie Hall, the officer in charge of the JTF-B contingent on the ship.
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JTF-B is transporting both Comfort personnel and patients, some from remote locations around Corinto, between the ship and the shore each day. This type of support is not new for the unit. Their mission is to support and conduct joint, combined and interagency operations to enhance regional cooperative security.
Document: USNS Comfort Wraps Up Humanitarian Mission in El Salvador
Country: El Salvador
The hard work of Comfort’s crew was evident in both the number of patients treated and the quality of care they received. The medical and dental staff triaged more than 19,000 patients and performed 185 surgeries. The veterinary staff treated 3,270 animals and the pharmacy filled 32, 644 prescriptions. The optometry department dispensed 5, 367 pairs of glasses and 2,062 pairs of sunglasses.
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Another important part of the mission was the education and training exchanges between Comfort crewmembers and host nation personnel through both “hands on” sessions and classroom lectures. More than 2,000 students across all disciplines were given classes on topics ranging from tropical diseases in the area, dental health, and more. Salvadoran instructors were also on board for two days to help instruct the students and Comfort staff.
Document: U.S. Troops Kick Off New Horizons Guyana, Visit Orphanage
Country: Guyana
The orphanage helps children of all ages who come from broken homes or their parents have passed away from AIDS, or even children whose parents simply don’t have the ability to care for them. Joshua’s House assists children in schooling and growing, and teaches them how to be successful, stable adults in the working communities when they leave the House.
Volunteer opportunities throughout the deployment are being coordinated by the 4th Civil Affairs Group, a Marine Reserve unit out of Washington D.C.
In addition to visiting the orphanage, the task force is scheduled to construct one school and one medical clinic, reconstruct another school and provide medical assistance. The schools will have classrooms and playground equipment and the new clinic will have four examination rooms and a waiting room.
Humanitarian and Civic Assistance:
Program DescriptionHumanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) is the Defense Department's term for relief and development activities that take place in the context of an overseas military exercise, training or operation. Under the HCA program, U.S. military personnel participating in overseas deployments carry out humanitarian activities such as road and school construction, vaccination of children and animals, and well digging. HCA programs are often executed with the involvement of host-country civilian and military personnel. U.S. National Guard or reserve units are involved in many HCA activities.
HCA programs cannot be carried out solely for humanitarian purposes. The deployment's primary purpose must be training of U.S. forces, readiness exercises or military operations. In describing the deployments which HCA accompanies, DoD states that "Overseas deployments are an integral aspect of maintaining a forward U.S. military presence, ensuring operational readiness to respond to crises, and preparing National Guard and Reserve Forces to perform their wartime missions. These exercises enhance U.S. military operational readiness by providing unique training opportunities in remote and austere environments. During these deployments, U.S. Forces practice command and control procedures, logistical operations and sustainment over extended distances." [1]
HCA activities are now being described as "a key tool in the War on Terrorism." According to DoD, HCA activities "directly support efforts to counter ideological support for terrorism - one of the fundamental elements of our national strategy and security cooperation initiatives. These humanitarian activities are often preventative in nature, focused at the root cause of ideological extremism, and provide access to regions where traditional military-to-military engagement is virtually impossible. They also provide significant training opportunities for U.S. military personnel while also serving the basic economic and social needs of people in the countries supported." [2]
Total spending on HCA programs in fiscal year 2004 worldwide was about $7.2 million. More than half of all HCA expenditures that year were in Latin America ($4.3 million), compared to nearly $1 million in South and Southeast Asia and approximately $2 million in Eastern Europe and Africa. About half of the expenditures on the Latin America HCA program occurred in Central America.
The Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program falls within the HCA programs authorized by Section 401 of Title 10, U.S. Code. The HMA program trains host nations in clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war, while also providing U.S. military personnel with training and readiness-enhancing experiences by giving them "access to geographical areas otherwise not easily available to US forces."[3] The program is directly supervised by the geographic combatant commanders. In fiscal year 2004, HMA activities were carried out in Chile and Peru.
Funding
The budget for Humanitarian Civic Assistance projects is presented in a yearly Defense Department report. The amounts indicate "incidental expenses" -- the cost of materials, supplies, and some services. The funding listed below does not include costs for transportation, personnel, fuel, or the repair of equipment. Expenses reported as HCA are only those components of a deployment which are directly related to the project at hand. Thus the dollar amounts categorized as "HCA" are very small when compared with the activity's actual expense.
- [1] United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program of the Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2001, (Washington: Department of Defense, March 1, 2002).
[2] United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA) and Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) Programs of the Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2004, (Washington: Department of Defense, February 2005).
[3] United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA) and Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) Programs of the Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2004, (Washington: Department of Defense, February 2005).
Humanitarian and Civic Assistance:
Law- Medical, dental, and veterinary care provided in rural areas of a country;
- Construction of rudimentary surface transportation systems;
- Well drilling and construction of basic sanitation facilities;
- Rudimentary construction and repair of public facilities; and
- Detection and clearance of land mines.
The Secretary of State must approve all HCA activities, and the Secretary of Defense must determine that the activity will promote:
- The security interests of both the United States and the country in which the activities are to be carried out; and
- The specific operational readiness skills of the members of the armed forces who participate in the activities.
By definition, HCA must complement -- and not duplicate -- any other form of social or economic assistance that the United States is providing to the host country. HCA cannot be provided to any "individual, group or organization engaged in military or paramilitary activity."
Report
Section 401 of Title 10, U.S. Code requires the Secretary of Defense submit a report by March 1 of each year including:
- A list of countries in which humanitarian and civic assistance activities were carried out during the preceding fiscal year.
- The type and description of such activities carried out in each country during the preceding fiscal year.
- The amount spent carrying out each activity in each country during the preceding fiscal year.
Grant Aid Table Sources:
- Humanitarian and Civic Assistance ; -
Economic Aid Table Sources:
- Humanitarian and Civic Assistance ; -
Trainees Table Sources:
- Humanitarian and Civic Assistance ; -
Sales Table Sources:
- Humanitarian and Civic Assistance ; -
Deployments Table Sources:
- Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Antigua and Barbuda 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Belize 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Chile 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Colombia 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Costa Rica 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Dominican Republic 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Ecuador 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance El Salvador 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Guatemala 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Guyana 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Haiti 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Honduras 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Jamaica 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Nicaragua 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Panama 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Paraguay 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Peru 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Suriname 2009; Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Trinidad and Tobago 2009; - United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Humanitarian and Civic Assistance and Humanitarian Mine Action Programs of the Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2009, (Washington: Department of Defense, March 1, 2010) (Link to source).
