Humanitarian Assistance in Joint Publication
In Joint Publication 3-29 , the Joint Chiefs of Staff lays out the doctrine for U.S. military support of foreign humanitarian assistance (FHA) missions short of war. These capabilities will be deployed in smaller scale contingency (SSC)/MOOTW scenarios, but less than theater of war (MTW) scenarios. In chapter II, organization and interagency cooperation and DOD involvement. This chapter lays out the C2 for the mission ("Joint publication 3-29," 2001, II-1).
One might want to review the 1962 Operation IDA launched in the wake of a series of earthquakes struck northwestern in Iran. This is strikingly similar to our Vignette scenario in the course. The JCS directed United States Army, Europe, to send aid to the victims. Elements of the 8th Evacuation Hospital deployed from Ramstein Air Force Base. Also deployed were 421st Medical Company (Air Ambulance), a field maintenance detachment
from the 29th Transportation Company, a preventive medicine detachment from the 485th Laboratory (Preventive Medicine), and a water purification unit from the 299th Engineer Battalion. (ibid., II-14-15) A full matrix might be as follows:
Component-Function
Governing Organization
Evacuation Hospital
USA/USMC
Field Maintenance Detachment
USA/USMC
Medical Company (Air Ambulance),
USA/USMC
Laboratory (Preventive Medicine),
USA/USMC
Water Purification Unit and Engineer Battalion
USA/USMC
Air Transport Wing
USAF
Red Cross/Crescent
NGO
USAID
GO
Interagency Coordination
JTF
United Nations
World Food
Program
U.N. Agencies
Civil Affairs
U.S. Army
Essay concepts and applications
The following essay starts off using game theory to analyze the kind of difficulties that happen in the palliative team scenario that may potentially create conflict. It proceeds to offer general recommendations for deescalating conflict in such situations drawing on true-life stories that have happened in other palliative situations, and how they were resolved. The SBAR method –a recent and popular tool for deescalating communication conflict in medical settings- is introduced, and particular strategies for nurses and family members as well as other individuals are briefly touched upon. In this way, a rounded picture of effecting perfect communication in this most volatile of circumstances is approached from various tangents.