Improving Marine Coordination with Relief Organizations in Humanitarian Operations

The purpose of military Humanitarian Assistance Operations (HAO) is to relieve the suffering of populations affected by a natural or man-made disaster. But the military rarely provides relief on its own throughout an operation. Civilian humanitarian relief organizations are often on the ground when the military deploys to an area, or they follow soon after. These relief organizations, many with significant resources and experienced staffs, specialize in providing relief. Whoever is in charge of an operation as a whole, the military and relief organizations usually develop the same relationship. The relief organizations provide the actual relief and the military supports their efforts by providing assets and conducting operations. This relationship make perfect sense, given the expertise of the relief workers and the resources of the military. To support these relief organizations, the military must coordinate its efforts with them. Past operations and exercises, however, have shown that military coordination with relief organizations has been vital, but difficult. This paper covers two types of HAOs -- those in response to a natural disaster and those that are a result of civil strife. The latter types of HAOs, which often cause, exacerbate, or do not allow the mitigation of starvation -- are called complex humanitarian emergencies.