Rowan sailor recounts Haiti aid mission

FC2 Allman of the USS Normandy, surrounded by Haitian children trying to watch themselves on his video camera.

Normandy sailors and Haitian natives carry food boxes from ÔKids Against HungerÕ, a non-profit aid organization.

Normandy sailors being ferried to shore by a Haitian native in his canoe.

Normandy sailors prepare water bladders to be filled and flown into Haiti.

Editor's note:Petty Officer Second Class Chris Allman, originally from Rockwell, sent this report after being part of a humanitarian aid mission to Haiti on the USS Normandy. By Chris Allman

Special to the Salisbury Post

The Normandy was tasked, at approximately 3 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, with being one of the first responders to the disaster in Haiti. Under two hours later, most of the crew was onboard and being brought up to speed on the unfolding situation in Haiti and how it affected us. ...

Every minute was crucial in preparing the ship for getting underway: loading supplies; removing cables bringing power, phone, cable, Internet, etc.; bringing the ship's engines up from a cold start; and bringing up the ship's radars and various systems needed for navigation. The pier and passageways teemed with busy sailors.

At about 8 in the morning, I left behind my wife, Allison (also from Rockwell), who helped significantly by having my things packed and ready to go by the time I got my short packing break, including a small homemade breakfast.

After getting underway, we stopped very shortly at the naval base in Mayport, Fla., to load two helicopters and associated flight crew, as well as critical supplies for rendering relief. Shortly thereafter, we got underway en route to Haiti, where we currently remain.

When we arrived on station near the area of Port-au-Prince, the helo detachment immediately went to work. Our helicopter detachment has been working constantly throughout the daylight hours with other military and civilian entities to provide food and water, medicines and equipment. Personnel and casualties are being moved to and from hot zones throughout Haiti, as well as to the USNS Comfort, a medical ship on station in the vicinity.

Nighttime operations have been deemed too dangerous in the area due to the continued lack of power in Port-au-Prince and most other areas of Haiti.

Embarked helicopters have moved over 160,000 boxes of Meals-Ready-to-Eat and other nutritional supplies, over 1,000 gallons of bottled water, and completed 107 medivacs. The Normandy has completed several vertical replenishments, whereby supplies are transported to Navy warships from nearby USNS supply ships, in order to continue distributing supplies to areas in need.

The Normandy was also tasked with sending teams to shore to visit and assess the damage in Haiti's smaller coastal villages and render any simple aid we could. Organized teams have been sent in via the ship's RHIBs (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) to determine the level of need in these detached villages and respond accordingly.

There was a long list of volunteers onboard the Normandy ready to lend their talents, training and muscle to this cause, and expeditions were sent ashore to towns and villages nearly every day, in addition to the continuing Helo Ops. Due to the large number of volunteers, it was several days into our operation before I was included in one of these shore parties, but on Feb. 2, I did get the opportunity to personally help the people of Haiti, in the small coastal village of Boden.

I was on the third boat to shore on the morning that I got to assist in the effort. We were issued Camelbaks to stay hydrated in the heat, given malaria pills to prevent possible infection and advised to liberally apply sunscreen, as it was quite bright through most of the day, and the malaria medication makes you more sensitive to sunlight.

The RHIB was met near the shore by a few of the locals in small, handmade canoes. The water near shore became very shallow, far too shallow to approach even in our small boats, so those carrying electronics or other sensitive items stepped carefully into the precariously balanced wooden boats to be ferried the rest of the way. Others not so concerned simply dropped from the RHIB into the chest deep water and waded to shore independently.

Once on land, we regrouped and I took in the surroundings. The town was laid out in a simple fashion with several dirt streets lined with simple, mid-sized huts of wood, stone and woven strips. Close to the center, a concrete church open to the air stood to the side of a large clearing. Only a few animals were in simple enclosures; most roamed freely through the town. The locals were dressed in modest casual clothing, some even sporting the odd pair of off-designer sunglasses or a pair of simple earrings.

Boden did not appear to have been strongly affected by the earthquake itself, but the disruption and disarray in the larger cities meant a disruption in the supplies going to outlying areas like Boden. Prior to my arrival, a helicopter landing zone had been staked out and cleared, and supplies from the Normandy had already been flown in. I helped carry the few remaining boxes to a spot behind the church, where they were being turned over to the locals for distribution. It went very well, as they maintained order and waited patiently, if not quietly, in line to receive various foodstuffs donated by help organizations throughout the U.S.

Once the boxes had been delivered to the townsfolk, we loitered for a bit, which was my chance to take some pictures and pass out the candy I brought along for the kids.

The French-Creole word for candy is "siret," and the Haitian children instantly understood, when I opened a pack of Starburst, what I had for them. I was suddenly confronted with a wall of small hands, and I did my best to distribute the six packs of Starburst evenly among them, even holding a few handfuls down low so the younger kids could get a piece.

Hours later, once the supplies were completely distributed, things seemed to go back to normal in the village — except, of course, for the crowd gathered around us, the Americans, in blue camouflage, tall boots and sunglasses, carrying cameras and handfuls of candy.

We started piling back into our boats, some being ferried back out, some making the same soggy trip out that they made in.

I took that opportunity to record some of the children playing in the water just off of the bank and chasing a small crab through the rocks. I even persuaded some to wave and stick out their tongues. When I played it back for them to see, I was surrounded yet again, with the kids laughing and trying to point themselves out on the small screen, waving and making faces.

Finally, I boarded one of the canoes, in the interest of keeping my cameras dry, and made my way back to the boat. Once in, I gave the lighter I had brought to the man who rowed me out. He smiled and thanked me in English. I gave my pen and notebook to a teenage boy who helped push the canoe part way.

Once everyone was situated in the boats, our SAR swimmers pulled the boats away from the shallows, reboarded, and we were on our way. I was sunburnt and exhausted, but I knew we had made a difference for the people in the village of Boden, so it was of no consequence. Just another exceptional day in the life.

At the time that I am sending this, the Normandy has been relieved of our duty by another warship, and we are enroute to debark our helicopter detachment before returning to Norfolk.

Having had the opportunity to see what the forces participating in Operation Unified Response were doing for the beleaguered people of Haiti was an eye-opening experience. Though we were not in Port-au-Prince sifting through the rubble and rescuing people from beneath, I was happy just to see the impact we made in one of the many villages we visited.

- - -

Chris Allman, 25, graduated from East Rowan High School in 2003, where he was in the Army ROTC program. He enlisted in the Navy in 2004 to earn degrees in business management and software design.

He has been stationed on the USS Normandy (CG-60) since April 2007, homeported in Norfolk, Va.

A fire controlman petty officer second class (E-5 to the military savvy), he maintains and operates the radar and computer equipment that controls the 5-inch gun batteries onboard. He has completed two overseas deployments. This is his first humanitarian aid mission.