Morrow Robert C, Llewellyn D Mark
Operations Evaluation Group, CNA Corp., Alexandria, VA 22311, USA.
Mil Med. 2006 Oct;171(10 Suppl 1):5-7. doi: 10.7205/milmed.171.1s.5.
Historically, floods and tsunamis have caused relatively few severe injuries; an exception to that tendency followed the great Andaman Island-Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004. More than 280,000 people died, the coastal plains were massively scoured, and more than 1 million individuals were made homeless by the quake and resulting tsunami, which affected a 10-nation region around the Indian Ocean. This destruction overwhelmed local resources and called forth an unprecedented, prolonged, international response. The USNS Mercy deployed on a unique mission and rendered service to the people and government of Indonesia. This introduction provides background on the nature and extent of the damage, conditions upon arrival of the hospital ship 5 weeks after the initial destruction, and the configuration of professionals aboard (officers and sailors of the U.S. Navy, civilian volunteers from Project HOPE, officers of the U.S. Public Health Service, and officers and civilian mariners of the Military Sealift Command). Constraints on the mission provide context for the other articles of this issue that document and comment on the activities, challenges, methods, and accomplishments of this unique mission's "team of teams," performing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the Pacific theater.
从历史上看，洪水和海啸造成的严重伤害相对较少；2004年安达曼群岛 - 苏门答腊大地震及海啸打破了这一趋势。超过28万人死亡，沿海平原遭到大规模冲刷，超过100万人因地震及随后的海啸而无家可归，此次灾害影响了印度洋周边的10个国家。这场破坏超出了当地资源的承受能力，引发了前所未有的、长期的国际响应。美国海军“仁慈号”医疗船执行了一项特殊任务，为印度尼西亚人民和政府提供了援助。本引言介绍了灾害的性质和破坏程度、医院船在最初破坏发生5周后抵达时的情况，以及船上专业人员的构成（美国海军军官和水手、“希望工程”的平民志愿者、美国公共卫生服务局的官员，以及军事海运司令部的军官和平民船员）。任务所面临的限制为本期其他文章提供了背景，这些文章记录并评论了这个独特任务的“团队之团队”在太平洋地区执行人道主义援助和救灾行动时的活动、挑战、方法及成就。
