"News from the Field" Hurricane Maria: A FAO's Mission to Puerto Rico
By Major Jason Morales, U.S. Army
Wednesday, September 20, 2017, will be a day Puerto Ricans will remember for many years to come. Hurricane Maria arrived at 6:15 AM and cut straight through the heart of the island, from Yabucoa in the southeast to Quebradillas in the northwest. The damages caused were unfathomable, with the entire island – 3.2 million residents – losing power, water and communications. Not since Hurricane San Ciprian struck Puerto Rico in 1932 had the island seen the magnitude of destruction caused by Hurricane Maria.
Opportunity to Serve
Before Hurricane Irma lightly hit Puerto Rico, I had contacted the Army North (ARNORTH) Security Cooperation Division (SCD) Chief, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) John Suggs, to let him know I was willing to support ARNORTH hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Fortunately, Hurricane Irma did not cause devastating destruction on the island, so I was not needed at that time. However, only ten days later, Hurricane Maria forced Puerto Rico into complete darkness and ARNORTH began deploying its forces. Several days after that, LTC Suggs asked if I was still available to support hurricane efforts in Puerto Rico. ARNORTH was looking for an active duty Army officer who spoke the local language, knew the island, understood the political environment and sensitivities, and was tactically and strategically astute enough to be effective in this challenging environment. ARNORTH leadership agreed that a FAO with my background should be the one to support ARNORTH hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
Initial Shock and Forward Progress
On September 27, I began air movement from my posting in Mexico City to support hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Since no commercial traffic was flowing in or out of Puerto Rico, my arrival was delayed by two days until I arrived by C-17 at 1:00 AM at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. Indicative of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) robust collaboration with other agencies, I arrived with twenty civilian truck drivers, one U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officer, multiple large generators, and one Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Ford F-350.
Puerto Rico seemed empty and eerily quiet; the highway from the airport to the U.S. Army base, Fort Buchanan, was devoid of people and cars as the government had implemented a daily curfew at 10:00 PM. Having vacationed in Puerto Rico on leave just a month prior, the contrast was striking. At that moment, Puerto Rico seemed more like the ominous nighttime streets of Baghdad that I grew used to in 2006: bare, debris everywhere, dark, and overcome with silence.
That same morning I was transported to the Puerto Rico Emergency Operations Center at the San Juan Convention Center, where I linked up with LTG Jeffrey S. Buchanan, ARNORTH Commander and his staff. Upon LTG Buchanan’s arrival in Puerto Rico, he was appointed to lead the military response effort by General Lori Robinson, Commander, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM). This shift occurred because of the determination that FEMA and the Puerto Rican Government’s greatest need was land-based support for this assistance effort. For the next 48 hours, I traveled with the ARNORTH team to meet with FEMA, Joint Task Force-Puerto Rico (JTF-PR), Regional Staging Area (RSA), USACE, and Mission Support Command (Reserves) leaders to understand the state of relief operations.
One of the principal tasks for JTF-PR, and a priority for LTG Buchanan – the Joint Land Force Component Commander (JLFCC) – was support of FEMA’s efforts to establish and operate ten RSAs. The RSAs were established throughout the island. Supervised by JTF-PR and manned by the Puerto Rico Militia -- a paramilitary organization different from the Puerto Rico Army and Air National Guard (PRANG), the RSAs served as the primary food and water distribution centers for the residents of all 78 island municipalities. To expedite the delivery of commodities, the National Guard, Reserves, and Active Components began delivering food and water from the RSAs directly to the municipal internal distribution centers.
During my six weeks helping ARNORTH’s relief support to FEMA, requirements placed on the RSAs continually shifted. The first week began with the local government’s urgent request for water, food, and fuel. Based on the enormity of these requirements, residents waited more than six hours to obtain these commodities from the private sector. But, by week two, wait times were reduced in half. As if following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, with the delivery of basics such as food and water addressed in the first two weeks, and with municipalities receiving commodities on a daily basis, generators became the next main focus for local leaders so that they could power their water pump stations. By week five, continued rains exponentially increased the demand for blue tarps, and government leaders began requesting increased private sector contributions.
Regrettably, supermarkets were struggling to receive port access in order to restock their shelves with supplies. The reopening of ports was a priority for the Puerto Rican Government, FEMA, and the DoD. The JFLCC, USACE, and the Joint Force Maritime Component Commander (JFMCC) concentrated their efforts on establishing three Sea Ports of Debarkation (SPOD) in order to facilitate the flow of commodities needed to support hurricane relief efforts. By my sixth and final week on the island, 72% of Puerto Ricans had running water, 25% of infrastructure had electricity, 75% of hospitals were operational. Two Combat Support Hospitals (CSH) were established -- Humacao and Aguadilla -- and the hospital ship USNS Comfort was in operation. A majority of gas stations and supermarkets were open. The establishment of the two CSHs allowed several municipalities to shift focus from supporting municipal hospitals to rebuilding or repairing facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Maria. These CSHs provided medical services to thousands of Puerto Ricans for over four weeks.
FAO Fundamentals: Speak the Language, Build Relationships, and Help Leaders Know Their Audience
Throughout my six weeks in Puerto Rico, FAO tasks required of me broadened exponentially, but in the beginning, core FAO fundamentals were key. In an environment and culture distinctly different from what non-Western Hemisphere FAOs and most non-Hispanics are familiar with, I was called upon to serve as the JFLCC cultural advisor and interpreter, and provided coordination in support of visits by Congressional Delegation (CODEL), the U.S. Vice President (VPOTUS), and the President of the U.S. (POTUS).
Translating for LTG Buchanan (author second from left)
As an interpreter, I provided the JFLCC translation support with mayors, media, locals, private sector leadership, and others. During my time with the JFLCC, he met with over 30 mayors or municipal leaders, and although some were bilingual, they were often either more comfortable speaking in Spanish, or felt more respected when the JFLCC went out of his way to ensure that he was prepared to communicate with them in whichever way they preferred. Making an effort to communicate with people in their native tongue remains a mark of respect that can shape and strengthen the relationships we build.
Beyond providing language capability, the relationships built throughout the JFLCC’s time on the island helped facilitate and shape the rapport between Puerto Rican leaders, FEMA, and DoD. Early on, the Commander understood that it would be difficult to visit all 78 municipalities, and in order for him to understand the individual municipality needs first hand, he requested a meeting with the two main political party mayors, from Arecibo and Cayey Municipality, at the Puerto Rico Emergency Center. The coordination between the two main political parties, the New Progressive Party (NPP) and the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), incorporated each party’s president, Carlos Molina (President of Puerto Rico Mayors Federation (PNP)) and Rolando Ortiz Velazquez (President of the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico (PPD)) in talks with FEMA and DoD leadership. This meeting gave each president the information they needed to convey FEMA and DoD emergency and recovery efforts directly to the other leaders in their parties. FEMA considered this meeting to be extremely beneficial and, less than a week later, began inviting ten different mayors to the weekly meetings.
Facilitating these high-level visits and interagency coordination required me to rely on fundamental knowledge of how the DoD is organized (e.g. with Title 10 (active duty and reserves) and Title 32 (National Guard) authorities), and how we work with interagency partners and local officials and law enforcement. Failure to understand these fundamentals would have hampered my ability to effectively coordinate on behalf of the JFLCC for meetings with the RSAs, FEMA, and Puerto Rican leaders.
On a tactical level, landing zone (LZ) confirmations with the JFLCC’s Executive Officer and the aircrews assigned for the Commander’s air movements was a daily task. Additionally, secondary pick-up zones (PZ) were established and used on several different occasions. Secondary PZs were used when municipality leadership escorted the Commander to mountainous areas that were over an hour away from the municipality center or when weather conditions changed during his visits. One of my primary functions was to establish LZs/PZs to help expedite the Commander’s air movements throughout the Commonwealth. Furthermore, as a native of Puerto Rico, I was able to lead all ground movements, easily identify routes and LZs/PZs, and provide accurate times for each movement and visit.
Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló and MAJ Morales visiting the island of Culebra
To better prepare the JFLCC for his daily movements, he was given daily local news summaries and information papers on each municipality and individuals he was visiting. After each visit, a trip report was produced for the JFLCC’s Situational Report (SITREP), which he emailed daily to the NORTHCOM Commander and Department of the Army Headquarters (HQDA). Lastly, the JFLCC and DoD Public Affairs recommended that this “local boy” participate in a Spanish interview with local press to explain DoD hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico and highlight the importance of having a FAO directly supporting the JFLCC and his staff.
Experiences and Contributions
As a FAO, the experiences I gained were extraordinary, working directly for the JFLCC and participating directly in a joint and interagency (Commonwealth, FEMA, and DoD) disaster response effort to improve emergency conditions on the island. When LTG Buchanan arrived in PR, the land component became the supported component, allowing the JFLCC to unify DoD hurricane relief efforts on the island. The Joint Forces Land Component is normally designated “when forces of significant size and capability of more than one Service component participate in a land operation and the Joint Force Commander (JFC) determines that doing this will achieve unity of command and effort among land forces” (Command and Control for Joint Land Operations, 2014, II-1). The importance of having a FAO advise senior leaders, like the JFLCC, cannot be overstated and highlights the critical value of our skill set.
As a result of the deteriorating conditions on the island, municipal/local and state political leaders at times worked at cross purposes based on political parties. I was able to advise the JFLCC on the local political interests and avoid the possibility of the Commander being used for political gain against another politician or party. Additionally, I provided the Commander and his staff cultural advice on Puerto Rican values and beliefs, which helped the Commander establish instant credibility as a competent authority that understood their systems when he visited 30 municipalities. For example, understanding the importance of religious organizations on the island helped the JFLCC comprehend why churches were heavily involved with commodity distribution and municipality leadership. These contributions allowed the JFLCC to concentrate on other areas, such as interviews, POTUS, VPOTUS and congressional visits, which ultimately supported the overall recovery efforts and success of his mission in Puerto Rico. This once in a lifetime experience highlights the contributions FAOs offer to commanders’ decision-making processes, whether on CONUS emergency response efforts or in OCONUS missions helping our partners during times of need.
About the Author
Major Jason Morales is a U.S. Army Special Forces Officer and Latin American FAO. He is assigned to NORTHCOM’s Office of Defense Coordination – Mexico, as the Assistant Army Section Chief. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Business from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University.