> Apparently there are 10,000 containers in port but no way to distribute the goods. No drivers, no gas for trucks, and no passable roads to drive on.
The US military relies on the ability to rapidly solve these kind of problems anywhere in the world (even across “big water” from the Continental US) including on-demand road clearing/building with either minimal pre-existing infrastructure or heaving damage to pre-existing infrastructure rendering it unusable.
US law provides broad authority for the use of military resources for disaster relief. It's a failure of the executive branch senior leadership if the need for such resources is not identified and acted on in a timely fashion.
It seems like there should be a carrier parked off the island providing relief. Those things are freaking cities, complete with state-of-the-art trauma centers and heavy logistics support. It's what the US does when there are massive tsunamis or similar in other parts of the world.
And don't tell me that the army's engineering corps can't spare a bunch of trucks, half-tracks, bulldozers, mobile bridges, etc. That and preparing for/preventing natural disasters is practically what the army's engineering corps exists for, domestically. The US army holds its place in the world because of its astonishing ability to provide extensive logistical support anywhere, anywhen. But we apparently can't manage basic distribution in our own home when the roads get swamped?
There is a carrier off the coast of PR: USS Kearsarge. The USS Oak Hill (not a carrier though) is also in PR. Both arrived shortly after Maria hit.
The USS Wasp was recently moved from Dominica to PR.
Note, this is still less help than FL received for Irma. FL got Kearsarge + Oak Hill + New York + Iwo Jima. (The last two ships have about 2000 people.. they were clearing roads, restoring electricity, and distributing supplies in FL.. they went home from FL the same day maria was upgraded to a cat 4 and was just off PRs coast.)
And note, USS Wasp was in PR for Irma, then moved to Dominica for Maria, now has moved back a couple of days ago. (USS Wasp has water purification systems.. they're literally distributing water)
The US military relies on the ability to rapidly solve these kind of problems anywhere in the world (even across “big water” from the Continental US) including on-demand road clearing/building with either minimal pre-existing infrastructure or heaving damage to pre-existing infrastructure rendering it unusable.
US law provides broad authority for the use of military resources for disaster relief. It's a failure of the executive branch senior leadership if the need for such resources is not identified and acted on in a timely fashion.