Hurricane relief efforts will delay Afghanistan deployments

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2017/10/05/hurricane-relief-efforts-will-delay-afghanistan-deployments/

Hurricane relief efforts will delay Afghanistan deployments

By: Shawn Snow    9 hours ago

WASHINGTON — This year’s hurricane season and the ensuing relief effort by the U.S. military to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean will cause a delay in deployments of U.S. forces to Afghanistan, according to Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the Joint Staff director.
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Puerto Rico is a difficult technical problem, McKenzie explained to reporters. To get equipment and supplies requires a significant amount of commercial, naval, and military transport capabilities, he added. The storm that slammed Puerto Rico “was a pretty significant event,” he said. But assisting fellow U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico was made a high priority by the Pentagon.
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Currently, there are nearly 11,000 active and guard troops and 80 tilt-rotor and rotary wing aircraft supporting relief efforts on Puerto Rico, according to Dana White, the Pentagon chief spokeswoman. Furthermore, Defense Department efforts have helped deliver tons of supplies to include generators, cots, food and 5.8 million liters of water, White told reporters. Moreover, the hospital ship Comfort arrived on Tuesday, which houses more than 250 hospital beds to assist relief efforts with pediatric and trauma care.
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