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31st MEU to assist in typhoon recovery effort
Marines and sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived on Saipan on Friday to assist with typhoon recovery efforts after the island was hit by a typhoon.
Approximately 600 Marines and sailors of the 31st MEU, aboard the USS Ashland (LSD 48) of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group, will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deliver much needed relief supplies after the island was devastated by Typhoon Soudelor on Aug. 2-3.
U.S. Marines and sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Ashland offload relief supplies from the ship for typhoon recovery efforts in Saipan, Aug. 8, 2015. The MEU and the ships of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group will assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency in delivering the supplies to the victims of Typhoon Soudelor on Saipan. The island, part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, was struck by the typhoon Aug. 2-3. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
The MEU has also staged four MV-22B Ospreys in nearby Guam. The aircraft will be on standby to provide aerial support for recovery efforts if needed.
The 31st MEU was in the vicinity of the Mariana Islands for training as part of a regularly scheduled deployment to the Asia-Pacific region. The Marines and sailors were rerouted with orders to assist recovery operations Aug. 5.
“We will work closely with FEMA to bring relief to the people of Saipan as quickly as possible,” said Col. Romin Dasmalchi, the 31st MEU commanding officer. “As a maritime contingency force, the MEU’s ability to quickly respond to a variety of crises across the range of military operations is key, particularly here in the Western Pacific where natural disasters like this are a fairly regular occurrence.”
The 31st MEU provides a forward-deployed, flexible sea-based force capable of conducting amphibious operations, crisis response and limited contingency operations in the Asia-Pacific area. The 31st MEU is the only continually forward-deployed MEU and remains the Marine Corps’ force-in-readiness in the Asia-Pacific region. (31st Marine Expeditionary Unit)
