Coast Guardsmen from Coast Guard Cutter Walnut fill containers with fresh water for a small island nation in the South Pacific suffering from severe drought conditions October 7, 2011. Crews from Coast Guard Cutter Walnut and New Zealand assessment teams traveled from American Samoa to the island-nation of Tokelau for a joint humanitarian relief effort. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

As the island nation of Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand, entered severe drought levels, the approximately 1,500 residents looked beyond its shores for assistance.  Isolated from their nearest neighbor by roughly 300 miles of ocean with the dire outlook of only seven days left of available drinking water, the U.S. Coast Guard answered the call for help.

The mission to support Tokelau started when the U. S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand, contacted Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu to discuss the operation of transporting a New Zealand assessment team and fresh drinking water to Tokelau.

“Like New Zealand, the United States is committed to helping our Pacific neighbors when they are in need,” said U.S. Ambassador David Huebner. “This is a very real humanitarian need here. We are talking about approximately 1,500 people who could be out of fresh water within a week.”

A Coast Guard buoy tender from Honolulu, Coast Guard Cutter Walnut, happened to be on routine patrol in the Pacific servicing aids to navigation when they received the call for the humanitarian mission.

With no useable airfield on the islands an air mission was impossible, making the Walnut the perfect means to deliver and fill Tokelau’s available water tanks with drinkable water.

“The Coast Guard routinely supports the Pacific island countries in this region during search and rescue cases and fisheries patrols,” said Rear Adm. Charles W. Ray, commander of the 14th Coast Guard District. “Our existing relationships between Pacific island countries are essential to facilitate rapid response during times of need.”

Over the weekend the crew of the Walnut departed after a successful distribution of more than 32,000 gallons of fresh water between each of the three island atolls that make up the nation of Tokelau.

This swift response to a unique mission is nothing new to the crew of Walnut.  In the past decade, their missions have taken them around the globe, including: deploying to support Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, assisting the U.S. Army and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in recovering more than 62,000 pounds of marine debris from the Pacific and recovering more than 270,000 gallons of oily water from the Gulf of Mexico in support of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. All of this in addition to their primary missions.

“We are a military service whose mission is multi-operational; not only do we service aids to navigation, perform search and rescue and law enforcement, we also have the capability to respond to humanitarian missions,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Huff, commanding officer of  Walnut. “We are fortunate to be in the position to work with foreign and local governments and help the people in Tokelau.”

Posted by: PA2 Kelly Parker with contributions from Petty Officer 3rd Class Angela Henderson, 14th Coast Guard District public affairs specialist.
U.S. Coast Guard

Civil engineer Airmen work to connect tubes to water tanks April 18 to replenish the water supply here that was ruined by unusually high tides in the early part of February at Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands. The Airmen have treated more than 1,840,000 gallons of water since their arrival. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Cohen A. Young)

Six Airmen from Pacific Air Forces units arrived here Feb. 4 to cure the island’s contaminated water supply ruined due to unusually high tides and have treated more than 1,840,000 gallons of water for residents here.

Unusual weather around the Pacific region caused six irregular high tides to flow across Roi-Namur and into the island water supply, said Greg Heffner, the water plant operator.

The island gets the majority of its water from lens wells that recover rain water that Mr. Heffner and his team treat daily.

Three Airmen from the 354th Civil Engineering Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and three from the 18th Civil Engineering Squadron from Kadena Air Base, Japan, arrived with water treatment equipment to stabilize the water supply of the island. Since their arrival, the six people have used their reverse osmosis water purification unit to convert non-potable water into drinkable water. The Airmen have been working around the clock since their arrival with Mr. Heffner.

Mr. Heffner, a former Airman himself, said that it was great working with the Airmen.

“Together we’ve treated more than 40,000 gallons daily and they have exceeded expectations,” he said.

The treated water isn’t used just for drinking; it also enables the proper cleaning of the satellites on the island and keeps them from rusting. Roi-Namur and several other islands in this region are part of the Reagan Test Site, which is vital to the U.S. space program. The test site works directly with Vandenberg AFB, Calif., and other rocket launch sites in the monitoring of much of the world’s security.

“The people here need the treated water for corrosion control,” said Staff Sgt. Heath Willis, a native of Kenai, Alaska, from the 354th CES.

“We’ve done a good thing here,” said Staff Sgt. Steven Kivetta, a native of North Pole, Alaska, with the 354th CES. “I think with our help, they have been able to conduct their day-to-day business.”

The Airmen have been working 10 to 12 hours a day treating the water by running the water from the lens wells to their reverse osmosis water purification unit to the water bladders and back through the reverse osmosis water purification unit in which they use sodium hex as a polymer that combines all chemicals in the water into one piece which is caught in the filters. This clears the water of harmful chemicals.

These Airmen enabled the mission of the Reagan Test Site to go on in ensuring stability of the region as well as the world by treating the island’s contaminated water.

US Air Force
by Tech. Sgt. Cohen A. Young
Defense Media Activity-Hawaii

Six Kazakhstani soldiers completed a transfer of operations at Combat Outpost Murray, May 8, that will provide Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, with clean, drinkable water.

The Kazakhstani Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit team’s equipment pumps water directly from the Tigris River and filters it in large bladders that desalinate and distill it, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. Their equipment has the capacity to produce 2,500 gallons of drinkable water per hour, enough to provide Soldiers with clean water for laundry and shower facilities.

The ROWPU team took over water purification operations from the 26th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The 26th BSB’s ROWPU team had been treating water for Soldiers in the area since late May 2007.

The Kazakhstani team arrived at COP Murray, May 4, and spent the following three days setting up their operation. By, May 8, their water was tested and approved for use.

“Kazakhstani Soldiers have a good relationship with American Soldiers,” said Capt. Ilyasov Askar, translator for the Kazakh unit. “The base we came from had soldiers from six or seven countries on it, and we would invite each other to celebrations of the different holidays.”

The team was previously stationed at FOB Delta in Wasit province. There are 29 Kazakh soldiers currently deployed in Iraq, Askar said.

When the 1-30th Inf. Regt. redeploys to home-station, the Kazakh soldiers plan to remain, working with 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.

The 1-30th Inf. Regt. is part of the 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., from Fort Stewart, Ga.

DVIDS