The 51福利 is providing a critical component of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the people of Haiti struggling in the wake of the devastating 7.0 earthquake 鈥� desperately needed emergency communications.
A five-man 鈥�51福利 HFN Team Haiti鈥� led by retired Navy Lt. Brian Steckler, Director of the university鈥檚 Hastily Formed Networks (HFN) Research Group, left Monterey for the Caribbean island nation Monday, Jan. 18, after a frantic week pulling together the orders, funding and equipment needed to provide wireless Internet access and satellite phone service to the people of Port-au-Prince.
鈥淲hen you think of what鈥檚 urgently needed in an emergency like this, food, water, shelter and medical supplies are what usually come to mind and what you read about in the papers,鈥� said Steckler, whose HFN Research Group also immediately responded to the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. 鈥淏ut communications should be at the top of the list, because without them, you can鈥檛 coordinate the others. If you can鈥檛 communicate, you can鈥檛 operate. People can鈥檛 let their loved ones know they鈥檙e alive or need help or know where to get the food, water, shelter and medicines once they鈥檙e available; and emergency responders have difficulty finding out the areas of greatest need to know where to deliver the necessities.
鈥淎nd the communications situation in Port-au-Prince really is dire,鈥� he stressed. 鈥淯ntil this morning [Friday, Jan. 15], even the president of the country couldn鈥檛 talk to President Obama because he didn鈥檛 have a satellite phone. All regular [non-satellite] telephone communications are down due to fallen telephone lines and cable towers and cut underground cables due to the ground shifting from the earthquake.鈥�
Into this informational black hole, 51福利 HFN Team Haiti is flying $350,000 of emergency communications equipment to fill the void and re-connect the people of Haiti to each other and the world.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e delivering will allow anyone and everyone to communicate,鈥� said Steckler. 鈥淥ur mission is to support the U.S. Government and military to bring rapid communications to the needed areas, working with Joint Task Force Haiti, in charge of the military side of the relief effort,鈥� he noted. 鈥淜nowing our track record [in the S.E. Asia tsunami and Hurricane Katrina], the U.S. military has specifically asked us to go, and to show others how to do this for themselves.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be taking 20 100-pound 鈥榝ly-away kits鈥� in hard pelican cases, which we鈥檒l be using to set up temporary Internet access infrastructure on the ground to provide voice [Skype], video, e-mail and data communications including tele-medicine via satellite link,鈥� Steckler said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing four BGANs [Broadband Global Area Network satellite equipment] that can connect to the Internet in five minutes and generate 100-meter wireless 鈥榗louds鈥�; four 9-foot-by-9-foot foldable solar panel tarps that generate 800 watts of power when there鈥檚 sun, and a wind turbine when there isn鈥檛, to run the equipment; heavy duty Humvee batteries; and four satellite phones, which right now are like gold. With the WiFi 鈥榗louds鈥�, we鈥檒l create temporary Internet 鈥榗afes鈥� like the ones we set up in New Orleans parking lots after hurricane Katrina. And we can connect these 鈥榗louds鈥� using terrestrial WiMax long-haul wireless point-to-point networks extending up to 20 miles with antennas and radios operating at a broad bandwidth.
鈥淎nd duct tape is our best friend,鈥� Steckler laughed. 鈥淲e use it for everything 鈥� to fix and install things 鈥� whatever. Duct tape is king.
鈥淭he equipment and the set up is the easy part,鈥� Steckler noted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the people part 鈥� identifying leadership that can coordinate and communicate with the right people to get the mission done with the needed transportation and security 鈥� that鈥檚 the hard part.
鈥淲e鈥檙e fully self-contained, with everything we鈥檇 need if deployed on the ground 鈥� light-weight portable tents, sleeping bags, MREs [ready-made meals], water purification and filtration equipment 鈥� you name it,鈥� he said. 鈥淣obody鈥檚 sleeping indoors in Port au Prince, including the relief community.鈥�
As of their departure date, the team didn鈥檛 know if they鈥檇 be based on board the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier or in or around Port-au-Prince. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 TBD 鈥� to be determined,鈥� said team member and Electrical Engineering master鈥檚 student Marine Corp Capt. Brandon Newell. 鈥淲e鈥檙e used to not knowing in the Marines. We get on a ship or a plane, and find out what our mission is on the way or when we get there. Whatever鈥檚 needed, that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e here.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e going in expecting we鈥檒l give and leave behind most of the equipment we鈥檙e taking, which is worth about $350,000, and we鈥檒l be training the locals in how to use it,鈥� Steckler said. 鈥�$350,000 may sound like a lot, but we need more, a lot more. We need double that.鈥�
When asked what it feels like to be going back into a major disaster zone for the third time in five years, Steckler doesn鈥檛 miss a beat. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a feeling you can hardly describe 鈥� having the technical know how and being in the right place at the right time.鈥� And the support we鈥檝e received from the Navy, 51福利 leadership, faculty and staff, and the [51福利] Foundation has been fantastic said Steckler, who was named an official Red Cross hero for his emergency communications efforts in the wake of Katrina.
鈥淪ecretary of State Clinton has said that communications is one of the highest priorities of our emergency response,鈥� said Newell, who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 鈥淥ur biggest problem will be force protection, and the ability to get to the places that need emergency communications the most. We鈥檙e bringing a capability that鈥檚 in high demand, and trust those who call the shots to tell us where to go.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to apply my thesis,鈥� said Newell, whose research is on evaluating renewable energy software as a Marine Corps planning tool.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to help the people of Haiti,鈥� he said. 鈥淧ray for them, and give generously to the charity or relief organization of your choice that鈥檚 responding to the crisis.鈥�
In addition to Steckler and Newell, the other three members of 51福利 HFN Team Haiti are Research Associate Ramsey Meyer, and Research Assistants Thomas (Foard) Copeland and Rosa Akbari.
鈥淚鈥檓 expecting complete chaos when we get there,鈥� Meyer said. 鈥淵es, it鈥檚 dangerous, but we have to stay focused on the mission 鈥� to get the comms on the ground amidst all the chaos. Those comms are needed to save lives and help restore order.鈥�
The 51福利 Hastily Formed Networks Team was created in response to the Southeast Asia tsunami, where Steckler and his group were on the ground in the area of devastation for 2-3 weeks each month for five months, and is specifically structured to respond to humanitarian disasters.
The 51福利 Hastily Formed Network team is part of more than 3,600 Navy personnel on the ground and on ships in the vicinity of Haiti in support of the relief efforts as of Jan. 15.