Well, they could have turned on any TV in the world and seen that the damage was total devastation. When they got to Sumatra with no plan, no logistics support and no five-star hotels to stay in, they threw themselves on the mercy of the U.S. Navy, which, unfortunately, took them in. I guess our senior brass was hoping for some good PR since this was about the time that the U.N. was calling the United States "stingy" with our relief donations.
As a result of having to host these people, our severely over-tasked SH-60 Seahawk helos, which were carrying tons of food and water every day to the most inaccessible places in and around Banda Aceh, are now used in great part to ferry these "relief workers" from place to place every day and bring them back to their guest bedrooms on the Lincoln at night. Despite their avowed dedication to helping the victims, these relief workers will not spend the night in-country, and have made us their guardians by default.
When our wardroom treasurer approached the leader of the relief group and asked him who was paying the mess bill for all the meals they ate, the fellow replied, "We aren't paying, you can try to bill the U.N. if you want to."
In addition to the relief workers, we routinely get tasked with hauling around reporters and various low-level "VIPs," which further wastes valuable helo lift that could be used to carry supplies. We had to dedicate two helos and a C-2 cargo plane for America-hater Dan Rather and his entourage of door holders and briefcase carriers from CBS News. Another camera crew was from MTV. I doubt if we'll get any good PR from them, since the cable channel is banned in Muslim countries. We also had to dedicate a helo and crew to fly around the vice mayor of Phoenix, Ariz., one day. Everyone wants in on the action.
As for the Indonesian officers, while their job is apparently to encourage our leaving as soon as possible, all they seem to do in the meantime is smoke cigarettes. They want our money and our help but they don't want their population to see that Americans are doing far more for them in two weeks than their own government has ever done or will ever do for them.
To add a kick in the face to the USA and the Lincoln, the Indonesian government announced it would not allow us to use their airspace for routine training and flight proficiency operations while we are saving the lives of their people, some of whom are wearing Osama bin Ladin T-shirts as they grab at our food and water. The ship has to steam out into international waters to launch and recover jets, which makes our helos have to fly longer distances and burn more fuel.
Article comments
1 - bhw
Funniest unintentional comedy I've seen in a while:
It was all I could do to keep from jerking him off ....
Thank goodness the next words were "his feet"!
2 - andy marsh
I think the thing to understand about that part of the story is this: officers pay for their food. They are given subsistence allowance and they pay for meals out of that allowance. All the food served in the wardroom is paid for by the officers themselves. So, if the Indonesians don't pay and the UN doesn't pay, then those officers pay and I'm here to tell you, nobody in the military makes great money.
But you're right...maybe I should have put a return in there...just to keep you guessing.
3 - bhw
I understand his sentiment -- the other idiot was out of line.
But the phrasing of that sentence!
4 - NancyGail
One only wonders what will happen to Iraq sentiment one elections are over.
5 - andy marsh
One only wonders what that has to do with ingrateful people on board the USS Lincoln?
6 - Joe
Here's a view from a non-pseudononamous officer from the Lincoln.
7 - Ayu
Apart from what the goverment had done, the people in Aceh are grateful for having the US there to help them, as well as those from other countries in the world. Even Indonesian president, as far as I watched on CNN (taken from local TV channel in Indonesia) said on his speech that Indonesia is in need of help from others. The limitation for the relief effort is given considering the situation in Aceh which is still unsafe. Just last week some policemen who were looking for their missing relative after the tsunami were shot by the rebels. Actually, it has been the first time that Aceh is opened to foreigners, so some are still a little bit sceptical about them. But in general, I think people welcomed the US. I have seen pictures from Indonesian newspapers where the natives were hand in hand with US soldiers, a woman was crying on the shoulder of an American, and such sympathetic things. Oh, and Indonesia is a democratic country, although the majority of the people are Muslims. So don't worry..they have MTV there.
8 - andy marsh
Joe - thanks for the link to another view point from on Board the Lincoln. Two completely different perspectives. It was good to read that their were some there that were happy to see us, but I still don't doubt that the things in the other letter happened as well.