Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
                
                Defense Logistics Agency
                        The Nation's Combat Logistics Support Agency
                    DLA
            Search
                        Search Defense Logistics Agency:
                            Search
                    Search Defense Logistics Agency:
                        Search
    Home

    What DLA Offers
    
        Excess Property Disposal

    Document Services

    Products

    Services

    Programs

    Working With DLA
    
        Applications

    Small Business

    Federal and International Cataloging

    Defense Data Standards

    Events

    Procurement Policies

    Government Programs

    Forms

    Organizations
    
        DLA Headquarters

    DLA Aviation

    DLA Disposition Services

    DLA Distribution

    DLA Energy

    DLA Land and Maritime

    DLA Troop Support

    DLA CENTCOM & SOCOM

    DLA Europe & Africa

    DLA Indo-Pacific

    Customer Support
    
        Self Help Tools

    How to Order

    Find Your Order

    Customer Facing Offices

    Training

    Brochures

    Warfighter Support

    Customer Service Management

    Careers

    About DLA
    
        Contact Us

    Locations

    Leaders

    News

    History

    Media Gallery

    DLA Campaigns  Home
  About DLA
  News
  News Article View
 News
 General Details Progress, What Remains to be Done in Puerto Rico By Jim Garamone
                DoD News, Defense Media Activity
 Military personnel helping the people of Puerto Rico have made great progress since Hurricane Maria hit on Sept. 20, said Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the commander of ground forces on the island, but, he added, the scale and scope of devastation caused by the storm was so great that much remains to be done. A boy smiles after receiving a packaged meal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 12, 2017, from soldiers assigned to the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Donna Davis




A boy smiles after receiving a packaged meal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
        Delivery to Las Palmas Sector
            A boy smiles after receiving a packaged meal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 12, 2017, from soldiers assigned to the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Donna Davis

            SHARE IMAGE:

                Download Image
                    Image Details
                    
                    Photo By: Sgt. 1st Class Donna Davis
                    
                    VIRIN: 171012-A-VI439-964“When I got here two weeks ago, we had 25 helicopters and 4,500 troops,” the general said in a phone interview from the island. “Now we have 68 helicopters and 14,300 troops. We’re getting a lot done, but we have a long way to go.” Hurricane Maria was devastating to Puerto Rico. Coming just two weeks after Hurricane Irma, about 80,000 residents were still without electricity when Maria made landfall. It knocked down trees everywhere, and the heavy rain caused landslides, which cut off many communities in the interior of the island. Puerto Rico’s electrical grid was destroyed in the storm, leaving the entire island without power. The general has been working shoulder-to-shoulder with Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello and the Federal Emergency Management Agency team, he said. **Logistical Support** Most of the troops in the U.S. commonwealth are logisticians, medical specialists and aviation specialists, Buchanan said. Military personnel are still getting food, water and fuel to the people who need it. “We bring supplies in [to the major ports] and we distribute to regional staging areas with FEMA,” he said. “The Puerto Rican National Guard pushes it out from there.” The military is also delivering commodities by air. “We had to do that early on because a lot of areas were cut off,” the general said. Most communities are now being supplied via road, but there are still some remote communities where the roads are blocked.Airmen, soldiers and Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel load food and water onto a Navy HH-60 Seahawk helicopter at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, Oct. 7, 2017. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks




Airmen, soldiers and Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel load food and water onto a helicopter at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico.
        Hurricane Maria
            Airmen, soldiers and Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel load food and water onto a Navy HH-60 Seahawk helicopter at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, Oct. 7, 2017. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks

            SHARE IMAGE:

                Download Image
                    Image Details
                    
                    Photo By: Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks
                    
                    VIRIN: 171007-F-GR674-007 Clearing the roads is the next big project, the general said. “We’ve been doing this all along, but it is complicated,” he said. “It’s been raining a lot, and once a route is cleared, there has been so much rain in the mountains that often there are more landslides, which close the route again.” “There are lots of volunteers out clearing routes, but we’re using Marines, Army Reserve soldiers and Puerto Rican Army National Guard [to do] the bulk of the work,” the general said. Over the past week, the fuel situation has largely returned to normal, Buchanan said. Most gas stations have reopened and people who once waited up to seven hours for fuel can now just drive up. Providing medical facilities has been a priority. A combat surgical hospital is operating in the southeastern part of the island, the general said. The hospital serving that portion of the island was destroyed when Marie came ashore. Air Force medical personnel are setting up in the northwestern part of the island, he said, and the medical crew aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort has seen more than 100 patients since arriving in the region. More help is coming in, Buchanan noted, as eight pallets of medical supplies are expected to arrive on the island today. 






Army Pfc. Leon Good, a medic with the 1st Armored Division, tends to patients near Fajardo, Puerto Rico at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Disaster Medical System, a mobile emergency and clinical care facility, Oct. 13, 2017. The medics were seeing up to 150 patients a day. Army photo by Capt. Tyson Friar




A medic with the 1st Armored Division, tends to patients near Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
        Hurricane Maria Relief Efforts
            Army Pfc. Leon Good, a medic with the 1st Armored Division, tends to patients near Fajardo, Puerto Rico at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Disaster Medical System, a mobile emergency and clinical care facility, Oct. 13, 2017. The medics were seeing up to 150 patients a day. Army photo by Capt. Tyson Friar

            SHARE IMAGE:

                Download Image
                    Image Details
                    
                    Photo By: Capt. Tyson Friar
                    
                    VIRIN: 171013-A-PT541-001 **Electricity** The huge problem is electrical power. It is the proverbial long pole in the tent especially when dealing with recovery, the general said. Maria toppled tens of thousands of electrical poles -- many made out of cement or embedded in cement. Trees crashed into lines, bringing them down. In some areas, the electrical wires look like giant rolls of string, he said. “It will be months before we rebuild the electrical grid,” Buchanan said. “FEMA asked the Army Corps of Engineers to take the lead in that, not necessarily with military power guys, but with contracts with local workers.” The electrical grid impacts every area from communications to water purification. The general said the military is purifying water locally and distributing it out to the communities, but this is inefficient. The short-term solution is to get generators up and running at the water treatment plants so the water system works again. The long-term solution is to get these plants -- and other critical infrastructure like sewage treatment -- back on the electrical grid. Buchanan said has the resources he needs to accomplish the mission. He has three times the number of helicopters and twice as many troops in Puerto Rico as he did in responding to Hurricane Harvey in Texas. “We’ve got sufficient troops to do what needs to be done,” he said. More National Guard forces are flowing onto the island, so he expects the numbers of troops to rise. As that happens, the number of active-duty troops will decrease. Buchanan said that he has gotten everything he has asked for from U.S. Northern Command and the Defense Department. **Neighbors Helping Neighbors** As recovery continues, the soldiers will stop doing jobs that really belong to local citizens, he said. In many cases, Puerto Ricans are doing those jobs now, the general noted. “You don’t want a soldier driving a fuel truck,” he said. “The long-term solution is having the local Puerto Rican citizen driving the truck. That’s money that will go to the local economy.” Debris removal is an example. While the military clears the roads, service members do not do debris removal. FEMA contracts with local citizens to do debris removal. Buchanan said the relationship with FEMA has been excellent. “We’re connected on all levels,” he said. “Daily I go out on what we call disaster area circulations and FEMA goes with me every singe day. This gives them access to the mayors they may not see regularly. The beauty of the FEMA guys being there is they can also solve the problems that are theirs to solve. If I didn’t have them with me, I would have to go back and pass a problem to someone else. We can do this on the spot.” Buchanan said he meets with the governor every day and reviews priorities. The general has only been in the commonwealth for two weeks, but noted an important fact: “Communities are very tight and family is very important,” he said. “It requires families and communities to get together to rebuild this place. And that is what I am seeing. Everywhere I go I see neighbors out helping neighbors. That’s what it is going to take to help this island get back on its feet.”  *Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the Department of Defense website.*
 SHARE
 PRINT
 Related Links DoD Hurricane Relief Special Report
 Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico DoD Hurricane Relief
 Contact UsSite IndexStrategic PlanDLA IG HotlineFOIANo FEAR ActWhistleblower ProtectionDLA CareersImagesWebmasterEEOSection 508Public AffairsSAPRExternal Links DisclaimerDOD Information Quality GuidelinesPrivacy/SecurityUSA.govDOD Web PolicyDOD Open GovernmentPlain Language
                    Stay Connected
            
            

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil