HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

CAPT Robert Harward, DEPCOMSOCPAC, led the SOF relief effort in
FIERY RELIEF.
during BALIKATAN and relationships
established by the U.S. Embassy over the
last few years. These relationships were
the key to our success.”
Operation ATLAS RESPONSE
In 2000, two tropical storms dumped heavy
rain in southeast Africa that left about a million
people homeless. In Mozambique, hundreds of
thousands of residents fled their homes.
Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain,
Portugal, Malawi, and the Netherlands responded
with a multinational humanitarian relief
effort. Working with these nations, the United
States sent Joint Task Force-ATLAS
RESPONSE (JTF-AR) to
provide assistance to the
devastated region.
SOCEUR provided the
Joint Special Operations
Task Force-ATLAS
RESPONSE (JSOTF-AR),
consisting of a headquarters
and a Joint Special
Operations Air Component
(JSOAC). SOF also
worked in the two Civil-
Military Operations
Centers (CMOCs). Most
important, the JSOTF
integrated seamlessly into
the JTF structure,
enabling SOF to make a
number of contributions
that were critical to the
89
success of relief efforts in
Mozambique.
The JSOTF-AR flew the only
helicopters that were air refuelable.
These aircraft permitted
the JSOTF to extend the range of
coverage and duration of flight so
that its aircrews could reach outlying
areas. MC-130P Combat
Shadow tankers provided fuel for
these aircraft.
SOF personnel, both CA soldiers
and JSOTF staff members,
worked closely with individuals
from various NGOs, Private
Volunteer Organizations (PVOs),
and International Organizations (IOs) to coordinate
relief efforts. After assessing conditions
in the countryside, CA soldiers developed an
exit strategy that convinced the government of
Mozambique that it could then manage the
relief efforts.
For the first time, the JSOTF used a long
haul communications system called the theater
deployable communications system (TDC),
which contributed immeasurably to the JTF’s
communications requirements. SOF intelligence
assets augmented the JTF’s capabilities
by having SOF intelligence personnel take lowlevel
digital photographs from SOF aircraft of
SOF Helicopters, like the MH-53M, were crucial to the relief because of the air
refueling capability.