PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti –
I have been here for 11 days now, and it feels like months; but it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life ... my soul drinks deeply of these experiences to provide assistance to this devastated country. The rest of the world has come together in lock step and brotherhood to the aid of its neighbor. U.S. ground crews unload supplies from countries to include China, Cuba, Russia and Iran.
The operations at the airport are impressive, a ballet of movement as the planes come in and out off-loading supplies and loading the evacuated. There is a flurry of movement as unoccupied space swells with relief organizations; numerous flags of different countries mark their camp. And to think I get to be here and play a very small part. What a privilege!
Some wonder what a JAG (attorney) does in a humanitarian effort or a deployed location. The answer is inherently a lawyer's answer: "it depends."
There are always potential discipline issues, fiscal issues regarding the spending of tax dollars, answering contracting questions for contracting officers buying such luxuries as port-a-potties, claims if we ruin things in the host nation (less risk in that one here, unfortunately), providing powers of attorneys, etc. But the primary job of a JAG is to keep monkeys off the back of the commander so he can focus on the primary mission.
I am sure my commander did not know we would be working on the legal airlift of orphans when we came - I didn't. Who would you pull off the mission to work these political-legal issues? Who would you pull off the mission to coordinate the logistics of moving orphans? (I will no longer use the term herding cats, herding orphans is more demanding).
I need to be clear that I am talking about coordinating the movement of children for qualified adoptions. In a crisis, there is a very real risk of child exploitation. As an adoption takes close to two years to complete, the focus is on getting those in the process out to their new parents. Certainly new orphans from the quake would not be vetted for some time to confirm the existence of parents.
The orphans are moving now with regularity. The other day I coordinated with orphaned leaders on the movement of 80 children. By the time I met them face to face, I felt that I had already known them well. After all the hassle, frustrations and setbacks, I had a moment when I held a little boy who fell asleep on my shoulder.
I stood at the head of the aircraft looking over the evacuees seat-belted to the floor in rows. All present and accounted for. The larger cargo door at the back was open, and I watched a plane taxi in with more supplies. The world stood still for a moment as I gently swayed with the boy asleep (something I have not done for a long time), and I felt peace.
In the course of my duties, I run into organizations that are coordinating their own efforts. I make instant friendly contacts and exchange information. It is amazing to me how at times, I am able to find a solution to their needs as I run into someone who can provide it. The stars align, and I e-mail the first organization to marry them up.
Recently I worked the boots-on-the-ground piece of an issue when I received the name of a young orphan girl to track down. Her desperate parents, who had already adopted her sister, requested their congressman's permission to travel on military aircraft to find her. Apparently, the girl had some clearance issues at the embassy, and her sister had to leave without her.
I had some information to start looking, but the embassy said they did not have a file on her. I was stumped, and was going to see if one of the orphanage contacts I had made could help me. I sat pondering over the information I had before me when I recognized a name of an escort for other children from the day before.
I only had his name in the materials, but I still had his contact information. The information he provided ultimately helped us solve the mystery. She was adopted yesterday, and I got to hold her before she left on a flight to her new home. The plane took off at around midnight. I stayed on the edge of the runway watching as the plane disappeared into the night.
I will only be here for a few weeks total. The contingency response wing I am assigned to is staged to leave at a moment's notice to get an airport set up and supplies running until a larger force can replace us with more robust resources; then we redeploy.
Yesterday I was walking by a young Air Force officer whose job was done, and he was heading back home. He was lamenting that he felt incomplete; that he had not accomplished all that he wished he could. I told him that if he stayed another six months, he would probably be saying the same thing. We do our piece and move on to the next, hoping our work makes a difference. We all want to get our hands dirty saving those trapped and dying, but we must lift where we stand.