US Southern Command lends a hand in disaster relief effort

A Black Hawk HH-60 stationed in Honduras with the US Southern Command's Joint Task Force-Bravo carries patients from Bocas communities isolated by floods and landslides to Panamanian government hostpitals. Photo by SouthCom

US Southern Command lends a
hand in Panama disaster relief
photos by US military folks

Technical Sergeant Tracy Fletcher, a Joint Task Force-Bravo emergency medical technician, carries a seven-month-old baby from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to an ambulance in Changuinola. The baby, suffering from severe dehydration, was transported to a local hospital. US Air Force photo by First Lieutenant Candace Park

Master Sergeant James Eidson, a Joint Task Force-Bravo emergency medical technician, escorts a 6-year-old flood victim suffering from respiratory problems, from a Black Hawk helicopter on November 26. The helicopter transported six patients to the ambulance which took them to a local hospital. The disaster response task force came in response to a request from the Panamanian government for assistance following flooding caused by prolonged heavy rains in the country. US Air Force photo by First Lieutenant Candace Park

A Panamanian police academy cadet hands a bag of sugar to Army Specialist Canaan Wright, a helicopter crew chief from Joint Task Force-Bravo, on November 28 in Changuinola. More than 3,000 pounds of food staples and water were loaded onto the helicopter and transported to flood victims in the village of Bisira. JTF-Bravo photo

Master Sergeant James Eidson, a Joint Task Force-Bravo emergency medical technician, hands a bag of food to a relief worker from SINAPROC, the Panamanian civil protection agency, on November 28 in the Ngobe-Bugle Comarca community of Bisira. Nearly 50 service members and seven helicopters from JTF-Bravo deployed in parts of Panama and Costa Rica to assist in flood relief efforts. JTF-Bravo helicopters moved about five tons of food and supplies, and evacuated 16 flood victims in need of immediate medical attention, including six children and four pregnant women from remote villages. JTF-Bravo photo

People in Bisira unload food and water from a Black Hawk helicopter. JTF-Bravo photo