As the earthquake and tsunami disaster in American Samoa transitions into recovery,the Department of Defense (DOD) assets used during the response are being demobilized. Col. Jay George, Defense Coordinating Officer, and Kenneth Tingman, Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA, summarize the DOD support to FEMA during the earthquake and tsunami operation. 

Hi, my name is Colonel Jay George, I am the Defense Coordinating Officer and I work with FEMA here on the ground as well as back in Hawaii.

We started off on 29 September and I was back in Hawaii with the FEMA Pacific Area Office in Fort Shafter.
  
We found out about the tsunami and we were called up into action. 

We deployed with the initial team with FEMA on a Coast Guard C-130 on that first night with the governor. 

We arrived here the next morning and got an initial assessment.  

Some of the things we brought to the emergency to support civil authorities:  We brought a U.S.S. frigate ship, which included two helicopters for aerial search and recovery as well as to provide over flights for the leadership for the (American Samoan) government as well as the federal government.

We brought in a civil support team as well as a CBRNE team, which is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear high yield enforced  package from the Hawaii National Guard.

They provided the ability to do urban search and rescue as well as the ability to identify, categorize and separate some of the hazardous material that was left behind from the tsunami.

What you see behind you is a number of soldiers from the United States Army Reserve.

Some of them recently re-deployed with the 100th Battalion from Iraq and Kuwait.  

These soldiers are helping to distribute much needed critical supplies.

The supplies include tent kits which include shelters as well as stoves and other much needed commodities.       

I would like to thank Colonel George, our Defense Coordinating Officer, for all the great support he has given, not only to the people of American Samoa, but to also to FEMA.

He was on the ground with me in Hawaii when we started this on the 29th of September.

He came on the flight with me and joined the governor as well.

We had boots on the ground.

We had strategic airlift immediately.

We had teams that were out in the communities doing hazardous waste removal.

We had teams that were looking at homes searching for bodies, they were searching for survivors, all the way down to the tactical missions as you can see behind us now where people are distributing goods to the people who have lost their homes.

The DOD has been an integral partner in everything we have done and we absolutely could not have done the great job we have done without our DOD partners.

I just want to thank the DOD for giving us great support.