Abstract
Using a structured, qualitative evaluation schema complemented by expert rating, we evaluate the capabilities and utility of ships in the United States Navy and United States Military Sealift inventory. We find that there are specific types of vessels with significant disaster response utility and recommend a flotilla type that would be best suited for these types of operations. Utilizing an exploratory framework that evaluates three diverse disaster cases, we scale the utility of each vessel using subject matter experts. This work should be of interest to national policy-makers as well as international governing bodies and leaders of naval institutions for its recommendations on the type of ships most useful for contributing to effective disaster response. The capabilities identified in this research are found in various naval and maritime organizations throughout the world, and this work can help assist those organizations identify the types of capabilities that are most useful in the event of a disaster. DOI: 10.12660/joscmv6n2p40-58URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.12660/joscmv6n2p40-58
Highlights
Using a structured, qualitative evaluation schema complemented by expert rating, we evaluate the capabilities and utility of ships in the United States Navy and United States Military Sealift inventory
We proposed a list of general relief requirements based on representative disasters
We described the capabilities of the USN and M2 ilitary Sealift Command (MSC) as suppliers of relief in disasters
Summary
We studied the past responses of the USN to understand the capabilities and to analyze whether these capabilities have been utilized to the best of their ability. The response to the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina, and the Indian Ocean tsunami are but three among many contributions made by the USN to natural disasters over the past decade. To our effort we could not identify any scholarly articles on the specific topic discussing the capabilities of organizations involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. We believe, this is a new but critical topic in the field of humanitarian logistics and our analysis is of value to decision makers who must determine capital equipment acquisitions that will shape naval forces that must deploy across a wide spectrum of crises.
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