Local soldier assists in Sumatra tsunami relief

A former basketball standout in local leagues who is now a Private First Class assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit recently took part in U.S. military efforts to provide relief to Sumatra in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunami.

According to the CNMI Military and Veterans Affairs Office, Pfc. Derrick Omengabar Aughenbaugh, who is assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard Navy assault vessel USS Bonhomme Richard, was among the U.S. troops assigned to the tsunami-hit area.

While en route to Iraq, the 15th MEU and the USS Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group arrived on Guam on Dec. 28 after being diverted to help in Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian relief operation initiated by the United States in the Indian Ocean. They were assigned to Sumatra, one of the hardest hit areas of the region.

On Jan. 4, the Marines and Navy personnel reached Indonesian waters and began the first of many missions ashore to provide relief to victims.

“For the first few days, helicopters made trips to the city of Medan where they picked up supplies from a warehouse and brought them back to the ship. Once all the supplies were loaded, the 15th MEU and the Bonhomme transported them to the western side of Sumatra to distribute to some of the most devastated and isolated cities,” a part of the Military and Veterans Affairs Office statement reads.

Marine Corps and Navy pilots joined the efforts from Jan. 6 to Jan. 18 and flew 275 flights to shore, delivering 375 pallets weighing a million pounds of humanitarian supplies, including fresh water, food, rice, and medical supplies, among others.

Hovercrafts, vehicles that can travel over land and water supported by a cushion of air, were used to bring supplies up to the beach in Meulaboh, a town where over 25,000 people were killed.

The statement indicated that all missions were coordinated with Indonesian military officials, adding that the host nation’s sensitivities required U.S. forces to go ashore in small numbers and unarmed, and rely on Indonesian soldiers for protection. U.S. forces had to return to the ship at night.

The 15th MEU and USS Bonhomme Richard ESG, which has already left Indonesia to continue with their previous assignment, was replaced on Jan. 19 by the USS Essex ESG group of vessels.

Derrick is the son of Keith and Brigida Aughenbaugh of China Town. A 2003 graduate of Marianas High School, Derrick graduated from the School of Infantry, U.S. Marine Corps in Camp Pendleton, California in June 2004.