Operation Alpine Torrent

With any humanitarian relief effort, there is always a chance that things won’t go as planned. 

 

Thirty-six hours after embarking upon “Operation Alpine Torrent”, the name given to our 8-car convoy into the Rocky Mountains for a four-day (simulated) humanitarian relief effort in the (simulated) semi-permissive country of “Anstravia”, our team had to evacuate.  While weather reports had predicted a few snow flurries for the Lost Creek Wilderness Area where we set up camp, a severe winter storm set in and lightning struck three times– unnervingly near to the camp.  Our Rapid Emergency Response (RAPIER) Team, made up of 24 graduate students (many of whom had NEVER camped before), had already put forth a heroic effort: setting up camp in a snowstorm, securing a safety perimeter around the camp, patrolling in security shifts ALL NIGHT keeping watch for insurgents, successfully mapping a mile radius around the camp using compasses and notebooks, waking me up in the middle of the night for a suspected robbery, and despite the unexpected turn in weather, was willingly heading out into the backcountry to search for lost aircraft in a chilling snowstorm with lightning closing in.  As the Camp Commander, I was just about to deploy the first Search and Rescue team, when our professor broke protocol (he wasn’t supposed to interact with us during our field exercises) and pulled me aside.  Updated weather reports predicted at least 2 feet of snow with continued lightning. 

Our RAPIER Team had already lost one member to preliminary frost bite (she abandoned the operation), and two more were on the verge of abandoning the operation due to illness.  A decision had to be made.  Despite 6 weeks of preparation and eager anticipation for the field exercises yet to come, our RAPIER Team decided evacuation would be in the best interest of our health and safety.  Within 2 hours of the storm warning, Operation Alpine Torrent was back on the road to Denver in a blinding snowstorm with soaked tents and gear strapped to the roofs of the convoy.  The visibility became so poor during the three hour drive home, that we even had to abandon the convoy, every vehicle for themselves.  We found out later that our camp would have been attacked by insurgents the evening of our evacuation, and my Assistant Camp Commander would have been kidnapped, along with theft of gear during the following nights.  I am disappointed to have had to evacuate, but grateful that the RAPIER Team made it home safe.  We were not prepared for the severity of winter weather; snow-storms in the mountains are every bit as threatening and unpredictable as insurgents.  My professor affirmed us in our decision to evacuate, acknowledging that humanitarian relief efforts don’t always go according to plan.  What is essential is to maintain the health and safety of the RAPIER Team before all else.  Don’t let this year’s evacuation deter you!  I highly recommend Peter Van Arsdale’s course: “Humanitarian Assistance: Field Protocol and Survival”!  It is a 3-credit course offered in the Spring.  Gets you OUT of the classroom and into PRACTICAL skills!

More photos of the endeavor: http://htnyc.blogspot.com

 

To warm up from the weekend’s adventures, I’ll be heading to Tijuana, Mexico bright and early tomorrow morning.  This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of Esperanza International, a Tijuana-based non-profit organization that is similar in mission to “Habitat for Humanity.”  I have a summer internship with Esperanza, helping them prepare logistics and programming as they expand their 20 years of work from Tijuana to a town called Rio Grande located in the southern Mexican State of Oaxaca.  Scholarship pending, I will be joining them in Oaxaca this August for implementation of the first pilot expansion programs.  In the meantime, this weekend will serve as a training opportunity and kick-off for my internship.  I’m sure I’ll be put to work mixing and hauling cement and helping in a home-build, as part of the anniversary celebration!  Looking forward to hardwork and meeting up with good friend Aimee Khuu, who is currently an Esperanza staff member and will be picking me up at the Border!  See you SOON Aims!

 

Wishin’ you all warmth and SUNshine!

Hana T.

Humanitarian Relief Camp in "Anstravia" (Photo compliments of Nirvana Bhatia)

True Statement. (Photo compliments of Nirvana Bhatia)

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