99071. Eagle Force's Simple Choice: Move It or Lose It

By Sgt. 1st Class Don M. Thomas, USAR
Special to the American Forces Press Service

COMALAPA AIR BASE, El Salvador -- More than 100 members of Joint 
Task Force-Aguila took part in a recent joint-service mission, 
transporting more than 728 tons of food for victims of Hurricane 
Mitch in El Salvador.

The Marines, soldiers and sailors worked as drivers and 
interpreters in the massive food transport. About 7,000 tons of 
donated food has been delivered to the Salvadoran seaport of 
Acajutla. The food, the bulk donated by the United States, 
consists of rice, dried milk, corn and beans. Other donors 
include Spain, Japan, Panama and Mexico.

"We met with the Salvadoran government and embassy. They told us 
they had trouble getting it to the national distribution 
centers, so they asked us to help get it here," said Army Maj. 
Jorge A. Milla of the joint task force civil affairs section.

The request was exactly up the U.S. military's alley, convoy 
officials said.

"It's only because of the efficiency of the military and the 
cooperation between services that we are able to do it this 
fast. No single service had the assets here to move this much 
food," said Marine 1st Lt. Derek P. Schultz, port liaison 
officer. "If we didn't move our part of the load now, it 
probably wouldn't get moved for about two months."

From Acajutla, military convoys of 25 trucks took the staples to 
the town of Zapotitan, a distribution center about 45 miles to 
the northeast. The Salvadorans unloaded the cargo and took 
charge of further distribution.

When the people in villages like Chilanguera, Ahuachapan, San 
Jose de la Montana and El Espino eventually receive the food, it 
will have special meaning for the task force members who helped 
with both the food drive and with water purification missions. 

"When I was driving along with my load of food, I was thinking 
we were really helping, like we got a chance to do what we came 
to do: Help people rebuild homes, get food and clean water," 
said Army Spc. Cedric L. Jackson of Headquarters Company, 46th 
Combat Support Group. "It's sort of hurtful to see people live 
in houses of tree branches. I can sleep better at night knowing 
they had food to eat.

"I think there's need pretty much all over because of the way 
the children, and even some grownups, run up to the vehicles for 
food. It has to be because of hunger," said Jackson, who hauled 
28 tons of milk and rice along the slow, 90-minute route from 
the port to the distribution center.

The National Society of Families, El Salvador's national relief 
organization, oversees the whole project. It receives the 
personal attention of Salvadorian First Lady, Elizabeth Sol, and 
supplied volunteers for the Zapotitan distribution center.

"No matter how long it takes, me and my workers are willing to 
work," said warehouse supervisor Ricardo A. Monroy, an NSF 
employee. "Normally, the work day in El Salvador is eight hours, 
but because there are people in the country who need help, we 
will work as many hours as necessary." Since the military 
started delivering the food to Zapotitan, 12-hour workdays have 
become the norm.

For temporary workers hired to unload and stack food, the 
operation brings bittersweet news. Jose Solazar-Rodriguez, 36, 
said he was recruited along with several other men from an area 
surrounding the capitol city of San Salvador to work for 15 
days.

"We don't know much about the operation itself except that food 
is here and it needs to be unloaded. But thank God you're here 
and at least we have a job and a couple of colones to feed our 
families and give food to our babies," Solazar Rodriguez said. 
The Salvadoran currency, the colon, is worth approximately 12 
U.S. cents.

"When you get a job here in El Salvador you work hard to keep it 
and try to do that job as well as you can. And especially on 
this job, because we're working to help others, we don't worry 
as much about the money as about the job going well," said 
Monroy.

"I'd stay another week," said Marine Capt. Richard K. Halsted, 
officer in charge of the Zapotitan warehouse. "I'd like to see 
the people who really need this stuff receive it, but it's good 
to start the process."

[Sgt. 1st Class Don M. Thomas is a member of the Army Reserve 
203rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment of Wichita, Kan., and is 
assigned to the U.S. military relief mission in Central 
America.]

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