SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras –
Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel deployed at approximately noon today to El Salvador in response to recent torrential rains that have caused flooding and landslides there.
Thirty-seven Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel, four helicopters (one HH-60, one CH-47 and 2 UH-60s) and a command and control package departed for El Salvador, where they will meet up with a team of U.S. Army engineers to conduct damage assessment.
"Joint Task Force-Bravo will play a critical role by providing air capability to the damage assessment team," said the mission commander U.S. Army Lt. Col. Curtis Anderson. "With help from our helicopters, the assessment team will be able to get a broad, bird's-eye-view of the damage done by the recent storm."
The helicopters carrying the Joint Task Force-Bravo members left Soto Cano within three hours of receiving orders to deploy from U.S. Southern Command.
"Joint Task Force-Bravo maintains constant readiness to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," said U.S. Army Col. Chris Gehler, Joint Task Force-Bravo commander. "As U.S. Southern Command's forward-deployed joint task force, we are here to rapidly respond to natural disasters like the storm in El Salvador."