Flood Victims "Impressed" With Collaborative U.S., Pakistani Relief Efforts

Brig. Gen. Michael Nagata, Deputy Commander of the Office of the Defense Representative in Pakistan, told reporters Wednesday from Ghazi Airbase in Pakistan that flood victims have been “impressed” by the way U.S. and Pakistani military forces have worked collaboratively in providing relief to the struggling country. 

“They are impressed,” Nagata said. “They are impressed when they see Pakistani service members and U.S. service members working side-by-side, often times flying in the same helicopter, …to shepherd those civilians that need recovery.

Gen. Nagat applauded the nearly 230 U.S. soldiers who, in cooperation with Pakistani soldiers, have tackled the challenging obstacle of offering aid to those most affected by the disastrous flood that struck the country nearly 3 weeks ago.

A fleet of 15 U.S. Navy and Marine helicopters are currently in Pakistan where Nagata said they have delivered over 1 million pounds of relief supplies to flood victims, a majority of which is food, and recovered more than 6,000 stranded Pakistanis in the Swat Valley.

Four more “heavy lift” helicopters are expected to add to the arsenal of relief aviation units in the first week of September and Nagata emphasized that the U.S. will remain in Pakistan as long as needed.

“We’ll remain in Pakistan so long as the government and military leadership of Pakistan ask us to be here,” he said. “We are only here for one purpose and that is to help people in need.”

During the three weeks of U.S. military relief in Pakistan, Nagata said there has not been any security threat and he remains certain that Pakistani relief efforts are not alleviating the pressure from those who threaten the country.

“Am I still confident that Pakistanis will continue to wage a dedicated and committed struggle against violent extremism in Pakistan? Yes, I am,” he said. “Do I believe they will continue to pursue violent extremism in this country? Yes, I do.”