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When Hurricane Mitch hit Central America in late October 1998, the country of Nicaragua suffered extreme damage. On 22 November, the 36th Engineer Group, Fort Benning, Georgia, deployed its lead elements into the country as part of the U.S. relief effort known as Operation Fuerte Apoyo (Strong Support). The 36th was the command and control headquarters for all U.S. forces deployed to Nicaragua to support disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations after the hurricane. The group headquarters formed the nucleus of Task Force Build Hope (Nicaragua [NU]) with the group commander becoming the task force commander. The group staff received augmentation for communications, medical planning, public affairs, and humanitarian operations.
Nearly 1,700 U.S. forces deployed to Nicaragua, including aviation, medical, logistic, civil affairs, and engineer units. The 36th was charged with developing a plan to facilitate long-term recovery efforts in Nicaragua. This plan included repairing farm-to-market roads, constructing a clinic at Wiwili, preventing an epidemic outbreak, providing bilateral primary health care in devastated communities, and delivering relief supplies. Task Force Build Hope (NU) completed 125 kilometers of road; installed 24 culvert systems; constructed a 5,600-square-foot, wood-framed clinic; evaluated 4,240 Nicaraguan patients; conducted 47 surgeries; vaccinated 3,634 dogs for rabies; and delivered 681 tons of relief supplies.
Keys to Mission Success
Operation Fuerte Apoyo proved to be a challenging and successful deployment for the 36th, and having a known mission duration helped. From day 1, the Nicaraguan government, the U.S. Embassy and Task Force Build Hope (NU) personnel knew that all work must be completed by IS February 1999. This made staff planning accurate and allowed the S3 to forecast requirements. A fixed date that did not move also helped prevent mission creep.
Defining the Mission
The key to defining the mission in Nicaragua was excellent communication among the various national-level ministries, the U.S. Embassy, and the task force commander. Embassy personnel possessed background knowledge of Nicaragua and the various existing programs. The Nicaraguan government had its priorities and expectations, some of which were not disaster relief or humanitarian assistance. The task force commander had a substantial capability and, through detailed reconnaissance, had the best firsthand knowledge of the situation in the countryside. Nicaraguan priorities that were outside the task force's capability or mission were discussed...