The Cougars of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139 were among the many units from the USS Ronald Reagan Strike
Group (CSG 7) that recently provided aid with the disaster relief effort on the Philippine Islands in the wake of Typhoon
Fengshen.
The storm caused widespread structural damage and flooding across the Philippine Islands in June, destroying
homes and crops across most of the southwest Pacific island chain. One of the hardest hit areas is the island of
Panay, where tens of thousands of residents were without fresh drinking water and food.
Typhoon Fengshen claimed over 1,000 lives in the Philippine islands. The largest loss of life occurred when the
Princess of the Stars ferry ran aground and capsized during the storm while carrying 856 passengers.
On July 24, President Bush, after a meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ordered the Reagan
Strike Group into the Sulu Sea to provide humanitarian aid in the form of bottled water, rice and medical supplies.
Seven helicopters from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Four (HS-4) along with five other helicopters from the
Strike Group have been working around the clock to deliver over 28,000 bottles of water, 10,000 pounds of rice,
and many other non-perishable food items to the region.
The new airport of Iloilo sits near the southern coast of Panay, and was used as a staging ground for support to the
rest of the island.
“The people were so thankful that we came to their aide because the Armed Forces Philippines didn’t have the military
or civilian resources to reach all of the remote areas of the island. It was the largest humanitarian effort I have ever
been directly involved in and I was coordinating every U.S. helicopter and fixed wing delivery flight in and out of the
airport with our Deputy Carrier Air Wing Commander,” said Cougar Executive Officer, Cmdr. Darryl Walker, who has
been on the ground at the Iloilo airport helping with the relief effort since the operation started.
“The Strike group delivered over half-a-million pounds of supplies to the people of Panay Island,” Walker added.
U.S. that were on station in the Sulu Sea included the Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76);
embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14; the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62); and three ships
of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7; the guided-missile destroyers USS Howard (DDG 83) and USS Gridley (DDG 101),
the guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) and the Military Sealift Command ship USNS Stockham.