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Chapter V V-26 JP 3-0 FHA. Within DOD, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy has the overall responsibility for developing the military policy for international FHA operations. (3) FHA operations include a broad range of tasks, including establishing a secure environment for humanitarian relief efforts. US military forces participate in three basic types of FHA operations—those coordinated by the UN, those where the United States acts in concert with other multinational forces, or those where the United States responds unilaterally. For further guidance on FHA operations, refer to JP 3-29, Foreign Humanitarian Assistance. d. Recovery operations may be conducted to search for, locate, identify, recover, and return isolated personnel, sensitive equipment, items critical to national security, or human remains (such as JTF—Full Accounting, which had the mission to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans still unaccounted for as a result of the war in Southeast Asia). Regardless of the recovery purpose, each type of recovery operation is generally a sophisticated activity requiring detailed planning in order to execute. Recovery operations may be clandestine, covert, or overt depending on whether the operational environment is hostile, uncertain, or permissive. OPERATION ATLAS RESPONSE In the early part of February 2000, Cyclone Connie drenched the Southern Africa region with over 40 inches of rain causing many rivers in the region to overflow and flood populated areas. US European Command sent a humanitarian assistance survey team (HAST) to get “eyes on the ground.” Just as the effects of Connie were lessening and the HAST was preparing to head home, Cyclone Eline hit Madagascar. The storm pushed further inland and rain fell in Zimbabwe, adding to reservoirs that were already full. This forced the release of water from reservoirs, causing even more flooding. Mozambique (MZ) was the country with the greatest needs in the region. Consequently, between 18 February and 1 April 2000, Joint Task Force (JTF)-ATLAS RESPONSE, under the command of Major General Joseph H. Wehrle, Jr., US Air Force, was sent to aid the people of Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The joint force commander established a small, main headquarters in Maputo, MZ to be near the US Ambassador. The majority of forces and staff resided at Air Force Base Hoedspriut, South Africa. Eventually, a small contingent of forces would deploy to Beira, MZ to work at a supply distribution hub. The primary predeployment tasks of the JTF: 1) Search and rescue (SAR), 2) Coordination and synchronization of relief efforts, and 3) Relief supply distribution changed during the operation. Upon arrival, the JTF discovered SAR efforts were essentially complete and a fourth key task became the ability to conduct aerial assessment of the lines of communications. This fourth task was important because it was also a key indicator in the exit strategy.