The People’s Liberation Army is being forced to walk long distance to reach disaster sites. It is in time of crisis are we able to see soldiers being put into real test.

In Dujiangyan city, 50 kilometres from the Sichuan capital of Chengdu, 80 per cent of the buildings imploded, corpses were strewn on the streets and dazed residents were taking what they could carry and walking out of town to a “refugee” camp set up on the outskirts.

More than 50,000 troops joined disaster relief efforts or were moving into the area.

CAN our very own SAF soldiers cover such distance and perform relief task efficiency? or just complaint!

we are definitely more efficient.

we work and complain at the same time.

 

 

did you saw the PLA carrying water bottle on their back and walk to the epic center thru loose rocks. They have to human carry relief aid to the remote area.  

Really got to hand it to them. The PLA is often bearing the brunt of disaster rescue operations. Respects!

SAF is different.  We are efficient cos we are better equipped.  Though the SAF logistic line can be quite dubious sometimes, they still come through.

Just returned from Shanghai, saw a term of SCDF personnel waiting the Silkair flight to Chengdu when I was in changi Terminal 2 several hours ago.

 

We have several things to consider this tragedy:

 

1. The earthquake is so strong, it virtually swept out all infrastructures like road, power, water, all kinds of communications.
2. The disaster is large in scale, that affects tens of thousands of people, which means you rely on a small amount of elite force won’t make things any different. It really put the PLA mobilization ability into task, now PLA & Chinese armed police is reported have deployed up to 130000 personnel into the rescue work now.

 

 

They can march thru their country from one end to the other end.

SAF can also march thru their country from one end to the other end.

No big deal.

 

People will do what is necessary to save other people-- I have no doubt that in a similar situation SIngaporeans will rise to the cause. During the Tsunami, there were NSF deployed to Indonesia etc as well, and some of them even volunteered to go. Stop doubting your fellow SIngaporeans!

DART is here for a reason...

actually, if nothing else it shows how poorly equiped the PLA is... man-pack water to disaster area???

 

Would you rather man-pack or lift with a chinook?? or air-drop from a C-17?

 

50km is split range for a helicopter....

 

I

I think we oughta send Chinook and Engineer detachments to China as well.  They are gonna need more help than just a DART team.

China needs to work out its earthquake standards and enforce them.

But..... I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

Originally posted by Shotgun:

I think we oughta send Chinook and Engineer detachments to China as well.  They are gonna need more help than just a DART team.

heli-ops was reported to be risky due to the weather leh. thats why they are walking. and they only heli for severely injured victims. i think the PLA is fine. they sure are solid. they arent poorly equipped. today's china is a force to be reckoned with. i'm into the SAF, yet i haf to say china is much more powerful than we r if not as efficient. china's technology is advance. so much so tt the americans fear them. in a situation like tt in chengdu, its really impossible to heli-ops or clear the road. debris is everywhere, disrupting even roads. and its not one portion of debris. its the entire road being covered with huge chunks of debris. no engineer will be able to quickly remove them all. imagine the entire singapore suddenly implode...den to make things worse, the weather gets all stormy and cold.

Actually this disaster shows a severe weak point in the chinese armed forces.

A severe lack of rotary air lifting capability.

 

The only bird they have strong enough to climb up the mountain regions are 20 year old blackhawks which were bought before the US embargo.

As a result, soldiers have to hike 90+ kilometres in mountainous region for 21 hours just to reach the area.

 

Although we can see how fast they can mobilise and i think agencies around the world should learn, especially the US when you compare the katrina response but however, different political systems were in place and i think we shall leave that for debate another day.

The fact is we also get to see those poorly equip units. Those that wear tennis shoes with number 4 uniform. Although rapidly moving forward, large chunks of the armed forces are still back in time in terms of standard equipment.

Have we considered the bad weather? Obviously the weather during the past several days are bad for any airlifting and rescue jobs .

 

It’s reported there are only 110 helicopters deployed and obviously lacks the capable one like CH-47

A PLA Black Hawk landed in Wenchuan, the epicenter of the earthquake. See how misty the surrounding mountainous area is

They really lack in the heavy lift category.

 

The chinese government is already renting all kinds of civilian rotary birds available with some kind of lifting capability.

 

 

I was wondering why the PLA air-dropped some paras despite the poor weather. I mean the paras' life can be endangered and cause themselves to be trapped instead as the strong winds can easily throw them into a scattered mass. The reconsolidation of man-power is also slower and less efficient.

saw the image and was a bit puzzled...;;;didnt know that china had blackhawks...

Originally posted by fornax84:

I was wondering why the PLA air-dropped some paras despite the poor weather. I mean the paras' life can be endangered and cause themselves to be trapped instead as the strong winds can easily throw them into a scattered mass. The reconsolidation of man-power is also slower and less efficient.

maybe they had to take the risk? risk the paras' lives and save many  more civillian lives...

Originally posted by fornax84:

I was wondering why the PLA air-dropped some paras despite the poor weather. I mean the paras' life can be endangered and cause themselves to be trapped instead as the strong winds can easily throw them into a scattered mass. The reconsolidation of man-power is also slower and less efficient.

 

I guess it has something to do the reality, when everything that links to the outside world is cut off. And Copters are impossible to land in a mountainous terrain during storm with poor visibility and strong wind, and walk by foot will take number of days and can bring little heavy equipments, the Parachuting maybe the last resort. A small number of paratroopers may risk their lives, but can bring in the necessary communication equipments into the epicenter and feedback the 1^st hand info of the isolated area soonest.

 

Furthermore, those elite paratroopers can later provide ground guidance to the Helicopter landing in the later stage at bad weather and complicated terrain.

 

Originally posted by arball:

saw the image and was a bit puzzled...;;;didnt know that china had blackhawks...

PLA Army Aviation got 2 dozens of S-70 Black hawks since 1980s, 20 belived still functional. As a matter of fact, the 1st copter landing in Wenchuan, the isolated area was done by the blackhawk, yet another impressive performance by the blackhawk:

http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/helicopter/s70.asp

 

they even did airborne jumps...

I was thinking maybe they can do heli rappling? Then drop supplies from the copters down to the epic center..

 

Then they can also set up temp aid stations or hospital using the uber big tent.

 

I was thinking if they could use motorbikes.. like you know those scramblers... just maybe 1 bike and 1 soilder with medical supply and food and water? No idea leh..

 

 

but dont flame me heh.

The para op was led by the head of the jump sch and his deputy. Probably garang soldiers.

 

15 of them made it down and cancelled the operation due to bad weather. since then, no more airborne op afaik?

Actually... for 130,000 troops mobilized.... which is what i got a saw on the web... there is only 110 helicopters... something on another posters...which is a very lousy ratio...

 

I am not saying the SAF is better then the PLA... please! it is like saying an ant is stronger then an elephant!...

 

but the PLA is suppose to be modernized.... and become a '3G' type army with modern equipment... but from the soldier hiking article, it is largely still a "foot" army... with 'leg' infantry....

 

maybe only a very very small elite force is heli-capable.... the rest are still 'leg' infantry or 'motorized' only.

 

I think probably the 101st Air assualt division will have more heli-lift then the entire 'rescue' effort.... of 110 copters...

 

another likelihood is that the central govt is not really mobilizing all their forces... and is reserving their strategic reserve for other contingencies....

 

I doubt the chinese govt will 'accept' help in the form of Chinook helicopters from sgp or any other govt.. it will be a loss of 'face'...

 

actually, you can see the US, Indian or Russian military planners... to see how crippled the PLA is when the roads are destroyed.... what they have on their mind...