Humanitarian military missions primarily serve troop deployment training and presence, not aid

Evidence

When troops deploy for a humanitarian activity such as providing dental care or vaccinations, “its primary purpose is not to treat poor people,” Duffy explained to me when we met in Washington, D.C., in 2013. “It’s not to train host nation medical people. It’s not to train host nation military people. The primary purpose is for U.S. personnel to practice, to get training in preparing for deployment.” Pentagon budget documents tell a similar story, explaining that humanitarian operations help “maintain a robust overseas presence” and provide “access to regions important to U.S. interests.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 979

When troops deploy for a humanitarian activity such as providing dental care or vaccinations, “its primary purpose is not to treat poor people,” Duffy explained to me when we met in Washington, D.C., in 2013. “It’s not to train host nation medical people. It’s not to train host nation military people. The primary purpose is for U.S. personnel to practice, to get training in preparing for deployment.” Pentagon budget documents tell a similar story, explaining that humanitarian operations help “maintain a robust overseas presence” and provide “access to regions important to U.S. interests.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 979

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Ch. 25 lily-pad strategy throughout; corroborates the militarization of foreign aid concern raised at the end of the chapter.
• SEED: Angle: how ‘humanitarian’ medical missions function as a public-relations cover for military expansion — could be an article on the propaganda function of aid in base diplomacy.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 979