Paris and Pakistan

A Navy buddy of mine working on the Pakistan relief operation mused in an e-mail on Monday that for some odd reason Paris Hilton and her arrest for alleged cocaine possession received more media play over the past weekend than the fact that "we rescued thousands of people."

So, for those of you tired of Hilton coverage, here's an update on the Defense Department operations in Pakistan as that country struggles with one of the worst disasters in history.

On Monday, Marine and Navy helicopters rescued 625 people and flew in 114,000 pounds of supplies. Afghanistan-based Air Force C-130s delivered about 55,000 pounds of goods.

Since late July, Army, Navy and Marine helicopter crews have rescued 9,433 people and flown in 1.7 million pounds of goods, and Air Force C-130s have delivered 985,000 pounds of supplies since operations began.

The Pentagon has dispatched an additional 18 Army helicopters from the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, for the flood relief mission. They're expected to arrive in mid-September.

The Navy is operating the USS Peleliu amphibious ready group, home to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, off the Pakistan coast and dispatched the USS Kearsarge and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Norfolk, Va., to the same waters on Aug. 27.

All this is in addition to the Defense Department's primary day jobs in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It's good to get some perspective on what counts and what does not.