The deployment of the Dutch led Multinational Relief Hospital in Pakistan

On 10 October, NATO received a request from Pakistan for assistance in dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake. The next day, the North Atlantic Council approved a major air operation to bring supplies from NATO and partner countries to Pakistan, which was the onset of the deployment of a part of the NATO Response Force Package as the NATO Disaster Relief Team.
On 9 November, the Dutch led medical team opened a 60-bed inpatient facility, which has provided a wide range of care ranging from the deployment of mobile teams up to complex surgical support. They have been reinforced by Czech, French, Protuguese and British medical teams, together forming the Dutch led NATO Multinational Relief Hospital (NMRH).
This article will address the deployment of the Dutch led multinational role 2 medical treatment facility in support of the affected population of Pakistan in the sub-district Bagh. Given the fact that the earthquake occurred on 8 October 2005 and the medical part of the NDRT was operational one month later and compare this with the international guidelines on disaster relief and the deployment of foreign field hospitals after disasters, certain lessons can be noted on (military) disaster relief operations.