Ward was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador Peter Prahar and deputy chief of mission Lori Peterson Dando of the U.S. Embassy Kolonia; Bart Deemer, disaster assistance coordinator with USAID; Colby Stanton, director of Pacific Area Office of FEMA Region IX; and Kevin Clark, emergency analyst of FEMA Region IX.
USAID has not had direct disaster assistance involvement in FSM in the past, but has indirectly been involved in capacity building of disaster personnel in the Marshall Islands and the FSM region through the Asian Foundation which has been receiving USAID funding for this activity.
