help the people in japan. they know if it happened in l.a. the international community would help us. >> reporter: the team is made up ofdoctors, building experts and firefighters. there are six canine teams trained to search. they have experience covering other international disasters. >> it will similar possibly of the operation between like katrina where we were doing water rescues, somewhere to possible haiti with collapsed buildings with survivors possibly trapped and also we were just in new zealand. >> reporter: the team could be gone for three weeks at a time. which means they have to pack all the necessities, food, clothing and comfort items, to last the entire mission. >> most all of us carry baby wipes, believe it or not, just because it can be a quick rinse or shower. >> they've seen the images. they know the challenges. it's the desire to help to makes this difficult mission bearable.