Paras and Marines on alert for Haiti move
82nd Airborne
Marine landing. Photo by Cpl. Shawn M. Spitler
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is headed toward earthquake-devastated Haiti and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow to provide airlift support for the disaster-response mission, the commander of U.S. Southern Command reported today.
Meanwhile, Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser said, Southcom is “seriously looking†at deploying a large-deck amphibious ship with a 2,000-member Marine expeditionary unit to provide disaster response and, if required, to help maintain security.
Several other Defense Department ships and Coast Guard vessels – from small ships to destroyers to cutters — also are headed toward Haiti, some with limited humanitarian assistance supplies and helicopters aboard.
In addition, an 82nd Airborne Division brigade and “various forces around the armed forces†have been put on alert, ready to deploy if needed to support the effort, the general said.
The actions are part of a “very robust effort†under way to ensure the military is ready to respond to requirements identified through ongoing assessments, Fraser explained during news briefings today at the Pentagon and the State Department.
“We don’t know precisely what the situation is on the ground,†he said, “so we are leaning forward to provide as much capability as quickly as we can to respond to whatever the need is when we get there.â€
Meanwhile, the military is taking accountability of its own 64 troops assigned to Haiti. Most are part of the military liaison group there or support the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, Fraser said.
Fraser is leading military support to the disaster response mission, being coordinated through the U.S. Agency for International Development and State Department’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
His deputy military commander, Air Force Lt. Gen. P.K. “Ken†Keen, was on the ground in Haiti when the earthquake struck, and is providing the initial on-the-ground military command.
The initial thrust in the operation, Fraser said, is on assessing the situation on the ground to determine what’s needed and where, and to provide communications and command-and-control equipment needed to support relief efforts.
Toward that end, Southcom is deploying a 30-person team to Haiti this afternoon to support U.S. relief efforts.
Two Puerto Rico Air National Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft will deliver the team, made up of U.S. military engineers, operational planners, a command-and-control group and communication specialists. Once on the ground, they will work with U.S. Embassy personnel as well as Haitian, U.N. and international officials to assess the situation and facilitate follow-on U.S. military support.
“From practice, we’ve found that the assessments are critical to making sure we get the right equipment in there and make the recovery efforts and the life-supporting efforts as efficient as possible,†Fraser explained.
Meanwhile, the C-130s are transporting civilian search-and-rescue teams to Haiti, he said.
Southcom officials reported other immediate response activities:
– A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter evacuated four critically injured U.S. Embassy staff to Naval Station Guantanamo, Cuba, hospital for further treatment earlier today;
– Elements of the Air Force’s 1st Special Operations Wing will arrive in Haiti this afternoon to provide air traffic control capability and airfield operations at the Port-au-Prince airport; and
– A Navy P-3 Orion aircraft took off from Comalapa, El Salvador, early this morning to conduct an aerial reconnaissance of the area affected by the earthquake.
An important initial thrust is on getting communications and command-and-control assets into Haiti to support relief operations, Fraser told reporters. He noted that the U.N. Mission’s headquarters was severely damaged during the earthquake, with much of its communications equipment lost.
As communications and other support goes to Port-au-Prince airport to restore it to full functioning, assessment teams will also evaluate the port facilities to determine if they are operational to receive incoming aid.
The USS Carl Vinson was on a training mission when it was ordered to Haiti to support the effort. It will transit through Mayport, Fla., to take on additional humanitarian support supplies and helicopters before arriving in Haiti later tomorrow, Fraser said.
The arrival of a yet-underdetermined amphibious ship, probably a couple of days after the Vinson, will provide a broader range of capability to move supplies around and provide lift capability to support the effort, he said.
While not ruling out a deployment of the hospital ship USS Comfort, Fraser said the amphibious ship could provide much of the same medical capability.
In the meantime, all available military assets remain on the table as a clearer picture begins to emerge about what’s needed, the general said.
“We’re focused on the life-saving measures that we need to do there — the assessment, the emergency response — and then looking at what the humanitarian and disaster relief requirements are and providing international support to Haiti, to help them through this significant disaster,†he said.
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Table of contents for Haiti quake 2010
- Massive earthquake strikes Haiti
- Earthquake in Haiti – aftershocks continue
- Haiti earthquake aid
- Haiti quake damages pile up
- Horror in Haiti – the morning after the quake
- U.S. quickly responds to Haiti quake
- Infrastructure hurdles to Haiti quake relief
- U.S. Coast Guard on location in Haiti right now
- Strong aftershocks continue in Haiti
- PR Guard standing by – Gitmo damaged by Haiti quake
- Paras and Marines on alert for Haiti move
- Earthquake in Haiti update for January 13 evening
- Earthquake in Haiti – January 14 morning update
- Marines ready to assist Haiti after earthquake
- Earthquake in Haiti – Update for January 14 evening
- FEMA report on Haiti relief efforts for January 15
- Out of the night sky – Air Force secures Port-au-Prince airport
- Earthquake in Haiti – January 15 evening
- Haiti Quake Relief Funding Numbers
- But people are dying – thoughts on the Haitian disaster
- Aftershocks continue to rock Haiti
- Earthquake in Haiti – Update for January 16
- Haiti Quake Relief Funding Numbers for Jan 16
- Hospital ship Comfort sails for Haiti
- Baby delivered during Haiti evacuation
- Navy is delivering supplies to Haiti victims
- Hospital ship Comfort racing to Haiti
- Country club serves as forward base for Paras in Haiti
- Situation at Port-au-Prince airport improving
- Sanjay Gupta Assists Vinson Medical Team in Haiti
- USAID Update on the Haiti relief operation January 18
- Air drop to aid Haitian victims of earthquake
- Haiti Quake Relief Funding Numbers for Jan 18
- Earthquake in Haiti – morning update January 19
- Los Angeles rescuers save Haitian woman
- Stories from Haiti – update for Jan 20 morning
- American volunteers in Haiti
- American donations for Haiti earthquake relief – Jan 21
- Haiti earthquake relief update for Jan 21
- Haitians receiving care and support aboard Bataan
- Hospital ship Comfort healing, hugging Haitians
- Brief update on Navy and Marine relief efforts in Haiti Jan 23
- Fort Hood veterinary services unit sent to Haiti
- Harbor damage in Port-au-Prince
- American giving for Haiti relief as of January 25
- Comparison of Haiti donations to Katrina and the tsunami
- Haitian Coast Guard base becomes hub for quake relief
- Comparison of Haiti donations to Katrina and the tsunami Jan 28
- High tech warbird aids Haiti relief efforts
- High-speed ferrys en route to Haiti
- Southern Command briefs on Haiti situation
- Paras opening roads in Haiti
- Aid from Dominican Republic via Kentucky National Guard
- Haitian assistance stories for February 3
- Haitian relief efforts slow
- Marine calls Leogane Haiti home
- Haiti earthquake relief update for February 7
- Army medics at work in Haiti relief effort
- Haiti earthquake relief funding update for February 14
- Keeping Haitians informed
- A tent means a lot to Haitian orphans
- Italian troops aid paras in Haiti rubble clearance
- Landslide in Haiti tests Special Ops rescuers
- Navy and Marines bridge Haitian divide from government
- Haitian earthquake relief – update for February 28
- Haitian earthquake update – March 4
- Air Guard Engineers Help Haitians
- Things are baaaaad in Haiti
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