Two Colombian Armada tender boat operators, crew members from the Cartagena de Indias, pilot their craft towards a small port in Killick to the awaiting U.S. vessel, landing craft utility 2026, the Hobkirk, April 22, near the conclusion of a 6-day mission with the U.S. Army and other non-government organizations. Cooperation between the U.S. Army, Colombian Armada and Army, along with Red Cross groups from both Haiti and Colombia, resulted in several thousand tons of humanitarian supplies reaching the Haitian people. Photo by Capt. Jose Emperador

It’s almost as if the multi-national team of Haitians, Colombians and Americans, who began working less than one week ago to offload humanitarian cargo inbound from Colombia, have been working together for years.

The complex effort of transferring cargo from the anchored Colombian Armada Navy ship, Cartagena Indias, to two alternating U.S. Army landing craft utility vessels, the Matamoras and the Hobkirk, near a small port at Killick, Haiti seemed like a routine effort to the novice mariner. Representatives from all organizations credit teamwork, cooperation and motivation as the catalyst for the successful operation which ended April 22. And no matter which language was being spoken, be it Creole, French, Spanish, English or a mangled combination of all four, everyone involved seemed to agree that the cooperation was “excelente.”

Colombian Armada ship Commander Jose Guillermo Rodriguez says a chance meeting at Port-au-Prince’s main port with U.S. Navy and Army officers began the discussion of a possible joint cooperative mission between the two allies. Rodriguez, skipper of the Cartagena de Indias, a ship used by Colombia primarily for counter drug patrols off the South American country’s coast, said the partnership began forming during the initial encounter. “As soon as I met the officers from the [U.S.] Navy and Army, we began discussing how we could help each other,” Rodriguez said. “After further discussion, we determined they could help us offload cargo from the Cartagena and get it ashore to waiting representatives from the Colombian Red Cross.” Rodriguez added that the partners between the various organizations were motivated and committed to the effort.

“The Colombian Red Cross in conjunction with the Haitian Red Cross and your Soldiers [U.S. Army] came with the LCU of the Army …and every day they came to help unload,” Rodriguez said.

The Hobkirk’s vessel master, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Willis Allen, says the small, damaged port facility at Killick isn’t conducive to a ship the size of the Cartagena. Allen says his vessel, with a flat bottom and shallow draft, is capable of pulling up right to the beach if needed. This quality, unique to LCU-type boats, allowed him to complete those final legs to shore that the Cartagena previously had to do with its utility skiffs.

“We moor alongside the Colombian ship… we tie up, they take a crane and put a gang way down to our vessel and we just start a chain and start the food down to the vessel,” Allen said.

Allen joined the consensus of opinions in saying there was excellent cooperation between all the agencies involved.

“It shows a lot of hospitality between two countries to make things happen,” Allen said. He also said the Haitian workers, the Colombian Red Cross and the crew of the Cartagena, along with his Soldiers, worked extremely well and efficient together. Prior to the use of the two LCU’s, the Colombians off-loaded a load similar in size but that effort took 18 days.

“It is my understanding that when they unloaded the first shipment they had to unload everything to small boats all by themselves by hand.” said Sgt. 1st Class John Gaviria, who coincidentally is Colombian as well as the Hobkirk’s 1st mate. “The experience that I’ve had with the Colombian Armada, the Colombian Army, and the volunteers of the Colombian Red Cross has been excellent.”

Representatives from the Colombian Army, who helped with transportation on the cargo was offloaded, also shared similar sentiments. Colombian Army Maj. Diego Pastrana, second commander, equivalent to an executive officer, of the Disaster Awareness and Prevention Battalion, said their job has required a lot of effort taking into account that they could have used some much-needed resources. “Here, the American Army has been the fundamental logistical part to all the support necessary,” Pastrana said. “At this moment, we’ve been supported greatly and thanks to that, we are able to continue our support for the Haitian people.”

Jose Estrada Charis, director of area relief for the Colombian Red Cross says all the agencies involved formed a strong team. “Responding to emergencies and natural disasters often create a fraternal bond between various nations in the world involved,” Charis said. “The Colombian Army and Armada [Navy] with the American Army have formed a team with the Colombian Red Cross.”

“The humanitarian supplies that the Colombian Red Cross is providing to the Haitian Red Cross as well as the interaction with the American Army and that great friendship and great team that we’ve now created has created an excellent rapport between us all,” Rodriguez, said. “As the commander of this ship, it is one of my hopes that all our crew remember the images we see on land and learn to better appreciate what we have back in Colombia because, in reality, we all live in paradise.”

DVIDS
Story by Capt. Jose Emperador

Haitian citizens remain in the street afraid or unable to return to their homes. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Candice Villarreal

And it grinds on.

AlertNet / Reuters

Around a quarter of a million Haitians living in precarious tent camps could face a “catastrophe” unless they are moved quickly to safer areas ahead of the approaching rainy and hurricane seasons, the United Nations has warned.

More than two months after the Jan. 12 earthquake that wrecked Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities, rain and storms threaten to turn some of the city’s squalid tent camps into toxic rivers of mud and human excrement, and protecting the 250,000 residents who are judged to be most vulnerable is a race against time.

As of last week, only around 200 families had been moved to temporary shelters outside of the capital approved by the government.

“We just can’t let people continue to live in these conditions,” France Hurtubise, public information officer for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AlertNet by phone from Port-au-Prince.

“Some sites sit on flood plains and on hills, which is very dangerous and could lead to landslides. That would be a disaster. These people will have to be moved or it will be a catastrophe if they remain in these sites.”

The government wants some quarter of a million people in around seven of the capital’s 461 camps considered at high risk of flooding and landslides to move by mid-April.

It says relocating people to new temporary sites is the last resort, and is encouraging quake survivors to return to their homes or seek shelter with host families in and around the capital.

The plans mean finding at least 600 hectares of land for alternative settlements, which is hard to come by in an already crowded capital city, says OCHA.

Only around a third of the land needed for resettlement has been identified by the government so far, according to a recent OCHA report.

“We are urging the government to identify more land. Work needs to move faster to move people out of harm’s way before the rainy season starts,” OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs told AlertNet from Geneva, echoing growing frustration among aid agencies.

Progress has been slow in moving people to safer sites because of difficulties in finding rubble-free land to build on, agreeing land deals and obtaining government approval and building permits, the United Nations says.

Tension between landowners and displaced people settling on private land is also a growing concern, according to OCHA, and in some cases people have been forcefully evicted.

“A strategy to address the legal rights of land owners while also protecting the affected population needs to be developed,” the U.N. agency says in a report.

As members of the services flight for the Connecticut Air National Guard's 103rd Airlift Wing, Tech. Sgt. Chris Jones (left) and Tech. Sgt. Bambi Putinas volunteered to do search and recovery at the destroyed Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The four-star hotel collapsed during the Jan. 12 earthquake trapping many of its guests in the rubble. The two worked with search and recovery teams from France, Mexico, Canada and other branches of the U.S. military. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy

The earthquake that rocked this city left many of its structures damaged or destroyed, including one landmark that many say represented a sense of stability within the city.

The Hotel Montana, a four-star hotel where diplomats, dignitaries and other world leaders often stayed, collapsed during the Jan. 12 earthquake trapping many of its guests in the rubble.

A few made it out alive, and the task of finding and identifying those who didn’t fell to a variety of organizations, including search and recovery teams from France, Mexico, Canada and members of the U.S. military.

As a member of the services flight for the Connecticut Air National Guard’s 103rd Airlift Wing, Tech Sgt. Bambi Putinas said her job encompasses not only personnel issues, food services and lodging, but also mortuary affairs.

“We all volunteered to come here, but we had no idea what we would be doing,” she said. “In the back of our minds, we all thought possibly mortuary affairs.”

When a call for volunteers to assist at the Hotel Montana site was put out, Putinas was one of many from her unit to volunteer for the mission.

“We would help with the preliminary identification of remains and make sure they got back home safely and also any articles, luggage, personal effects,” she said. “We helped to document what we found, and those also would be shipped home.”

Putinas said it was an important job to do, but also a difficult one.

“It was hard,” she said. “Sometimes you could actually put a face with a name or an article or something that was inscribed.”

For many who worked at the site, it was an opportunity to provide a sense of closure to the grieving family members of those who died in the hotel.

“…we were recovering those that had fallen at the (Hotel) Montana, so that they could be returned to their loved ones and bring closure,” said Tech Sgt. Chris Jones, also with the 103rd AW. “We were sending them home.”

That was part of what made many who worked at the site go back day after day.

“Some people wanted to go out every day, no matter what,” said Putinas. “You think that you’re going to find somebody one day and you just keep on searching hoping to find someone.”

Though it is part of the services mission set, mortuary affairs is not a skill that unit members use on a regular basis.

“It was a lot of nerves the first time we went out there,” said Jones. “We do a lot of training, but this was our first real-world experience handling this aspect of our career field. It was a lot of nerves, a lot of anxiety, but everyone got out there and did their job and handled it very well.”

Unit members also relied on each other for support during the recovery operations.

“We kept an open door policy and set rank aside if anybody needed to talk or had any questions,” said Jones, who added that there were briefings and other opportunities for those at the site to discuss or work through any issues.

“We’re a pretty strong group to begin with,” said Putinas. “I think it was a great team that we put together, and we were there for each other.”

Jones recalled the day the remains of an Air Force officer were recovered.

“They said he was still in his uniform,” said Jones. “His body was covered, and he was moved out of the rubble and all of us stopped working and we went to attention and saluted as he was moved past us. It was our way of paying final respects to him.”

For those at the site, doing the job was something they took great pride in.

“We received a great sense of fulfillment in the job we were doing,” said Jones. “We had an extreme amount of pride in the job that we had done.”

And that is something that will stay with them long after they return home.

“I think I’ll be telling my family members about the team I worked with,” said Putinas. “And how great it was to work with the Army, the Navy, the French, the Canadians, and how people from all aspects of life could come together for one mission, in a country that none of us ever thought we would come to, and pull together and do a mission that needed to be done.”

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy

Over 60 articles about the Haitian earthquake, U.S. military assistance to Haiti after the quake, American giving to earthquake relief and other related topics can be found at the link Haiti Quake 2010.

An Airman with the 118th Civil Engineering Squadron, gives candy to a child at the New Life Children's Home in Port au Prince, Haiti, March 12, 2010. Members of the squadron have been working at the home, a local orphanage that has also taken in many children injured by the January earthquake, building cabinets, storage areas and a medical clinic. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy

The U.S. military response to the January earthquake in Haiti was almost immediate.

Within hours, equipment, supplies and personnel began to arrive in Haiti to assist those affected by the earthquake and its aftershocks.

Many Air National Guard units and personnel were among the first to respond to the disaster.

For some, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Air Force Staff Sgt. Oscar Trevino of the 190th Civil Engineering Squadron of the Kansas Air National Guard was with his unit in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of its two weeks of annual training.

“People said they felt the earthquake,” said Trevino. “I grew up in Southern California, and I didn’t feel anything. I just rolled over and went to bed. Sure enough, we found out the next day they had a massive earthquake over here.”

Trevino’s unit arrived here a week later.

“We waited for a week to get transportation,” he said. “Really, they needed us as soon as they could so we could get the camp going and get the other people housed.”

When Trevino first arrived in Haiti, service members were sleeping wherever space was available.

“The first week I slept on some lumber, because I didn’t want to sleep on the ground,” he said.

Building a tent city is a bit more involved than simply erecting a few tents. It means leveling ground and setting up living, shower and laundry areas.

“We initially brought in what is called a ’550 kit,’ which consists of tents and will house roughly 550 personnel,” said Trevino. “We were at the north end of the airport, and it was nothing but tall grass. And we came in with our heavy equipment and leveled the place. We put up tents and then our shower and laundry and built it up to as you see it today.”

These operations are all part of what a civil engineering squadron does.

“When we hit the ground in an expeditionary or contingency environment, our job is to set up a bare base,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Craig Bradford, commander of the 118th CES in Nashville, Tenn., and commander of the 24th Expeditionary CES in Port au Prince, Haiti. “So, if we have a water source and an airfield, we’ll come in and bring in all the material to build a tent city.”

But that still means hitting the ground running.

“We got here Jan. 29, and I haven’t had a day off since then,” said Bradford. “But we’ve been working hard to build a tent city for all the joint members in the task force.”

Members of Bradford’s squadron have been responsible for building more than a tent city. They worked on other projects around the airport and were directly involved with getting it re-opened to commercial traffic on Feb. 19.

“We built a diversionary road around the airport, otherwise traffic would be worse than what it already is,” said Bradford. “We also fixed a water leak that was just outside the major terminal that was going to be used for the commercial re-opening. Without our work, that terminal would not have opened at all.”

They also fixed the landing lights on the runway.

“The airfield lighting has gone down multiple times while we’ve been here,” said Bradford. “The first night it happened, the president of Haiti couldn’t even make it in. They had to divert his flight to another Caribbean island and our folks stayed up until that system was working and ready to go and he landed in the morning.”

The squadron’s ability to get the airfield lights back up and operational came about, in part, because of the civilian backgrounds of many of the squadron members.

“From the civil engineering standpoint, most of our folks are craftsmen on the outside,” said Bradford. “They have the abilities and they are working in the crafts. They’re carpenters, they’re electricians. Those are some of the unique qualities that the active duty force doesn’t have that we bring in our squadron.”

Because many buildings within the city have been destroyed or damaged by the earthquake, local residents have been wary of returning to their homes or entering various structures, said Bradford.

So, the squadron provided structural assessments of those properties “to give people the warm and fuzzy that they can go back and live where they lived before and that’s just as important as providing food and water,” said Bradford.

Providing these services is what makes the mission worthwhile. “Morale has been fantastic,” said Bradford. “This is a different sort of mission than going to Iraq or Afghanistan. If the shops can afford to lose a few folks during the week, then we go ahead and send them out on a mission to help an orphanage or work in the clinic or wherever we can.”

And that’s all part of the squadron’s mission.

“There was a humanitarian mission before the earthquake and there will be one long after,” said Bradford. “At most, we can put a dent in it. We’re here to help as much as we can.”

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy