Lance Cpl. Malarky Gene, a French/Creole linguist with Combat Logistics Battalion 22, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, and his son, sit at the battalion's command post in Petit Goave, Haiti, Jan. 28. Gene volunteered to go to Haiti after hearing the news about the Jan. 12 earthquake. Photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher Carroll

As Lance Cpl. Malarky Gene turned on the news Jan. 12, he couldn’t believe the horror that filled his eyes. Gene’s native country of Haiti was eclipsed in total chaos and confusion from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that, without prejudice, claimed victims by the thousands.

He immediately picked up the phone to call home … no answer. He kept trying, still no answer. There was no way to know if his mother, brother, wife, son, cousins and other relatives … almost his entire family … were alive or dead.

Born March 19, 1984, in the agricultural town of Leogane, Haiti, Gene, is a stout Haitian native with a muscular build and average height.

After his upbringing in Haiti, Gene’s father, who became a U.S. citizen, convinced him to move with him to New York in June 2005.

In May 2009 he returned to Haiti to marry his high school sweetheart, and the couple now have a two-year-old son.

Gene said he owes a lot to his father’s status as a U.S. citizen and the United States that gave him opportunities he would not have in Haiti.

“It was easy to go to school and take care of my family,” he said, in broken English with a French/Creole accent. “When I was in Haiti, I didn’t have a Job.”

His father who worked in the U.S., sent him money to go to school while he lived in Haiti, he added.

While living in Haiti, Gene watched with the world as the terrorist attack unfolded in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, where his father lived and worked.

“My father was working when the buildings fell,” Gene explained.

He said the attacks helped him decide to eventually join the U.S. military. In Nov. 2008, Gene enlisted in the Marine Corps as a food service specialist.

After attending Marine Corps Recruit Training at Parris Island, S.C., Gene went on serve with Food Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

That’s where he was when he found out about the earthquake in Haiti. From the beginning, his command pushed to have him deploy with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit as a linguist, to allow him to tend to his family, he explained.

“When they called me and asked, I said ‘Yeah, I volunteer to go,’” he said. “When I was on ship, I couldn’t wait to get off to help the people.”

Before leaving the United States, Jan. 16, aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship USS Bataan, Gene finally got in contact with his family in Haiti.

As the earthquake began, his wife and son were in their house watching television. When she felt the first tremors, his wife quickly grabbed their son and fled the house. Just as they exited the structure, the force of the massive earthquake collapsed the house, destroying everything they owned.

When Gene arrived in Petite Goave, Haiti, Jan. 24, his command gave his wife and son a tent to stay in at their compound and began working with the U.S. military legal system and U.S. State Department to get them transported to the U.S.

His wife and son are expected to fly from Haiti to the U.S. sometime in February.

Gene has assisted the 22nd MEU distribute over $1,000,000 in medical supplies, 40,000 rations and about 32,000 gallons of bottled and bulk water to the people of Haiti.

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Story by Lance Cpl. Christopher Carroll

Members of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division help medically evacuate a Haitian girl and her mother to the U.S. Embassy for medical care. Photo by Antwjuan Richards-Jamison

Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Erin Hunter, health services technician from Miami, and Petty Officer 1st Class Kate Roberts, health services technician aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Oak, treat a woman's wounded hand at the Killick, Haiti, coast guard base, Jan. 28. The Haitian coast guard base has become home for members of the Haitian coast guard and their families after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed thousands and left millions homeless, devastated the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti, Jan. 12. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley)

82nd Airborne surge food to needy Haitians

“We created posters, flyers and radio messages promoting the World Food Program and the government of Haiti, informing the people what to expect during the surge, where to receive coupons for food, and where the distribution sites would be,” said Capt. Ben Biver, operations detachment commander. “We are constantly out watching how our products are working and constantly judging their effectiveness.”

Over 50,000 hand-cranked or solar-powered radios were distributed in the past week by the 2nd BCT and other organizations to ensure those key messages reached the population. “We broadcast public service announcements about the food surge through Commando Solo, (an EC-130 Hercules Aircraft designed to broadcast public service announcements across a various outlets, to include AM and FM frequencies) and also through contracts with local, Port-au-Prince radio stations,” said SSG Carl Kipp, brigade operations NCO, HHC, 2nd BCT.

Early in the morning, paratroopers began the process of distributing aid to the people of Haiti. “We started at 4 a.m.,” said Judah Rothenberger, a canon crewmember with B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.

As soon as the food was loaded into vehicles and the Soldiers linked up with various non-government organizations, they moved to the distribution sites. “When we got to the distribution site at 5 a.m., people were already lined up,” stated Sgt. Hector Hernandez, section chief, B Battery, 2-319th.

We picked up the food and teams from World Vision Emergency Response, and moved to the distribution site, Rothenberger said. Once we got there, World Vision began unloading the rice and we set up security around the site.

Maria Chiara Mussoni, representative from the WFP, said “From what I see today, it’s very good. It seems to be very secure and very safe.”

Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, the 2nd BCT paratroopers worked in concert with United States Agency for International Development, the WFP, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the Haitian government, and other non-government organizations, to distribute the bags of rice. Falcon troopers acted in a myriad of roles throughout the day.

Spc. Ryan Gonwa and Spc. Alexander Guzman, infantrymen with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, carried bags of rice that were too large for their recipients and assisted them in splitting the 100 pound bags into smaller portions so that family members could share the weight.

At another location supported by 2-319th “Black Falcons,” Pvt. Christopher Nordloh checked the vouchers of individuals in line to make sure they were in the right place and were informed of the procedures to receive their food quickly.

By mid-afternoon, 1,142,000 pounds of food had been distributed without any issues from the crowd or the distribution teams. “It’s always a good day when you can help people,” Hernandez said.

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Story by Staff Sgt. John Seth Laughter

Sierra Leone navy Lt. Amara Kallon (front left) and Italian navy Lt. Cmdr. Marco Campasso, part of a multi-national Africa Partnership Station staff embarked aboard USS Gunston Hall, carry an injured Haitian woman to the landing zone at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard Base to be flown to a nearby treatment facility. Click on image for the story.

U.S. Southern Command released the U.S. Navy carrier USS Carl Vinson, Feb. 1.

The ship and its embarked air wing distributed more than 1.1 million pounds of emergency humanitarian aid for earthquake survivors in Haiti since commencing operations in support of Operation Unified Response.

Nineteen helicopters embarked aboard Carl Vinson, the first large-scale, airlift capability to arrive on scene, flew more than 1,000 hours in support of the operation and evacuated 435 patients requiring medical attention since their arrival off Haiti, Jan. 15.

Ten helicopters from the carrier will remain with Joint Task Force-Haiti and will continue to support international relief efforts from other U.S. Navy ships operating near the Haitian coast.

Approximately 40 additional U.S. military helicopters continue to provide critical logistics support to the relief effort.

Also departing after contributing to the relief efforts are the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and the oceanographic survey ship USNS Henson. The two ships were among the first U.S. Navy ships to join the carrier in the days immediately following the earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation, Jan. 12.

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This was the second humanitarian aid distribution the Red Falcons conducted for the town. This drop was more successful than the last, said Knight, due to the number of people present. Word spread quickly through the small town, made clear by the amount of people using their cell phones while waiting in line for food, he said.

The organization of this distribution was obvious as the townspeople stood in single file line with their children. Ten at a time, the locals approached the LMTV. Each was given an armful of high-energy biscuits and a 1.5 liter bottle of water for every two people. However, once everyone in the town had cycled through, they were able to come back for seconds or even thirds.

Ten thousand biscuits were given out as well as 500 bottles of water, which will feed 500 people for four-and-a-half days, said Lt. Ben Wackerlin, a platoon leader with Team D.

Although the biscuits are a source of food for the locals, they still need the staples of their regular diet, said Knight. Within a few days the Red Falcons will provide 80 pound bags containing rice, beans and cooking oil, and will feed a family of five for two weeks. This allows the people to concentrate on other essential tasks, such as searching for work, rather than waiting in line for food every day.

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Story by Pfc. Kissta Feldner

Lt. Mark Heitzmann, a medical officer assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall, delivers a Haitian newborn at New Mission in Bonel. The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan is on station in Haiti along with the amphibious dock landing ships USS Fort McHenry, USS Gunston Hall and USS Carter Hall as the Bataan Amphibious Relief Mission supporting Operation Unified Response, a joint operation providing military support capabilities to civil authorities to help stabilize and improve the situation in Haiti following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the island nation on Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo/Petty Officer 2nd Class Sergio Hernandez/Released)

“I had no idea I would ever be doing anything like this in the Marine Corps,” said Lance Cpl. Drivenel Alfred, who was born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. “It makes me feel great to have this opportunity to help both the Marine Corps and my people.”

Assessment teams have traveled to different towns throughout Haiti since the end of last week, looking for the same information in each location. The translators have to quickly speak with hundreds of locals to find out where hospitals, schools and city government buildings and officials are located, in addition to reassuring the masses that gather at every landing zone.

“I talk to the Haitian people, get the information we need to assess a location and ensure they know that we’re here to help them as best we can,” said Pfc. Rodney Gustave, field wireman, CLB-24, 24th MEU, and a Miami native of Haitian descent. “I just want to accomplish the mission and get as much information as possible so we can further assist them.”

For Cpl. Reginald Chery, tank mechanic, A. Company, Battalion Landing team 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 24th MEU, his mission is more than a job, its a homecoming, as he visited Saint Marc, the town of his birth.

“It felt really good to get in touch with friends of the family who I saw during the mission and make sure they were all safe,” Chery said. “It was all familiar, a lot of places I already knew, I felt like I could really help.”

Though all are excited to contribute to mission success and getting help where it is really needed, the realities of the destruction nationwide doesn’t escape them.

“Being there is kind of sad, but I focus on my job,” said Alfred. “Its hard, we see some heartbreaking things, but we still have to get the job done. That’s what Marines do.”

U.S. Marine Corps
By Gunnery Sgt. Robert Piper
24th MEU

As relief supplies and support continue to pour into Haiti, the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Operations Group has been one of the key elements that has helped to ensure a steady flow of supplies and equipment into the areas that need them.

Operating out of Barahona, Dominican Republic, the unit has set up an airfield to alleviate some of backed-up air traffic bound for the overwhelmed Port-au-Prince airport.

By doing that, the unit has been able to oversee the safe movement of cargo into the airfield where it is then moved by flatbed trucks across the border and into Haiti, said Air Force Lt. Col. Kirk Hilbrecht, public affairs officer for the Kentucky National Guard, who is with the unit in Barahona.

“So far we have moved approximately 575 tons of supplies, medical equipment, actual live donor organs and plasma into the Haitian area,” said Hilbrecht.

The unit has also assisted with getting supplies off of U.S. Navy vessels docked at nearby ports.

“We have helped facilitate the movement of (equipment from) some of the Navy’s roll-on roll-off equipment that has come through,” said Hilbrecht. “There has been a lot of hospital equipment that is required at some of the facilities and clinics deep into Haiti. We’re working in tandem with the port to ensure that all supplies get out as fast as they can to where they need to go.”

That means consolidating convoys from both the sea and airport.

“We’re working together to create one big convoy that our team of security forces are escorting across the border,” said Hilbrecht.

When the unit first arrived, the airfield required some setting up before planes could land.

“The airport has been closed for 12 years … we had it opened up and we are now running 24-hour operations,” said Hilbrecht, adding that even after re-opening it was initially closed to night operations because of a lack of runway lights.

Prior to the arrival of the 123rd COG, an assessment of the airfield was done by personnel from U.S. Southern Command and Air Mobility Command to ensure it was suitable for the types of aircraft that would be sent in.

“That assessment was made and that ensured that the tarmac or the runway was able to sustain the heavy aircraft as they landed, that the runway was long enough and the ramp where we are actually off-loading the equipment was wide enough to do our job,” said Hilbrecht.

Within two hours of arriving, the unit had in-bound aircraft landing at the airfield, he said.

“Once we got here, we were able to quickly off-load our generators,” he said. “We came in with three trucks and we were able to take out all the equipment we needed to and set up night time operations.

“From there, we set up communications with the tower to ensure we knew who was coming in, and then we had all our ramp operators and heavy lifters ready for the first planes that came in two hours after we arrived.”

The size and scale of the aircraft that have been landing—mainly C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules—took many who live in the area by surprise.

“At any given time, we could have two C-17 aircraft on the ramp,” said Hilbrecht. “It has definitely brought a lot of the townspeople out as they were not anticipating that large of an aircraft ever on this airfield.”

The ability to land a large aircraft in the Dominican Republic has made a difference in getting supplies to Haiti.

“I know we’re making a big difference, specifically when it comes to giving the flow and the dissemination of the much-needed material into the country,” said Hilbrecht.

The location of the airport, roughly 30 miles east of the Haitian border, has allowed cargo and relief supplies to be brought into outlying communities that have been affected by the earthquake, but may not be accessible from the Port-au-Prince side.

“The road conditions from the east to the west are not as dire as the roads going from the west to the east,” said Hilbrecht. “Coming in from the east makes a lot more sense because most of those roadways are a lot more operable and traversable. And from there we can get into the areas and clinics that happen to be farther out to the east (from Port-au-Prince) anyway.”

The airport has also had UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Puerto Rico Army National Guard’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th General Support Aviation staging for medical evacuation missions.

“There are approximately 20 women and children that came from the Puerto Rico Army National Guard Black Hawks two days ago and those people are right now getting the medical care they need,” said Hilbrecht.

Hilbrecht described conditions at the airfield as austere and said that though he served with the Army in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, what prepared him most for this mission—now called Operation Unified Effort—was responding to state missions in Kentucky.

“We’ve had some natural disasters in Kentucky over the last year or so, to include an ice storm last February that pretty much took out (power to) 700,000 houses and homes,” he said. “The part of it that I was not expecting during a routine ice storm was how desperate people could get. There were some parts of Kentucky where they were really in harm’s way and trying some makeshift ways to heat themselves.”

The roughly 50-person Kentucky contingent is scheduled to remain in place for about 120 days, said Hilbrecht, who added there is nowhere else he’d rather be.

“It’s been one heck-of-a fulfilling operation here,” he said.

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy
National Guard Bureau

A floating causeway delivers relief aid from the Military Sealift Command maritime prepositioning ship USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus while local Haitians prepare the dock for landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Lussier

Conditions in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, Haiti, continue to improve day by day, but a tremendous need still exists, the commander of U.S. Southern Command said Jan. 28.

Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser also said U.S. military personnel have opened a seaport that is bringing in about 200 containers a day, and that he expects that capacity to more than double in the weeks ahead.

Southcom is in charge of the U.S. military’s humanitarian response effort in Haiti.

The United States now has more than 20,000 service members in and around Haiti; 6,000 on the ground and the rest on vessels offshore, Fraser said.

“But those numbers only reflect those men and women who are actually in the theater,” Fraser added during a video teleconference from his headquarters in Miami. “There’s a lot of effort that’s happening within Transportation Command and across the Department of Defense to support these efforts that are external to the theater.”

Twenty-three ships, more than 60 helicopters and more than 30 fixed-wing aircraft are in the area, the general said. Meanwhile, he said, demand for ramp space at Toussaint L’Overture International Airport at Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, has started to recede.

“The demand is now down about 20 percent from what it was,” Fraser said. “So we’re supporting roughly a hundred flights a day into the airport and another 80 to 100 helicopter flights operating in and out of there as we go along.”

The seaport in Port-au-Prince sustained tremendous damage in the original Jan. 12 earthquake, and more in the aftershocks that still continue. “The port is operating and has a roughly 200-container-a-day capacity going through it,” Fraser said.

Marines assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion unload supplies from a floating causeway offloaded from the Military Sealift Command maritime prepositioning ship USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Lussier

One pier that the command was going to use sustained more damage and is now unusable, Fraser reported. “So we’re expanding into some of the other ports right there in the Port-au-Prince area to see what we can do there,” he said.

Medical treatment continues to be a U.S. priority. Medical personnel aboard the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship based in Baltimore, have seen more than 3,000 patients since it has arrived. Crews on other ships – the aircraft carrier USS Vinson, and amphibious ships USS Bataan and USS Nassau — also treat a significant number of patients.

Yet, more hospital space is needed, the general said.

“One of the things we’re working to improve is the capacity for patients to recover,” Fraser said. “We don’t have enough capacity, with the hospitals being full, and so the joint task force is actively working to establish that facility.”

That hospital facility will house between 3,000 and 5,000 patients and will be built on 40 acres of land in Port-au-Prince.

The 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the 22nd and 24th Marine expeditionary units continue operations in their respective areas in Haiti. American forces have distributed almost 2 million bottles of water, and about 1.5 million rations. The command also has distributed 43,000 hand-cranked radios that can charge cell phones and supply a light in addition to letting Haitians tune in their favorite stations for news.

Coordination among U.S. government agencies, the United Nations effort and nongovernmental organizations continues to improve, the general said.

“The World Food Program will start a pretty big distribution effort here, which we will help support, in the next day,” Fraser said.

Opening the seaport will be key to the relief effort. Planes are important in getting aid quickly to an affected area, but ships carry the tonnage that alleviates a disaster. The command is working with U.S. Transportation Command officials to get the seaports up and working again.

“The containers that we are bringing in right now are from an over-the-shore capability, both a military capability as well as a commercially provided capability,” Fraser said. That’s about 200 containers a day now.

“Next week, we will bring in some additional joint logistics over-the-shore capability that will increase that capacity to 500 containers a day,” he said. In the middle of next month, the command will bring in additional military capacity for joint logistics over-the-shore that will increase that to about 800 containers per day.

The command continues to repair the south pier that was damaged in the most recent aftershock. Fraser estimated the repair will take eight to 10 weeks. The joint, over-the-shore capability will bridge the gap until the repairs to the regular piers are completed, he said.

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Story by Jim Garamone

It wasn’t so many months ago that Defense Secretary Gates had to issue a direct order to the Air Force to make additional drones available for use in the Iraqi and Afghani combat theaters. Now we see these same UAV’s deployed for disaster aid. Seems like a step in the right direction. It would be great if the URL for this footage was public.

An RQ-1 Predator prepares for takeoff at Aeropuerto Rafael Hernandez outside Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on 27 Jan., 2010. The RQ-1 remotely piloted systems are operating out of Puerto Rico in support of Operation Unified Response in Haiti. Airmen from Creech Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nev. are providing 24 hour a day full-motion video in real time to international relief workers on the ground in order to speed humanitarian aid to remote and cut-off areas of the country following the earthquake on 12 Jan., 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Jeff Bright)

An RQ-1 Predator, tail number 3210, took off at 11:07 A.M. today from Aeropuerto Rafael Hernandez outside Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The remotely piloted aircraft mission marked the first time the system has been used to support humanitarian operations and the first time RPVs have operated from an active civilian airport, taking turns on the runway with airlines, cargo planes and helicopters.

The “proof-of-concept” mission was the culmination of rapid coordination between Federal Aviation Administration officials, the U.S. Air Force, the government of Haiti and various international aviation organizations, explained Maj. Jeff Bright, the 432d Wing Detachment commander in Puerto Rico.

Approximately 50 Airmen from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., deployed to Puerto Rico on Jan 18th — and were ready to fly RPA sorties within 24 hours. Approvals and coordination between the government of Haiti, the FAA and local airfield authorities, was completed on January 25th.

“The second aircraft to take off today was brand new to the Air Force, we haven’t even had a chance to paint our unit insignia on the side,” said 1st Lt. Frances Dixon, the maintenance officer in charge with the 432nd Maintenance Group. The team brought six aircraft to Puerto Rico; their mission will provide 24 hour a day coverage over Haiti using two RQ-1′s, with the other four aircraft rotating into the orbit.

“Everyone involved in making this happen understood the urgency of getting this capability to the Joint Task Force,” said Maj. Bright. “We’re able to provide full motion video to the government of Haiti, U.S.A.I.D., U.S. military members, the United Nations, relief agencies and non-governmental organizations — anyone involved in helping the people of Haiti who has a need to access this video will be able to view, in real-time, where their services are needed.”

Pilots in Puerto Rico takeoff and land the aircraft, then aircrews at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., remotely fly the RQ-1 over Haiti via satellite while coordinating movements with relief teams on the ground. Real-time video from the aircraft is fed through a Distributed Ground Control Station at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., where technicians assist in analyzing and interpreting data and imagery. The video is simultaneously sent to end users via satellite. The systems will provide more than 20 hours of real-time video across the entire country of Haiti, and can move to any location to support emergency requests.

“The breakthrough of the RQ-1 is that a person on the ground can open their laptop, and watch the video in real-time, talk to the pilot and extend their vision beyond the horizon, over mountains, past roadblocks and into the regions cut off from support,” said Maj. Bright. “Our job is to get the RQ-1′s video camera where international aid workers cannot reach to identify people and places most in need.”

In order to meet the demand for imagery in Iraq and Afghanistan, RPAs involved in these operations were not affected by the team’s deployment. The aircraft deployed to Puerto Rico are used as training systems. “The students at the RPA schoolhouse already train 12 hours per day — in order to make this operation happen, we’ve extended the training day by 4 hours and will fly our remaining RQ-1s at Creech for more sorties per day.”

While RPAs often operate in military controlled ranges and on the battlefield, they only occasionally transit FAA-controlled airspace. Operating out of an international airport, alongside civilian air traffic, is a historic first, said Brig. Gen. Darryl Burke, the Air Forces Southern Vice Commander acting as the Air Component Coordination Element with JTF-Haiti.

“Today the Air Force team proved remotely piloted aircraft can operate safely alongside civilian, military and international air traffic during a large-scale air relief campaign,” said General Burke. “Together with our international partners and with the help of committed FAA administrators, the Air Force is ensuring every capability in our fleet can contribute to the continued success of JTF-Haiti.”

12th Air Force
by Capt. Nathan D. Broshear
12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern)