What The Military Is Doing In Haiti

[sandnsea]

First of all, most of them aren't security troops. The ones who are, are helping to deliver aid.

AIRPORTS & AIRSPACE

· The airfield is open for 24/7 operations and has a 100-aircraft per day capacity.

· USAF air traffic control and airfield management personnel continue to manage air operations at the airport with approval of the Government of Haiti.

· There are 33 helicopters supporting relief operations and conducting operations to 9 landing zones. An additional 15 helicopters are scheduled to arrive in Haiti within the next 24 hours. These helicopters are operating out of nine landing zones, including five drop-off points.

HEALTH

· 265 HHS medical personnel are on the ground in Haiti:

o Doctors, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and other medical personnel who are a part of the National Disaster Medical System and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. HHS activated the National Disaster Medical System and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to assist in relief efforts in Haiti.

· HHS medical teams have begun seeing patients.

o More than 300 patients were seen yesterday at a Haitian orphanage, most with acute medical problems.

o A pediatric surgeon from the HHS International Medical Surgical Response Team performed surgery on a child yesterday aboard USNS Carl Vinson.

o A Disaster Medical Assistance Team and the International Medical Surgical Response Team today will see patients at a GHESKIO clinic in Port-au-Prince.

o Members from a Disaster Medical Assistance Team will also see patients today at the Haitian Coast Guard base in Killick, Haiti.

· The USNS Comfort is currently underway and expected to arrive on 1/20 with 600 medical personal on board.

FOOD & WATER

· More than 89,800 lbs of cargo has been delivered.

· A total of 20 pallets containing 27,000 Humanitarian Daily Rations have been delivered to Port au Prince, as well as three pallets of medicine and hygiene pallets.

· The Department of Defense provided three water purifications treatment units and delivered twelve 3,000 gallon water bladders and 18 pallets of bottled water.

· Military helicopters airlifted 26,000 Humanitarian Daily Rations from Guantanamo Bay to Port au Prince.

· A DoD C-17 conducted an airdrop of 40 Container Delivery System bundles (20 MREs/20 water).

EVACUATION & RESCUES

· A total of 2,971 Americans have been evacuated.

· FEMA is coordinating and supporting the deployment of state and local Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams from across the country to Haiti.

o Currently, 6 USAR teams (511 total personnel) are on the ground in Haiti. These teams are made up of specially-trained state and local first responders and come from across the country.

o U.S. USAR teams have rescued 37 individuals, and 69 rescues have been successfully conducted by the 27 international USAR teams.

o Each USAR team includes approximately 70 team members.

SAFETY & SECURITY

· The major focus of military efforts is establishing water distribution sites, and delivering fuel, food, and medicine.

· Approximately 11,274 military personnel are on the ground or afloat.

· 5 U.S. Navy ships are on station, including the USS Carl Vinson. 5 additional vessels are scheduled to arrive over the course of Monday, 1/18.

· 5 Coast Guard cutters are in the area, joining a host of Coast Guard assets in the area working day and night to support military air traffic control, conduct damage assessments and rescue people in need of assistance.

o Coast Guard cutter Forward arrived off Port Au Prince 1/13 and was the first U.S. asset on the scene.

o 3 additional cutters — Mohawk, Tahoma, and Valiant — have arrived in the area and are providing support and supplies. Tahoma and Valiant are flight deck and communications coordination capable, and the Tahoma is loaded with water and medical supplies.

o The cutter Oak arrived in Port Au Prince and will deliver water and medical supplies in addition to conducting hydro surveys and service to Aids to Navigation. Oak has 20-ton operating crane built into it.

· The Crimson Clover, a covered, roll-on roll-off barge with two 46-foot extendable ramps and a top-loader for discharge operations, is in Port Au Prince and has begun unloading operations.

· 7 Coast Guard C-130 airplanes are conducting evacuations of U.S. personnel and other support services as directed by the U.S. Embassy; a Coast Guard C-144 is conducting airborne surveillance and imagery of the port; and 5 Coast Guard helicopters are conducting evacuations and other support.

[bridgit]

1. ^

:kick:

[dhill926]

2. Thanks for this...........n/t........

[DRoseDARs]

3. No no no! This is all wrong! We're there to invade, take over, re-enslave and grind their children..

...into a fine paste for lubrication we'll use to assrape the Venezuelans.

Or some tired shit. :shrug:

[proteus_lives]

5. Sadly, there's a contingent on DU would take your post seriously.

the "America is always right" is an obnoxious form of freeper.

His equally annoying twin is the "America is always wrong" DUer.

[Prometheus Bound]

4. Is this some sort of a joke? If not, it's got to be wrong.

- 3 pallets of medicine and hygiene products?
- 18 pallets of water?
- only 90,000 lbs of cargo delivered? That's equivalent to 2 truckloads.

This can't be right. After all this time? This would be less than one small planeload.

It's likely a thousand times this.

[Merchant Marine]

6. The airport had no facilities

They had to fly in forklifts just to unload the aircraft. They then had to fly in trucks to deliver the goods. Then they had to fly in truck drivers, and security personnel to protect them.

Not to mention the million other sundry items being moved by plane into a nation with a single functional runway and a barely working port.

[Prometheus Bound]

7. OK, but the numbers still must be wrong.

100 flights are arriving a day, many of them the US military

It says in the OP the major focus of military efforts is establishing water distribution sites, and delivering fuel, food, and medicine.

Yet they've delivered only 3 pallets of medicine and 18 pallets of bottled water?

Impossible. The numbers must be wrong.

Fly in drivers? Surely Haitian drivers wouldn't be hard to find.

[Merchant Marine]

8. To drive military vehicles?

Think logistically.

The response is still gearing up. Cargo has to come from somewhere- its being marshaled and organized in the states while the distribution plan is being set up in Haiti. You cannot go in half-cocked with this level of response unless you want a total clusterfuck. We'll start to see real distribution when the first Military Sealift Command ships get in. Ro-Ro comes into port, drops the ramp and drives a battalion of loaded trucks onto the pier.

The problem with the big boys is that they take time to be loaded and sent off. We'll see the full logistical might of MSC being brought into play within the week, similar to the timeframe of the tsunami response a few years back. The military is very good at high-throughput operations once they've had a chance to get the supply chain organized.

[Sherman A1]

10. Precisely

There are all sorts of reasons why that would not be a good idea.

[Sherman A1]

9. It depends upon what day this information might be from

It takes a bit to get things geared up even for the US Military and I am sure that the people there on the ground are doing their level best to get things moving forward as fast as they can. I am also sure that like any other human effort mistakes are made, things get screwed up and things are estimated incorrectly. It is possible that a major component is forgotten and things have to wait until it arrives or some other factor.

Let's take some pride in the speed in which relief efforts are being accomplished and not worry about the # of pallets of whatever.

[Prometheus Bound]

12. Yeah but we're talking 91 US military flights so far. 3 pallets of medicine delivered.

No wonder some of the aid agencies are upset. I assume they aren't waiting for American trucks and drivers before delivering food, water and medicine.

But honestly, I think the numbers have to be off. It would be an obscenity if this were true.

[sandnsea]

22. Half the flights in are civilian

This doesn't include what they're offloading. If you offload 500 pallets of water, how are they going to get anywhere? Don't they need trucks and fuel? Honestly. This is ridiculous.

[Prometheus Bound]

23. You're assuming there are no trucks available in Haiti to deliver water?

Or people willing to deliver it on foot?

People are dying for God's sake. And you're suggesting they have to wait for trucks to be delivered by ship before they can deliver water delivered by air?

This really is ridiculous.

[clear eye]

13. May not be wrong. Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors w/o Borders)

is complaining that their supplies are being blocked and/or not given security.

Here are a couple of other viewpoints posted after this one, one of which was written by someone w/ experience in relief efforts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4231299&mesg_id=4231299
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7503516&mesg_id=7503516

[WolverineDG]

21. Puh-fucking-leeze

2 flights out of a total of 6 "denied" landing rights (as of yesterday or the day before). Their own press release says they don't blame the US or think they're being blocked.

But keep on truckin', 404th Chairborne!

dg

[clear eye]

11. How are you getting this info?

I notice that it is not even sourced to a press release. Who ARE you?

[Leopolds Ghost]

15. I'm sure the info is correct, but it would be nice to have a source.

[Leopolds Ghost]

16. I mean, 37 Haitians rescued, 100 total across the capital by foreign teams. 2,000 Americans evaced.

[Leopolds Ghost]

17. Correction, 3000 US citzn rescu. 6 USAR teams v. 27 intl. rescued 106 Haitian so far across capital.

"A total of 2,971 Americans have been evacuated.

FEMA is coordinating and supporting the deployment of state and local Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams from across the country to Haiti.

o Currently, 6 USAR teams (511 total personnel) are on the ground in Haiti.

(6 total) USAR teams have rescued 37 (non-nationality based I hope?) individuals,
and 69 rescues have been successfully conducted by the (27 total) international USAR teams."

That's 100 trapped survivors total.

What was that about US having more resources closer to the scene?

[clear eye]

19. Having all this info w/o needing a source indicates someone in gov't

such as the WH Office of Information, or the Press office, or in military intelligence. Such a person would have summaries of the effort come to her desk w/o it first being an official press release. We are probably seeing something that will be incorporated into a press release at the start of business in DC, 9am EST.

[sandnsea]

20. oh ffs, all kinds of blogs post this stuff

Always something sinister with the people around here. It's crazy. I don't remember if I grapped this off TPM or politco, someplace like that.

[Leopolds Ghost]

14. The devil is in the details, as always... While I understand what Merchant Marine is saying.

Perhaps we could focus on getting the non-military assets on the ground and working, since they do not ask for or require as much security protection as US military vehicles.

Set up landing zones and helicopter stuff into place for the non-military folks.

[Leopolds Ghost]

18. Are they worried about the "locals being hostile" to DWB et al if they're left w/ no mercs?

This is not a war zone.

[Prometheus Bound]

24. OK, if this information is correct, then SHAME on the US military.

By the 15th and 16th, the Israelis were able to deliver DOZENS of TRUCKLOADS of medical and logistical equipment.

Meanwhile by the 18th, the US military, which was in control of the airport and everything else, delivered THREE pallets of "medicine and hygiene products"

And the armchair experts here maintain that the problem is that they have to wait for American trucks and American drivers and security and all that shit before delivering life-saving supplies. BULLSHIT. How did the Israelis deliver dozens of truckloads 3 days earlier? Does Haiti not have trucks? And drivers? and people willing to help?

The IDF Medical and Rescue Team set up a field hospital in Port-Au-Prince and is beginning to treat patients there. The field hospital is prepared to receive dozens of ambulances evacuating injured children from the different disaster struck areas. Between Friday night and Saturday, dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment were unloaded and the field hospital set up.
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Israeli_aid_arrives_Haiti_17-Jan-2010.htm