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http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123185349


A C-130 Hercules, similar to this one, is scheduled to takeoff Jan. 13,
2010, with a team of U.S. Southern Command officials from Miami to
Haiti to support U.S. relief efforts in the aftermath of the Jan. 12, 2010,
7.0 magnitude earthquake. The team, which includes U.S. military
engineers, operational planners, and a command and control group
and communication specialists, will arrive in Haiti Jan. 13 on two
Air Force C-130s. (U.S. Air Force photo)

1/13/2010 - MIAMI (AFNS) -- U.S. Southern Command officials here will deploy a team of 30 people to Haiti to support U.S. relief efforts in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake.

The team, which includes U.S. military engineers, operational planners, and a command and control group and communication specialists, will arrive in Haiti Jan. 13 on two Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft.

The team will work with U.S. Embassy officials as well as Haitian, United Nations and international officials to assess the situation and facilitate follow on U.S. military support.

Other immediate response activities include:
-- At first light Jan. 13, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter evacuated four critically injured U.S. Embassy staff to the Naval Station Guantanamo, Cuba, hospital for further treatment.
-- Elements of the Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing are deploying Jan. 13 to the international airport at Port au Prince, Haiti, to provide air traffic control capability and airfield operations. They are expected to arrive in Haiti in the afternoon.
-- A Navy P-3 Orion aircraft from the Forward Operating Location at Comalapa, El Salvador, took off early Jan. 13 to conduct an aerial reconnaissance of the area affected by the earthquake.
-- The Navy aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, is under way and expected to arrive off the coast of Haiti Jan. 14. Additional Navy ships are under way to Haiti.

SOUTHCOM officials are closely monitoring the situation and is working with the U.S. State Department, United States Agency for International Development and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance and other national and international agencies to determine how to best respond to this crisis.

SOUTHCOM officials are well versed in providing humanitarian assistance in the region. Since 2005, the command staff has led U.S. military support to 14 major relief missions, including assistance to Haiti in September 2008. During that mission, U.S. military forces from the USS Kearsarge and other units airlifted 3.3 million pounds of aid to communities that were devastated by a succession of major storms.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Haitian people and all those affected by this devastating earthquake," said Army Col. James Marshall, the command spokesman for SOUTHCOM.

Honestly, it's hard to make up for what planning could have prevented. The devastation is catastrophic.

Plain planning couldn't have prevented it. A more successful capitalistic state could have prevented it. A more regimented legal system could have prevented it. If the earhquake had happened in the DR it would have killed ALOT less. The French have a wonderful way of leaving their colonies in a way that kills

A kind reminder - this is the Military Aviation forum, not the Politics forum. Please keep this discussion focused on the actual military operation, not its political background. Thanks!

Fumanchewd wrote:Plain planning couldn't have prevented it. A more successful capitalistic state could have prevented it. A more regimented legal system could have prevented it. If the earhquake had happened in the DR it would have killed ALOT less. The French have a wonderful way of leaving their colonies in a way that kills

Actually the French didn´t leave Haiti voluntarely. They were kicked out by a largescale slave uprising during the aftermath of the French Revolution (somehow many French back then believed that Egalite, Fraternite et Liberte (Sorry, don´t know how to work the accents on my keyboard) should only apply to white Frenchmen (yes, women were also excluded from voting)). Napoleon tried to recapture Haiti in 1804, mainly using Polish exile troops (the Polish are still p*ssed off about this today), but failed. Since the assassination of the first, very capable and selfeducated, slave general the country had a succession of military coups and corrupt dictators with no period of peace inbetween.
In fact, Haiti was the first black republic in the world, but everybodyas afraid that they might become an example for their own black slaves, so from the beginning on they got shunned.

Jan

The USAF has a team of Combat Controllers there from Hulbert Field.

miamiair wrote:The USAF has a team of Combat Controllers there from Hulbert Field.

They better have, because they will certainly get into conflict with the local mob.

Jan

I put some of this in the other thread - but I'll add it to the Military thread.

US Military Sealift Command is sending:

Hospital Ship USNS COMFORT
Replinishment Oiler USNS BIG HORN
Prepositioning ro-ro ship USNS 1ST LT JACK LUMMUS

And others....

The US Navy is sending several ships as well, including a carrier, two or three amphib ships, and a couple cruisers. I haven't kept up with the regular Navy support. I am directly involved in the MSC support, hence more info about them.

MD11Engineer wrote:

miamiair wrote:The USAF has a team of Combat Controllers there from Hulbert Field.

They better have, because they will certainly get into conflict with the local mob.Jan

I'm wondering if that could be why we have the 82nd headed down there.


Edit: Fixed quote.

USAF Combat Controllers (CCT)

Combat Controllers of US Air Force Special Tactics Squadron are highly proficient in the following:

* air traffic control
Combat Controllers are trained to covertly insert, mark out landing zones (for helicopters) or ad hoc landing strips (for fixed wing aircraft) or parachute drop zones, then guide air assets in and out. This is their primary role.
* joint terminal attack control (JTAC)
CCTs are capable of calling in fire from aircraft such as fast moving jets, attack helicopters and AC-130 Gunships. This is not their primary role and is a function that may be covered by a decicated Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) unit on the scene.

USAF CCTs typically work alongside other Special Operations Forces and accompany them on missions. They are proficient in many methods of insertion such as HALO parachuting, and amphibious operations.
Combat Controllers Equipment

Combat Controllers use a range of equipment when on operations

* secure satcomms
CCTs use encrypted satellite radios to talk to air assets, typically PRC-177 satcomm units.
* infrared lights and strobes
IR Strobes are used to mark out landing strips. The IR lights and strobes are invisible to the naked eye but highly visible via night vision goggles or aircraft FLIR sensors. The lights and strobes can be activated by remote control, enabling an entire adhoc runway or LZ to go from invisible to visible with the flick of switch.
* laser target designators
when calling in air strikes, CCTs mark the target with a laser beam from a portable designator unit such as the SOFLAM







If the gomers want to give them shit,and the ROE's give them some latitude, they will give them some hurt.