The other side of the US Military.
First question: Where are our Carriers?
Answer: On the way.
Carl Vinson, other ships headed to Haiti
By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 13, 2010 13:02:06 EST
The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was rerouted Wednesday to support humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti, according to U.S. Southern Command. The carrier is expected to arrive off the coast of Haiti Thursday.
The command confirmed additional Navy ships are underway to Haiti, but did not specify what vessels would be going.
The command, based in Miami, also deployed a team of 30 people to Haiti to 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, according to the press release. The team includes military engineers, operational planners, a command and control group and communication specialists. They will arrive in Haiti today on two C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Elements of the Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing were deploying to the international airport at Port-au-Prince to provide air traffic control capability and airfield operations. They are expected to arrive in Haiti on Wednesday afternoon.
Early Wednesday morning, Coast Guard helicopters evacuated four critically injured U.S. Embassy staff to hospital at Naval Station Guantanamo, Cuba, for further treatment.
A U.S. P-3 Orion from the Forward Operating Location at Comalapa, El Salvador, also conducted aerial reconnaissance of the affected area.
SouthCom has supported 14 major relief missions in the region since 2005, including assistance to Haiti in September 2008. During that mission, forces from the amphibious assault ship 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, SouthCom spokesman.
Vinson and its crew of approximately 3,200 sailors left Norfolk on Tuesday en route to their new homeport in San Diego. The carrier, which is commanded by Capt. Bruce Lindsey, was joined by Carrier Air Wing 17 and the cruisers Lake Champlain and Bunker Hill. As flagship of the newly established Carrier Strike Group 1, Vinson was to provide maritime security as it circumnavigates South America and provide humanitarian assistance or disaster relief, if required.
The call came fewer than 24 hours later.
A magnitude-7.0 quake devastated the impoverished nation Tuesday afternoon, leveling thousands of structures and leaving an untold number trapped in the ruins. Death tolls are expected in the thousands, and International Red Cross spokesman Paul Conneally said 3 million people, one-third of Haiti’s population, may need emergency aid.
The United Nations on Wednesday said the capital’s main airport was “fully operational” and that relief flights would begin immediately.
The United Nations has 9,000 peacekeepers in Haiti, but most are searching for survivors in their headquarters, which collapsed on an unknown number of people. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was reported as saying in his radio address that “[i]t would appear that everyone who was in the building, including my friend Hedi Annabi, the United Nations’ Secretary General’s special envoy, and everyone with him and around him, are dead.”
More than 4,000 sailors from the Nassau Amphibious Ready Group and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to deploy Monday from Norfolk and Camp Lejeune, N.C., as part of a regularly scheduled deployment in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. There is no word on whether those ships will depart early or be used to support humanitarian requests.
The ARG includes the amphibious assault ship Nassau, the amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde and the dock landing ship Ashland. The 24th MEU is comprised of 1st Battalion, 9th Marines; Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (Reinforced); Combat Logistics Battalion 24 and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/01/navy_vinson_haiti_update_011310w/