Operation Unified Response
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Operation Unified Response was the United States military's response to the
2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...
. It was conducted by Joint Task Force Haiti and commanded by United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Military Deputy Commander
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Ken Keen, although the overall U.S. government response was headed by Rajiv Shah, administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...
(USAID). The response included personnel from all branches of the military. The U.S. Navy listed its resources in the area on 19 January as "17 ships, 48 helicopters and 12 fixed-wing aircraft" in addition to 10,000 sailors and Marines. By 26 January, the U.S. military had 17,000 personnel in and around Haiti. Between the beginning of relief efforts and 18 February the US Air Force had delivered nearly 6,000 support members and 19 million pounds of cargo while evacuating 15,000 American citizens and conducted aeromedical evacuations for 223 critical Haitian patients. Elements of the mission included flying in relief supplies, flying out evacuees, including medical evacuees, loading helicopters with supplies at the PAP airport, and then dropping supplies at various points around Port-au-Prince, airdropping supplies from fixed-wing aircraft, establishing a field hospital near the Port international de Port-au-Prince, repairing a pier at the port, providing imagery from satellite, Global Hawk, and U-2 assets.


Mission timeline

*The
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
cutters and , both arrived at
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
, on 13 January. A Maritime Intelligence Support Team aboard ''Forward'' assessed damage to the port. The cutters were supported by the destroyer . Two
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
special operations MC-130H Combat Talon II aircraft also arrived 13 January with emergency supplies, medical units and special tactics teams. Other Coast Guard ships including the and the were dispatched. *As of 14 January,
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Special Operations personnel were controlling operations of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, after having cleared runways and having set up a 24-hour air traffic control. *On 15 January, the aircraft carrier arrived off the coast of Port-au-Prince to provide humanitarian aid, with its trained personnel, emergency supplies and 19
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
s on deck. *The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
hospital ship with 1,000 beds and 956 naval hospital staff was deployed to Haiti, as were the guided-missile frigate , and the guided missile cruiser . *Approximately 2,200
United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune sailed on the , , and ; while 3,000
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
soldiers of the XVIII Airborne Corps HQ and the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
from
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were sent beginning on 13 January. *On 16 January, arrived in Haiti to assist the ''Carl Vinson''. *On 17 January, the and the arrived at Port-au-Prince to begin repairs to the wharves. *On the 18th, anchored at Killick base, and started relief operations. *Additional Marines from the 24th MEU on the , , and , which sailed from
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...
on the 18th, were diverted on the 20th from their scheduled deployment to the Middle East. This was the first use of the
V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport aircraft, military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed ...
for a humanitarian mission. *Four injured personnel from the United States embassy were evacuated to the naval base at
Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay (, ) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off from its immediate hint ...
, Cuba, by United States Coast Guard helicopters. *As of 21 January, approximately 10,500 people have been evacuated from Haiti to the US, including 8,300 US citizens. Approximately 45,000 American citizens were thought to have been in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. *On 21 January,
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...
(ANG) air traffic controllers from the 260th Air Traffic Control Squadron (ATCS) in collaboration with the 248th ATCS, the 258th ATCS and the FAA took over air traffic control operations at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. With an exorbitant amount of supplies, support, and aide in conjunction with evacuation operations, Toussaint Louverture International Airport became the busiest single runway Airport in the world averaging 675 operation per day. *On 1 February, the ''Carl Vinson'', ''Bunker Hill'', and ended their mission departed Haiti. *On 3 February, the ''Higgins'' ended its relief mission and has headed for its home port. *On 8 February, the 24th MEU and ''Nassau'' amphibious ready group were ordered to resume their original deployment to the Middle East. *On 12 February, the US relief force has been reduced from roughly 20,000 troops to roughly 13,000 troops. *On 13 February, the ''Gundston Hall'' ended its relief mission and has headed back to its original mission. *On 14 February, the 190th Civil Engineering Squadron of the Kansas Air National Guard returned home. *On 18 February, the ''Oak'' has left Haiti and arrived back at home port. *On 1 March, ''Carter Hall'' was ordered home. *On 8 March, ''Comfort'' had discharged its last patient,Navy Times
"Navy’s Haiti duties winding down"
Philip Ewing, ''8 March 2010'' (accessed 8 March 2010)
and departed on 10 March. *On 24 March, the 22nd MEU and ARG were released from their mission and sailed for home.


International reactions

The United Nations expressed approval of the mission by United States and stated that the American troops would not stay long. Elements of the public of France expressed dissatisfaction with both the much larger size of the American relief operations compared to those of European nations and the commanding role U.S. forces took on the ground. Reflecting these feelings the French Minister for the Francophonie,
Alain Joyandet Alain Joyandet (born 15 January 1954) is a French politician who was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs (France), Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophony in the government of François Fillon from 18 March 2008 to July 2010. Prior ...
, characterized the United States as "occupying" Haiti, citing the take over of
air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
in the country. Several Latin American leaders accused the United States of militarily occupying Haiti. These socialist leaders, all long-time critics of the United States, included Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez former Cuban President
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...
. Through its Department of State the United States rejected the allegations and pointed to the fact that US forces were there by the invitation of the Haitian government. Despite this
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
man Ron Paul ( R-Texas) opposed
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
Resolution 1021, citing concerns over "the possibility of an open-ended US military occupation of Haiti".


Legacy

Air Force
Chief Master Sergeant A chief master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Philippines Philippine armed forces Since 2004, as part of the ongoing modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippi ...
Antonio D. Travis was named one of the top 100 most influential people of 2010 by TIME Magazine for his role in Operation Unified Response. Chief Travis is a combat controller who deployed to Port-au-Prince just 30 hours after the earthquake. His team set up a card table to conduct
air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
operations for Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport, and was recognized for orchestrating the largest single-runway operation in history. The combat control team ran the airport for 12 days before US Air Force air traffic controllers took over. During those 12 days the team oversaw more than 4,000 takeoffs and landings, an average of one every five minutes. Their efforts are credited for ensuring the safe delivery many humanitarian relief teams from around the world and thousands of tons of life saving supplies.


See also

* Operation Hestia, the Canadian military's counterpart * Opération Séisme Haiti 2010, the French military's counterpart * Operation Unified Assistance, for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami * Operation United Assistance, for the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa


External links


United States Southern Command


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unified Response, Operation Humanitarian aid Non-combat military operations involving the United States Humanitarian military operations 2010 Haiti earthquake relief United States Marine Corps in the 21st century 2010 in the United States Articles containing video clips United States Agency for International Development