DoDLive | Tag Archive | Joint Task Force Haiti

Haiti, One Year Later

Filed under DoD News, Emerging Media by glenn.selby on January 12, 2011 at 2:33 pm {no comments}

By Matt Mientka

Many people died a year ago today when a powerful earthquake struck Haiti near Port-au-Prince, knocking down buildings and trapping thousands beneath the rubble.

Perhaps as many as 200,000 perished last January after the 7.0 magnitude quake, which was followed during the next 12 days by 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater. In the capital city and around the country, another few hundred thousand people suffered injuries with many waiting painful hours and days to be rescued.

Cholera, thirst, hunger and violence would soon land on the poor Caribbean nation. Help, too. Within hours, the United States and other countries from around the world began sending aircraft laden with workers and equipment. Within a few days, the U.S. Navy’s USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrived off the coast, providing support to others there to help. Aboard the ship, Sailors prepared to deliver 600,000 daily rations in addition to potable water and water-purification equipment. Later, the USS Comfort arrived in the area, boosting medical capacity with more than 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms. (more…)

“Construimus, Batuimus” – Navy Seabees in Action

Filed under DoD News by glenn.selby on May 17, 2010 at 10:47 am {4 comments}

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, commanding general, Joint Task Force-Haiti, thanks two Navy Seabees for their hard work, dedication and selfless service while supporting Operation Unified Response in Haiti. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Jake Marlin/11th PAD)

By Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas

Trombitas is serving in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as the commander of Joint Task Force-Haiti. He is also the commander of United States Army South in San Antonio, Texas.

Since World War II, the U.S. military has called upon the Naval Construction Battalions, also known as Seabees, to complete necessary and critical construction projects in every military theater. As self-contained and self-sustaining units, their motto “Construimus, Batuimus,” (We Build, We Fight), is a testament to how the Seabees have repeatedly demonstrated their talents as both skilled builders and tenacious fighters.

During Operation Unified Response, the Seabees joined the humanitarian assistance mission in January almost immediately following the earthquake and proved to be an indispensible part of Joint Task Force-Haiti. In addition to the physical structures they built, these superb naval engineers have also built lasting partnerships and friendships with the grateful Haitian people and earned the respect of the NGOs they assisted.

From repairing pilings on the South Pier at the seaport to planning and constructing two vital resettlement camps, and completing the critical improvements within at-risk camps to ensure the safety of the Haitian people from heavy rains, these professionals, through their motivation and compassion, served as ambassadors for our nation on a daily basis.

As the joint task force concentrated on making improvements to the Internally Displaced Persons camps before the heavy rains, the Seabees expertly took on the mission in a race against the weather to create extensive networks of canals within the camps, saving lives with their efficient work. As the NGOs executed “Cash for Work” programs, the Seabees worked side by side with the Haitian people demonstrating their ability to bond with the Haitian workers in accomplishing the tasks with great speed and efficiency. They taught the workers how to complete the necessary improvements while supervising and working alongside their newfound partners in construction.

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DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Simeon G. Trombitas

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by Ian Graham on May 9, 2010 at 5:59 pm {no comments}

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Simeon G. Trombitas

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Simeon G. Trombitas, commanding general, Joint Task Force-Haiti, participated in a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable Wednesday, May 12 at 11 a.m. ET.

The general discussed the operations and contributions of JTF-Haiti over the past four months but will focus primarily on the way ahead, as elements of Louisiana National Guard will begin arriving in Haiti within the next 30 days to oversee various Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Preparedness Programs, Medical Readiness Training Exercises and Humanitarian and Civic Assistance projects taking place throughout the summer.

This Bloggers Roundtable represented a final opportunity to interact with JTF-Haiti leadership, as the time is nearing for JTF-Haiti to stand down and transition its mission to a more traditional U.S. Southern Command Theatre Security Cooperation, and its members are redeploying to their home stations.

To listen to the interview, click here.

To read the transcript from the interview, click here.

To read the Defense.gov article, click here.

Joining us on the call were Dale Kissinger of MilitaryAvenue.com and Nathan Hodge of Wired.com.

Happy Mother’s Day from Haiti

Filed under DoD News by Jose de Leon on May 9, 2010 at 6:00 am {no comments}

By Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas

Trombitas is serving in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as the commander of Joint Task Force-Haiti. He is also the commander of United States Army South in San Antonio, Texas.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, commanding general, Joint Task Force-Haiti, talks with Sgt. Theresa Linn, information systems specialist, Forward Detachment, 56th Signal Battalion, after a Family Readiness Group meeting held by video-teleconference in both Haiti and Fort Sam Houston, Texas on May 7.

As we all celebrate Mother’s Day at home and abroad, I would like to especially thank three groups of fine women who support our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and coast guardsmen who ensure our freedoms and way of life in America. With the hard work of these fine young men and women, the U.S. military continues to keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave.

First are ladies who each of us call Mom; the mothers of the servicemembers who stay at home, worry, pray and care for their sons and daughters in the military. As parents, we watch over our children, protect them, nurture them, teach them and prepare them for life. As they grow up and leave home, we hope that we have done everything possible to ensure their future success in life, and we want them to accomplish great things that will make us proud. Parents of our servicemembers share in the pride of the sacrifices their sons and daughters are making for our country; the sacrifices of being away from home for extended periods of time and for some, the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Constitution of the United States and to ensure the freedom of all Americans. As their sons and daughters join the military, the parents in a way also join the military and become a part of the military family that is bound by pride and sacrifice.

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“Can Do! Anytime, Anywhere!”

Filed under DoD News by glenn.selby on May 4, 2010 at 12:15 pm {no comments}

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, commanding general, Joint Task Force-Haiti, thanks the Soldiers of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, for their valued service as they prepare to redeploy home on May 3. Trombitas told the soldiers that the Haitians would remember all the relief work they assisted with during Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Samantha D. Hall/11th PAD)

By Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas

Trombitas is serving in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as the commander of Joint Task Force-Haiti. He is also the commander of United States Army South in San Antonio, Texas.

As Joint Task Force-Haiti continues to transition to traditional theater security cooperation activities continuing the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Military’s commitment to Haiti, another group of dedicated professionals has redeployed back to their home station in Belle Chasse, La.

A testimony to the total Army effort in Haiti, the 377^th Theater Sustainment Command is a multi-component unit made up predominantly of U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers. Since arriving in late January to support Operation Unified Response, Soldiers from the 377^th Theater Sustainment Command have shown tremendous flexibility in the conduct of their Humanitarian Assistance mission. While in Haiti, the 377^th formed the Joint Logistics Command-Haiti, a command consolidating all of the support units serving in Haiti. In addition to providing direct humanitarian assistance to the Haitian people, the 377^th was responsible for sustaining the forces that were deployed in Haiti by providing logistical support services. Their wide variety of tasks included providing clean water, soldier laundry service, harbor operations, transport of goods by truck and boat, and myriad more sustainment functions.

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