The Haiti Super Thread- Merged

[The Bread Guy]

Some doctors (MSF) are complaining about the cargo offload priority:

urgently-needed medical supplies are 4th (last) priority for landing cargo in #Haiti

This, from the World Food Program (also, a good online resource for updates):

Cargo transported as per the following priorities:
                  priority 1: Water related materials
                  priority 2: Logistics Enablers
                  priority 3: Food materials
                  priority 4: Medical supplies

Also, the docs appear to have missed this:

Please note priority list changes on a constant basis. WFP Logistics does not determine priority.

 

[tomahawk6]

Security should be at the top of the list. The Blegians abandoned their field hospital patients and all because they didnt feel safe. :

 

[HercFE]

There was a recce done yesterday with a CC-130 at Jacmel, the runway is 3200 feet. with the high tempertues here it is very sporty. Fuel and cargo calculation will be very critical.

 

[vonGarvin]

There was a recce done yesterday with a CC-130 at Jacmel, the runway is 3200 feet. with the high tempertues here it is very sporty. Fuel and cargo calculation will be very critical.

Just checking Google Earth.  There is a runway strip there, measuring at 3300 feet.

OK, so I was out by 100 feet.  ;D

What do you mean by "sporty"?  Or did you mean spotty?

 

[Jammer]

The Belgians abandoned thier post? Nonsense...oh wait, there was that whole Rwanda thing...right then, no surprises there.

 

[Jammer]

I think he meant "hairy".

 

[NL_engineer]

Security should be at the top of the list. The Blegians abandoned their field hospital patients and all because they didnt feel safe. :

And this Surprises you?

Couldn't the airstrip be used as a drop zone until our Air Field Engineers extend/make the airfield capable to land a C17 or CC130?

 

[Nfld Sapper]

And this Surprises you?

Couldn't the airstrip be used as a drop zone until our Air Field Engineers extend/make the airfield capable to land a C17 or CC130?

Air Field Engineers in the CF does not exist as an NCM Trade..... it exists as an Officer Trade though....

 

[The Bread Guy]

Speaking of airdrops, just wondering - could we do more of this kind of thing once more boots are on the ground, or are limited planes typically better used doing other tasks?

The (U.S.)Air Force has begun to parachute relief supplies into Haiti.

More than 15,000 liters of water and 15,000 emergency rations were parachuted on Monday and more drops are planned, said Maj. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Unified Response.

Such drops require troops on the ground to secure the landing zone and make sure the supplies are handed out orderly, Allyn said.

“We needed to wait until we had adequate forces to enable that to happen, and with that capacity building every day, we will continue to use this and every other means available to us to increase the reach of our efforts to the people of Haiti,” Allyn said.

Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said conditions in Haiti were not conducive to airdrops ....

 

[leroi]

A good video of the CF arriving in Leogane: January 19, 2009 (a short ad precedes it.)

It's a very subdued scene compared to the images emerging from PAP.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Haiti_Earthquake/ID=1390655600

 

[The Bread Guy]

Ya know it's coming, but not what's needed (or this big, either) - this from BBC Online

A strong aftershock has rocked Haiti, sending screaming people running into the streets, eight days after another quake devastated the country.

The extent of the damage is not yet known. The magnitude 6.1 tremor struck north-west of Port-au-Prince at 0603 local time (1103 GMT) ....

Twitter feed with reporters on the ground describing the aftershock here.

 

[tomahawk6]

AID has told the US Army to stop handing out food - thats there job!!! :

Soldiers in Haiti told to stop handing out food

By Jim Michaels - USA TODAY
Posted : Wednesday Jan 20, 2010 7:46:57 EST
 
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Food handouts were shut off Tuesday to thousands of people at a tent city here when the main U.S. aid agency said the Army should not be distributing the packages.

It was not known whether the action reflected a high-level policy decision at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or confusion in a city where dozens of entities are involved in aid efforts.

“We are not supposed to get rations unless approved by AID,” Maj. Larry Jordan said.

Jordan said that approval was revoked; water was not included in the USAID decision, so the troops continued to hand out bottles of water. The State Department and USAID did not respond to requests for comment.

Jordan has been at the airport supervising distribution of individual food packages and bottled water since his arrival last week. Each package provides enough calories to sustain a person for a day.

The food is flown by helicopter to points throughout the capital and distributed by paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division. At the tent city, set up at a golf course, more than 10,000 people displaced by the Haitian earthquake lay under makeshift tents. Each day, hundreds of people, many young children, line up for a meal.

Tuesday morning, the helicopters came only with water. Soldiers carried boxes of water in the hot sun and supervised Haitian volunteers who handed the supplies out.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Let the turf wars begin!!!!!! :worms:

 

[tomahawk6]

Pretty sad really. Nice move by the Canadians to go into Jacmel.It will open up a new front to get aid to the people. Haiti has 10 airstrips and 4 paved airports I hope we can fix any damaged ones to increase the flow of aid.

 

[Journeyman]

I was told by a Queen's U tree-hugger that it was wrong for troops to give pencils and notebooks to Afghan kids because, "it just confuses them; soldiers kill people, not help them."

Maybe USAID leadership went to the same school of thought. I know if I was starving, it would baffle the hell out of me if the food was given to me by anyone other than an NGO
:

 

[PanaEng]

Couldn't the airstrip be used as a drop zone until our Air Field Engineers extend/make the airfield capable to land a C17 or CC130?

Unfortunately, we don't have Airborne Engineers anymore - I'm not sure if we even have air-droppable  heavy equipment.
Imagine if the airstrip at PaP or Jacmel  had been damaged by cracks and earth movements caused by the earthquake... 

Maybe we should start a thread on this topic.

cheers,
Frank

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Unfortunately, we don't have Airborne Engineers anymore - I'm not sure if we even have air-droppable  heavy equipment.
Imagine if the airstrip at PaP or Jacmel  had been damaged by cracks and earth movements caused by the earthquake... 

Maybe we should start a thread on this topic.

cheers,
Frank

I've still seen some Jump Sappers around.......

 

[leroi]

Maersk has pledged the use of two container ships with cranes as aid to Haiti: Maersk Ships to Bolster UN Haiti Effort

And, an impressive international list of ships with photos undertaking aid to Haiti:

Maritime Support of Haiti-The Ships

 

[PanaEng]

I've still seen some Jump Sappers around.......

Yes, there are quite a few jump qual but there are no jump positions (that I know off) in the various regiments.

I would readily do my refresher to head a  jump element in my unit  ;D

cheers,
Frank

 

[The Bread Guy]

Highlights from today's update:

I have been advised that through the exceptional efforts of the CF men and women on the ground in the Jacmel area, the Jacmel airfield will become a fully functional airport within the next 24 hours. This achievement is crucial, as it will allow the Canadian Forces access to a viable landing strip 24 hrs a day, making it easier to ensure a continuous flow of aid supplies and equipment. Although this airfield lacks radar capability, HMCS Halifax off the coast at Jacmel has the capability and will be a valuable asset in the execution of airfield operations. Once this airstrip has been cleared for use, the CF will be in a position to control/manage the airspace in that region of Haiti to allow our aircraft to move into and out of Haiti and avoid the congestion we’ve seen at the Port-au-Prince airport.

These efforts are made easier by an agreement that we have reached with the Government of Jamaica to allow the Canadian Forces to use Norman Manley Airport as an air bridge to improve and enhance the movement of equipment and people into and out of Haiti. It also helps reduce some of the strain on the airport in Port-au-Prince, by diverting CF air traffic.

With this air bridge, we will be able to use our C-17 Globemaster aircraft to carry people, supplies and equipment between CFB Trenton and Kingston, Jamaica. From there we will use our CC-130 Hercules aircraft for the short haul flights between Jamaica and the Jacmel airstrip in Haiti.

(....)

I cannot emphasize enough that the primary focus of our mission is to support the people of Haiti during this very difficult time. To date, the Canadian Forces have airlifted over 530,000 pounds of aid into Haiti, bringing the total to more than 290,000 pounds in relief goods alone, in addition to equipment and supplies transported into theatre.

Also in the past 24 hrs, DART medical efforts have treated 100 people at the Jacmel Hospital, 15 individuals at the multi-national field hospital, and 25 people at the Canadian Embassy ....

Well done to all working so hard - stay safe!