Haiti earthquake relief - 2021

Military Times
Written and photographed by Alan De Herrera

Joint Task Force-Haiti & Special Operations Command South - USS Arlington.

The USS Arlington returned home to Norfolk, Virginia on September 8th, completing a three-week mission to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in conjunction with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) following a 7.2-magnitute earthquake that struck Haiti on Aug. 14, 2021.

600,000 pounds of cargo including food, medical supplies and other critical items were delivered to the Haitian people located in the hard-to-reach southern areas of the country. The aid distribution and logistics was coordinated by USAID and the World Food Program. “It was a tremendous team effort by multiple commands pulling all of the resources the Navy could muster,” said Capt. Eric Kellum, commanding officer of Arlington.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) established Joint Task Force-Haiti Aug. 15 to conduct U.S. lifesaving military operations in support of U.S. foreign disaster assistance to the people of Haiti. The task force is led by Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH), U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Keith Davids.