Foreign Disaster Response: Joint Task Force-Haiti Observations

Abstract

The devastation in Haiti caused by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on 12 January 2010 prompted the longest and largest U.S. military effort in a foreign disaster relief operation. The earthquake destroyed vast areas of Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital, as well as a number of communities to the west of the capital, killing an estimated 230,000 persons and leaving thousands trapped in the wreckage and over two million without shelter. At the peak of Operation Unified Response, 1 February 2010, Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-H) consisted of over 22,000 service members, 58 aircraft, and 23 ships. With the stand-down of JTF-H on 1 June, Operation Unified Response lasted nearly five months. This article contains our initial observations and recommendations to after action reviews and lessons that our military and interagency community should learn from as we prepare for the next foreign disaster.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA537030

Entities

People

  • Charles W. Nolan
  • Jennifer L. Kimmey
  • Matthew G. Elledge
  • P. K. Keen

Organizations

  • United States Army Combined Arms Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Command And Control
  • Department Of Defense
  • Disasters
  • Emergencies
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Governments
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • International Airports
  • Logistics
  • Military Aircraft
  • Military Science
  • Social Media
  • Task Forces
  • United States
  • United States Southern Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security