January 10 , 2010 was an average winter’s day on the streets of Port au Prince when at 4:53 PM, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the fault line that crumbled the entire infrastructure of that major city.
U.S. General releases relief to people of Haiti
January 14, The Miami Herald reported that General Douglas Fraser, Commander, US Southern Command, announced the Haiti relief plan; the Secretary of Defense asked the Defense Department to put the entire focus on relief to Haiti. ‘Making use of every asset we have’ He announced that we have on the ground today, 329 people, a group came in to open the airfield operations for a 24/7 capability basis. An initial Command and Control element in Communications were their general supporting team. Four US Coast Guard Cutters, as well as support helicopters, a Destroyer, the Carl Vincent, off the shores of Haiti providing the platform for helicopter and fueling support for ship to shore relief. We have a direct Disaster Assessment Team working to survey the situation on the ground. We have the initial elements of the Company of the Battalion of 82nd Airborne paratroopers that arrived today. And, we are bringing in the Command and Control of the 82nd Airborne Division to provide increased Command and Control capabilities to coordinate all the rescue efforts. We are aggressively pursuing every aspect that we can to provide relief to citizens of Haiti. Within days, 2200 Marines and equipment are ready to move in the USS Bataan multipurpose amphibious ship on shore to provide capacity and capability in the assistance of the relief efforts. And finally the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship Comfort will arrive on the 22nd. Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti.
The 82nd Airborne Division, All American, ‘America’s Guard of Honor’
The mission of the 82nd Airborne Division is to strategically deploy within 18 hours of notice to conduct forcible entry parachute assault and secure key objectives for follow on military operations on behalf of any U.S. national interests. The mission of the modularized 82nd Airborne Division has remained the same. The 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina provides the ability to execute a strategic airborne assault with their primary mission being airfield and seaport seizure. The Division is the nation’s most strategic offensive force maintaining the highest state of combat readiness. On any day, a third of the Division is on mission cycle to respond to any contingency, another third is on combat training, while the other third is on support cycle. No other military unit can respond more rapidly to conflict anywhere in the world than the 82nd Airborne Division. Known as ‘America’s Guard of Honor’, the 82nd is widely recognized as one of the most powerful forces in America’s military arsenal. The Airborne Division is unique in its ability to deploy by parachute to achieve the objectives. The 82nd is most memorable for their ‘vertical envelopment’ during WWII in the European theater. As recently as 2006, the composition of the 82nd was changed as part of the Army’s transformation to a more modular force.
Its assets were reconfigured in the relationship between support elements at division and brigade levels, plus the addition of the 4th Brigade Combat Team. The assets of the 82nd Airborne Division remain, especially today, that they are always ready to be activated at immediate notice to go anywhere on the globe as first responders. The 82nd Airborne and any other military unit acting as a first responder with such dedication should earn them the right to wear the motto “Semper Primus”.
Author Resource:-
Earl F. Keaton has a Bachelor of science degree, California Polytechnic University. USN reserve four years. USAF Technical advisor Korean War General Manager, Saunders Military Insignia. Custom made patches are our speciality. http://SaundersInsignia.com
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