Heading to Haiti
GULFPORT — Some 85 Seabees with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 were expected to arrive in Haiti Tuesday to clear paths for aid workers in the country rocked by an earthquake that killed at least 150,000 earlier this month.
Seabees were loading supplies Tuesday afternoon in Gulfport and were expected to make the roughly four-hour trip in U.S. Air Force C-17 planes and arrive Tuesday night. The Seabees expect to find the country’s transportation infrastructure still in rough shape, even though the port facilities are just being reopened after the Jan. 12 quake. Seabees are expected to do debris removal, clear roads, make bridge repairs, and may also fix piers, among any other tasks.
An advance party of a few Seabees arrived in Haiti a few days ago to get a look around before the full contingent shows up. The unit, which specializes in construction, engineering and other jobs, is well suited for clearing streets so aid can make it to needed areas, said Lt. Beau Brooks, officer in charge of the contingent of NMCB 7 headed to Haiti.
“Supplies are making it there, it’s just hard getting them into (Port-au-Prince) because of all the damage to the infrastructure that has been sustained,” Brooks said. “We’re thinking that’s where we’re going to play a key part.”
Petty Officer 1st Class Zachary Vaughan was part of a group of Gulfport Seabees that arrived back in Gulfport from Iraq on the day after Hurricane Katrina hit, but he is aware Haiti may be worse than any disaster he’s seen.
“I have heard it is about ten times worse than Katrina,” Vaughan said as he was preparing to leave Tuesday. “...All our hearts and prayers go out to them. They need help.”
Reports from Haiti have been startling. Sunday, Haiti’s government reported 150,000 quake victims had been buried. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are expected to be displaced. More than 50 aftershocks have rattled the country since Jan. 12.
Brooks said it might not have been a good idea for the Seabees to arrive earlier, particularly when the massive search and rescue efforts were under way.
He said the contingent’s heavy equipment lumbering around and pushing things out of the way may have made matters worse while crews searched for injured quake victims trapped inside damaged buildings or under the rubble. Seabees are anxious to pitch in now.
“Everybody is very motivated and excited about getting down there and being part of the team to do what we can do when our country calls us,” Brooks said.
Providing relief following natural disasters is nothing new for Seabees.
Base officials said 125 Seabees deployed to Pakistan following a significant earthquake there that killed 75,000 in 2005. Over 130 Seabees were sent to Indonesia, Thailand and Sri-Lanka after the massive earthquake and tsunami there in 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 12 countries, according to the New York Times. About 3,000 Seabees worked along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, repairing schools, moving 20,000 tons of debris and clearing hundreds of miles of roads, as well as delivering fuel and water.
Once they’re on the ground in Haiti, Seabees will get about 25 pieces of heavy equipment that are on the USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus, a Navy cargo ship sometimes used to preposition supplies for deploying forces. Equipment Officer 1st Class Van Johnson said he will operate bulldozers, and other pieces of heavy equipment, while he’s in Haiti.
“I think our impact there will be pretty tremendous,” Johnson said.
Heading to Haiti - Military - SunHerald.com
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