Haiti aid mission uses lessons of war - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Haiti aid mission uses lessons of war

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — This is not war, this overwhelming humanitarian effort. But after eight years of dealing with counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lessons learned there — getting into the communities to understand the people’s needs — apply here to the job of distributing food and water and providing medical help.

“Those skills are transferable,” said Army Col. Chris Gibson, commander of the brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division that is getting established here.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers and Marines have learned to seek out local leaders and learn gritty details about sewage, electricity and water. They’re doing the same thing here, but no one is shooting at them.

Lt. Col. Mike Foster’s unit established a position at the Pétionville Club, adjacent to more than 10,000 refugees living on its golf course.

Families are lying on the ground, shielded from the sun by sheets or blankets held up by wooden poles. Some are injured and waiting for medical help. Most are waiting for adequate food and water.

A man from the camp approached Foster on Sunday.

“We need shelter for the people,” said Saint Jean Saint Eloi. “We need medical assistance.”

Foster told him the Army was handling food distribution because there wasn’t a better local system and the need for aid was immediate. “We’re here to empower you,” he said, but “I’ve got to be certain there is a system at least as effective ... and it’s going to the people.”

Food and water supplies grew through the day as a stream of helicopters touched down on the golf course.

An amphibious force with 2,200 Marines is to arrive Monday. A Navy hospital ship is on the way.

There are more than 300 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division in Haiti, and the number is likely to grow to about 2,500.

Soldiers with the 82nd train for humanitarian missions such as disaster relief, but the focus on counterinsurgency has made troops more sensitive.

Soldiers handing out supplies don’t carry their weapons, or they sling them behind their backs. They don’t wear helmets or protective vests.

Sgt. Charlie Erickson, 24, from Millbrook, N.Y., handed out water to children waiting in line. The children smiled and walked off, tightly clutching the water bottles and ration packages.

“Everybody here is grateful,” Erickson said. “There is no hostility toward us.”

Sgt. 1st Class Michael Billman, 30, from South Dakota said, “Here we know we came into a peaceful environment. It’s a good change.”