In the aftermath of the terrible tragedy in Haiti and the humanitarian disaster left in its wake, the Department of Defense has started to spin up personnel and equipment in order to help facilitate relief efforts and help reestablish certain key elements of infrastructure there. Though this support is mostly Naval and concentrated amongst small, specialized units, it should be noted that two active duty units based out of North Carolina, a brigade of 2,200 Marines from Camp Lejuene and a brigade of 3,500 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, have been notified of possible deployments to the decimated nation. However, deployment orders have not yet been issued, though that probably has to do with the elephant in the room here:
“If you put additional forces on the ground, how will they operate? What will their rules of engagement be?” said a senior defense official, noting in particular the need for vehicles and helicopters to move the troops around.
The last time American ground troops set foot in Haiti was during 1994’s Operation Uphold Democracy where American forces helped restore Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide to power after a short coup. During that crisis, the 82nd’s “All-Americans” were set to spearhead the invasion of Haiti with the goal of disrupting and destroying the regime and infrastructure there, only to be turned back at the last minute. If all goes as planned, this time they’ll be rebuilding it.
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