As relief needs change, 24th MEU departs Haiti

Following two weeks of assisting with emergency aid efforts in Haiti, Camp Lejeune’s 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the three Navy ships of the Nassau Amphibious Ready Group are set to continue on to regions in the Central Command.

After receiving orders to divert to Haiti just a day before departing on a routine seven-month deployment, the 24th MEU arrived Jan. 23 and set to work on a variety of humanitarian missions following a devastating earthquake in the region. The Marines assisted the World Food Program to deliver thousands of bags of rice, built an interim medical care facility in Port-au-Prince with Joint Task Force Haiti, and delivered pallets of food and running supply operations using the unique capabilities of a squadron of MV-22 Osprey aircraft.

Aircraft from the 24th MEU and Nassau ARG flew 239 missions to communities affected by the quake in northern and southwestern parts of Haiti and the island of Gonave, according to information from the Marine Corps.

A civilian spokesman for U.S. Southern Command, Jose Ruiz, said the decision to send on the 24th MEU was made by SouthCom commander Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser on Sunday due to a shift in the needs of the earthquake-shattered region.

“When we called on the initial contingent to come down and support Operation Unified Response, it was the early stage of disaster relief efforts, Port-au-Prince was not fully functional and most of the aid was coming in by air,” Ruiz said.

Several weeks later, more international organizations have joined in the aid efforts, a local airport is operating at four times its normal capacity and some conditions have stabilized, he said.

“It’s a case of the kind of capabilities that the Marine Expeditionary Units bring no longer being as essential as they were in the early stages of Operation Unified Response,” Ruiz said.

A spokesman for the 24th MEU, Marine Capt. Robert Shuford, said the MEU had been turning over control of the region its troops had occupied to the 22nd MEU over the weekend and was preparing to leave on Monday.

Shuford said he could not give specific information about the next mission of the deployment, but said that the MEU would continue on to the Central Command area of operation.

Camp Lejeune’s 22nd MEU and Bataan ARG, totaling nearly 5,000 Marines and sailors combined, will remain off the coast of Haiti and continue humanitarian efforts in the severely damaged areas near the epicenter of the Jan. 12 earthquake, according to SouthCom releases.

“It’s still too soon to speculate when they will no longer be needed,” Ruiz said.