[Gallery] Emergenza Haiti: il dispositivo militare – parte 18

US Army soldiers look on as U.N. peacekeepers assist a woman with breathing problems outside the National Stadium in Port-au-Prince, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010.  (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

U.N. peacekeepers stands guard atop of an armored vehicle as women carry bags of rice received during a food distribution operation  in Port-au-Prince, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010.  (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

Thirty-four Japanese engineers, who are members of the Japan Self-Defense Force, arrive at the national airport in Port-au-Prince February 7, 2010. REUTERS/Kena Betancur

Japanese soldiers arrive at the international airport to participate on road reconstruction jobs in Port-au-Prince, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010.

Japanese soldiers that will engage in U.N. peacekeeping operations and help with reconstruction activities are seen upon arrival at the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010.

BAIE DE GRAND GOAVE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Dr. Alex Larsen, the Minister of Public Health in Haiti, speaks with a Haitian patient in the medical ward aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) during a visit with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher Wilson/Released)

ORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Builder 2nd Class Andrej Paskevic, assigned to Underwater Construction Team(UCT) 1, drills guide holes into a damaged section of a pier. UCT-1 and Army Divers are conducting repair operations in the main seaport of Port-au-Prince as part of the humanitarian and disaster relief mission in support of Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Lussier/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Army Diver Staff Sgt. William D’Angelo, assigned to the 544th Engineer Dive Team, right, drills guide holes into a damaged section of a pier at the port in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UCT-1 is conducting repair operations in the main seaport of Port-au-Prince, Haiti as part of the humanitarian and disaster relief mission in support of Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Lussier/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Army Diver Staff Sgt. William D’Angelo, assigned to the 544th Engineer Dive Team, left, and Builder 2nd Class Andrej Paskevic, assigned to Underwater Construction Team(UCT) One, drill guide holes into a damaged section of pier. UCT-1 and Army Divers are conducting repair operations in the main seaport of Port-au-Prince as part of the humanitarian and disaster relief mission in support of Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Lussier/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2010) Steelworker 1st Class William Butcher, assigned to Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1, drills guide holes into a damaged section of a pier at the port in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UCT-1 is conducting repair operations in the main seaport of Port-au-Prince, Haiti as part of the humanitarian and disaster relief mission in support of Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Lussier/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Builder 2nd Class Andrej Paskevic, assigned to Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1, drills guide holes into a damaged section of pier at the port in Port-au-Prince. UCT-1 and U.S. Army divers are conducting repair operations in the main seaport during Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Lussier/Released)

Grand Goave, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) construct a temporary shelter in Grand Goave, Haiti. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Stuart Phillips/Released)

Grand Goave, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) A Sailor from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) receives a helping-hand from a young Haitian as they construct a temporary shelter in Grand Goave, Haiti.

GRAND GOAVE, Haiti (Feb. 4, 2010) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Philip Davila, from Petronila, Texas, assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, examines a Haitian woman’s leg as Chief Warrant Officer Wilfrid Bossous translates.  (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Michael Quisao/Released)

LEOGANE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Kelby Mays, from Weatherford, Texas, assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), plays soccer with a boy at a field treatment camp at the Hospital Cardinal Leger. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hendrick Dickson/Released)

LEOGANE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Seaman Eric Shields, from Indianapolis, Ind., assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), rolls a wheelbarrow filled with rubble from a destroyed building at the Hospital Cardinal Leger. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hendrick Dickson/Released)

LEOGANE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Lt. Dalia Figueroa, from Puerto Rico, a medical officer aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), examines a at a field treatment camp at the Hospital Cardinal Leger. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hendrick Dickson/Released)

LEOGANE, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2010) Utilitiesman 3rd Class John Pruitt, from Brighton, Ill., assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 embarked aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), chips away the damage on a building at Hospital Cardinal Leger. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Monique Hilley/Released)

CONCRAVE, Haiti (Feb. 4, 2010) Sailors assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) prepare to distribute food at an aid distribution center.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Monique Hilley/Released)

KILLICK, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2010) Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Kisha Wright, from Valdosta, Ga., assigned to the medical department of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), applies an anti-bacterial ointment to the upper forehead of a Haitian child in the recovery ward at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard Base. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Stratton/Released)

KILLICK, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2010) Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Kisha Wright, from Valdosta, Ga., assigned to the medical department of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), checks the vital signs of a Haitian boy in the recovery ward at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard Base.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Stratton/Released)

AP-HAITIEN, Haiti (Feb. 2, 2010) A Naval Air Crewman and volunteers carry a patient from an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Sea Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22.  (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communications Specialist Robert J. Fluegel/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2010) Senior leaders from Joint Task Force Haiti and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2 work in one of the command tents near the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti supporting humanitarian assistance operations as part of Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo by Logistics Specialist 1st Class Kelly Chastain/Released)

BAIE DE GRAND GOAVE, Haiti (Feb. 6, 2010) Capt. Sam Howard, commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), right, visits Haitian patients in the medical ward with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, center, and members of his official party during an official visit to Bataan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher Wilson/Released)

KILLICK, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2010) Chief Quartermaster Deenicia Canty, from Lake City, Fla. assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), holds a newborn baby at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard Base after the infant and mother were brought back ashore following their stay aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Stratton/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 4, 2010) Landing Craft Unit 1663 comes along side the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) to receive supplies to assist with humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response. (U.S. Navy photo, by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky/Released)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 3, 2010) Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) disembark from Landing Craft Unit (LCU) 1645 to provide personnel and supplies to assist with humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Patrick Gordon/Released)

ABOARD USNS COMFORT (T-AH 20), At Anchor – Jeanne Bernard Pierre, director of the Institute of Social Welfare in Haiti, visited the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) Feb. 8 to evaluate the needs of displaced Haitian children on board. Pierre brought a team of representatives from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and social workers to help victims of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake find loved ones, or in cases where entire families were lost, a new home.

“The first goal of the visit is to say thank you to the U.S. government who provided health care for Haitian children,” Pierre said.  “We are here to protect the children and to find out if they have parents so they can track down families, and if their parents are gone, find other options like foster families.”

Comfort is working closely with members of UNICEF, Red Cross and the Haitian Institute of Social Welfare to ensure that the children do not get lost in the aftermath of this tragedy.

“There have been success stories through both the Red Cross and UNICEF finding patients’ families,” said Lt. Andrea Hernandez, a pediatric nurse aboard Comfort.  “We are making arrangements with transfer facilities to reunite patients with their families once they have been identified.”

Patient discharge coordinator Capt. Colleen Gallagher met with Pierre during her visit to facilitate interviews with children aboard the hospital ship who are still unidentified.

“I think that if the Comfort wasn’t here those children probably would have died,” Pierre said.  “After a disaster like this, the United States has come and helped, but the Haitian government needs others to help as well to rebuild Haiti and create sustainability.”

Capt. Kelly Pajak, along with Haitian workers, helps with the construction of the deployable Joint Command and Control Center, the headquarters for Joint Task Force-Haiti. The Army South team worked together with both governmental and non-governmental organizations, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USAID and Haitian workers, to complete the command center.

The only Army Reserve aviation brigade, the 244th Aviation Brigade, has geared up to deploy troops and equipment to Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response. More than 300 Soldiers from 244th Aviation Brigade will deploy today to support humanitarian operations in Haiti. Along with Soldiers, the 244th is sending nine CH-47 Chinook helicopters and four UH-60 Black Hawks.