[Gallery] Emergenza Haiti: il dispositivo militare – parte 20

Eccoci qua con la parte 20. Per prima cosa voglio segnalare un articolo apparso sul sito del Southern Command in cui vengono elogiati i nostri uomini impegnati ad Haiti.

L’82nd Airborne, che fino ad oggi e’ stata impegnata sopratutto in compiti di sicurezza e nelle attivita’ di distribuzione di viveri e medicinali, sembra infatti avere apprezzato il contributo dei soldati italiani… e, udite udite, dei mezzi da loro schierati! 🙂

Italian soldiers work with American paratroopers to clear the streets of Port-au-Prince on Feb. 17. The troopers teamed up with the Italians and the Center of National Equipment for the rubble removal mission. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Kissta M. Feldner, 2BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO)

Italian, U.S. troops team to remove rubble from the streets of Port-au-Prince
By Pfc. Kissta M. Feldner, 2nd Brigade Combat Team

Buildings lean dangerously, looming over soldiers in the street below attempting to remove mounds of debris, the remains of structures that have already crumbled. As a tractor fills its bucket with a new load of fragmented concrete, it snags a downed power line, causing loose bricks to fall from the structure above. This scene is evidence of why the engineering mission here is so important.

When the road is cleared, it will become a safe route for international aid organizations to access areas of Port-au-Prince in need of assistance, as well as increase traffic flow, open the streets for vendors, and generally enhance functionality of the city.

Soldiers from the Italian Task Force have teamed up with Paratroopers with 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, in addition to their continued work with the Center of National Equipment (CNE), to clear the streets of the city.

The Paratroopers are using their loaders and Bobcat utility work machines to remove the massive amount of rubble left by the Jan. 12 earthquake. But, their mission would be much more time consuming if it weren’t for the addition of the Italians’ large machinery. Each day the Italians will be introducing more equipment as the mission progresses.

“(The Italians) have better assets,” said Sgt. Robert Medders, an Ackerman, Mississippi native and engineer with 2BSTB, while working with the Italian soldiers on Feb. 17. “Their equipment has come in handy,” Medders said.

Additional soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2BCT, have been securing the site, roping off streets and stopping curious locals from entering the hazardous area. In the few days they have partnered with the Italians, the troopers are impressed with their work. “They’re good at what they do,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ernest Rodriguez, a Camden, New Jersey native and platoon leader of 2nd Plt., D Co., 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2BCT. “They’re pretty much doing it all on their own,” he said.

A 2BCT trooper stands with a group of Italian soldiers, taking a break from their work as the dust settles. They share a cigarette and swap unit patches – a custom that has become common among soldiers while working with their foreign counterparts – however, they exchange few words. This is not due to hard feelings or lack of interest in one another, but because neither speaks the others’ language.

1st Corporal Giuseppe Colletto, an Italian army engineer, said at times it is difficult communicating with the American soldiers due to the language barrier and lack of interpreters, but they have had no problems completing their mission. Colletto said he is used to overcoming this obstacle after working with U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but for some of the 2BCT Paratroopers this partnership is a completely new experience. “It’s cool working with another country,” said Medders. “Everyone works a bit different.”

The Paratroopers are showing the Italians how to coordinate with CNE, the United Nations and local police so they can pull their own security, without U.S. assistance. The Italians have everything they need to do this job on their own, Rodriguez said. “These guys are outstanding,” he said. “They have a good understanding of what’s going on here and they’ll get the job done.”

But as an airborne infantry unit, the capabilities of the 2BCT engineers are limited in the face of such overwhelming destruction. “Our light engineers are incredibly skilled,” said Lt. Col. Tim Kehoe, deputy commanding officer, 2BCT, “but their light equipment is not designed for this type of mission.”

The introduction of Italian soldiers and equipment has made the difference in the rubble removal and street clearing mission but there is still so much to be done. “We are filling the gap in support of CNE until the right elements arrive to complete this mission,” Kehoe said.

NCHEON, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 17:  South Korean soldiers cheer during a ceremony marking the formation of the unit for dispatch to Haiti on February 17, 2010 in Incheon, South Korea. The 240 PKO troops, including military surgeons, are expected to leave for Haiti end of this month to help reconstruction support as Peacekeeping Operations (PKO).  (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 17:  A South Korean soldier hugs her grandmother during a ceremony marking the formation of the unit for dispatch to Haiti on February 17, 2010 in Incheon, South Korea. The 240 PKO troops, including military surgeons, are expected to leave for Haiti end of this month to help reconstruction support as Peacekeeping Operations (PKO).  (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

A US Army soldier, belonging to the 82nd Airborne Division, lifts up a child during a patrol at the Cite Soleil neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010. US forces are in Haiti to participate in the international relief efforts after last month’s magnitude-7 earthquake. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

An unidentified US Army soldier, belonging to the 82nd Airborne Division, hands out candy to children during a patrol at the Cite Soleil neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010. US forces are in Haiti to participate in the international relief efforts after last month’s magnitude-7 earthquake. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 16, 2010) A Seabee assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 cuts rebar on a damaged wall near Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. ACB-2 is conducting construction, 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 Kim Williams/Released)

BONEL, Haiti (Feb. 18, 2010) Seabees assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – FEBRUARY 19: Passengers who arrived on the first commercial flight into Haiti since the January 12 earthquake mix with porters, cars and soldiers after leaving the Toussaint L’Ouverture airport February 19, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The airport is will begin to handle between 30 and 40 commerical and aid flights daily. Air traffic control at the airport had been operated by the United States military since the earthquake.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 16, 2010) A U.N. peacekeeper from Argentina helps carry bags of rice during a humanitarian assistance distribution at Stade Sylvio Cator, the national soccer stadium, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Several U.S. and international military and non-governmental agencies are conducting 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 Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Spike Call/Released)

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (2ndR) gets help as he steps out of a helicopter upon arrival at the Haitian Presidential Palace during a visit in Port-au-Prince February 17, 2010. Sarkozy arrived in earthquake-hit Haiti on Wednesday to support international relief efforts there in the first visit by a French head of state to the former French Caribbean colony. REUTERS/Francois Mori/Pool

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (C) and Overseas Territories Minister Marie-Luce Penchard (L) shake hands with rescue workers who helped in Haiti, as Sarkozy arrives at the Fort-de-France airport for a visit in the French overseas department of La Martinique February 17, 2010. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

A Canadian Air Force cargo plane is seen in the background as people lie on couches waiting for their flights at a makeshift waiting area in the tarmac at the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday Feb. 17, 2010. After the Jan. 12 earthquake struck Haiti, a crush of compassion  followed  and planeloads of doctors, medical supplies, food, water and military troops from around the world created a frantic traffic jam both in the air and on the ground. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

An unidentified serviceman watches as a U.S. Air Force cargo plane is unloaded at the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. After the Jan. 12 earthquake struck Haiti, a crush of compassion followed and planeloads of doctors, medical supplies, food, water and military troops from around the world created a frantic traffic jam both in the air and on the ground. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – FEBRUARY 16: U.S. Army PV2 Gaylen Kloepfer from Wasila, Alaska speaks with Haitian earthquake survivor Luckner Dardonpre in front of rubble on a city street on February 16, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A month after more than 200,000 people died in Haiti’s devastating earthquake, people are struggling to get by.  (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Soldiers of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take notes at the MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) base in in Port-au-Prince, Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010. Japan has sent a 350 personnel engineering unit to the quake-devastated Caribbean nation that is expected to remove rubble and repair roads. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Soldiers of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces watch the activities at the MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) base in in Port-au-Prince, Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010. Japan has sent a 350 personnel engineering unit to the quake-devastated Caribbean nation that is expected to remove rubble and repair roads. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

US Army soldiers from the 82 Airborne Division hold back children during a food distribution in Port-au-Prince, Monday Feb. 15, 2010. Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7 earthquake last Jan. 12, leaving thousands homeless and prompting a massive international relief effort. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 13, 2010) A Jordan U.N. peacekeeper prepare to distribute 904 bags of rice at an aid distribution point in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The site was previously administered by the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, but is now being managed by U.N. forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Spike Call/Released)

BAIE DE GRAND GOAVE, Haiti (Feb. 17, 2010) Rear Adm. Victor G. Guillory, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, holds the child of a Haitian woman receiving medical care aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). Comfort is participating in Operation Unified Response by providing medical support capabilities in Haiti. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Stuart Phillips/Released)

BONEL, Haiti (Feb. 18, 2010) A Sailor assigned to Beach Master Unit (BMU) 2, left, directs a Seabee assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 during  a humanitarian supply delivery at New Mission Beach compound. The amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) is on station in Haiti along with the multi-purpose amphibious assault landing ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) and the amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) as the Bataan Amphibious Relief Mission in support of Operation Unified Response to help stabilize and improve the situation in Haiti following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the island nation Jan 12, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 16, 2010) A Seabee assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 removes rubble near Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. ACB-2 is conducting construction, 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 Kim Williams/Released)

LA GONAVE ISLAND, HAITI  An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22 delivers building materials to La Gonave Island, Haiti, from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43).  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Edward Kessler/Released)

Paratroopers with Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, assemble a tent for a needy family in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 16. Soldiers with HHC distributed and assembled five tents in four different locations around the city.
(U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Kissta M. Feldner, 2BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO)

Chief Master Sgt. Todd Hunt, a 35th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron loadmaster, directs the loading of cargo by a forklift Jan. 22, 2010, at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. Homestead served as an airlift hub for Operation Unified Response.

Transition to return tower to Haitian controllers begins – Reginald Bailey receives familiarization instruction from Air Force air traffic controllers in the mobile tower Feb. 1, 2010, at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The transition is currently taking place to hand over the tower and all flight operations responsibilities over to the Haitians. Bailey is a Haitian air traffic controller. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry W. Carpenter Jr.)

Spc. Latu Halafihi, a water purification specialist with the 82nd Water Det., 16th Quartermaster Company, 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 49th Group, provides local citizens with fresh water here Feb. 17. The 82nd Water Det. provides about 3,000 gallons of clean drinking water per day to those who live in the neighborhood. (Photo by Spc. A.M. LaVey)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Feb. 18, 2010) Civil affairs soldiers from U.S. Army Special Operations Command speak with children living in a tent city in Port-au-Prince, Feb. 18. The civil affairs team assesses medical, shelter, food and water needs to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the area. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Victoria Brayton/Released)

Sgt. Andrew Miltenberger (left),  and Capt. Scott Sann (right), both with the 544th Engineer Dive Team,  inspect the pier at the Port-au-Prince Seaport as a Haitian citizen watches from the support structure. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Stephen Roach)

U.S. Army divers repair Haitian seaport
By Staff Sgt. Stephen Roach

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – U.S. Army divers are deployed to Haiti in support of operation unified response. The small team of engineers specializes in underwater repair, recovery operations, as well as demolition.

The 544th Engineer Dive Team from Fort Eustis, Va., was in Belize for a partner nation training opportunity with divers from Central Belize and Guatemala the day the earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti and they were sent straight to Port au Prince, Haiti, to start mapping and surveying the Port-au-Prince Seaport shipping lanes to ensure there was access to the badly damaged pier.

There are only two ways to get supplies into Haiti, by air or by sea. The airport here has been congested since the earthquake struck and the seaport’s north pier was completely destroyed. That meant the south pier which was also badly damaged has to be repaired to allow for the offload of much needed relief supplies from large vessels. Ship-to-shore transport runs almost non-stop during the day, but the smaller vessels can only move so many supplies per trip. In order for the south pier to be used the Army divers have to restore vertical load stability.

Capt. Scott Sann, commander, 544th Engineer Dive Team, said, “The last thing you want to see is a ship weighed down with cargo that is meant for the Haitian people anchored out of the port waiting to come in. Our main mission right now is to get this pier back to its vertical load capability pre-earthquake.” Vertical load stability is needed to ensure trucks can move on and off of the pier without causing further damage or completely destroying it.

The repairs to the pier require a skill set that varies from SCUBA diving to carpentry. After one team did the assessment another went to work cleaning the supports before drilling holes for new rebar cages that add stability, while yet another team built wooden frames that will hold the concrete in place while it cures.

U.S. Army divers spend a lot of time training so they can handle complex tasks under stressful conditions. Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Bower, team master diver for the 544th Dive Team, said, “Army divers have a pretty large mission. We generally support the Army Corps of Engineers with repair and work in water front facilities like dams and other areas throughout North America and we do also travel outside the country. We spend a lot of time training, Army divers have to be jacks of all trades.”

The dive school in Panama City, Fla., is a six-month course. The first two months are diving-focused and the next four months are engineering-focused. Working from the USNS Grasp, a Navy vessel with a civilian Merchant Marine crew, the 544th divers rarely set foot on land. They sleep on the ship, ride to the pier on Zodiac boats, and get to work in the polluted waters of the seaport here in Port-au-Prince. The hours are long, the bacteria levels in the water are high, and falling debris can make the work very dangerous.

These U.S. Army divers will be out of sight under the pier working to open this seaport so more supplies can be delivered until they complete the mission.

Oldie but goodie 🙂