Date: Feb. 1, 2010

Contact: D7 Public Affairs
305-415-6683

US , Haiti Coast Guards share unique partnership

story by: Lt. Gene Maestas

The Haitian people in Port Au Prince could see the Coast Guard Cutter Forward on the horizon at dawn the morning after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the infrastructure of Port Au Prince and killed thousands after the earth shook violently late Tuesday afternoon on January 12, 2010.  The Forward was the first Coast Guard asset to arrive on scene and was soon followed by a Coast Guard C-130 airplane from Clearwater, Fla., to help provide assessments of the damage.  The Coast Guard Cutters Mohawk and Tahoma arrived the next day.  The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Oak anxiously awaited orders to deploy to Haiti to assist their friends and colleagues at the Coast Guard base in Killick.

“We developed a trusting, working relationship with the Haitian Coast Guard,” said Cmdr. Michael W. Glander, Commanding Officer of the Oak.  The crew of the Oak has made several trips to Haiti to train with them since 2007.  “It’s a professional exchange that includes engineering and medical training,” added Glander.  The Haitian coast guard exchange program also offers an opportunity for Haitian coast guard members to receive additional training at the Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia and the Leadership School at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Mr. Lambert Jean Rosemond is the Chief of Operations at the Haitian coast guard base in Killick and has attended training several times in the United States.  He attended the Operations Management course at the Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia in 1995 and followed up with coxswain school in 1997.  Lambert has several plaques and certificates lining the wall in his office that reflects the courses he has attended with the United States Coast Guard and several other government agencies in the Caribbean.  One of his most significant achievements was completing Officer Candidate School in 1999.  Lambert said, “The United States government has provided a lot of support to the Haitian coast guard.”  To this date, 80 Haitian coast guard members have studied in the United States.   The Haitian coast guardsmen also train with the crew of the Oak as least twice a year and were making preparations for their next training opportunity. 

Two Oak crewmen were already in Haiti making assessments to determine areas of focus for their next professional exchange when the earthquake hit.  The crewmen were found in good condition by the Coast Guard Liaison Officer in Haiti, Cmdr. Evan Grant.  Lambert said Cmdr. Grant was at the Killick base around 5 p.m. the afternoon the earthquake hit and worked until 7 a.m. the next morning.  According to Lambert, Cmdr. Grant began providing medical treatment to the crowds of injured who came to the base looking for help. 

The next day, the Tahoma embarked a team to the Killick base and also provided medical assistance to the injured who were seeking help.  Lambert indicated there were hundreds of people who came to the base looking for help.  He told his crew to take care of their families first and then they had to come back to work.

On the evening of the earthquake, the crew of the Oak began making preparations to deploy to Haiti.  The next day they left their homeport of Charleston, S.C., and headed to Jacksonville, Fla. to load equipment for aids-to-navigation work and relief supplies provided by the Department of Defense program Project Hand Clasp.  The following day the Oak headed to Miami to take on medical supplies provided by the Coast Guard clinic and 12,800 bottles of water donated by Pepsi. Two Coast Guard Creole speaking interpreters were also added to the crew in Miami.

The following day the crew of the Oak arrived in Haiti and caught up with the crew of the Tahoma to provide medical assistance for the injured at the Haitian coast guard base in Killick.  “The crew said this is the most rewarding thing they have ever done,” said Glander.  The crew of Tahoma also helped to establish a landing field so helicopters could evacuate the seriously injured to the USNS Comfort and other locations for treatment.  The assistance to the Haitian coast guard is greatly appreciated by the Haitian coast guard crew.  “It is a pleasure to work with the US Coast Guard and we will continue, we are family,” Lambert added.

To view photos of the US and Haiti Coast Guards working together, follow the below links:

http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=770562

http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=762251

http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=754995