Operation Unified Response was the United States military's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It was conducted by Joint Task Force Haiti and commanded by United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Military Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Ken Keen, although the overall U.S. government response was headed by Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The response included personnel from all branches of the military. The U.S. Navy listed its resources in the area on 19 January as "17 ships, 48 helicopters and 12 fixed-wing aircraft" in addition to 10,000 sailors and Marines. By 26 January, the U.S. military had 17,000 personnel in and around Haiti. Between the beginning of relief efforts and 18 February the US Air Force had delivered nearly 6,000 support members and 19 million pounds of cargo while evacuating 15,000 American citizens and conducted aeromedical evacuations for 223 critical Haitian patients.
Elements of the mission included flying in relief supplies, flying out evacuees, including medical evacuees, loading helicopters with supplies at the PAP airport, and then dropping supplies at various points around Port-au-Prince, airdropping supplies from fixed-wing aircraft, establishing a field hospital near the Port international de Port-au-Prince, repairing a pier at the port, providing imagery from satellite, Global Hawk, and U-2 assets.
Mission timeline
The United States Coast Guard cutters and , both arrived in Port-au-Prince, on 13 January. A Maritime Intelligence Support Team aboard the Forward assessed damage to the port. The cutters were supported by the destroyer . Two United States Air Force special operations MC-130H Combat Talon II aircraft also arrived 13 January with emergency supplies, medical units and special tactics teams. Other Coast Guard ships including the and the were dispatched. As of 14 January, United States Air Force Special Operations personnel were controlling operations of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, after having cleared runways and having set up a 24-hour air traffic control. On 15 January, the aircraft carrier arrived off the coast of Port-au-Prince to provide humanitarian aid, with its trained personnel, emergency supplies and 19 helicopters on deck.