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Haiti relief on the way from MCLB Albany

US Marine Corps News

1/16/2010
By 1st Lt. Caleb D. Eames, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany

Tons of emergency supplies staged at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany are on their way to earthquake-ravaged Haiti immediately, with more expected to follow in the coming days.

The Department of Defense’s Humanitarian Assistance/Excess Property Program, which stores humanitarian supplies and coordinates efforts from MCLB Albany, began loading and shipping materials Thursday. Five trucks were loaded with prepackaged meals and sent out Thursday, the first items to go in this situation.

“We received official notification Thursday afternoon to start sending the priority shipments, which in this case is our humanitarian daily rations,” said Bill Lane, HAP director. “But we were on standby as soon as we saw the disaster in the news on Tuesday evening. We knew we were going to be involved somehow, so we went ahead and started getting ready.”

A total of 41 trucks are scheduled to be on the way Friday with 600,000 meals and tents for those in need. The trucks will travel to a staging area in Florida, from where the supplies will then be airlifted into Haiti. Officials expect more equipment will be needed in the coming days, and are ready to react to whatever is requested.

“There is a whole laundry list of materials available, from generators, tents, stoves, medical supplies, blankets, clothing for adults and children, meals and more,” said Lane. “We are poised and ready to go with everything that we have here, and are getting it into a shipping posture, based on the requirement.”

The rapid movement of gear from here demonstrates the HAP’s and the Marine Corps’ ability to remain flexible when rapid response is needed in a wide variety of operations.

The International Red Cross reported that three million people were affected by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which Haitian officials have called a “catastrophe of major proportions.”

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke Wednesday of a quick, aggressive U.S. response to help those affected by the earthquake.

“The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief – the food, water and medicine – that Haitians will need in the coming days,” Obama said.

The HAP facility here at MCLB Albany is the only one in the United States, and one of only three in the world, where excess DoD property is stored for quick shipment to areas of critical need.

The HAP utilizes two warehouses on the base, and besides responding to critical disasters such as the one in Haiti, also regularly ships supplies overseas for non-emergency situations as requested by the Department of State.