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Maritime Civil Affairs Team Aboard Bataan Coordinates Aid Distribution

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100212-25
Release Date: 2/12/2010 7:10:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Stuart Phillips, USS Bataan Public Affairs

KILLICK COAST GUARD BASE, Haiti (NNS) -- Members from the U.S. Navy Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAT) 207, embarked aboard multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), met with members of the Haitian Coast Guard Feb. 10 in Carrefour, Haiti, to facilitate the distribution of U.S.-provided humanitarian relief supplies through Haitian authorities.

The U.S. military is the primary distributor of aid in Killick, and discussions centered on the transfer of aid distribution responsibilities to the Haitian military and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"The reason for this visit to the Haitian Coast Guard was to maintain contact between the MCAT and the Haitian military," said Electronics Technician 1st Class Joel Eyzaguirre, a member of the MCAT. "Open lines of communication help ensure that aid is distributed where it will have a greater impact."

Eyzaguirre said the team hopes to coordinate with the larger NGOs in the Carrefour area to provide relief supplies to the community. He said the ideal situation is to have the larger NGOs receive the aid supplied to the Haitian government and then distribute those supplies to smaller relief organizations, giving the aid a much wider reach.

The MCAT team believes once the mayor of Carrefour approves the primary group of NGOs, the plan will go into effect.

MCAT members from amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) had been coordinating with the World Food Program to provide aid to be dispersed by the Haitian government and non-governmental organizations. Bataan's MCAT resumed those talks as Gunston Hall prepared to depart the waters of Haiti to begin their Africa Partnership Station deployment.

Gunston Hall officially completed her Operation Unified Response mission Feb. 11.

Bataan arrived off the coast of Haiti Jan. 18, and immediately began providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in support of Operation Unified Response.

Operation Unified Response is part of a larger U.S. response to a request from the government of Haiti for urgent humanitarian aid. U.S. Southern Command is working closely with the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the international community to provide life-sustaining services to the people of Haiti. All military efforts are in support of USAID, which is orchestrating U.S. government contributions to the relief.