camp lejeune, n.c. -- less than six weeks after returning home from a seven month deployment to the european and central command areas of operation, the marines and sailors of the 22nd marine expeditionary unit found themselves once again bidding farewell to family and friends.
on jan. 13, less than a day after a devestating earthquake ravaged the caribbean island nation of haiti, the 22nd meu was ordered to prepare for deployment to head to haiti to support president barack obama's pledge of assisting the haitian people. by the 15th, the embarkation of personnel, vehicles and equipment was in full swing.
according to capt. clark carpenter, spokesman for the 22nd meu, the marines expect the deployment to last at least 30 days, but emphasized that the marines will remain in haiti until such time as their service is no longer needed.
the 22nd meu consists of battalion landing team 3rd battalion, 2nd marine regiment; marine heavy helicopter squadron 461 (reinforced); combat logistics battalion 22; and its command element. the 2,200 marines and sailors of the meu are commanded by col. gareth f. brandl.
"our marines and sailors are trained and ready to make a difference," said gareth. "we will deploy with our navy team of the amphibous ready group to support the haitian government's efforts with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief."
with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief a core capability of u.s. maritime forces, the meu is ideally suited to support relief efforts in haiti. among other tasks, the meu can provide engineering support, medical aid, security and water purification, among other tasks.
marine expeditionary units and their navy brethen have a long and distinguished history of providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the wake of tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, famine, drought and cyclones. in 2008, camp lejeune marines provided humanitarian aid to haiti after a series of storm left hundreds of haitians dead and in 1994 and 2004, lejeune marines were deployed to haiti to conduct security and stability operations.
the 22nd meu expects to completed its embarkation aboard the bataan, carter hall and fort mchenry within a day and immediately set sail to haiti to help its citizens.
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