{"id":27443,"date":"2021-08-19T16:08:29","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T16:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/19\/uss-arlington-navy-surgeons-head-to-haiti-while-a-joint-task-force-provides-disaster-relief\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:11:20","slug":"uss-arlington-navy-surgeons-head-to-haiti-while-a-joint-task-force-provides-disaster-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/08\/19\/uss-arlington-navy-surgeons-head-to-haiti-while-a-joint-task-force-provides-disaster-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"USS Arlington, Navy surgeons, head to Haiti, while a joint task force provides disaster relief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. Navy is sending amphibious transport dock Arlington to provide assistance to Haiti as it recovers from a massive earthquake and subsequent tropical storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ship is expected to arrive in Haiti \u201cby the end of the week,\u201d and is equipped with a surgical team along with landing craft capability, according to U.S. Southern Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the onset, we knew this was a massive earthquake, with potential for significant loss of life,\u201d SOUTHCOM Commander Adm. Craig Faller said Tuesday, according to a Defense Department news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot more search and rescue remains,\u201d Faller said. \u201cSo, that storm impacted our ability to get out and about, but there\u2019s been not as much flooding as we expected. But that Tropical Storm did drench the island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Marine Cpl. Jack Hollings, a combat engineer witth 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, loads onto the USS Arlington on Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va., Aug. 17 for a deployment in support of Joint Task Force Haiti. (Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Arre\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. military started sending assistance less than 24 hours after the earthquake, according to Faller. That support included dispatching U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft to gather aerial images of areas damaged from the earthquake, along with a 14-person situational awareness team from Special Operations Command South to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince Sunday to help assess the damage as part of the newly established Joint Task Force-Haiti. The USNS Burlington is also supporting the relief effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\t