On Wednesday October 5, 2016 the U.S. Joint Task Force Bravo based at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras en route to Haiti on a U.S. military humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission, five aircrafts with 30 personnel refueled at the Norman Manley International Airport.  The purpose of the mission is to establish U.S. Task Force Headquarters in order to command and control U.S. Forces preparing to deploy from the U.S. and region that will conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.  

The aircrafts included two Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, two heavy-lift Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and one Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport airplane.  U.S. Embassy Chargé D’Affaires Eric Khant, Defense Attaché Colonel Pablo Raggio, USAID Mission Director Maura Barry-Boyle was present to meet and greet the U.S. military personnel and also fielded questions from the press. USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) Leader Tim Callaghan and two other DART members  boarded the aircraft to travel to Haiti.  The Government of Jamaica gave U.S. military blanket air and sea port facility clearance to assist the region for the duration of relief efforts.

USAID deployed a DART to the central Caribbean as Hurricane Matthew brought life-threatening rains, winds and storm surges throughout the region.  The DART, an elite team of disaster experts, will coordinate with governments of the affected countries and humanitarian organizations on the ground to bring vital humanitarian assistance and logistics support to those in need in the aftermath of the major hurricane.  The DART has experts in Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas.