Agencies step up efforts to coordinate Haiti relief

Federal agencies are stepping in to address issues of poor telecommunications that have complicated relief operations in Haiti, but an overwhelmed airport continues to frustrate aid efforts.

On Sunday, overseers of the relief effort tapped the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide tactical communications for the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to internal Defense and Homeland Security department briefings provided to Nextgov.

At the same time, Marine Col. Steve Corcoran, commander of the Tampa, Fla-based Joint Communication Support Element of the Joint Forces Command, said his unit is moving a satellite-based communications system already on the ground in Haiti to the embassy. It will support up to 80 users with voice, video and data services.

Corcoran said JCSE also will provide satellite-based communications for field medical teams from the hospital ship USNS Comfort, who will operate ashore in Haiti after the ship's arrival, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

Coordinating communications is essential in large-scale operations such as the Haiti relief mission. Corcoran said JCSE has set up a Joint Network Control Center to provide him and the Defense Information Systems Agency with visibility into all Defense Department networks supporting the operation. He said this level of coordination was unmatched in his 25 years of service.

FEMA, according to the internal DHS briefing, has nine Mobile Emergency Response Support units on the ground in Haiti. Each includes satellite communications vans capable of operating on a broad range of military and civilian radio frequencies.

The earthquake destroyed Haiti's telecommunications infrastructure to such an extent that as of Sunday, five days after the quake hit, the U.S. Embassy still wasn't able to communicate by phone with the government of Haiti, DHS reported. But Gianluca Bruni, the Dubai-based information technology chief for emergency preparedness and response for the World Food Programme, said his organization had provided Haitian President Rene Preval and four top aides with iridium satellite phones last Friday.

The Port-au-Prince airport continues to be overwhelmed by relief flights from around the world. On Monday, inbound traffic was put on a temporary three-and-a-half hour hold due to saturated air space, according to an internal situation report.

Army Maj. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, deputy commander of the Defense Department's Joint Task Force Unified Response in Haiti, said at a Pentagon press briefing Monday morning that limited capacity at the airport and the priority given to aid flights had delayed the arrival of most of the 3,000-plus troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to Haiti from Fort Bragg, N.C., from last Friday until later this week.

The videoconference between Allyn in Haiti and reporters at the Pentagon graphically illustrated the communications problems on the ground. Audio on the 45-minute briefing was badly marred by circuit problems.

Getting food and potable water to the Haitian people is the key task of the relief mission. Allyn said a Navy task force operating off the coast of the country can deliver 40,000 gallons per water day, and the United States has distributed more than 300,000 field rations. The United States plans to provide WFP with 2 million rations, with 640,000 of those en route to Haiti by commercial ship. WFP estimates it will need 100 million prepared meals during the next 30 days.

In a situation report, WFP officials estimated they would need to continue to provide food aid in Haiti through July. Allyn declined to put a timeline on U.S. relief operations, but said, "we'll stay as long as we're needed."

President Obama said last week he viewed Haitian relief as the top priority of all federal agencies, and internal briefings furnished to Nextgov show multiple agencies have responded:

--10,000 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel are aiding the effort.

--The U.S. Coast Guard has nine cutters in or due to arrive off the coast of Haiti, including the USGC Hamilton, which will provide command-and-control capabilities when it arrives Thursday.

--The Health and Human Services Department has sent its Disaster Medical Assistance Team and its International Medical Surgical Response Team, with 265 personnel.

--Customs and Border Protection has deployed incident response, surgical and medical teams, and has sent 91 Creole- or French-speaking personnel.

--The Transportation Security Administration has more than 360 personnel on standby, including 209 Creole- or French-speaking officers.

--Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deployed visa security teams and has three engineers from its Chief Information Office on standby for deployment.

--USAID has deployed six search-and-rescue teams with 506 personnel.