Photos: MANDRIN, Haiti – A local Haitian boy holds a sign that reads “We are thanking you a lot for this nice school that you made for us,” during a celebration to thank the recent efforts of U.S. troops during the humanitarian mission, New Horizons-Haiti 2010. The Mandrin community gathered to celebrate a new school Task Force Kout Men troops built as a part of the nearly four-month mission to provide continued U.S. military support to Haiti. U.S. Army South’s New Horizons mission was to build three new schools, renovate two schools, and provide medical care to those in need. (U.S. Army photo By Spc. Jessica M. Lopez) More Photos

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Overview:

“These engineering projects and medical services were coordinated and approved by the Government of Haiti and USAID and demonstrate our continued support to the people of Haiti.  We also have a robust capability to rapidly respond to any future disaster situation in Haiti.”   USAF Gen. Douglas Fraser Commander, U.S. Southern Command

New Horizons-Haiti is a humanitarian assistance exercise involving about 500 National Guard troops and will take place in the vicinity of Gonaives from June to September.  The exercise includes the construction of schools and medical care. The U.S. Army South exercise is being led by Task Force Kout Men (Helping Hands) of the Louisiana National Guard.

The exercise aims to continue U.S. miltiary help for Haiti following the nearly six-month mission to support earthquake relief efforts in the country.

Humanitarian services provided:

CONSTRUCTION/REMODELING PROJECTS: U.S. military engineers and construction specialists are scheduled to conduct multiple construction and improvement projects at four sites.  Planned projects include the construction of four schools and water well improvements. 

MEDICAL SERVICES: U.S. military health care professionals are scheduled to conduct a total of 10 Medical Readiness and Traning Exercises (MEDRETEs) at five sites (2 each in Ennery, Gonaaives, L’Estere, St. Marc, & Poteou).  During the MEDRETEs, U.S. medical troops provide free general and specialized medical and dental services to thousands of citizens. 

Deploying U.S. forces:

About 150-200 U.S. troops will be in Haiti at any one time during the exercise.  The majority of the U.S. service members involved are from National Guard and Reserve units from all the services and will deploy for short periods of time, not including long-term staff.  National Guard units from Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Virgin Islands as well as active and reserve component units from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force will participate.

Other help for Haiti:

In addition to these New Horizons activities, U.S. Southern Command will fund $13 million in disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance projects designed to enhance the capacity of the Government of Haiti to provide essential services to its citizens.  The projects include the construction of four emergency operations centers and four disaster response warehouses that will increase the Haitian government‘s response capability to future natural and man-made disasters.

Also, the Navy amphibious ship USS Iwo Jima is scheduled to visit the Port de Paix area in July as part of a medical and civic assistance deployment to the region.  The ship’s crew will include military and non-governmental organization (NGO) medical professionals who will provide health care to thousands of Haitians.  The mission is part of Continuing Promise 2010, an annual humanitarian civic assistance exercise supported by U.S. and international military medical personnel, U.S. government agencies, regional health ministries, NGOs and U.S. academic institutions.   In addition to Haiti, USS Iwo Jima will also visit ports in other countries in the region during the summer and fall.

Background:

New Horizons is an annual series of joint and combined humanitarian assistance exercises that U.S. Southern Command conducts in Latin American and Caribbean nations.  Typically, New Horizons exercises last several months, providing much needed services and infrastructure, while giving deployed U.S. military forces invaluable training. These exercises generally take place in rural, underprivileged areas. The projects create a unique opportunity for the U.S. and partnering nations to work side-by-side to refine the skills of their militaries’ engineers, medical personnel, and support staff through quality of life projects.

Since New Horizons began in the mid-1980s, U.S. troops have deployed annually for the exercise to construct schools, clinics, and water wells. At the same time, Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETEs)  involving teams consisting of military doctors, nurses and dentists, provide general and specialized health services to host nation citizens requiring care.