Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class John Bellino | 210826-N-PC065-3002 CARIBBEAN SEA - (Aug. 26, 2021) — A P-8A Poseidon, attached to...... read more read more
COMALAPA, El Salvador—Following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake near Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Haiti on August 14th 2021, the ‘Red Lancers’ of Patrol Squadron (VP) 10 were U.S. Southern Command’s (USSOUTHCOM) fastest deployable air asset providing the first P-8A overhead the following day and every day for 17 straight days after that. According to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency, the earthquake took the lives of over 2,200 people and injured more than 12,000. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) led the combined operation, with USSOUTHCOM’s Joint Task Force Haiti (JTF-Haiti) being formed to orchestrate the massive amount of support and aid delivered to the impacted nation.
In direct coordination with Capt. Matthew Pottenburgh of Task Force Four Seven (CTF) 47 and U.S. Navy Forces South (NAVSOUTH), the ‘Red Lancers’ of VP-10 were assigned tactical control (TACON) of the 12th Air Force (AFSOUTH) in support of JTF-Haiti and Commander, Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH).
VP-10 supported Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions every day by providing ground information surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and air communication and coordination (C2) for JTF-Haiti. International and joint assets included but were not limited to multiple P-8As from Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing ELEVEN, U.S. Coast Guard MH-60s from District-7, U.S. Army CH-47s / UH-60s from Joint Task Force-Bravo, U.S. Marine Corps MV-22Bs from the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), USS Arlington (LPD-24), USNS Burlington (T-EPF-10), USS Billings (LCS-15) and allies and partners from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Maneuvering around Tropical Storm ‘Grace’ and Hurricane ‘Ida’, VP-10 flew over 250 hours supporting HADR missions to collect imagery of the damage and coordinating U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army helicopter medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) flights. The video footage and photographs the ‘Red Lancers’ collected allow an accurate, real-time picture of the situation in Haiti, enabling planners to optimize what support is required and where it is needed most. By acting as a communications relay and hub for helicopters engaged in medical evacuation and supply flights, VP-10 multiplied situational awareness between the various assets in the crowded airspace. “Most memorable will be receiving the radio call from USCG 6050 that they were fully loaded with patients and there were still pediatric patients in critical condition needing assistance. Coordinating the patients’ position with a nearby UH-60, the JTF-Haiti was able to get those children the care they needed,” said Cmdr. Marc Hines, executive officer of VP-10. “I could not be prouder of the ‘Red Lancer’ total team effort,” said Hines, “specifically our maintenance department here in El Salvador to ensure our planes were ready to go when needed and our intelligence cell to disseminate imagery throughout a multinational, multiagency, and multiservice Joint Task Force.”
In order to provide ISR from sunrise to sunset overhead Haiti, and due to the long transit from their deployed site in El Salvador, the Red Lancers worked with the U.S. Air Force to conduct both air-to-air refueling (AAR) with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron and gas-and-go operations out of Curaçao. “Our aircrews, maintainers, and support personnel operated around the clock in close coordination with our partners, all striving valiantly to alleviate the suffering caused by this recent disaster in Haiti,” said Lt. Cmdr. Darin “Bilbo” Wilcken, VP-10 detachment officer in charge.
The Red Lancers are currently deployed to the 4th and 7th Fleet Areas of Operation and work alongside Commander Task Force Four Seven (CTF) 47 and Commander Task Force Seven Two (CTF) 72 respectively. VP-10 is performing Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance missions throughout the Central American, South American, and INDOPACIFC regions. VP-10 and the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force continue to be versatile and agile performing long-range sea surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare, as well as search and rescue (SAR) missions.
| Date Taken: | 08.31.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2021 23:05 |
| Story ID: | 404570 |
| Location: | COMALAPA, SV |
| Web Views: | 333 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Patrol Squadron TEN provides aerial coverage support for Haiti Relief., by LTJG Michael Pahissa, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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