Louisiana National Guard Heading To Haiti In Humanitarian Mission

Posted by Haiti News on April 13th, 2011

The Louisiana National Guard is leading a U.S. military task force that is deploying this month to Haiti, where troops will provide humanitarian assistance to the Caribbean island nation.

According to Meeker, troops began preparing for the mission in January, and the task of shipping equipment began last month. The first shipments arrived in Port-au-Prince on April 5.

The Louisiana National Guard will provide the command element for Task Force “Good Neighbor,” an organization comprising Guard, reserve and active duty forces from across the United States and other nations.

The exercise begins late this month and ends in June, according to Sgt. 1st Class Paul Meeker of the Louisiana National Guard. Troops already have shipped equipment to Haiti, which was devastated last year by an earthquake

“The exercise is compressed to a 60-day window, so we will be on a tight schedule to get everything accomplished by the end of June,” task force commander Col. Kenneth Donnelly of the Louisiana Army National Guard said in a news release.

Last year, the Guard led Task Force Kout Men, for “Helping Hands.” Troops worked on four school construction sites and provided medical and dental services from June to September.

Louisiana National Guard to build schools, staff medical clinics in Haiti