THIS IS A TIME FOR HEROES !!!
THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS TO ME, RIGHT NOW, IS EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE OF HAITI.... AND, IN THE FACE OF SEEMINGLY INSURMOUNTABLE ODDS, THE UNITED STATES MILITARY AND CIVILIAN RESPONSE HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL !!!
EVACUATION AND RESCUES :
• As of Jan. 17, a total of 1,760 American citizens have been airlifted out of Haiti.
• USAID/DART reported that a U.S. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team had rescued an additional three individuals at the Caribbean Market.
• As of Jan. 17, U.S. USAR teams have rescued 26 individuals.
• There are currently six U.S. USAR teams operating in Haiti along with 21 international USAR teams from around the world. US teams are based out of Fairfax VA, Los Angeles CA, Miami FL (two teams), New York NY and Virginia Beach VA.
• Each USAR team includes approximately 70 team members.
FOOD AND WATER :
• U.S. military aircraft have airlifted 130,000 humanitarian daily rations and more than 70,000 bottles of water to Port-au-Prince.
• Three water purification units are operational and can supply 180,000 liters per day.
• USS Carl Vinson continues to provide potable water production.
• U.S. military aircraft will continue to support the delivery of an additional 600,000 daily rations over the next several days.
• Six additional water purification units are scheduled to arrive in the coming days from USAID stockpiles in Dubai. Each unit provides 1000,000 liters of safe drinking water serving 10,000 people per day.
• 12,000 water containers have arrived from Miami.
• Yesterday, the U.N. World Food Program distributed high-energy biscuits to a total of 50,000 people.
• The World Food Program Port-au-Prince metropolitan areas schools feeding program is now serving hot meals to 50,000 affected people.
U.S. AIR FORCE CAPTAINS JEFF SMITH AND ANDY MARSHALL, LANDING A C-17 AT PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI.
WHERE ROADS ARE FEW OR NON-EXISTENT, THE 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION IS BRINGING FOOD AND WATER FROM THE USS CARL VINSON (CVN-70).
ASSESSING THE THRONGS OF THIRSTY SURVIVORS, CIRCLING FOR A LANDING.
THESE "WATER DROPS" ARE MADE HASTILY BECAUSE JET FUEL IS PRECIOUS
FAIRFAX COUNTY URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM, AT WORK IN THE RUINS OF THE MONTANA HOTEL IN PORT-AU-PRINCE.
TEN YEAR OLD JUDITH BERTRAND, RECEIVING MEDICAL CARE FROM A NURSE WITH THE DOMINICAN RED CROSS
U.S. NAVAL AIR CREWMAN 2nd CLASS JASON HAROLD RECEIVES AN INJURED HAITIAN CHILD FOR TRANSPORT TO THE USS CARL VINSON (CVN-70).
JEAN ZACHARIE, WITH THE HAITIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY, CARRIES DEBORAH FATIMA TO A WAITING AMBULANCE.
MEMBERS OF "NEW YORK CITY TASK FORCE ONE", BRINGING THEIR 9/11 DISASTER EXPERTISE WITH THEM, ABOARD A HAITI-BOUND C-17 "GLOBEMASTER".
THE SALVATION ARMY, LONG ESTABLISHED IN HAITI, ARRIVES WITH PARAMEDICS, AMBULANCES AND DISASTER RELIEF COORDINATORS.
THE SALVATION ARMY EMPLOYS PILOTS FOR THE RELIEF EFFORT, AS WELL.
SURVIVORS STILL GAZE IN AMAZEMENT AT THE DESTRUCTION.
U.S. NATIONALS, SHOWN HERE WAITING TO BOARD A C-17 "GLOBEMASTER", BOUND FOR THE U.S.A.
U.S. CITIZENS, EVACUATING HAITI, ARE GIVEN EARPLUGS BEFORE BOARDING A C-17 "GLOBEMASTER" FOR THEIR FLIGHT OUT.
VACATIONING AMERICAN SAMANTHA ESKVOWITZ, SHOWN HERE WITH SURVIVOR BEATRICE ABBOTT, VOLUNTEERED HER SKILLS AS A NURSE, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE JANUARY 12th EARTHQUAKE. 
ELEMENTS OF THE 22nd MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT, SHOWN HERE BOARDING THE USS BATAAN, BOUND FOR HAITI.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE, MOBILIZING FOR THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORT.
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON, ON THE GROUND IN HAITI, USES THE MEDIA TO PLEAD THE CASE FOR HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS.
SO MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE....
BUT SOMETHING TELLS ME THE NAVY WON'T LET US DOWN.
It's Become Clear To Me....
With all deliberate speed....
AMERICAN AID ARRIVES IN HAITI !!!
THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS TO ME, RIGHT NOW, IS EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE OF HAITI.... AND AMERICAN RESPONSE TO THE DISASTER HAS BEEN DYNAMIC AND SUSTAINED.... FOR THAT, I'M PROUD !!!
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA : "To the people of Haiti, we say clearly, and with conviction, you will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you. We know that you are a strong and resilient people. You have endured a history of slavery and struggle, of natural disaster and recovery. And through it all, your spirit has been unbroken and your faith has been unwavering. So today, you must know that help is arriving — much, much more help is on the way."
-President Barack Obama, making a statement to the people of Haiti who are currently reeling following the massive earthquake that shook apart the capital city of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. The President has pledged direct assistance to the island, including airlifts to deliver water, medicine, food and other supplies directly to the people who are most in need. "For the sake of our citizens who are in Haiti, for the sake of the Haitian people who have suffered so much, and for the sake of our common humanity, we stand in solidarity with our neighbors to the south, knowing that but for the grace of God, there we go," the President said.
So far, the outpouring of support has been swift and intense: The Red Cross has raised $3 million, the United Nations has pledged $10 million, the World Bank has committed $100 million and Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti organization has already raised over $1 million. People have been helping out on the ground, too: Reports have said that the influx of volunteers ready to help has overwhelmed the small Caribbean nation, so the FAA has temporarily frozen flights there.
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD "SHAKE INTENSITY MAP"
THE PRESIDENT ORDERS THE U.S.S. CARL VINSON (CVN-70) TO HAITI, A.S.A.P. 
MARCH A.F.B., CALIFORNIA - SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS MOBILIZE
CANNON A.F.B., NEW MEXICO - THESE AIRMEN AWAIT DEPLOYMENT TO HAITI
U.S. COAST GUARD CREW FROM AIR STATION CLEARWATER (FLORIDA) EVACUATE AMERICAN CIVILIANS AND AID WORKERS FROM HAITI
U.S.COAST GUARD ASSISTS AN INJURED SURVIVOR ONTO A C-130 "HURCULES"
U.S. COAST GUARD C-130 ARRIVES TO EVACUATE AMERICANS FROM HAITI
BOUND FOR HAITI - U.S.A.F. 60th AIR WING COMMAND, TRAVIS A.F.B., CALIFORNIA
BOUND FOR HAITI - ELEMENTS OF THE 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION, POPE A.F.B.
BOUND FOR HAITI - 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION, 2nd BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM
BOUND FOR HAITI - FULLY LOADED C-17 "GLOBEMASTER", MARCH A.F.B., CA.
ELEMENTS OF THE U.S.A.F. AIR MOBILIZATION COMMAND AT MCGUIRE A.F.B.
U.S. COAST GUARD HH-65C ARRIVES WITH NAVY CREWMEN AND AN INJURED AMERICAN CIVILIAN AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
U.S. NAVY CREWMEN ARRIVE WITH AN INJURED AMERICAN CIVILIAN AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
CAPTAIN LUIS MARTINEZ, PUERTO RICO AIR NATIONAL GUARD, ARRIVES IN SANTO DOMINGO (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) WITH INJURED HAITIAN CHILD.
U.S. NAVY HOVERCRAFT BEING LOADED ONTO THE U.S.S. BATAAN, OFF THE HAITIAN COAST (JANUARY 14, 2010)
AMERICAN SURVIVORS, ABOARD AN AIR FORCE C-130, BOUND FOR THE U.S.A.
AMERICANS LEAVING HAITI ABOARD AN AIR FORCE C-130 "HURCULES"
BEFORE LEAVING HAITI, TWO WOMEN FIND ONE MORE TIME TO GRIEVE FOR THE MISSING AND THE DEAD (JANUARY 14, 2010)
HAITI EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RELIEF NEEDS YOU !!!
THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS TO ME, RIGHT NOW, IS "HAITI EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RELIEF".... ALL I'M ASKING IS FOR PEOPLE TO PUT THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS....
HAITI DISASTER RELIEF ALERT : On Twitter, "Yele" was the most popular topic Wednesday afternoon, as people tweeted and retweeted messages to donate $5 to singer Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation. They could do this by sending the text message "Yele" to the number 501501.
To donate $10 to the Red Cross — the second most popular topic on Twitter — cell phone users can text the word "Haiti" to 90999
---TROY---
DISASTER RELIEF PHOTO'S COURTESY OF MATTHEW MAREK OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
