PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti-More than 50,000 solar and crank-powered radios are in Haitian hands now as a result of the collaboration between elements from Joint Forces Special Operations Component Command in support of Joint Task Force-Haiti and the international community.
Before and after the, Jan. 12, earthquake, radios were the primary means of disseminating information in Haiti, said Jerome Oetgen, counselor for public affairs at the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince.
In the chaos after the natural disaster, getting out information about distribution sites and procedures was key to restoring order and hope to the nation. However, many radios were destroyed or unusable because of dead batteries and intermittent electricity, he said.
Working with the U.S. embassy, the United States Agency for International Development and other humanitarian assistance agencies, Humanitarian Assistance Information Support Teams from JFSOCC helped distribute the radios faster than any of the organizations could have done working alone.
These information support teams, part of Special Operations Command South, are now deployed with the JFSOCC to support humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti.
"We were ecstatic when the U.S. military offered their assistance, we didn't have the capability to get the radios out so quickly without them," Oetgen said.
The radios were given out at distribution points, along with food, water and other supplies. They provided information in Creole, the local language, on where people could go for help, the need to be patient when waiting in line and the reminder that the U.S. and other non-governmental organizations are coming to help.
Those public service announcements were made on behalf of the international humanitarian assistance community and JTF-Haiti and translated by members of the special operations forces to maximize understanding of how to receive assistance after the earthquake.
"Their support has been absolutely superb," Oetgen said. "We'd tell the guys we needed a message at 10 a.m., and then they'd craft it, translate it and get it on the air in just a few hours."
Initially the broadcasts came from the EC-130 Commando Solo, which played the information for 10 hours each day. Now Special Operations Media System-Broadcasting equipment will augment the aircraft's broadcasting abilities, with 24-hour AM and FM capabilities. Additionally, information support teams with loudspeaker capabilities will broadcast live and recorded messages directly to the population at various distribution points to ensure the process is smooth and effective, said Major Kevin Petro, JFSOCC information officer.
Describing the coordination between U.S. military and civilian organizations as "seamless," Oetgen said the teamwork displayed in Haiti was a model that should be followed in other similar situations.
"We have all these different organizations here with their own concerns and missions, but everyone has been amazingly cooperative and mutually supportive in their efforts," he said.