By Army Maj. James Lowe and Jonathan Block, U.S. Transportation Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. - The U.S. Transportation Command, working with U.S. Southern Command, is assisting the people of Haiti by transporting military equipment, personnel and humanitarian assistance supplies to the island nation and seas surrounding it.

"We are here to support the President, the State Department, and the U.S. Southern Command," said Army Maj. Gen. William H. Johnson, USTRANSCOM's chief of staff, "We are prepared to leverage every possible resource to prevent further suffering and loss of life in Haiti."

The three components of USTRANSCOM, the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, the Air Mobility Command and the Military Sealift Command are providing key mobility support to USSOUTHCOM and to the Task Force commander in Port Au Prince to help establish and sustain the flow of humanitarian assistance relief by assessing existing transportation infrastructure, managing sealift of commercial supply vessels, directing military flights delivering personnel and critical supplies, managing the command and control of air traffic into the airport, and supporting the USNS Comfort hospital ship, now enroute to the waters off Haiti's coast.

With the drawdown of forces in Iraq and the troop increase in Afghanistan occurring simultaneously, leaders at USTRANSCOM said they are confident in their logistical ability to balance all the requirements for movement support for those missions as well as operations in Haiti.

"We can handle the mission," said Air Force Col. Jason Evgenides, senior operations center officer.

The tragedy has affected many employees throughout the command, and civilian and military staffers are working around-the-clock to ensure full support to the people of Haiti.

"The thoughts and prayers of USTRANSCOM leaders and staff are with the Haitian people. We are committed to supporting a robust response to this disaster and a full recovery in the weeks to come," said Johnson.
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