[seawolferr]

They may have just returned from deployment a month ago, but the Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU will cast off for Haiti before the week is out.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the 22nd MEU, Capt. Clark Carpenter, said Marines were gearing up for a humanitarian mission that would last a minimum of 30 days and might require them to fill a variety of roles.

In addition to three Navy ships — the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Bataan plus two platform dock ships, the U.S.S. Carter Hall and the U.S.S. Fort McHenry — the MEU will deploy with CH-53E Super Stallion and UH-1 Huey helicopters, as well as 7-ton trucks, forklifts and other earth-moving equipment, supplies and water purification instruments.

Elements embarking on the mission include Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; Combat Logistics Battalion 22; Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 from New River Air Station; and the MEU Command Element.

“Aboard U.S.S. Bataan in particular, there’s a very good medical capability that’s only surpassed by the capabilities of the medical ships,” Carpenter said.

On Thursday, the ships were in transit from Norfolk, Va., to Camp Lejeune. Carpenter estimated that troops would onload for two days before departing for Haiti’s disaster-stricken capital city.

A spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, Master Sgt. Keith Milks, said between 2,000 and 2,200 troops would be a part of the mission.

The MEU spent its last deployment aboard the Bataan and the Fort McHenry, conducting missions within U.S. European and U.S. Central Commands. Carpenter said the troops had established a strong working relationship with the Bataan and knew its crew well.
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