page_title: 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
section_title: 2010 Haiti earthquake
hierarchical_section_title: 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit / History / 2010 Haiti earthquake
caption_attribution_description: English: GRAND GOAVE, Haiti (Feb. 4, 2010) Lance Cpl. Benjamin Rauschenberg, a linguist from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU), helps a young Haitian woman fill out her immunization card at a clinic set up by the U.S. Public Health Service and Sailors, Marines and embarked staff assigned to the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). Bataan is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Christina M. Shaw/Released)
context_page_description: The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. They are currently based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. It is the most decorated of the U.S. Marine Corps' seven MEUs.
context_section_description: After the devastating, 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake, Marines with the 22nd MEU embarked on the Bataan Amphibious ready group for Haiti in order to conduct a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission known as Operation Unified Response. 22nd MEU departed Camp Lejuene on 15 January and began arriving on 18 January.
  The 22nd MEU was the first major Marine force to respond, managing the hardest hit area that spanned 65 kilometers (40 mi) west of Port-au-Prince.  Initially, the MEU conducted immediate relief operations by distributing food, water and providing medical care.
  Units within the MEU consist of 1,600 Marines with the Combat Logistics Battalion 22, 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 and the MEU Command Element, while the ARG consisted of USS Bataan, USS Carter Hall and USS Fort McHenry.
  150 Marines aboard USS Gunston Hall joined the MEU, originally from the African Partnership Station Security Cooperation MAGTF, along with the 24th MEU on USS Nassau, USS Mesa Verde, and USS Ashland. On 24 March, the MEU and ARG were released from their mission and sailed for home.
  From February to March, the MEU transitioned to sustained relief operations and focused on turning over responsibilities to the Government of Haiti and major relief organizations ashore before departing at the end of March.
  While supporting relief operations, the Marines and Sailors of the 22nd MEU combined a network of sea-based logistics and land-based support with as many as 1,100 Marines and Sailors ashore to conduct immediate aid efforts. The Marines focused on a 60-kilometer area west of Port-au-Prince, from Carrefour to Leogane, through Grand Goave to Petit Goave. In order to move and distribute supplies in these areas, Marines and Sailors partnered with the United Nations, United States Agency for International Development, non-governmental organizations, and Canadian and Spanish military forces.
  Marines from the 22nd MEU assisted the World Food Program with the delivery of more than 3.2 million pounds of bulk foods, such as rice, for earthquake survivors at distribution points in and around Carrefour. According to the WFP, each bag of rice delivered can feed a family of five for two weeks – more than 55,000 families. During their relief assistance to Haiti, the Marines and Sailors conducted and assisted more than 1500 humanitarian relief missions.
  The 22nd MEU independently delivered nearly 560,000 liters of bottled water and nearly 195,000 gallons of bulk water; more than 1.6 million pounds of rations and approximately 15,000 pounds of medical supplies, while rotary wing aircraft from the 22nd MEU flew more than 610 flight hours and 618 missions in direct support of Operation Unified Response to aid those affected by the earthquake.
  Medical and dental personnel from the MEU worked alongside Navy Corpsmen to treat earthquake survivors and evacuated numerous Haitian citizens to USS Bataan for additional medical care.
caption: Lance Cpl. Benjamin Rauschenberg, a linguist from the MEU, helps a Haitian woman fill out an immunization card at a clinic in Grand Goave, Haiti.
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