A recent report in Stars and Stripesreveals the nature of the US military operation in Haiti. Combat units from Iraq and Afghanistan have been deployed in Haiti under the banner
of a humanitarian operation. Conversely, Haiti is also being used as a
military training ground for forces without in-theater combat
experience.

According to the Stars and Stripes report (March 14, 2010): "Marines deployed to Haiti to render emergency aid
following January’s devastating earthquake are already training for the
fight in Afghanistan."

Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit who were dispatched to Haiti in
the immediate wake of the earthquake are now being deployed in
Afghanistan. In fact, the decision to send them to Afghanistan was
taken prior to their deployment in Haiti:

"A small group of Marines stormed several small concrete buildings inside the wire at their seashore camp while their comrades played the roles
of Afghan insurgents, shouting “bang” as they engaged their opponents
in a mock attack. The day before, when Lt Gen Dennis J. Hejlik,
commanding general of the II Marine Expeditionary Force visited the
Marines on shore, he praised their good work in Haiti and asked them,
“What’s next for you when you get home?”


“Afghanistan,” came the reply. As Huey helicopters buzzed overhead, Hejlik talked about the recent Marjah
offensive, adding that there would be 20,000 Marines in Afghanistan by
summer. “You will join them next spring,” he told the Marines at Carrefour. One
of them, Sgt. Timothy Kelly, 23, of Johnston City, Ill., said members
of his unit learned about the Afghan mission just before they got
orders to head for Haiti."

The training in Haiti "is geared towards close-quarters battle tactics":

“Only a couple [of Marines in Kelly’s squad] have experience in Iraq or Afghanistan,” he said. ...

We have a lot of guys that aren’t going to be here for that Afghan deployment. The ones who are, we might as well get them in the
mind-set.

Another Marine at Carrefour, Lance Cpl. Keith Cobb, 23, of Soso, Miss., said
the Afghan deployment will be his first time in a war zone. “I
want to kill the terrorists and get rid of the bad people, but I would
rather be here because I know I’m going home after this,” he said”

Close Quarters Battle (CQB) is fighting involving small combat units "which engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range". The
training imparted in Haiti is to be used in both urban warfare and
counterinsurgency operations.

On March 25th, the US military reported that some 2,200 Marines,
involved in humanitarian relief in Haiti had been withdrawn from the
country.

The Role of The Canadian Military

The Canadian military has adopted a similar pattern. Haiti is used as a
launchpad for redeploying combat troops to the Middle East war theater.


Canadian troops initially dispatched to Haiti under a humanitarian mandate are being sent to Afghanistan: "Soldiers of the
Royal 22nd Regiment will have only two weeks before they have to switch
their focus from providing emergency relief in Haiti to intensive
combat training for a tour in Afghanistan, the commander of all
Canadian troops overseas says." ( National Post, February 23,
2010). The training of Canadian forces in Haiti, however, is to be
imparted in Canada, prior to their redeployment.