U.S. Troops Depart Haiti Five Months After Earthquake

Most U.S. troops deployed to Haiti since January's catastrophic earthquake were set to pull out Tuesday, leaving United Nations forces and civilian aid organizations to help rebuild the battered island nation.

The June 1 departure, which was agreed upon months ago by the U.S. and Haitian governments, was a sign the country has "reached a basic level of sustainment," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told The Wall Street Journal.

"The military played an essential short-term role, but now this is getting back to where the focus is on development, and that expertise rests in the civilian sector," Crowley said.


At the peak of the crisis, as many as 22,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Haiti, helping with emergency medical services, supply transport, and construction. In recent days only about 500 U.S. military personnel remained, according to the Journal.

About 500 National Guard troops will stay for several months to help build schools, clinics, and community centers. The military will also continue to offer medical care aboard the USS Iwo Jima, which will be deployed off the coast in July.

Those ongoing missions "demonstrate our continued support to the people of Haiti," Gen. Doug Fraser, head of U.S. Southern Command, said in a statement. "We also have a robust capability to rapidly respond to any future disaster situation in Haiti."

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12 devastated Haiti's infrastructure and killed an estimated 230,000 people. Hundreds of thousands remain homeless.