Operation Uphold Democracy

Operation Uphold Democracy
Soldiers of C Company, 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry, 10th Mountain Division securing Port-au-Prince Airport on the first day of Operation Uphold Democracy.
Date 19 September 1994 – 31 March 1995 Location Haiti Result Reinstatement of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti
Belligerents
United States  Poland  Argentina	Haiti
Commanders and leaders
George Fisher Slawomir Petelicki	Raoul Cédras
Casualties and losses
1 killed	Unknown

Operation Uphold Democracy (19 September 1994 – 31 March 1995) was an intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940.

The operation began with the alert of United States and Allied forces for a forced entry into the island nation of Haiti. U.S. Navy and Air Force elements staged to Puerto Rico and southern Florida to prepare to support the airborne invasion, spearheaded by elements of U.S. SOCOM and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division. As these forces prepared to invade, including elements of the 82nd Airborne already in the air, a diplomatic element led by former President Jimmy Carter, retired U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell persuaded the leaders of Haiti to step down and allow the elected officials to return to power.

This effort was successful due in part because the U.S. delegation was able to point to the massed forces poised to enter the country. The military mission changed from a combat operation to a peace-keeping and nation-building operation at that point with the deployment of the U.S. led multinational force in Haiti. This force was made up primarily of members of the 3rd Special Forces Group, but also included members of Marine Forces Caribbean. Teams were deployed throughout the country to establish order and humanitarian services. Regular Army forces consisting of units from the 10th Mountain Division occupied Port-au-Prince and elements from the Army Logistics Command provided logistical support in the form of the Joint Logistics Support Command, JLSC which provided oversight and direct control over all Multinational Force and US deployed logistics units. This included the 46th Support Group, the Joint Material Management Center, JMMC and the follow on civilian contractor LOGCAP. The U.S. Coast Guard played a significant role in the operation, providing command, control and communications services from 378' cutters anchored in Port-au-Prince Harbor. The 10th Mountain Division was relieved in place by units of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) under command of Major General George Fisher. The 25th Infantry Division deployed on 4 January 1995 from their home station of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and officially assumed command authority from the 10th Division on 9 January 1995. General Fisher and the 25th Infantry Division were the headquarters element of what is officially known as the Multinational Forces, Combined Task Force 190, Republic of Haiti.

The US Army Reserve unit, 458th Transportation Detachment (ATMCT), Belleville, Illinois, was activated and reported to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina within 48 hours of notification. This was the fastest a Reserve unit has ever been deployed. The 458th manned the 18th Corps Joint Movement Control Center (JMCC) in support of the mission.

Operation Uphold Democracy officially ended on 31 March 1995 when it was replaced by the UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide presided over the change of authority ceremony. From the March 1995 until March 1996, 2,400 US personnel from the original Operation Uphold Democracy remained as a support group commanded by UNMIH under a new operation called Operation New Horizons.[1] A large contingent of U.S. troops (USFORHAITI) participated as peacekeepers in the UNMIH until 1996 (and the U.S. forces commander was also the commander of the UN forces). UN forces under various mission names were in Haiti from 1995 through 2000. During the operation, one U.S. service member was killed by hostile fire. He was a US Special Forces Staff Sergeant shot during a roadside check.

Three Argentine Navy corvettes of the Drummond class joined the mission to force the commercial embargo of Haiti.^[1]

References

External links

• "President Carter Leads Delegation to Negotiate Peace With Haiti". http://www.cartercenter.org, The Carter Center. http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc218.html. Retrieved 24 September 2009. 

• "Operation Uphold (Restore) Democracy – Haiti". www.au.af.mil, Maxwell-Gunter Airforce base. http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/haiti/haiti99.htm. Retrieved 30 July 2006. 

• "Deployments – Haiti – Operation Uphold Democracy – Background". www.pdhealth.mil, Deployment Health Clinical Center. http://www.pdhealth.mil/deployments/uphold_democracy/background.asp. Retrieved 6 October 2006. 

• "Operation New Horizons". www.globalsecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/new_horizons.htm. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 

• Award Certificate of Sergeant First Class Gary D. Soots, 25th Infantry Division