C-130 lands in Haiti with military assessment team

Military team lands in Haiti

WASHINGTON — Officials at U.S. Southern Command have confirmed that a C-130 plane carrying part of a military assessment team has landed in Haiti.

A second C-130 with the rest of the team was en route and expected to land soon. The team is tasked with determining what military resources are needed to respond to the disaster there.

An Air Force special operations unit also was expected to land at the Port au Prince airport at 8 p.m. EST to provide air traffic control.

Geoff Morrell, a spokesman for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said that Gates has made clear he will help provide “anything and everything” the military command needs to aid the mission.

The military, through U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, has been scrambling to determine which of its assets would be useful to help dig out victims and provide humanitarian aid.

(This version CORRECTS timing of arrival of Air Force special operations unit to 8 p.m. EST, not already there.)