WASHINGTON — Sec. of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Tuesday authorized the temporary activation of up to 900 reserve U.S. Coast Guard service members to “bolster the more than 500 Coast Guard personnel already serving in Haiti in support of the U.S. government’s response to the devastation caused by the Jan. 12 earthquake.”
“Activating our reserve Coast Guard forces will expand our capacity to assist in aid efforts in Haiti,” Napolitano said in a statement. “These brave men and women will join the thousands of U.S. and international personnel already working together on humanitarian and recovery efforts in response to this tragedy.”
The Coast Guard will use more than 100 of the newly-activated reserves to strengthen port security operations in Port Au Prince, Homeland Security said.
