HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

1,100 ships, but embargoed goods flowed steadily
into Haiti from the Dominican Republic.
General John M. Shalikashvili, Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, approved the PCs conducting
patrols with Dominican Republic ships. On
11 July 1994, SEALs from the Cyclone boarded
and cleared the Vinland Saga, a Danish vessel
carrying a cargo of wheat flour. CJTF 120
directed Cyclone and Tempest to patrol the inner
areas of the coast. These operations provided an
opportunity to check sea traffic and collect information.
USS Hurricane and USS Monsoon
patrol craft replaced the Cyclone and Tempest in
September.
Because of the continuing political repression
in Haiti, the Clinton Administration sought
UN Security Council approval for an invasion
and occupation of Haiti if the sanctions failed to
restore Aristide to the presidency. The council
granted its approval on 31 July 1994. The invasion
plan had two phases: first, a 15,000 multinational
force would invade, restore public
order, and reinstate Aristide; subsequently,
6,000 UN forces would train a new Haitian
police force to maintain order.
Accordingly, Army, Air Force, and Navy SOF
supported the XVIII Airborne Corps in planning
for a full scale invasion of Haiti. The special
operations portion of the plan envisioned the
takedown of key governmental sites followed by
a link-up with conventional forces, similar to
what SOF had done for the invasion of Panama
in 1989. After the main takedown, Special
Forces teams were to secure the countryside. To
serve as the SOF mobility and launching platform,
an aircraft carrier, USS America, was
added to the force package in spring 1994.
PSYOP played a role in this operation as well.
The 193rd SOW’s EC-130Es transmitted radio
broadcast of recorded programs that covered all
Special Operations helicopters aboard USS America off the Haitian coast.
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