Team Rubicon
is a self-financed and self-deployed group of former Marines, soldiers firefighters, Jesuits, health care professionals currently providing emergency relief in Haiti. They provide their own security and deal with whatever they find.
UPDATE 26 Jan:
The Original 8
Years ago when my cousins would come and visit for the 4th of July or Christmas we would always have a great time. I was the “home” cousin who grew up in the same town as our grandparents, and therefore when they came to visit family they were on my turf. I enjoyed being the host and knowing the locals, but also was very sad to watch the car pull away at the end of the visit; each of us going back to our former life. Today I had a feeling in my gut that had net been there in over 30 years, but this time instead of watching my cousins drive away from St. Ignace, Michigan, I watched the last original members of Team Rubicon fly away in a helicopter. They will go back to their lives, changed forever, but no longer physically here. I will stay. Now we begin the transition to new doctors, firefighters, and military personnel. They original 8 have left behind enough dirty clothes to last me a long time, but more importantly they left me with memories and friendships I will never forget. Today I stayed behind and did not go to the camps. It was good to get a break, and it was good to spend some last moments with the original Team Rubicon. We now have uniforms, maps, internet, solar panels, and a well organized and supplied group. We have come a long way from the group of men who crossed the border from the Dominican Republic with the sole intention of helping a wounded people and nation. Yes Team Rubicon has come a long way. My hope is that Haiti will too. My hope is that eventually the large machines like the Red Cross and United Nations will be able to be here for the long haul. Team Rubicon was the first responders to countless people in need. We now begin another stage.
Brother Jim Boynton, S.J.
Take a look also at Br. Jim’s reflections on the words "He descended into hell"… "He rose again from the dead" and "To give and not count the cost" (St. Ignatius).
Listen to an interview by Hugh Hewitt with one of the Team, Will McNulty. Click HERE.
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Thanks for getting the word out on Team Rubicon. Been following the blog since I first heard about them via Hugh Hewitt. Fantastic use of a blog and social media to really make a difference.
Bravo!
amazing! thank you for introducing this blog and group
Team Rubicon is ….. a group of former Marines, soldiers …..
Needless to say, You wouldn’t want to cross them.
:-)
I am following them too! Y’all should check out this blog that is run by a Catholic Priest who has been a missionary in Haiti for 12 years.
I just ran across it. Stunning pictures and stories.
http://pwojeespwa.blogspot.com/
Haiti is a Catholic country; we should man-up and help her out!
I think some army major TRIED to cross them by threatening to appropriate their supplies for use at the embassy. She didn’t get far. These guys are the “real deal,” the kind of guys you want to have your back when the chips are down.
Definitely gonna follow this blog.
Also important is that they are a team of former military along with medical professionals who hooked up with some Jesuits as their primary ‘in country’ connections.
They are staying at a Jesuit facility (well, the yard of a Jesuit facility) and the Jesuits are providing translation. If you read the blog you will see that they are ending the days with prayer.
For all that the Jesuits get hassled… they are invaluable in places like Haiti where they have been doing mission work for decades.
I find it particularly fitting that the Jesuits (founded by a former soldier) are hosting these former soldiers as they live what I was taught as a student at a Jesuit school was an Ignatian ideal… to be “Men and women for others”
When a Jesuit gets his ducks in a row, he can go, go, go! It’s when they don’t that they’re a menace. But yeah, I’m always happiest to hear good Jesuit news.
I was also happy to see them report that they’d learned through Jesuit channels that Team Rubicon had been given the papal blessing. I dunno, maybe the Holy Father _has_ started surfing! :)