On 12 January 2010 , just hours after the 2010 Haiti earthquake , '' Carl Vinson '' was ordered to redirect from her current deployment in the North Atlantic Ocean to Haiti to contribute to the relief effort as part of Operation Unified Response . Upon receiving orders from USSOUTHCOM , the '' Carl Vinson '' battle group proceeded to Mayport , Florida where the ships loitered offshore to receive additional supplies and helicopters . The ships arrived off Port au Prince on 15 January 2010 to commence operations . CNN medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta , pediatric surgeon Henri Ford , and two Navy doctors removed a piece of concrete from the skull of a 12-year-old earthquake victim in an operation performed aboard '' Carl Vinson '' on 18 January . In addition to providing medical relief , the ship 's excess desalination capacity was critical to providing water to Haiti 's population during the earthquake relief
2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
USS Carl Vinson