One problem with helicopters is that they require a tremendous amount of maintenance - this isn't a truck that might need an oil change after a few months, but rather a machine that's going to spend significant time at the shop *every* *week* at these usage levels. It would be even worse in a harsher desert climate due to sand, perhaps spending more than 50% of time in the shop.

This is the biggest advantage to having an amphibious assault group around: they have the ability to maintain large numbers of helicopters, while at sea, for a long period of time.

In Haiti bringing in large numbers of helicopters for distribution efforts starts a clock ticking: within a week you're going to need to divert incoming supplies from food & water to maintenance crews, tools & parts.