Admiral Mike Mullen, the top military chief, said that up to 10,000 US troops would be either in Haiti or offshore on six Navy vessels that will arrive by Monday.
"It looks like between 9,000 and 10,000 with the arrival of the Marines and the three ships that are associated with that," Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told reporters.
Mullen said that about 1,000 troops were already in Haiti including members of the 82nd Airborne brigade, who arrived late Thursday and were already delivering water from helicopters.
The US military has also sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, which will serve as a "floating airport" to bring in supplies and rush out victims as Port-au-Prince's airport struggles to function.
Massive US ship nears Haiti to join relief effort
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the security situation remained "pretty good" but that supplies needed to be delivered urgently.
"The security situation remains OK," Gates told the news conference.
"The key is to get the food and the water in there as quickly as possible so that people don't, in their desperation, turn to violence," Gates said.
"But at this point, other than some scavenging and minor looting, our understanding is the security situation is pretty good."
Gates defended the pace of US relief efforts, noting that the United States was dealing with a sovereign foreign government.
"I don't know how ... this government could have responded faster or more comprehensively than it has," he said.
There were constraints on how fast aid teams and supplies could be ferried in, said Gates, citing badly damaged roads and the small size of airport.
"The collapse of the infrastructure in Haiti, the small size of the airport, the time it takes a ship to get from point A to point B -- those are all just facts of life," he said.
Asked why the military had not used air drops to deliver aid, Gates said such an operation could lead to riots without "any structure on the ground in terms of distribution."
"We are dealing with a sovereign country. The Haitians are still in charge of air traffic control at this point," he said.
President Barack Obama on Friday spoke for half-an-hour with Haiti's President Rene Preval, whose palace was devastated by the earthquake but was unhurt.
Air Force Colonel Steve Shea, who is coordinating logistics for the forces heading to Haiti, said the United States considered Preval to be in charge of operations.
But he said that Haiti had given the green light to US forces to install navigation systems at the airport and expand its capacity, after bottlenecks caused a suspension of flights on Thursday.
Shea said the United States was looking for an agreement on the use of Haitian airspace as more troops come in, pointing to the difficulties in coordinating relief flights coming in from around the world.
"It's a challenge because the international community is all on board to help out," Shea told reporters on a conference call. "We're looking for a memorandum of understanding so that it's respected on all ends."
Air Force Colonel Sid Banks, who also works in logistics, said that US authorities learned during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the risks when groups arrive seeking to "just roll their sleeves up and get to work.
"A lot of times when you don't have a good command and control ... you're going to create chaos," Banks said.
Haiti theater of US interventions
The United States has a mixed legacy in Haiti. US forces invaded in 1915 due to instability in the impoverished nation, staying until 1934.
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