The request for assistance from Joint Task Force-Bravo in the event of a major disaster must be submitted through U.S. government authorities. 

The process for JTF-Bravo to get involved is something like this: 

1. Disaster happens
2. Host nation responds
3. Host nation request assistance from international community
4. If the host nation is overwhelmed and has requested and will accept U.S. government help, the U.S. ambassador (U.S. Department of State) can validate the emergency by issuing a disaster declaration.
5. If a disaster declaration is issued, the U.S. Agency for International Development Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance will respond as the lead federal agency.
6. If further assistance is needed, the U.S. Department of State can request assistance from the Department of Defense.
7. If the Department of Defense approves the request for assistance, then the order is tasked to U.S. Southern Command who in turn tasks JTF-Bravo to respond.

JTF-Bravo has a limited ability to respond if lives are in danger, but unless there is an immediate need to save lives, JTF-Bravo cannot respond on its own if the proper requests have not been made through the U.S. government.
Joint Task Force Bravo is a joint military unit comprised of approximately 600 U.S. Airmen, Soldier, Sailors and Marines and 600 U.S. and Honduran civilians.

JTF-Bravo operates on Soto Cano Air Base, located in Palmerola, Comayagua, central Honduras, which is a Honduran military installation and home to the Honduran Air Force Academy. 

As guests of the Honduran government, service members assigned to JTF-Bravo share Soto Cano Air Base with the Honduran Air Force and Army. Both Honduran and U.S. troops also live and work on the base.
JTF-Bravo is composed of approximately 600 U.S. military members from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The U.S. forces on base are divided into various units, all of which support the JTF-Bravo commander. The units are the 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment; the 612th Air Base Squadron; Joint Security Forces; Army Forces Battalion and the Medical Element.

The 1-228th is an Army aviation unit that has both UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The unit flies missions supporting counter-narcotics operations, aero-medical evacuation and humanitarian assistance missions.

The 612th ABS is an Air Force unit responsible for maintenance and support of the airfield, which has the largest runway in Honduras. The 612th ABS shares air traffic control duties with Honduran authorities.

JSF is responsible for law enforcement, security and force protection for U.S. government personnel, facilities, equipment and resources on Soto Cano Air Base.

ARFOR conducts and supports humanitarian assistance; personnel recovery; counter narcotics training; and combined, joint and interagency operations and training such as airborne operations.

MEDEL provides health service and support for U.S. forces stationed at Soto Cano from basic to trauma care, and maintains a Mobile Surgical Team capable of conducting basic surgeries in remote conditions.

In addition to each unit's primary tasks, every unit partners with Central American countries to conduct joint training and exercises.
Why is Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras?
Joint Task Force Bravo operates on Soto Cano Air Base, a Honduran military installation, located in central Honduras. JTF-Bravo's mission is to build partnerships with Honduras and other Central American countries to foster security, stability and prosperity for the Americas.

JTF-Bravo conducts a variety of missions in Central and South America from countering transnational organized crime, to humanitarian assistance/disaster relief and building partner capacities.  

The Caribbean, Central America, South America and the U.S. share common interests and security concerns. JTF-Bravo is committed to promoting our mutual interest of security and progress, as reflected in our motto, "Progress Through Unity."