USNAviator
03-09-11, 06:27 AM
Navy, Marines keeping watch on Libya unrest
Questions about the military capabilities of U.S. naval forces able to bear on Libya permeated a Capitol Hill Navy budget hearing March 8. <form id="hidden"> <input id="headline" value="Navy, Marines keeping watch on Libya unrest" type="hidden"> <input id="url" value="http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/defense-navy-libya-watch-030811/" type="hidden"> </form> U.S. Marines embarked on board two amphibious ships in the Mediterranean “can do everything from a raid to amphibious assault, evacuation and forcible entry,” Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marines, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There is a lot of capability in those two vessels.”
More than 1,000 Marines are on board the amphibious ships Kearsarge and Ponce. The Marines are equipped with armored vehicles, AV-8B Harrier strike jets, and attack and transport helicopters. An additional 400 Marines from the U.S. have been flown out to the ships, Amos confirmed.
Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich, cited several ongoing developments that could led to military intervention in Libya, where opponents to leader Moammar Gadhafi’s long-term rule have seized a number of cities and towns. Levin cited moves aimed at creating a no-fly zone over the country, where an international effort would deny Gadhafi’s military aircraft from taking to the air.
From the Navy standpoint, they have the Enterprise carrier battle group located in the area when and if a "no fly" zone is ordered.
Questions about the military capabilities of U.S. naval forces able to bear on Libya permeated a Capitol Hill Navy budget hearing March 8. <form id="hidden"> <input id="headline" value="Navy, Marines keeping watch on Libya unrest" type="hidden"> <input id="url" value="http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/03/defense-navy-libya-watch-030811/" type="hidden"> </form> U.S. Marines embarked on board two amphibious ships in the Mediterranean “can do everything from a raid to amphibious assault, evacuation and forcible entry,” Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marines, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There is a lot of capability in those two vessels.”
More than 1,000 Marines are on board the amphibious ships Kearsarge and Ponce. The Marines are equipped with armored vehicles, AV-8B Harrier strike jets, and attack and transport helicopters. An additional 400 Marines from the U.S. have been flown out to the ships, Amos confirmed.
Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich, cited several ongoing developments that could led to military intervention in Libya, where opponents to leader Moammar Gadhafi’s long-term rule have seized a number of cities and towns. Levin cited moves aimed at creating a no-fly zone over the country, where an international effort would deny Gadhafi’s military aircraft from taking to the air.
From the Navy standpoint, they have the Enterprise carrier battle group located in the area when and if a "no fly" zone is ordered.