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thedrifter
02-27-04, 05:24 PM
February 27, 2004

Plans underway for possible Haiti intervention
‘No deployment order’ yet

By C. Mark Brinkley
Times staff writer


JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - As Haitian rebels closed in on the capital Port-au-Prince on Friday, U.S. military leaders planned for a possible intervention in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
One of several options on the table is sending a three-ship Amphibious Ready Group, headed by the amphibious assault ship Saipan, and about 2,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune's 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the island. The idea picked up steam in the media after it was leaked to reporters Feb. 27. Diplomacy appeared to be the more likely response, but military officials confirmed that the Saipan is the on-call unit right now, required to maintain a high state of readiness for any contingencies.

“There is no deployment order,” said Navy Lt. Jim Hoeft, a spokesman at Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk. “Will there be one? Maybe. Saipan is the ready ARG, and they are required to be ready to go in 96 hours.”

Marine Lt. Col. Bryan Salas, a spokesman for Marine Forces Atlantic in Norfolk, Va., said Marine forces are ready to respond if called, but offered few details about any potential deployment to Haiti. The component commands of the 24th MEU have been together as a unit for only a week, and would deploy without a Special Operations Capable qualification.

But, during the unit's activation ceremony Feb. 20, Lt. Gen. Pete Osman, commander of II Marine Expeditionary Force, warned the group that they could get a rapid call.

“Things are bubbling right now in a nation in our own hemisphere, and ... you're the Marines I'm going to be looking at to possibly answer that contingency,” said Osman, according to a release posted to the unit's Web site. MEU officials deferred comment to Marine officials in Washington.

Most military officials downplayed the significance of the military option. The Defense Department always works up plans for response to such crises, but few ever are used.

“There are a lot of options on the table,” said one military official familiar with the options under consideration. “People are talking about this one because it's sexy.”

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-2684431.php


Sempers,

Roger
:marine: