thedrifter
12-05-06, 06:29 AM
After Lebanon evacuation, Iwo Jima group returning
By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 5, 2006
Last updated: 10:52 PM
Sailors and Marines from the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group prepared for war before their deployment in June, but their most notable mission turned out to be peaceful.
The 4,200 service members in the strike group interrupted training exercises in July and rushed to evacuate 14,000 U.S. citizens from Lebanon during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, about 2,000 sailors from the Iwo Jima group are scheduled to return to Hampton Roads. Marines and sailors from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit disembarked in North Carolina on Monday.
The strike group is led by the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima and includes the transport ship Nashville and guided missile destroyers Cole and Bulkeley, which are homeported at Norfolk Naval Station. The dock landing ship Whidbey Island is returning to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach.
The guided missile cruiser Philippine Sea is heading back to Mayport Naval Station in Florida.
Col. Ron Johnson, commander of the Marine expeditionary unit, said in a phone interview from aboard the Iwo Jima that the troops worked around the clock for 10 days during the evacuation. Sailors and Marines moved U.S. families, including grandparents and children, from battle-scarred areas of Lebanon.
"There were some challenges there," Johnson said, but the execution of the mission "was almost text book."
Capt. Brad Kyker, commodore of the strike group, said the deployment showed a nearly seamless working of the multi national task force guarding Iraq's off shore oil terminals and patrolling the Persian Gulf.
The ships secured about a 1,000- mile range of sea, from the northern section of the Persian Gulf to the Horn of Africa, he said.
The strike group also sent Marines into Kuwait for training. A few small, specialized units went to Iraq, where the Marine expeditionary unit suffered its only casualty. Cpl. Gary A. Koehler, 21, an assaultman from Michigan, was killed by a roadside bomb.
The deployment was the first return of the destroyer Cole to the 5th Fleet since terrorists bombed the warship in October 2000. Kyker said the ship marked the anniversary with a ceremony and continued its mission.
"The Cole was under way and carrying out its mission," he said.
Ellie
By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 5, 2006
Last updated: 10:52 PM
Sailors and Marines from the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group prepared for war before their deployment in June, but their most notable mission turned out to be peaceful.
The 4,200 service members in the strike group interrupted training exercises in July and rushed to evacuate 14,000 U.S. citizens from Lebanon during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, about 2,000 sailors from the Iwo Jima group are scheduled to return to Hampton Roads. Marines and sailors from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit disembarked in North Carolina on Monday.
The strike group is led by the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima and includes the transport ship Nashville and guided missile destroyers Cole and Bulkeley, which are homeported at Norfolk Naval Station. The dock landing ship Whidbey Island is returning to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach.
The guided missile cruiser Philippine Sea is heading back to Mayport Naval Station in Florida.
Col. Ron Johnson, commander of the Marine expeditionary unit, said in a phone interview from aboard the Iwo Jima that the troops worked around the clock for 10 days during the evacuation. Sailors and Marines moved U.S. families, including grandparents and children, from battle-scarred areas of Lebanon.
"There were some challenges there," Johnson said, but the execution of the mission "was almost text book."
Capt. Brad Kyker, commodore of the strike group, said the deployment showed a nearly seamless working of the multi national task force guarding Iraq's off shore oil terminals and patrolling the Persian Gulf.
The ships secured about a 1,000- mile range of sea, from the northern section of the Persian Gulf to the Horn of Africa, he said.
The strike group also sent Marines into Kuwait for training. A few small, specialized units went to Iraq, where the Marine expeditionary unit suffered its only casualty. Cpl. Gary A. Koehler, 21, an assaultman from Michigan, was killed by a roadside bomb.
The deployment was the first return of the destroyer Cole to the 5th Fleet since terrorists bombed the warship in October 2000. Kyker said the ship marked the anniversary with a ceremony and continued its mission.
"The Cole was under way and carrying out its mission," he said.
Ellie