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Topic: 25,000 U.S. troops headed to gulf
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Kindgo
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,74033,00.html
Pentagon Puts Troops on Alert
AP
Several military units, including the battle group attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, pictured left, have been told to get ready for deployment to the Persian Gulf
Pentagon Prepares to Move Troops to Persian Gulf
Friday, December 27, 2002
By Bret Baier
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered a number of military units put on alert for rapid deployment to the Persian Gulf, Fox News learned Friday.
Some are being told to be ready to deploy, if needed, within 96 hours' notice.
"A lot of things will start moving in the next week or so," a defense official told Fox News.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered the Navy to prepare two aircraft carriers and two amphibious assault vessels for possible action in Iraq. The orders, sent in the last two days, require the Navy to have the vessels ready to sail to the Persian Gulf within 96 hours after a certain date, which was not revealed.
Rumsfeld has also ordered the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship based in Baltimore, to be activated and readied for possible deployment.
The aircraft carriers and the cruisers, destroyers and submarines that escort them would bring a powerful military force to the region, adding several warships, scores of strike aircraft and roughly 4,400 Marines to the forces already there.
One battle group told to get ready is attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which returned to port in Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 20 following a six-month deployment in the Gulf.
If the order to sail is given, that Atlantic carrier group would be joined in the Persian Gulf by either the USS Abraham Lincoln or the USS Kitty Hawk battle group, would be sent from the Pacific fleets. The Abraham Lincoln is in Perth, Australia, having just left the Persian Gulf. The Kitty Hawk is in port in Japan.
The defense officials declined to say which amphibious assault groups are most likely to be sent to conduct operations in Iraq. Those groups center on a large, carrier-like vessel that can launch helicopters and carry Marines.
Already in the region is the carrier USS Constellation and the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau, officials said.
Some units in the Air Force's Air Combat Command have also received "prepare to deploy" orders from the defense secretary, with planes due to leave the U.S. within the next 12 days.
They include F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour-Johnson AFB in North Carolina, F-15C fighter-bombers, B-1 and B-52 bombers and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes.
The B-52s will be deployed to Diego Garcia, a British airbase in the Indian Ocean, but all the other planes will be based in the Gulf.
B-2 bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which flew to Afghanistan and back again on missions, are not currently scheduled for deployment.
Air Force bases that have received deployment orders are Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, Moody AFB in Georgia, Langley AFB in Virginia and Nellis AFB in Nevada.
The Comfort, a 1,000-bed floating hospital, will initially sail with a crew of 61 civilian mariners and 225 Navy personnel, including enough doctors to support two operating rooms, said Marge Holtz, spokeswoman for the Navy's Military Sealift Command. Hundreds more will be flown to the ship as needed, she said.
The white-painted vessel, marked with red crosses, is equipped to handle combat casualties, including those injured in chemical or biological weapons attacks, Holtz said.
It may leave as early as Monday, Holtz said.
The ship was last deployed during the summer for exercises with U.S. allies in the Baltic Sea.
In the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Comfort sailed to the waters around Manhattan to treat people injured in the collapse of the towers. In the end, those services were not needed, as local hospitals were able to handle the survivors.
The vessel instead served as a floating hotel for rescue personnel working at the World Trade Center site, providing meals, beds and laundry service for more than 2,200 rescue workers.
The Comfort, a converted oil tanker, is only one of two hospital ships of its size. Its sister ship, the USNS Mercy, is based in San Diego
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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Kindgo
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posted
http://www.msnbc.com/news/852248.asp?0na=x2201540-
Dec. 27 -- The latest deployment bulks up forces ahead of a possible war with Iraq. NBC’s Rosalind Jordan reports.
By Tammy Kupperman
NBC NEWS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 — Approximately 25,000 U.S. troops have been ordered to the Persian Gulf region starting in early January, military officials told NBC News on Friday, and the Navy has been ordered to prepare amphibious assault groups and aircraft carriers for possible action in the gulf, the latest wave in a deployment for a potential conflict with Iraq, defense officials said.
THE UNITED STATES has warned President Saddam Hussein that he must comply with the latest U.N. resolution calling for complete disarmament or face possible military action.
U.N. inspectors have been back in Iraq since late November and U.N. weapons chief Hans Blix must report on their progress to the Security Council on Jan. 27. A decision about whether to gto war is not expected before then, the defense officials said.
Meanwhile, the United States has been gradually building up its military might in the region. According to U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, most of the 25,000 troops are logisticians, cargo handlers and other support forces.
Their deployment will increase the U.S. military presence to more than 80,000 troops. According to the various invasion scenarios, the United States would need a force of around 250,000 to launch a successful attack on Iraq.
However, tens of thousands of additional forces — including combat troops and aircraft — are expected to begin receiving their orders to deploy just after the New Year.
In addition, a large number of forces have been ordered to “prepare to deploy,” including a number of Navy ships, officials said.
READY TO GO
These forces have not so far been actually ordered to deploy, but have been told to be ready to go. They include:
Two amphibious-ready groups. These are three-ship groups that carry more than 2,000 Marines. At least one of the groups of ships is based in San Diego — the USS Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group. Within the next week or so, in preparation for possible deployment, these amphibious ships are likely to begin to load ammunition and make other preparations necessary for a long deployment.
The hospital ship Comfort, based in Baltimore, Md., was activated Friday and officials said the vessel is likely to deploy — with a small crew of fewer than 100 aboard — in early January. Medics and other hospital staff would link up with the ship once on station. The Comfort is most likely to take up position off of Diego Garcia, the British-run island in the Indian Ocean. The voyage to Diego Garcia could take up to a month.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has had her port visit to Perth, Australia, extended for several days while a decision is made whether it should be sent back to port in California, as scheduled. Officials expect a decision on whether the Lincoln could go still home and make it back when needed early next week.
The Navy has been directed to have four aircraft carrier battle groups ready in the event they are needed for a war with Iraq. They include the USS Constellation, now in the Gulf, and the Harry S. Truman, which is deployed in the Mediterranean.
The additional carriers that could deploy to the Gulf in the event they are needed are the USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS George Washington, which recently returned to Norfolk, Va., the USS Theodore Roosevelt, set to used for training exercises off Norfolk next month, and the USS Kitty Hawk. The Kitty Hawk is based in Japan but can depart
within 96 hours of receiving an order.
In addition, additional Air Force aircraft including B1 bombers, F15E Strike Eagles, A10 Warthogs and F16 Falcons have been alerted to possible deployment as soon as sometime in January.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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