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CNN Live At Daybreak
More U.S. Troops Arriving in Kuwait
Aired February 13, 2003 - 06:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-eight thousand members of the military Reserve and National Guard are being called to duty in the single-largest call-up since the war on terror began. Among them are Reservists at Dover Air Force in Delaware. They're part of the Airlift command, and they'll be delivering weapons, equipment and food to troops in the field.
And the 101st Airborne Division is loading these helicopters onto the U.S. Navy ship, Bob Hope. They're making a pit stop in Jacksonville, Florida, before shipping out to the Middle East.
And more troops are heading to the Persian Gulf region from bases in Virginia. An undisclosed number of soldiers from the 10th and 24th Transportation Battalion have left Fort Ustis in Newport News. About 150 support personnel, such as security forces and communications specialists, have departed Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.
And some of those troops could be heading for Kuwait. U.S. forces and equipment are arriving there day by day.
Our Martin Savidge is in Kuwait City with a look at the buildup there.
And, Martin, you have some incredible pictures to show us.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning again to you, Carol. Yes, in every day and in every way, the military buildup gets just a little bit larger; actually, a lot larger.
Yesterday, we got to watch as the 15th MEU, that's Marine Expeditionary Unit, came rolling ashore. Always very impressive for the Marines to arrive, because they arrive with everything they need, and are "good to go," as the Marines like to say.
The MEU is part of what they call the Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is about 1,800, maybe 2,200 men and women. Of course, they bring the tanks, they bring the amphibious assault vehicles, they have the LAVs, which are the light-armored vehicles, and they come blasting ashore with those big Hovercraft that are capable of closing the distance between ship to shore in a very short amount of time at a high speed and carry heavy loads.
The MEU then folds into what is called a MEF, which is a Marine Expeditionary Force, and by this time, I've begun to give you information overload. Needless to say, it is a body of troops that continues to grow. Once they get on shore, the next step? Convoys, lots of convoys, heading north on the Abdali (ph) Highway. That is the main road that runs up through the center of Kuwait all the way to the Iraqi border, stop-offs all along the way for the various camps and bases that continue to grow like desert wildfires and wild flowers out there.
And the other interesting thing? The evacuation that's taking place, lot of camels coming out. The perfect territory, the desert, to raise camels, a very valuable commodity here. So, that weird mix on the roadway, you've got the hardware going up, you've got the camels coming out, a lot of those camels are going to go all the way south to Saudi Arabia, they say. They're so valuable, they don't want to risk them up there near the border should there be any sort of conflict.
And keep in mind that tomorrow is when that whole military zone -- that is a massive part of the country, about half of the country -- will be declared officially a military training zone, no civilians allowed. That's why the camels are coming out -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Martin Savidge reporting live this morning from Kuwait City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 13, 2003 - 06:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-eight thousand members of the military Reserve and National Guard are being called to duty in the single-largest call-up since the war on terror began. Among them are Reservists at Dover Air Force in Delaware. They're part of the Airlift command, and they'll be delivering weapons, equipment and food to troops in the field.
And the 101st Airborne Division is loading these helicopters onto the U.S. Navy ship, Bob Hope. They're making a pit stop in Jacksonville, Florida, before shipping out to the Middle East.
And more troops are heading to the Persian Gulf region from bases in Virginia. An undisclosed number of soldiers from the 10th and 24th Transportation Battalion have left Fort Ustis in Newport News. About 150 support personnel, such as security forces and communications specialists, have departed Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.
And some of those troops could be heading for Kuwait. U.S. forces and equipment are arriving there day by day.
Our Martin Savidge is in Kuwait City with a look at the buildup there.
And, Martin, you have some incredible pictures to show us.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning again to you, Carol. Yes, in every day and in every way, the military buildup gets just a little bit larger; actually, a lot larger.
Yesterday, we got to watch as the 15th MEU, that's Marine Expeditionary Unit, came rolling ashore. Always very impressive for the Marines to arrive, because they arrive with everything they need, and are "good to go," as the Marines like to say.
The MEU is part of what they call the Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is about 1,800, maybe 2,200 men and women. Of course, they bring the tanks, they bring the amphibious assault vehicles, they have the LAVs, which are the light-armored vehicles, and they come blasting ashore with those big Hovercraft that are capable of closing the distance between ship to shore in a very short amount of time at a high speed and carry heavy loads.
The MEU then folds into what is called a MEF, which is a Marine Expeditionary Force, and by this time, I've begun to give you information overload. Needless to say, it is a body of troops that continues to grow. Once they get on shore, the next step? Convoys, lots of convoys, heading north on the Abdali (ph) Highway. That is the main road that runs up through the center of Kuwait all the way to the Iraqi border, stop-offs all along the way for the various camps and bases that continue to grow like desert wildfires and wild flowers out there.
And the other interesting thing? The evacuation that's taking place, lot of camels coming out. The perfect territory, the desert, to raise camels, a very valuable commodity here. So, that weird mix on the roadway, you've got the hardware going up, you've got the camels coming out, a lot of those camels are going to go all the way south to Saudi Arabia, they say. They're so valuable, they don't want to risk them up there near the border should there be any sort of conflict.
And keep in mind that tomorrow is when that whole military zone -- that is a massive part of the country, about half of the country -- will be declared officially a military training zone, no civilians allowed. That's why the camels are coming out -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Martin Savidge reporting live this morning from Kuwait City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
