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Persian Gulf Buildup
Aired January 10, 2003 - 13:04 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of Marines ready for possible war with Iraq are headed to the Persian Gulf.
Kathleen Koch has more on the latest troop deployment from the Pentagon.
Hi, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, as we speak, three Navy ships are churning south from Norfolk, Virginia, to Moorehead (ph) City, North Carolina, to pick up some 7,000 Marines, and it's expected eventually then head to the Persian Gulf. That, of course, in possible preparation for some possible action against Iraq.
Now, the ships were the USS Saipan. That's an amphibious assault ship, the USS Fonsay (ph), a transport dock ship, and the USS Gungsten Hall (ph), a dock landing ship. They all left this morning. They are part of what's called an amphibious ready group, or ARG, that carries a large supply of helicopters and Marines for overseas deployments.
The group was to have deployed late this summer, but that was moved up by several months in order to support U.S. forces that are already in the Persian Gulf region. The Marines they are picking up are from the second Marine expeditionary brigade at Camp Lejeune, and they have at this point only received orders to embark, so they'll be boarding those ships on Saturday.
Military officials say the precise order to deploy, though, is expected to come within the next few days. Now, this brigade does not travel light. It will be heading out with tanks, amphibious vehicles and aircraft. And of course this action was no surprise.
Just Tuesday, the Marine Corps took the very unusual step of stopping all Marines from leaving the service for the next year. And the last time that such stop-loss were issued was in preparation of the buildup for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
And we've also learned of another deployment from that region down in the south. Some of the 98 F-15e Strike Eagles at Seymour Johnson Air Force base are also going to be heading out. We're not sure exactly when, but we're being told by the spokesperson that they're going to the -- quote -- southwest Asian area. So lots of action today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Live from the Pentagon, Kathleen Koch, thank you. 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 January 10, 2003 - 13:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of Marines ready for possible war with Iraq are headed to the Persian Gulf.
Kathleen Koch has more on the latest troop deployment from the Pentagon.
Hi, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, as we speak, three Navy ships are churning south from Norfolk, Virginia, to Moorehead (ph) City, North Carolina, to pick up some 7,000 Marines, and it's expected eventually then head to the Persian Gulf. That, of course, in possible preparation for some possible action against Iraq.
Now, the ships were the USS Saipan. That's an amphibious assault ship, the USS Fonsay (ph), a transport dock ship, and the USS Gungsten Hall (ph), a dock landing ship. They all left this morning. They are part of what's called an amphibious ready group, or ARG, that carries a large supply of helicopters and Marines for overseas deployments.
The group was to have deployed late this summer, but that was moved up by several months in order to support U.S. forces that are already in the Persian Gulf region. The Marines they are picking up are from the second Marine expeditionary brigade at Camp Lejeune, and they have at this point only received orders to embark, so they'll be boarding those ships on Saturday.
Military officials say the precise order to deploy, though, is expected to come within the next few days. Now, this brigade does not travel light. It will be heading out with tanks, amphibious vehicles and aircraft. And of course this action was no surprise.
Just Tuesday, the Marine Corps took the very unusual step of stopping all Marines from leaving the service for the next year. And the last time that such stop-loss were issued was in preparation of the buildup for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
And we've also learned of another deployment from that region down in the south. Some of the 98 F-15e Strike Eagles at Seymour Johnson Air Force base are also going to be heading out. We're not sure exactly when, but we're being told by the spokesperson that they're going to the -- quote -- southwest Asian area. So lots of action today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Live from the Pentagon, Kathleen Koch, thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
