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Marines Aboard USS Bonhomme Richard Say Goodbye

Aired January 17, 2003 - 13:39   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: Now to the other end of the U.S. military operation, the Persian Gulf.
CNN's Martin Savidge is in Kuwait, where the Marines are gearing up for that possible war -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Gearing up is a very good choice of words, because it was their gear that was arriving today. It's not the first prepositioning ship to role into Kuwait, and as military officials say, it's definitely not going to be the last.

However, it was a large supply that was offloaded from the vessel. We can't tell you where it was. The video was provided by the U.S. military itself.

However, it had so much gear, it has taken two days to far. It's not just as we mentioned, the bullet, beans and bandages. It's also the humvees, the M1A1 Abrams tanks, the ammunition that goes along with it, the medical supplies, the food. They are part of a squadron of prepositioning ships.

The Navy has about 13 ships strategically place all around the world -- the Mediterranean, the Western Pacific, and in this particular case, the Indiana Ocean. What they do, is they load supplies that could be used for possible warfare or combat ahead of time, which might explain why some of the vehicles coming of ships today were not the desert camouflage, but the forest green. That will change as they head out to the desert environment. All of this is meant to be used by the 45,000 U.S. Marines that are either in Kuwait or headed into the Persian Gulf region as a part of the buildup in advance of any possible military action against Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Live from Kuwait, Martin Savidge, thank you.

Among those saying goodbye this morning, U.S. Marines aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard.

CNN National correspondent Frank Buckley is onboard as the shores of California slip further into the distance.

He joins us now by telephone.

Hi, Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kyra. We have been underway for an hour-and-a-half now. We are still off the coast of San Diego, sort of near Point Loma (ph). The ship's crew and the Marines aboard this ship finally putting some of the departure emotion in check, and the work getting under way, the routine that will sustain them for potentially several months as they steam into the Persian Gulf and work in and around the Persian Gulf, and of course, they could be called in for any hostilities.

Flight operations are about to get under way here. They're going to recover a number of helicopters aboard, and then 19 Harrier jets. These are the aircraft that, Kyra, I know that you are familiar with that can do the vertical takeoffs that will be landing aboard this deck here. That will be quite a sight.

Shortly after that, we are going to be seeing an incredible sight the L-KAKs (ph). These are the military ships that are like hovercraft, will actually be coming from Camp Pendleton and boarding this ship. They will lower the stern gate, flood part of the back end of the ship, and then these three L-KAKs (ph) will come aboard. We are going to see that, and we hope to bring that you to live shortly when that takes place.

So, the ship is underway, and we're seeing San Diego get smaller and smaller behind us -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Frank, you for the past couple of days have given us an incredible look inside this ship. Talk to us more about just the history of the ship and a number of the capabilities, if indeed it goes into war action.

BUCKLEY: Well, the capabilities of this ship are quite remarkable. This among the seven ships deploying, all of them amphibious ships of various configurations, but as I mentioned, they have the Harrier jets, of course, helicopters, and the landing craft that I mentioned, 10,000 Marines and sailors aboard this and all of the other ships, and really, it gives the theater commander the option to have an amphibious invasion. They can land Marines ashore using the L-KAK's (ph), and also the conventional landing craft. They can get them ashore using helicopters and these harrier jets to provide close-in air support. A great deal of capability that comes along with this sort of an amphibious task force.

PHILLIPS: CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley onboard the USS Bonhomme Richard as it's getting farther and farther from San Diego. We're looking at a live picture right now as the ship heads off to the Persian Gulf. Frank, thanks.

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 17, 2003 - 13:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the other end of the U.S. military operation, the Persian Gulf.
CNN's Martin Savidge is in Kuwait, where the Marines are gearing up for that possible war -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Gearing up is a very good choice of words, because it was their gear that was arriving today. It's not the first prepositioning ship to role into Kuwait, and as military officials say, it's definitely not going to be the last.

However, it was a large supply that was offloaded from the vessel. We can't tell you where it was. The video was provided by the U.S. military itself.

However, it had so much gear, it has taken two days to far. It's not just as we mentioned, the bullet, beans and bandages. It's also the humvees, the M1A1 Abrams tanks, the ammunition that goes along with it, the medical supplies, the food. They are part of a squadron of prepositioning ships.

The Navy has about 13 ships strategically place all around the world -- the Mediterranean, the Western Pacific, and in this particular case, the Indiana Ocean. What they do, is they load supplies that could be used for possible warfare or combat ahead of time, which might explain why some of the vehicles coming of ships today were not the desert camouflage, but the forest green. That will change as they head out to the desert environment. All of this is meant to be used by the 45,000 U.S. Marines that are either in Kuwait or headed into the Persian Gulf region as a part of the buildup in advance of any possible military action against Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Live from Kuwait, Martin Savidge, thank you.

Among those saying goodbye this morning, U.S. Marines aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard.

CNN National correspondent Frank Buckley is onboard as the shores of California slip further into the distance.

He joins us now by telephone.

Hi, Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kyra. We have been underway for an hour-and-a-half now. We are still off the coast of San Diego, sort of near Point Loma (ph). The ship's crew and the Marines aboard this ship finally putting some of the departure emotion in check, and the work getting under way, the routine that will sustain them for potentially several months as they steam into the Persian Gulf and work in and around the Persian Gulf, and of course, they could be called in for any hostilities.

Flight operations are about to get under way here. They're going to recover a number of helicopters aboard, and then 19 Harrier jets. These are the aircraft that, Kyra, I know that you are familiar with that can do the vertical takeoffs that will be landing aboard this deck here. That will be quite a sight.

Shortly after that, we are going to be seeing an incredible sight the L-KAKs (ph). These are the military ships that are like hovercraft, will actually be coming from Camp Pendleton and boarding this ship. They will lower the stern gate, flood part of the back end of the ship, and then these three L-KAKs (ph) will come aboard. We are going to see that, and we hope to bring that you to live shortly when that takes place.

So, the ship is underway, and we're seeing San Diego get smaller and smaller behind us -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Frank, you for the past couple of days have given us an incredible look inside this ship. Talk to us more about just the history of the ship and a number of the capabilities, if indeed it goes into war action.

BUCKLEY: Well, the capabilities of this ship are quite remarkable. This among the seven ships deploying, all of them amphibious ships of various configurations, but as I mentioned, they have the Harrier jets, of course, helicopters, and the landing craft that I mentioned, 10,000 Marines and sailors aboard this and all of the other ships, and really, it gives the theater commander the option to have an amphibious invasion. They can land Marines ashore using the L-KAK's (ph), and also the conventional landing craft. They can get them ashore using helicopters and these harrier jets to provide close-in air support. A great deal of capability that comes along with this sort of an amphibious task force.

PHILLIPS: CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley onboard the USS Bonhomme Richard as it's getting farther and farther from San Diego. We're looking at a live picture right now as the ship heads off to the Persian Gulf. Frank, thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com