Archives

As many as 75,000 US Marines will be deployed as part of the buildup of US and British forces for a possible war with Iraq, the commandant of the US Marine Corps has disclosed.

General Jim Jones' remarks Wednesday at the National Press Club noting the Marine Corps' contribution received little attention, but would be by far the largest Gulf-bound combat force announced so far.

Jones said the bulk of the marine forces would come from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in California, but would be rounded out with elements of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in North Carolina.

"But in the aggregate numbers it's somewhere around 65- to 75,000 marines is what we are looking at," he said. "For our contibution, that's about what it would be."

A spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California would not acknowlege that the 45,000-strong force has received deployment orders except for certain "select units."

Pentagon officials indicated that the marines may be among later deploying units that have not yet received orders to deploy.

Deployment orders went out for some 25,000 troops just before Christmas, but Jones' remarks showed that the the planned scope of the buildup will be much larger than that.

The buildup also is widely expected to include three or four US Army divisions, although only the Georgia-base 3rd Infantry Division has confirmed its 16,500-member force has been ordered to deploy.

The numbers of US forces in the region climbed this week to 66,000, including 17,000 in Kuwait, a US defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We may meter it out so it is continuous and steady over time," the official said of the buildup.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has three units, including the 1st Marine Division, an air combat element and a combat services support group.

The 1st Marine Division is a light infantry division whose forces can be equipped and organized for a range of missions in combination with combat air and naval support.

It has some heavy M-1 Abrams tanks, light armored reconnaissance vehicles and amphibious assault vehicles. It also has 155 mm howitzers, mortars and anti-armor weapons.

The air combat element has F/A-18 fighters and AH-1 Super Cobra attack helicopters as well as medium and light helicopters.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager