From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sixth Fleet Marines to banner US commitment Thursday, 16 August 2001 17:40 (ET) Sixth Fleet Marines to banner US commitment By RICHARD TOMKINS WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Marines assigned to the Navy's Sixth Fleet are staging a Kosovo deployment rehearsal to underline U.S. and NATO resolve to maintain peace in the region and show ability to reinforce troops already on the ground there, the Pentagon said Thursday. The Marines -- about 700 from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- have embarked aboard three ships in the Mediterranean area for the exercise that begins next week and will last several weeks. The deployment rehearsal is not connected to the situation in Macedonia or Kosovo, the Pentagon said, but is a regular training event. "The main objective is to validate strategic, operational and tactical concepts for the deployment of the U.S. component to the NATO strategic reserve force," Quigley said. "The deployment demonstrates NATO resolve to maintain a secure environment and deter external aggression." According to U.S. European Command, based in Germany, the Marines during the exercise will support the U.S. contingent in Kosovo peacekeeping and will conduct training missions in support of their peacekeeping operations. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
