Free Republic

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2006 – The Defense Department evacuated 957 U.S. citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus yesterday aboard the contracted cruise ship Orient Queen, bringing the total to 12,870 since the crisis in Lebanon began July 16, DoD officials said today. Also, DoD airlifted the first humanitarian supplies promised to those in the war-torn country, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Three helicopters delivered three kits of medical supplies to Red Cross personnel. Each of the three medical kits has enough medicine and supplies to meet the needs of 10,000 people for three months. Seven other kits have arrived in Cyprus...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) are making preparations to get underway Sept. 1 for areas off the U.S. Gulf Coast in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief operations associated with Hurricane Katrina. Truman will serve as the command center and afloat staging base, and will carry additional helicopters from Naval Air Station Jacksonville to support search and rescue (SAR) efforts. Whidbey Island will bring with it the capability to employ a movable causeway to the region. The Navy's involvement in the humanitarian assistance...

  Wasp ESG Ships Return From DeploymentStory Number: NNS040917-12Release Date: 9/18/2004 1:30:00 PMFrom Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public AffairsNORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Nearly 2,500 Sailors reunited with family and friends Sept. 18 when the remaining three ships from the USS Wasp (LHD 1) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG 2) returned from a seven-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism. The amphibious assault ship Wasp and the amphibious transport ship USS Shreveport (LPD 12) returned to their homeport of Norfolk Naval Station, and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD...

22nd MEU better trained, equipped Don Bryan/Daily News Saying goodbye: Cpl. Larry Currie and his wife, Shekinah, left, spend time together while Sgt. Eddie Williams plays with his son, Elijah, as his fiance Lisa Parsley watches. February 19,2004Eric SteinkopffDAILY NEWS STAFF Col. Kenneth Frank McKenzie Jr. stood near Risley Pier on Wednesday and watched with a mixture of pride and satisfaction. The commander of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit was watching his old battalion prepare for another six-month deployment. "I was the commander of that battalion the last time 1/6 left for a float, from November 1998 to May...