Marine's provide relief to Indonesia unarmed

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http://news.bostonherald.com/international...905&format=

 

U.S. Marines leave weapons behind as they go ashore

By Associated Press

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

 

Cpl. Sean Foley looks around the ship's main armory and takes a quick inventory. The room is overflowing with guns. Pistols, sniper rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers.

But for the time being, it's all staying right here.

In an effort to ease the fears of local officials, Marines participating in the humanitarian mission to help Indonesia recover from the earthquake and tsunami that have killed more than 100,000 people on the island of Sumatra have agreed to leave their weapons behind whenever they go ashore.

 

For many Marines, that's tantamount to traveling naked.

``They didn't even want us to have protection like helmets and body armor, let alone weapons, because it might look threatening,'' said Foley, of Erie, Pa. ``That's crazy.''

His concern isn't unfounded.

Though the nearly 2,000 Marines on this ship and another nearby have only just begun to trickle ashore, and are generally returning to the ship each night, the area in which they are operating presents some significant security threats.

Rebels have long been active in this region, so much so that the Indonesian government had largely restricted it from foreigners. Though a lull followed the Dec. 26 disaster, firefights near the provincial capital of Banda Aceh have been reported recently.

``We are concerned,'' said Col. Tom Greenwood, commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which was diverted from duty in Iraq to join in the humanitarian operation. ``The Indonesian government is taking it very seriously.''

But Indonesian officials have also been reluctant to let the Marines come ashore with their weapons because of the image that might project.

``We are very concerned about force protection,'' Greenwood said. ``But if you go in there and look like an invading force instead of a humanitarian force, that could be just as detrimental as having no security whatsoever. So you have to balance it.''

In the devastated city of Meulaboh, where the Marines are expected to do much of their work and unload the bulk of their relief supplies, heavily armed Indonesian soldiers provide security.

In an exception to the no-weapons orders, Marine helicopter pilots have been allowed to carry their standard protection. Marines have also been careful to maintain close communications with their ship.

Officials stressed, however, that security was in the Indonesians' hands.

``We have full confidence in their ability to provide adequate force protection,'' said Gunnery Sgt. Robert Knoll, a spokesman for the Marines.

``We won't be using any of these,'' Cpl. Jeff Austin, of Salt Lake City, Utah, said as he set up a .50 caliber sniper rifle in the armory. ``I guess the no weapons rule is understandable, since this is a humanitarian thing. But it's quite a switch for us. Usually, we never leave home without them.''

 

 

[gardnmom]

So glad to see you post, Mare. I had heard a little about this, thank you for the full report.