Essex (LHD 2) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 90 text:

the operation. Having now been followed in place by the mechanized (AAV) rifle companies of BLT 3 1 , the stage was set for delay and defend maneuvers. Showing maximum restraint and patience, the Marines were constantly tested by Somali snipers and armed gunmen. Sporadic gunfire was heard throughout the day and night. Numerous Somalis were spotted with RPGs entering a sandbagged bunker close to their security perimeter. We had an RPG round explode over our heads earlier in the afternoon, said LCpl. Kelly Bennett of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Battery A, 1 1 1 Marine fired three to four ten-round bursts with his squad automatic weapon at the target. I just didn ' t want them firing another one at us, Bennett stated, looking down. The gunmen exited the bunker with quickness. Seventy-three hours after the Marines ' landing, the sounds of air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC) approaching signaled the wind down of Operation United Shield. Battery A, 1 1 1, was replaced as security by Company L, BLT 3 1 and

Page 89 text:

Early in the morning of March 2nd, a group of SomaHs with technicals pushed their actions into clear, hostile intent in the Company K, 3 7, sector, in the vicinity of the airport ' s north ramp. Returning a proportionate amount of fire, the Marines silenced the Somali attackers. The Pakistani troops ' departure was delayed several hours the afternoon of March 2nd, due to a collision between the Pakistani ' s transport and a port tug boat. Acting quickly, the USS Essex Commanding Officer dispatched a rapid response damage control team. HMM-161 helicopters flew this team in with repair material which enabled the ship to fix the damage once underway. Once the Pakistanis were safely on their way home, the U. S. Marines and Sailors fell back to a stretch of sand called Green Beach. There, they staged men and equipment to wait for the retrograde back to the Essex ARC, waiting off the coast. Once again, the area the Marines had occupied that morning was swarming with Somalis that afternooh. The Marines of Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, had provided security for Green Beach since the start of ■ «

Page 91 text:

Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, riding in amphibious assault vehicles. Once the last of men and machinery were loaded aboard the last LCAC and waterborne, the AAVs pulled back, covering the endmost U. S. Marines and Sailors leaving Somalia. For the first time since March 1993, Somalia will not have U. N. Forces. I knew we ' d accomplish our mission. We had too much firepower not to. The challenge was to accomplish the mission without any casualties, said Col. Garrett. The coalition forces suffered no casualties during the three-day withdrawal. We planned thouroughly and we played it smart, Col. Garrett explained. Every U. S. Marine, U. S. Sailor, Italian Marine and coalition force participating had their head in the game from start to finish. The United Nations forces are out of Somalia, the coalition forces are out of Somalia, and Somalia, Africa is on its own once again. There ' s no other force in the world that could ' ve accomplished this mission except the United States Navy Marine Corps team, Col. Garrett said with pride. .