
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 1, 1994                   TAG: 9408010085
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                                 LENGTH: Short

VA. TROOPS READY TO GO TO RWANDA

A group of 150 soldiers from Fort Eustis waited with their families Sunday for word on when they will join the U.S. relief effort in Rwanda.

The Army troops from the 7th Transportation Group received orders Saturday that eventually will send them to Mombasa, Kenya. Tens of thousands of refugees from Rwanda's civil war have fled into Kenya.

The soldiers include small-boat operators and stevedores who will unload relief supplies.

Defense Secretary William Perry said on the CBS program ``Face the Nation'' Sunday that the role of U.S. troops in the African mission will be limited to humanitarian support and will not extend to the United Nations peacekeeping job within Rwanda.

A unit from the 368th Transportation Company at Fort Story in Virginia Beach arrived Sunday morning at Langley Air Force Base in neighboring Hampton, the likely departure point for the Fort Eustis troops, to set up processing arrangements for the deployment.

However, the Army has not yet said when the Fort Eustis soldiers will be leaving or how long they are expected to be gone. The Fort Story unit is not part of the deployment.

by CNB