THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 12, 1994 TAG: 9410120461
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
About 600 soldiers from the Army's 7th Transportation Group, at Fort Eustis in Newport News and Fort Story in Virginia Beach, have been placed on alert for possible deployment to Southwest Asia.
About 1,400 members of the same unit were sent to Haiti last month to handle port services.
Fort Eustis soldiers also were deployed to Saudi Arabia 3 1/2 years ago for Desert Storm operations.
Meanwhile, nine F-15 Eagle fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base in Hampton left Monday in response to the buildup of Iraqi troops near Kuwait.
The fighters are part of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley and represent half of the 27th Fighter Squadron that is already in the Middle East.
About 250 support personnel from the 27th are to leave Langley as well.
Along with the 71st Fighter Squadron at Langley, the two have alternated duties since the end of Operation Desert Storm, making sure Iraqi planes do not stray from restricted air space.
Once the 27th is in place, its 18 planes and 400 personnel will remain in the region for an as-yet undetermined time, a spokesman said.
The 27th played a similar role during the Persian Gulf war as a check on Iraq's air forces.
KEYWORDS: IRAQ PERSIAN GULF by CNB