THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300446
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Three Norfolk-based amphibious ships ordered into the Adriatic Sea after last week's escalation of the Bosnian war have completed their high-speed run to the region and are poised to help with any search-and-rescue mission.
The 1,900 Norfolk-based sailors and 2,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., are within sight of land in the relatively narrow northern Adriatic, less than 100 miles from where 60,000 Muslims are trapped by the fighting between Serb forces and Bosnian government troops in Bihac.
U.S. officials have ruled out sending the Marines into the conflict. But, they said, there was a ``real prospect'' they would help evacuate U.N. peacekeepers.
The ships, led by the assault ship Nassau, were in port at Toulon, France, when they were told last Wednesday to load up the Marines and speed toward the Adriatic, said Capt. Mark T. Vanderberg of Virginia Beach. Vanderberg is commanding officer of the Nassau.
``We left early Friday morning from Toulon, and, at a rather high speed, to get to our station here,'' Vanderberg said Tuesday by satellite telephone.
En route, the Nassau, along with the amphibious transport dock Ponce and dock landing ship Gunston Hall, received briefings on the crisis, he said. The guided-missile frigate Klakring, based in Charleston, S.C., also is sailing with the amphibious group.
``This, of course, is what we train to do - to be very responsive,'' Vanderberg said. ``We had to put that to the test when we left Toulon and headed for the Adriatic. But our mission is a humanitarian one.''
The mission, he said, is specific - to provide search and rescue capabilities.
``The additional tasking associated with that is in support . . . and certainly if the national command authorities decide that we should do that, we are very capable,'' Vanderberg said.
While in Toulon, where the ships were scheduled for a weeklong visit, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit had gone ashore for an exercise, he said.
But at 10 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving, Vanderberg said, they were notified to get the Marines on board and head to sea.
``They did a terrific job,'' he said of his crew. ``In just 33 hours they backloaded the entire group of Marines and got under way, and they did that safely.''
They could have left on Thanksgiving Day. But an effort was made to give the Marines and sailors a holiday meal. After all, the year before, the Nassau spent Thanksgiving Day off Haiti.
``We sort of had a modified holiday routine,'' Vanderberg said. ``We had our turkey. But some people had it on paper plates, and some people had it at odd hours.''
Cooks started working at midnight the night before, preparing 25 turkeys to feed Marines who had come out of the field.
``They didn't stop working for some 36 hours,'' Vanderberg said.
No one had expected the Marines to be aboard for Thanksgiving, so more provisions had to be found.
``I asked them if it was as good as Mom's turkey dinner,'' Vanderberg said. ``It didn't meet that criteria. But it was still pretty good.''
For the Nassau, the news from home keeps bringing announcements of new babies.
``We are a pretty prolific group out here,'' Vanderberg said. ``We have a number of new dads since we left, a couple of them recently.''
Six children have been born to the wives of crew members since the Nassau left Norfolk in October. The most recent new dad is Lt. Matt Favorite, a pilot in the helicopter detachment aboard the Nassau. He learned that his wife, Dorice, gave birth to a boy, Michael Zackery, last Wednesday.
As the Christmas holiday season approaches, Vanderberg said, the sailors and Marines look forward to hearing from their families.
``Please pass along `Happy Holidays' from all of us. Our spirits are very, very high. This is what we train to do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff color map
Ships waiting off Bosnian coast: Nassau, Ponce, gunston Hall
For copy of map, see microfilm
by CNB