Pentagon Spokesman's Regular Briefing, Oct. 10
BRIEFER: ADM. CRAIG QUIGLEY, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN
PENTAGON BRIEFING ROOM,
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2000 -- 2:05 P.M. EDT
Approximately 250 soldiers from the U.S. Army's 3rd Special Forces
Group, Airborne, headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, along
with other Europe-based support units, are deploying to Nigeria this
week to begin preparations for equipment fielding and training for
Nigerian battalions for possible peace-enforcement operations under
the U.N. in West Africa. This is the next phase of Operation Focus
Relief, which was announced a few months ago by the president.
You will recall the U.S. is committed to training up to five
battalions of West African peacekeepers in support of the U.N. Mission
in Sierra Leone.
Q: This is a follow-up to the Ghana -- we sent groups to Ghana
earlier, did we not?
Quigley: It's a subset of that, yes. Or, I should say, this is the
larger one with Nigeria, Ghana, and a third country I can't think of
right now, Charlie. Let me check on that; there was a third nation.
Q: When are they going?
Quigley: Are en route; small numbers are already there. In the days
ahead it'll grow to about 250 total.
Q: For how long?
Quigley: No real time frame on that, Pam, but rather, it's objectives.
We know that we -- this training is all about familiarization with
equipment and tactics and the mechanics, if you will, of a Chapter 6
operation in Sierra Leone. So it's objective-based rather than
calendar-based; I guess I'd put it that way.
Q: What kind of equipment are they being trained on?
Quigley: The individual weapons; crew-served weapons, communications
equipment, individual soldier equipment; all of the part that you
would consider fairly standard components of a light infantry unit in
that part of the world.
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