West Coast ships offload in Kuwait
by Journalist 1st Class Joseph Krypel
CAMP PATRIOT, Kuwait (Army News Service, March 7, 2003) - A joint-service, multi-national force has been offloading combat equipment from seven ships at Camp Patriot, Kuwait.
The armada of ships, known formally as Task Group 51.8, and commonly called Amphibious Task Force West, arrived from the West Coast of the United States about a week before the end of February. The ships brought service members and equipment for possible future operations in the Central Command area of responsibility, officials said.
This is the third such offload operation to take place at Camp Patriot. During the week-long process, officials said Camp Patriot residents have been working with their Kuwaiti counterparts in ensuring that weapons systems, aviation assets, combat equipment, military supplies and more than 1,500 Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Battalion are transported into Camp Patriot, and out to their specific mission areas.
Typical loadouts include 155mm howitzers, Light Armored Vehicles, humvees, a variety of trucks and trailers, generators and other military equipment.
Task Group 51.8 is a joint command composed of multiple units from the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard.
The task group commander and the "mayor" of Camp Patriot, Capt. Donald P. Cook, said the offload is not a one-group job.
"We work as a team here," Cook said. "We are a coalition not only of American forces, but of multinational cooperation with our host nation and others."
Task Group 51.8 is deployed to Kuwait to support the global war on terrorism and to prepare for possible future contingencies. More than 2,000 sailors, marines, soldiers, airman and coast guardsman make up Camp Patriot.
(Editor's note: Navy Journalist 1st Class Joseph Krypel is a member of CTG 51.8 Public Affairs)
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