Marines in Ukraine to help with projects.
PUBLISHED: June 3, 2006
By Tom Watts
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
Many of the Michigan reservists targeted Thursday by protesters in the Ukraine were from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, but there were no injuries and the American support group was later taken to a secure location.
The reservists from Marine Wing Support Group 47 are in the Ukraine preparing for Exercise Sea Breeze, said Lt. Corey Barker of Navy Public Affairs for U.S. and European Command in Germany.
"The Marines arrived and were met by protesters who surrounded the bus, shouted anti-U.S. and anti-NATO slogans," Barker said. "One protester threw a rock and broke a window. The Ukraine Naval Security Forces came in. They (Marine reservists) were taken 180 kilometers to another location."
Maj. Leonard Dorrian of Marine Wing Support Group 47 located at Selfridge ANGB said about 227 Reserve Marine men and women from metropolitan Detroit, Saginaw, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Perrysburg, Ohio, are preparing for Exercise Sea Breeze in the Ukraine.
"They will construct dining tents, latrines and birthing tents so multinational forces can use them this summer for their exercise," Dorrian said.
Brent Byers, public information officer for the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, said the Marine Wing Support Group 47 arrived at Simferopol Airport in the Ukraine on Thursday as part of a construction and engineering unit invited by the Ukrainian government to assist with upgrading facilities.
"They are anxious to begin the assistance work they were invited here to do," Byers said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Kiev. "The U.S. Embassy is continuing to work with the Ukrainian government to clear the construction equipment from the port and to defuse tension caused by protests in Crimea.
"Peaceful demonstration and assembly are important elements of any democracy, but should not be allowed to escalate to the point where people are hurt or property is damaged."
Byers said Marine Wing Support Group 47 entered the Crimean port of Feodosiya in Crimea on Thursday and unloaded materials and equipment for the construction project. He said the more than 200 Marines reservists serving in Crimea all have civilian jobs in the United States.
"To maintain their proficiency they leave these jobs for three weeks each year to work on projects such as the quality of life enhancements that they were asked to construct in Crimea," Byers said. "Once this annual obligation is met they return to their jobs in the U.S."
There will be no American military or NATO presence in Crimea once the construction unit departs in three weeks, Byers said, noting Ukrainian and U.S. Naval Forces are scheduled to co-host Sea Breeze this summer, an invitational joint maritime training exercise in the Black Sea.
The U.S. views the Sea Breeze exercise as a good opportunity for many nations to come together to build stronger partnerships.
"Ukraine has been a regular and active participant in Partnership for Peace training exercises since 1994," Byers said. "There is currently a great deal of misunderstanding about the role of NATO left over from the Soviet period.
"We hope Ukrainians will take the time to learn more about NATO's role in the world today. We believe the democratic, economic and military reforms necessary for Ukraine to join NATO would be in Ukraine's interest, whether it ultimately decides to join or not, but again this is a choice for Ukrainians."
