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http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=8161 Troops, ships, aircraft from 15 countries to gather for Dynamic Mix 2002 By Scott Schonauer, Rota bureau European edition, Friday, May 3, 2002 Stars And Stripes -Dynamic Mix 2002 is the largest exercise of the year for Allied Forces Southern Europe. It will be the first major exercise to be held in Spain since it joined NATO in 1999. The exercise begins May 21 and ends June 6. NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain — NATO forces — along with about 4,000 U.S. Marines — will conduct one of the largest military exercises of the year next month in the Spanish port city of Tarragona. The biennial drill, called Dynamic Mix 2002, will include 12,000 troops, 35 ships and 155 aircraft from 15 countries. Although most of the exercise will be conducted in Tarragona, about 45 miles west of Barcelona, parts of the exercise will be conducted at several locations around the Mediterranean Sea. "Everybody is integrated into the exercise," said German Army Capt. Gerd Philipps, a spokesman for the Italy-based Allied Forces Southern Europe command, the exercise sponsor. Troops will practice a variety of scenarios during the month-long exercise, including force-on-force fighting, crisis response and humanitarian aid efforts. A large part of the massive drill — and something new added to this year’s exercise — will be the offloading of prepositioned cargo ships, which contain everything from bombs to Meals, Ready to Eat. Marines from the Camp Le-jeune, N.C.-based 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade will fly to Tarragona and unload the two maritime prepositioning ships. There are 13 such ships in the Mediterranean, western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. There are usually four in the Atlantic or Mediterranean ready to immediately supply and sustain 17,000 Marines for up to 30 days. The fleet of ships offers strike planners the advantage of having tons of equipment and supplies that can be moved at a moment’s notice. The ships often go port to port throughout Europe, but they rarely participate in an exercise this large. During Dynamic Mix 2002, Marines will unload only a portion of the cargo. They will take off a Marine Expeditionary Unit-sized slice — 4,000 tons of supplies and about 400 trucks, Humvees, generators, light-armored vehicles, tanks and artillery — from two ships anchored offshore about two miles. It is a complicated operation that could be done in a real contingency if the Pentagon needed to mobilize a large number of Marines overseas. "This is a neat thing to be able to practice," said Maj. Kenneth White, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces, Europe, based in Stuttgart, Germany. "You just don’t get this kind of opportunity often." After unloading the equipment and supplies, U.S. Marines will do some field training with the Spanish Army in San Gregorio, near Zaragoza. The first group of Marines arrive in Spain next week, said 1st Lt. Kelly Frushour, a spokeswoman for the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Dynamic Mix 2002 is the largest exercise of the year for Allied Forces Southern Europe. It will be the first major exercise to be held in Spain since it joined NATO in 1999. The exercise begins May 21 and ends June 6. This is the sixth year NATO has conducted the drill. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
