THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994                 TAG: 9407070510
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                         LENGTH: Short :   33 lines

U.S. REHEARSED INVASION OF HAITI MORE THAN 1,000 COMMANDOS TOOK PART.

Stepping up preparations for a possible invasion of Haiti to oust its military leaders, U.S. forces have secretly rehearsed a plan to seize airfields and ports there, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

The exercise, which involved more than 1,000 commandos who most likely would serve as a vanguard, took place two weeks ago in the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico, the officials said.

A battalion of Army Rangers flew from Savannah, Ga., and ``seized'' an isolated airfield at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., which was intended to represent the airfield at Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. Navy SEAL commandos operating from ships in the Gulf of Mexico practiced capturing a port.

Army Rangers conducted the same kind of exercises at Eglin just before the United States invaded Panama in December 1989 to overthrow Gen. Manuel A. Noriega.

The administration says it is still pursuing economic sanctions in the hope of forcing the military leaders to step down. But officials say they are keeping open the option of using force.

KEYWORDS: HAITI by CNB