THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240054
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA LENGTH: Long : 127 lines
It's expensive, agree the admiral, the general, the colonels and the captains running America's efforts off the coast of Haiti.
There are nearly 17,000 refugees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station who need to be clothed, fed and housed.
More than 8,000 sailors and Marines, Coast Guard crews, Army and Air Force men and women have the same needs aboard the 35 ships now plying the waters around the impoverished island nation of Haiti.
Military officials won't hazard a guess on America's tab for restoring democracy to Haiti, but before it's over they say Congress will be asked to appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars.
It will pay for all the air cargo activity at Guantanamo, once just a transport plane twice a week and now several flights a day.
It will pay for all the load masters negotiating the hills of Cuba with care as they rush pallets of food on low-slung flatbed trucks. Other supplies come from landing craft and barges.
And it will pay for the Navy Seabees and Air Force Red Horse construction crews who labor throughout the hot, humid days to build more shelters, toilets, water lines and storage spaces.
The final tab will date back to mid-May and could cover a full threefold effort - rescue fleeing Haitians, keep illegal cargo from reaching Haiti and possibly invade to evacuate American citizens or even drive the current military regime from power.
The man submitting the bill will be Adm. Paul Miller, commander of the U.S. Atlantic Command in Norfolk.
Operations such as this, while expensive, probably are here to stay, said Marine Brig. Gen. Michael J. Williams, who is responsible for the well-being of the Haitian migrants.
``I think it is fair to say this is something we are going to be doing more of,'' he said.
Why? Because the U.S. armed forces have the capacity to bring a reasoned response to global strife, he said.
``That is not available anywhere else in the world. I see this not as a wave of the future, but something we will be involved in from now on.''
Each hour in Guantanamo, the costs of this effort rise.
A 50-bed hospital was flown in from McDill Air Force Base, where its commander, Col. Robert S. Speigel, is responsible for 20 doctors, 309 nurses and 40 medical technicians.
They see 15 to 20 patients a day, including anyone among the 2,000 support personnel at Guantanamo Bay who may be ill. Eleven babies have been born to the refugees. Many more women are pregnant. Four people have died since their arrival, one because of complications during pregnancy, another death was a stillborn baby. Two males died, one a 14-year-old, from malaria.
A desalinization plant provides the naval base 1.5 million gallons of water per day, but there is a reserve of only 300,000 to 400,000 gallons. A new plant may be needed.
``We can't accept many more people here,'' he said, pointing to the seven camps perched on a plateau overlooking the entrance to Guantanamo Bay. ``We are about built out.''
Another facility two miles away is being considered if the exodus from Haiti picks up again, he said. A third site also is being eyed.
``But 25,000 (migrants) is the maximum here,'' Williams said. ``The obvious is that you pay a price for that and quality of life at the base. Because if this number grows and grows we will start running up the upper edge of the water supplies.
``Then tough decisions need to be made on how much of our resources should be devoted to migrants.''
By the time the next burst of refugees takes to the waters off Haiti, officials hope the numbers at Guantanamo Bay will have been thinned, that other countries will offer safe havens, Williams said.
As the crisis continues, the Navy is keeping in mind another cost - the morale of those aboard Norfolk-based ships who were sent to the Caribbean right after serving their regular six months in the Mediterranean Sea, said Vice Adm. Jay L. Johnson, who is in charge of operations in the Caribbean.
The four ships of the Inchon amphibious ready group and the 2,000 Marines they carry have been exercising off the Bahamas for the past several days, preparing for a possible evacuation of Americans in Haiti. They also are available if President Clinton orders an invasion of the island.
Getting the Inchon group home is a priority, Johnson said.
``Every morning in Norfolk they are working on it. They know our desire to get them home. . . . The overriding concern is to cover the requirements. No. 2 is to get the Inchon and (Marines) home.
``But, for now, we're here.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Air Force Capt. Dan Zulli leads an English language class for
several hundred Haitian refugees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in
Cuba.
PAIL AIKEN/Staff photos
Air Force 2nd Lt. Kim Saccomando holds a Haitian baby at the 50-bed
hospital in the refugee camp on Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in
Cuba. The 20 doctors, 309 nurses and 40 medical technicians care for
the medical needs of refugees and support personnel. They see 15 to
20 patients each day. Two male refugees, one 14 years old, have died
of malaria.
Nearly 17,000 Haitian refugees are living in tent camps on
Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. Navy Seabees and Air Force Red Horse
construction crews worked throughout the hot, humid days to build
the shelters, toilets, water lines and storage spaces that crowd the
plateaus overlooking the entrance to Guantanamo Bay.
Two Haitian refugees proudly show off a newborn baby in the tent
camp on Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. Eleven babies have been born
to refugees at the camp, and many more women are pregnant. One woman
died from complications during pregnancy, and one child was
stillborn.
Graphic
ROBERT D. VOROS/Staff
AMPHIBIOUS READY GROUP
SOURCES: Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 1993 edition; Jane's
Fighting Ships, 1992-93 edition; Jane's Pocket Book of Major
Warships; Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 1971-72, 1982-83, 1992-93
editions; Jane's Armour and Artillery, 1990-91 edition; U.S.
Department of Defense Fact File.
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB