THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996 TAG: 9603190268 SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY BILL SIZEMORE, STAFF WRITER DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Welcome to the Beehive, geographically close but a world apart from the mean streets of Port-au-Prince.
It's the bar in Camp Fairwinds, the compound used by all four U.S. military services deployed in the Haitian capital. Saturday night it was packed with Marines from the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) based at Camp Allen on the Norfolk Naval Base. For many of them, it was the last night of a four-month deployment.
Stripped down to gym shorts and T-shirts in the steamy Haitian heat, they crowded around a big-screen TV and cheered raucously at the Mike Tyson heavyweight fight. At the other end of the room, troops played pool as Jimmy Buffett tunes blared from the stereo.
These Marines know how to party, despite the confines of military regulations - the Beehive imposes a two-beer limit.
The bar is one of many creature comforts available to U.S. troops. Others include air-conditioned plywood barracks, hot showers, portable toilets, a weight room, a pool and an all-you-can-eat mess hall that draws universal raves.
One Army outfit from Hampton Roads, Task Force 7 of the 7th Transportation Group, may hold the distinction of being the only U.S. unit on the ground in Haiti for the entire U.N. deployment.
Task Force 7 - which includes soldiers from Fort Story in Virginia Beach and Fort Eustis in Newport News - helped move the U.S. forces and their gear into Port-au-Prince in September 1994. Now it's moving most of them out.
The military complex is an insular environment that stands in stark contrast to the surrounding reality.
For a look at the real Haiti, go across town to the site where the Marines are guarding a rural school construction project. Along the rough dirt road, women carry water in pails or balance huge containers of produce on their heads. Others cook meager meals over open fires. A frequent sight is someone butchering a cow on the side of the road.
Children, some naked and most shoeless, gather daily at the school site to watch the Marines and Navy Seabees at work.
``They'll even take a nap right there on the spot, then wake up and watch some more,'' said Marine Lance Cpl. Felipe Cantu of the Norfolk-based 5th FAST Platoon. ``It's like they're looking for a friend.''
The Marines have developed a special relationship with a nearby orphanage, which they visit regularly to show movies and deliver treats. Saturday they dropped off a load of donated toys, clothes, shoes, books, cribs and other items collected by a youth group at Larchmont United Methodist Church in Norfolk, where Capt. Jason Bohm, commanding officer of the 5th Platoon, is a member.
``It's a country crying out for help,'' said Lance Cpl. Wilson Leech. ``There are a lot of people here trying to get by with nothing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Marines from the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team whoop it up
in the Beehive on their last night in Haiti. From left: 5th platoon
members Cpl. Steve Ferreira, Lance Cpl. Felipe Cantu and Lance Cpl.
Mike Mulqueen..
Marianne Joslin welcomes home her husband, Lance Cpl. Christopher
Joslin, Sunday at the Camp Allen gym on Norfolk Naval Base. He'd
gone to Haiti in November.
KEYWORDS: HAITI by CNB