Platoon of Marines moved to Uganda After Four Navy SEALS Wounded

Platoon of Marines moved to Uganda amid South Sudan crisis
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: December 26, 2013

WASHINGTON — A platoon of U.S. Marines was moved from Djibouti to Uganda on Tuesday in the event the fighting in neighboring South Sudan deteriorates further.

“This forward posturing provides the Combatant Commander additional options and the ability to more quickly respond, if required, to help protect U.S. personnel and facilities,” U.S. Africa Command said in a statement.

AFRICOM said this contingent of some 40 Marines and a KC-130J aircraft are now in Entebbe, the capital of Uganda.

The KC-130J transport plane has airborne assault capabilities, and is also used for medevac, search and rescue, and aerial refueling.

“These movements were made with the full knowledge and cooperation of the Ugandan authorities,” AFRICOM said.

A Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response unit was moved Monday from Moron, Spain, to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, after an incident in which four Navy SEALs were wounded during an aborted rescue operation in South Sudan.

The SEALs were trying to evacuate American citizens from the city of Bor on Saturday when the Osprey aircraft they were flying in came under small arms fire while they were trying to land.

Three of the SEALs were transported to Landstuhl earlier in the week; the fourth was stabilized at a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, and was moved to Landstuhl on Christmas day.
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