Navy begins major
exercise off the coast
of Okinawa

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By Eric Talmadge
Associated Press

ABOARD THE USS ESSEX >> Thousands of U.S. Marines and five Navy ships began a major exercise this week off the coast of Okinawa in southern Japan, amid heightened security caused by concerns over possible terrorist attacks.

About 5,000 Marines and sailors are involved in the exercises, along with five ships, including two minesweepers and the USS Essex, an aircraft carrier-like vessel that can serve as a flight deck for helicopters and Harrier fighter jets.

Over the next two weeks or so, hundreds of Marines on two other ships were to be launched on amphibious vehicles for simulated shore assaults.

The exercises started yesterday.

"Unlike the continental U.S. forces, we are required to be ready to support contingency operations all year long," said Rear Admiral Paul S. Schultz, commander of the amphibious force of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the only fleet based outside the United States.

The fleet's home port is just south of Tokyo.

Schultz stressed that the exercises, held twice a year, are the same now as they have been in the past.

But he said the concern of possible terrorism since Sept. 11 has forced tighter security -- with bolstered patrols on both water and land -- and perhaps given the maneuvers a heightened feeling of reality.

The Seventh Fleet aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and its battle group have already left Japan and are believed to be joining anti-terror operations in the Indian Ocean. Schultz refused to comment on whether the amphibious forces would also be ordered to play a role away from Japan, but said they are ready if needed.

Along with the Seventh Fleet, about 50,000 American troops are stationed in Japan, more than half of them on the island of Okinawa.

The concentration of U.S. troops on Okinawa has raised concern that they, like other high-profile U.S. facilities around the world, could be a target for terrorists.

Additional protection was provided for the ships from both U.S. and Japanese patrols as they pulled out of port yesterday, Schultz said.

He also said security on land has been stepped up, with barriers erected around key buildings on bases and the implementation of stricter checks of everyone entering or leaving military facilities.

Three busloads of Japanese police were stationed outside the White Beach facility in central Okinawa, from which the ships departed.