Providence, Scranton, Whitney: gone from Libya

USN warships now on Libyan duty are the USS Kearsarge, the USS Ponce and the destroyer USS Barry.

Among those no longer participating in the Libya mission are two submarines, the destroyer USS Stout and the Mount Whitney,

According to published accounts, an unknown number of CIA officers, along with British intelligence and special forces counterparts, are working with the Libyan rebels. The CIA has its own paramilitary component, known as the Special Activities Division. But what the CIA might be doing in Libya beyond just gathering intelligence is unclear. VOA

The Special Activities Division (SAD) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) National Clandestine Service (NCS) responsible for covert operations, black operations and other "special activities". These include covert political action and paramilitary special operations. Within SAD there are two separate groups, one for paramilitary operations and another for political action The Political Action Group within SAD is responsible for covert activities related to political influence, psychological and economic warfare. The rapid development of technology has added cybA large covert operation usually has components that involve many, or all, of these categories, as well as paramilitary operations. The division is supervised by the U.S. Secretary of State

Special Operations Group (SOG) is the element within SAD responsible for paramilitary operations. These operations include collection of intelligence in hostile countries and regions, and all high threat military or intelligence operations with which the U.S. government does not wish to be overtly associated As such, members of the unit (called Paramilitary Operations Officers) normally do not carry any objects or clothing (e.g., military uniforms) that would associate them with the United States government If they are compromised during a mission, the government of the United States may deny all knowledge.
Only three Navy warships and a supply ship remain for the operation, compared with the 11 ships there when the intervention began, two defense officials said Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the data.

HMCS Charlottetown: to Libya also JTF2, SF unit

Canada is sending one of its warships to the Mediterranean to help Canadians trapped in violence-wracked Libya to get out of the country.

HMCS Charlottetown is slated to depart Halifax Wednesday. Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the combat ship included a Sea King helicopter and the government was prepared to go beyond simply getting the remaining 100 to 200 Canadians still in Libya out.

"The intention here is obviously to provide ... for the continued support of all efforts to remove Canadians ... from Libya as well as support, if need be, certain humanitarian efforts," he said.

JTF2, Canada's elite special forces unit, has been sent to the region. Mr. MacKay would not comment on JTF2's movements but did note that some Canadian troops are embedded within the operations centre with British and other allied forces.
A gunman opened fire inside a bus carrying U.S. servicemembers at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, today, killing two members of the U.S. Air Force, a U.S. official said.

One of the dead was the bus driver. Two other American servicemembers were reportedly seriously injured in the incident.

The servicemembers were not based in Germany but were transiting through,German police arrested a 21-year-old suspect from Kosovo at the scene. He was identified as Arif Uka from the northern city of Mitrovica.

USS Barry (DDG-52) A highlight of this exercise [FLEETEX 2-94] was a covert SEAL team extraction in shallow water only a few miles off the Carolina coast, successfully validating the littoral combat characteristics of the DDG-51 class

HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339)
Class and type: Halifax-class frigate
Displacement: 3,995 tonnes (light)
4,795 tonnes (operational)
5,032 tonnes (deep load)
Length: 134.2 m
Beam: 16.5 m
Draught: 7.1 m
Propulsion: 2 × LM2500 Gas turbines
1 × SEMT Pielstick Diesel engine
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h)
Range: 9,500 nautical miles (17,595 km)
Complement: 225 (including air detachment)
Armament: 24 × Honeywell Mk 46 torpedoes
16 × Evolved Sea-Sparrow SAM
8 × RGM-84 Harpoon SSM
1 × 57 mm Bofors Mk2 gun
1 × 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS
6 × .50 Caliber machine guns
Aircraft carried: 1 × CH-124 Sea King.

Foreign countries should refrain from military intervention in Libya as opponents of Muammar Gaddafi's rule do not want such interference, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu of Turkey said on March 2..

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had earlier ruled out any NATO role in Libya, where Gaddafi's brutal response to an uprising against his rule has led to fears over bloodshed and a humanitarian crisis. But Davutoğlu's remarks are the clearest expression of Turkish opposition to foreign military action in Libya, which came as the US sent two amphibious assault ships towards the North African country.

Kearsarge ARG: thru Canal, to Libyan Coast

Police say a gunman fired shots at U.S. soldiers on a bus outside Frankfurt airport March 2, killing two people and wounding two before being taken into custody.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered the amphibious attack ship USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport dock to head to the coast of Libya. The two ships passed through the Suez Canal this morning. The Kearsarge is capable of holding 2000 marines.

On Monday the destroyer USS Barry sailed through the Suez Canal and is positioned the southwestern Mediterranean.

The White House stated that the warships are being dispatched to the region in preparation for possible humanitarian efforts but stressed it "was not taking any options off the table", which is diplomatic-speak signifying that military force is a possibility.

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