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Navy begins humanitarian efforts in Georgia

More than a week after President Bush announced “rigorous and ongoing” air and naval humanitarian operations to Georgia, the amphibious command ship Mount Whitney is preparing to deliver the first load of supplies by sea.

According to 6th Fleet’s Web site, the Mount Whitney was loaded with supplies Tuesday in Italy and “will transit into the Black Sea and arrive in Georgia to deliver thousands of blankets, hygiene products and baby food and care supplies to Georgians.”

Navy officials are remaining mum on other naval humanitarian missions, saying only that two vessels in Souda Bay, Crete, are “onloading supplies.” Navy spokesman Lt. Sean Robertson said it is not clear at this point if the other two ships will go to Georgia. Also not clear is when the Mount Whitney will arrive or how long it will stay.

“The calendar is not what we are looking at; the mission is what needs to be done,” Robertson said.

On Tuesday, a C-9 jet carrying 2,256 personal hygiene kits supplied by USAID arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia, “marking the Navy’s first humanitarian assistance mission to the region,” according to the Navy.

Both missions are part of an on-going humanitarian effort to reach about 118,000 “displaced persons as a result of armed conflict between Georgian and Russian forces last week,” according to the Navy.

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