This deployment is not about beefing up the U.S. forces in the MFO

[LiberalLoner]

Someone posted the other day about not being in favor of more U.S. troops deploying to the Sinai. I couldn't figure out what they were talking about until I read this:

http://www.theday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110124%2FNWS09%2F301249955%2F-1%2Fnws

Groton - Connecticut National Guard Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment of Groton has mobilized and will deploy to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, to support the Multinational Force and Observers.



The unit left Connecticut Jan. 15 for Fort Benning, Ga., for further training and validation. The unit operates C-23C Sherpa aircraft and has deployed three times in the last seven years in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.



The unit will provide an on-demand aviation asset to the Multinational Forc and Observers commander to support its mission of supervising the security provisions of the Egypt/ Israel Peace Treaty.

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What is happening here is that the French have withdrawn their forces who used to provide the C-23C Sherpa aviators...they said they had other commitments....so somebody had to fly the planes. Mostly they fly the fixed wing aircraft back and forth between North Camp and South Camp MFO. There is a whole lot of coordination that has to happen between the two sections of the MFO so there were daily flights.

Anyway, it's not a beefing-up of the U.S. forces there...just sticking another unit in to replace a unit that has withdrawn.