Operation Noble Obelisk was the U.S. evacuation of civilians from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

in 1997 by the American naval ship

USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) USS ''Kearsarge'' (LHD-3) is the third of the United States Navy. She is the fifth ship to bear that name, but the fourth to serve under it, as the third was renamed before launching (after the prior was sunk). Namesake Named in honor of , ...

and the

22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. They are currently based out of M ...

. On the 25 May 1997, rebel forces and military officers overthrew the government of President

Ahmed Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (February 16, 1932 – March 13, 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, Ka ...

of Sierra Leone. At that time, a

U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

detachment was deployed in Sierra Leone for joint training exercises. After the coup d'etat, the Special Forces moved to

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

to secure the U.S. Embassy and its two residential compounds. The detachment also identified an appropriate location for a

helicopter landing zone In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land. In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.) In c ...

near the embassy. (HLZ). The Special Forces also provided the Marine Expeditionary commander with "real-time" intelligence on conditions in Freetown. Major General Samuel T. Helland was designated as Commander, Joint Task Force Noble Obelisk. US forces evacuated 2509 people to the Kearsarge over a four-day period. The evacuees included 454 American citizens and third-country nationals. The Marine 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment out of

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

participated in the Noncombatants Evacuation Operation (NEO), as well as the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261. Naval Air Reservists provided logistical support.

References

External links

Photo of CH-53 Sea Stallion with evacuees

Photo of evacuee arriving aboard the Kearsage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble Obelisk, Operation Sierra Leone Civil War United States Marine Corps in the 20th century Non-combatant evacuation operations