Operation Sharp Edge was a non-combatant evacuation operation carried out by 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 ...

(22nd MEU) and 26th MEU of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in 1990 and 1991. The MEUs were supported by Amphibious Squadron Four (Task Force 61) composed of , , , , , , and Fleet Surgical Team TWO.

Background

The

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

broke out in December 1989. Increasing violence between political and ethnic factions, including in the capital of

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

, had made it impossible for American diplomats and civilians to make safe passage to the U.S. Embassy to exit the country.

Operation

The 22nd MEU was composed of Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 2nd Battalion 4th Marines (ground combat element),

HMM-261 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 (VMM-261) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Raging Bulls", is based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, ...

(REIN) (aviation combat element) and MSSG-22 (logistics combat element). Company "E" of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines executed a pre-dawn

vertical envelopment Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

of the besieged U.S. Embassy, with 237 Marines inserted via medium and heavy lift Marine

Sikorsky CH-53D Sea Stallion Sikorsky or Sikorski may refer to: * Sikorsky (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Sikorsky (crater), a lunar crater * Sikorsky Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer People with the surname * Brian Sikorski (born 1974), Major League Baseball ...

and

CH-46 Sea Knight The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing. Development of th ...

helicopters. The landing zones were under sporadic fire from light, medium and heavy weapons from belligerents. "Hotel" Company secured an extended perimeter around the U.S. Embassy and began evacuation of other allied embassies. Ground elements were supported by U.S. Marine AH-1T SuperCobra helicopters and Marine

AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...

attack aircraft. Simultaneously, elements of BLT 2/4 secured landing zones in the surrounding areas, extracting U.S. and foreign nationals. Non-combatants were flown off to and for processing and ultimately

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 ...

, Sierra Leone. Although BLT 2/4 conducted the initial entry into the embassy, the Marines of BLT 3/8 with 26th MEU arrived on station and continued with the evacuation operations as the 22nd MEU began its retrograde and departure. Following the initial 20 August 1990 evacuation by the 22nd MEU and her support elements, the MEU was relieved by the Company "K" and a detachment of Headquarters and Support (H&S) personnel of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment (designated as Battalion Landing Team 3/8), a part of the 26th MEU

26th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU) is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. It is an air-ground task force with a strength of about 2,400 personnel when at full strength during a deployment. ...

embarked on . Also present were Assault Craft Unit 4 Detachment B, embarked service support group elements from the MEU command element, as well as , which was used to ferry evacuees out of Monrovia. Remaining on station for the next 121 days, the Marines and sailors of ''Whidbey Island'' evacuated over 1,000 civilian personnel from Monrovia, most of whom were subsequently transported to Freetown, Sierra Leone aboard the accompanying USS ''Barnstable County''. The 26th MEU was relieved by

FAST Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

5th Platoon of the Marine Corps circa December, 1990, when ''Whidbey Island'' and her embarked troops steamed to the Mediterranean in anticipated support of the growing Operation Desert Shield. 26 MEU and 22 MEU evacuated a total of 2,439 people between the summer of 1990 and 9 January 1991.

References

Operation Sharp Edge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp Edge, Operation 1990 in Liberia Conflicts in 1990 20th-century military history of the United States Non-combat military operations involving the United States United States Marine Corps in the 20th century Liberia–United States relations Non-combatant evacuation operations