Operation Silver Wake was a
non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) led by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to evacuate American citizens, noncombatants and designated third country nationals from
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
in March 1997. The operation was performed by
U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
from the
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. ...
conducting operations from the
Amphibious Readiness Group
An amphibious ready group (ARG) of the United States Navy consists of a naval element—a group of warships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF)—and a landing force (LF) of U.S. Marines (and occasionally U.S. Army soldiers), in total about ...
. U.S. Marines from
1st Battalion, 8th Marines
1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The battalion consists of approximately 1000 Marines and sailors and is nicknamed "The Beiru ...
secured the U.S. housing compound and held the U.S. Embassy. Over 900 personnel were evacuated during the course of the operation.
Some of the awards presented to participating units included the
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
,
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritor ...
and the
Humanitarian Service Medal
The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includi ...
. Selected Marines were also awarded the
Combat Action Ribbon
The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or ...
.
Awards for Past Operations
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See also
*Albanian Civil War
The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...
*Operation Libelle
Operation Libelle ("Dragonfly" in German) was an evacuation operation of the German Armed Forces that took place on March 14, 1997 in the Albanian capital of Tirana during the Albanian Civil War. In the same week, American, British, and Italian ...
References
DOD Archive
Albanian Civil War
Conflicts in 1997
Silver Wake
20th-century military history of the United States
United States Marine Corps in the 20th century
March 1997 events in Europe
Non-combatant evacuation operations
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