Ground forces of 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, stage outside of a village in the Rashaad Valley as a team of OH-58D Kiowa Warriors fly overhead. (By Mike Alberts / Courtesy US Army)
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. government has given the Lebanese military 20 Humvees, the first shipment of a total of 285 Humvees, according to the Defense Department.
The remaining Humvees are expected to arrive in Lebanon in late March or early April, said Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Finn, a DOD spokeswoman.
The aid comes after the summer 2006 war between Israel and the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon.
Following a cease-fire between the two parties, President Bush pledged $42 million in military equipment to Lebanon as part of a larger $230 million assistance package to Lebanon, according to the Defense Department.
The first 20 Humvees arrived in Lebanon on Friday, according to the DOD.
In December, the Lebanese received $10.6 million in Humvee, utility vehicle and UH-1 Huey helicopter spare parts, Defense Department figures show.
The assistance package also includes $3.2 million toward basic training and basic equipment for new recruits.
And in September 2006, the U.S. government delivered 560,000 rounds of 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition, increasing the Lebanese military’s overall stocks by 15 percent, the figures show.
In other assistance U.S. Transportation Command helped transport 850 Indonesian troops to Lebanon in 2006 as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force there, a command spokesman said.
An advance team of 125 Indonesian troops were flown to Lebanon from Turkey on two C-17 aircraft, and the rest were flown commercially, the spokesman said. The operation involved 25 U.S. troops.