Military: Tanks, guns not headed for war

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Military officials Wednesday downplayed reports that a recent order to ship large quantities of military equipment to Central Asia was the beginning of a secret buildup of firepower and support equipment as the United States ponders an attack on Iraq.

Military officials said the Navy has booked a cargo ship in the port of Savannah, Georgia, to carry equipment from units of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at nearby Fort Stewart to Kuwait as part of a military exercise known as Operation Desert Spring.

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Desert Spring is part of an ongoing military operation established at the end of the Gulf War as training for the defense of Kuwait.

The mechanized 3rd Infantry Division is equipped with M1A1 Abrams tanks, M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 155 mm howitzers.

Central Command officials said the shipment was part of a regular rotation of equipment and troops to the area. Only the equipment travels by ship; the soldiers go by plane.

Specifics of the dates of arrival and final destination of the cargo were not disclosed for security reasons, officials said.

A military document setting up the transfer called for the cargo ship to move 67 pieces of tracked vehicles that would take up about 56,000 square feet. It also said general container cargo and rolling stock would be included.

Tracked vehicles could be defined as tanks or any other vehicle with tank-like treads, according to Marge Holtz, director of public affairs at the military's Sealift Command.

Rolling stock could be trucks or Humvees or anything with wheels. Container cargo could be anything that requires being organized and stored in individual large containers.

Holtz would not confirm the actual contents of the transport.

Holtz said the job was a routine one for the Sealift Command. The Navy often uses non-Navy ships to transport equipment around the globe as a cost-saving measure, she said.

"This is not a sign that the Navy has exhausted its supply of cargo ships," she said.

The Navy has some 80 cargo ships in reserve, including eight fast-lift cargo ships and 10 LMSR (large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship) ships -- cargo ships larger than aircraft carriers -- that are sitting empty, according to Holtz.

Sealift Command provides ocean transportation of equipment, fuel, supplies and ammunition to sustain U.S. forces worldwide during peacetime and in war.

According to the Sealift Command, during a war more than 95 percent of the equipment and supplies needed to sustain the U.S. military are carried by sea.