WITH MARINES IN OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT                              9


implemented. The camps had to be organized, distribution points established,
basic medical care provided, and lines of communication opened. Humanitarian
service support bases were needed, ideally ones that could be supplied by trucks,
transport airplanes, or railway instead of helicopters. Combat search and rescue
had to be available to support aerial operations. Finally, the entire system had to
be ready to be handed over to civilian agencies as quickly as possible.9
   Major General Jay M. Garner, USA, formerly Deputy Commander, V
Corps, and once an enlisted Marine, was named to lead Task Force Encourage
Hope, later redesignated Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B). Colonel John 0.
Easton, a Marine reservist, was transferred from his duties as commanding
officer of the 4th CAG and appointed General Garner's chief of staff on 23
April. Easton, a lawyer from Fairfax, Virginia, had been a Marine platoon leader
in Vietnam in 1967-68, made a Mediterranean cruise in 1969 with the Sixth
Fleet's Marine landing force, then served as a recruiter and instructor before
leaving active duty. A graduate of Baylor University, Easton then attended law
school at George Mason University before beginning to practice law in the
Washington, D.C. area. He had just returned from duty with the I Marine
Expeditionary Force in Saudi Arabia before joining Provide Comfort.
   Joint Task Force Bravo's missions were to establish temporary camps inside
northern Iraq and to provide security for the returning refugees. The tasks
implicit in this mission were to select and secure likely camp sites, to deploy
construction personnel and materials, and to develop water points and sanitation


               PROVIDE            COMFORT
              CONCEPT         OF    OPERATIONS
               TEMPORARY RESETTLEMENT
                      (TASK FORCE - BRAVO)


      TURKEY                     DIYARBAK~R
                                                        aILOPI


                                                              IRAQ

                       * TEMPOflARY LIVING SITES
  ~FPC-l4l~3