WITH MARINES IN OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT                                   67


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                                         Painting by Col Peter M. `Mike" Gisb, USMCR
As part of fite British-conceived plan to prnvide a safe haven for t'te Kurds in northern Iraq, the
allies built three large refugee relocation camps in the vidnity of Zakho. The Marines of 24th MEU
(SOC) built the first of these in mid-April, dten turned it over to the U.N. High Crnnmission for
Refugees in May 1991.

helicopter support team and the landing party's forklifts were the primary movers
for this civic action project. A combat engineer detachment from BLT 2/8 helped
put up tents and assisted the establishment of supply dumps and water points.
Australian, Luxembourgish, French, Dutch, and Canadian medics serviced the
camps around Zakho. Military police maintained order and civil affairs teams
assisted camp administration. More than 400 wooden latrines were built by the
SeaBees.8   Eventually, the population of Camp One swelled to more than
42,000 people.
    Lieutenant Colonel Kohl (MSSG-24) sent engineer and maintenance teams
to Zakho to survey the city's power transmission facility on 22 April. At the
request of local authorities, the generator at the Zakho Hospital was also
examined. These teams reported that the city's power plant and water treatment
facility needed major repairs, and the hospital's generator was beyond hope.
General Garner responded by ordering a new generator for the hospital and
providing engineer and technical support to restore Zakho's power and water
plants.  However, while these repairs were being made and the requested
equipment was being shipped, MSSG-24 provided these vital services for Zakho.
The Marines delivered more than 1,600 gallons of fuel to the hospital each week,