U.S. Military Kin Move to Bases

All of the nearly 1,400 military dependents sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command and living off base in Panama have moved onto U.S. installations as ordered by President Bush, the Pentagon said Monday.

Sponsored dependents are those whose expenses are paid by the Pentagon. Another 1,685 “non-sponsored” military dependents--those who paid their own way to Panama to be with their spouses--live off base. They have the option of remaining in their homes or moving onto the bases.

After Panama’s disputed election and violence last week, Bush ordered the military dependents to move to secure housing and dispatched nearly 1,900 Army troops and Marines to Panama to reinforce U.S. military personnel already there

Most of the troops had arrived as of Sunday, said a Pentagon spokeswoman, Army Maj. Kathy Wood. Wood said these included 150 Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and 990 soldiers from the Army’s 7th Light Infantry Division at Ft. Ord, Calif.

Another 726 soldiers from the Army’s 5th Infantry Division at Ft. Polk, La., are to arrive this week.