Bangladesh Bids Farewell to US Military

By JULHAS ALAM
Associated Press Writer

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh bid farewell to the U.S. military Friday after it wrapped up an aid mission to the cyclone-battered country.

Officials announced the end of the military relief operation, dubbed Sea Angel II, on Thursday but said U.S. civilian agencies, including USAID, would continue relief efforts.

Helicopters from the USS Tarawa, which took over from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge on Monday, made final sorties Thursday, dropping food, water and medicine. The Tarawa planned to leave Bangladesh's waters in two to three days, officials said.

The officials said they hope cooperation between the two nations would increase.

"As a friend and as a partner" the existing relationship with Bangladesh will be stronger in the future, said Brig. Gen. Ronald L. Bailey, who coordinated the U.S. operations.

"Trauma changes you. It brings us together," Bailey told reporters at the farewell ceremony on the premises of the Armed Forces Division in the capital, Dhaka.

Tropical Cyclone Sidr slammed into Bangladesh's coastal areas on Nov. 15, leaving more than 3,200 people dead and millions homeless.

Bangladeshi Lt. Gen. Masud Uddin Chowdhury thanked the U.S. military for coming at a time when people needed them.

"Now with the operation Sea Angel II our relationship has further been cemented," Chowdhury said.

The USS Tarawa also participated in relief operations in 1991 _ dubbed Sea Angel I _ when a powerful cyclone killed about 140,000 people in Bangladesh.

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