The 22nd MEU was composed of Battalion Landing Team (BLT)
2nd Battalion 4th Marines (ground combat element),
HMM-261 (REIN) (aviation combat element) and
MSSG-22 (logistics combat element). Company "E" of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines executed a pre-dawn
vertical envelopment of the besieged U.S. Embassy, with 237 Marines inserted via medium and heavy lift Marine
Sikorsky CH-53D Sea Stallion and
CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters. The landing zones were under sporadic fire from light, medium and heavy weapons from belligerents. "Hotel" Company secured an extended perimeter around the U.S. Embassy and began evacuation of other allied embassies. Ground elements were supported by U.S. Marine
AH-1T SuperCobra helicopters and Marine
AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft. Simultaneously, elements of BLT 2/4 secured landing zones in the surrounding areas, extracting U.S. and foreign nationals. Non-combatants were flown off to and for processing and ultimately
Freetown, Sierra Leone. Although BLT 2/4 conducted the initial entry into the embassy, the Marines of BLT 3/8 with 26th MEU arrived on station and continued with the evacuation operations as the 22nd MEU began its retrograde and departure. Following the initial 20 August 1990 evacuation by the 22nd MEU and her support elements, the MEU was relieved by the Company "K" and a detachment of Headquarters and Support (H&S) personnel of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment (designated as Battalion Landing Team 3/8), a part of the 26th MEU
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked on . Also present were Assault Craft Unit 4 Detachment B, embarked service support group elements from the MEU command element, as well as , which was used to ferry evacuees out of Monrovia. Remaining on station for the next 121 days, the Marines and sailors of
Whidbey Island evacuated over 1,000 civilian personnel from Monrovia, most of whom were subsequently transported to Freetown, Sierra Leone aboard the accompanying USS
Barnstable County. The 26th MEU was relieved by
FAST Company 5th Platoon of the Marine Corps circa December, 1990, when
Whidbey Island and her embarked troops steamed to the Mediterranean in anticipated support of the growing Operation Desert Shield. 26 MEU and 22 MEU evacuated a total of 2,439 people between the summer of 1990 and 9 January 1991.{{cite book ==References==