WHITEWATER MAN GETS LESSON IN PATIENCE AS NAVY AIRMAN OFF HAITI

Boy Scouts have to be prepared, and U.S. soldiers must be patient. At least that's the lesson one area soldier learned while awaiting orders off the coast of Haiti.

Navy Airman Steven Cook, 21, of Whitewater was one of 8,000 soldiers patrolling the waters near Haiti during the U.N. restoration of President Jean Bertrand-Aristide in October.

As part of an amphibious ready group, Cook spent several months patrolling the Caribbean waters off Haiti's coast. His ship also transported Marines back and forth to land.

Cook, who works with ammunition, is an aviation ordnanceman aboard the USS Wasp, the largest amphibious assault ship in the world.

"I was responsible for breaking out and issuing out everything from missiles to small arms for the Marines," Cook said.

"We didn't do much until the Marines got ready to go ashore," he said. "They were ready to invade and then one hour before, they said we're not doing it."

Cook served as part of a larger multi-national task force responsible for carrying out the U.N. Security Council sanctions designed to restore Haiti's democracy during Operation Uphold/Support Democracy.

He was aboard a ship anchored about one-half mile off the coast of Haiti during most of the mission.

Cook received an award and letter of accommodation from a two-star Navy admiral for his work in Haiti.

After a brief training period in Cuba, his ship began patrolling the waters near Haiti in August. He returned to the United States after a 1 1/2-month standby aboard the ship.

"I joined the Navy to earn money for college while getting more experience about what's going on in the world," he said.

Cook is the son of Marion and Barbara Cook of Whitewater. He is a 1991 graduate of Central High School in Cape Girardeau. He entered the Navy in March 1993.