Siad, agreed to travel to rescue the German chargé d'affaires and British ambassador (junior staff from the British embassy had previously come to the US embassy). The Soviet Union was unable to land a plane in Mogadishu the previous day and the Soviet ambassador asked Ambassador Bishop if he and his staff could be rescued; Ambassador Bishop, a tennis partner of his Soviet counterpart, agreed but only if they found their own way to the embassy. Seeing the helicopters on the morning of 5 January, they realized the Americans would not remain in the city much longer. At the request of Ambassador Bishop, Major Siad agreed to transport the Soviets, but only if he was paid enough; the US embassy paid Major Siad, who returned with the Soviet ambassador and 38 of his staff. The brother of President Barre, who was also a Major General and Chief of Police, showed up at the embassy in the afternoon with 25 members of his family requesting to be evacuated, but was turned away after a vocal conversation with the ambassador. The operation did not include Marines to handle the evacuation control center (ECC), which was set up in the JAO. A 44-person force consisting primarily of Marines to handle the ECC was planned for insertion with the CH-53E Super Stallions after they had returned to the Guam. However, this was cancelled over objections from the commander of the security detail. The deficit was partially handled by embassy staff who assisted a few soldiers from the security detail. The evacuees were grouped into 15-person "sticks" to be loaded onto the helicopters and were limited to one piece of luggage apiece. Some attempted to bring more, resulting in problems coordinating their evacuation. Furthermore, many evacuees had pets they wanted to bring, which were not allowed. Most pets were killed by their owners; some were given poison. Meanwhile, the Marines were allowed to consume anything they wanted from the embassy's commissary, such as candy, sodas, and souvenirs (most had been stationed on ships for several months). They were also allowed use or take anything they needed from the embassy; the medic filled several bags with medical supplies to return to the ship. As evening approached, work began to prepare the HLZ for the main evacuation. The area was used as a parking lot and several vehicles were left without keys by staff that had already