United States Special Operations Command to prepare for a noncombatant evacuation operation. The initial plan was to evacuate via Mogadishu International Airport. Soon after the evacuation request, the United States Air Force deployed C-130 transport planes and an AC-130, for gunfire support, to Nairobi, Kenya, awaiting clearances to enter Somalia and the ability to safely transfer evacuees from the embassy to the airport. However, the US and other foreign embassies were unable to contact anyone within the government to obtain clearances. It also became apparent that the rebels had an ineffective command-and-control structure, making it impossible to negotiate any ceasefire or guarantee of safe passage. Likewise, government troops faced a command-and-control problem; reports indicated that army units were separating along clan lines, in some cases soldiers shot officers of a different clan when given orders they disagreed with. Thus, it became clear that safe passage to the airport would not be possible. Several other nations also had aircraft mobilized to reach Mogadishu, but faced the same problems of landing and transit of evacuees to the airport. On 4 January, several incidents, including a couple exchanges of gunfire, suggested that the embassy's security detail was insufficient to hold off armed Somalis until the USS Guam and USS Trenton arrived with their helicopters and Marines, at that time scheduled to arrive on 7 January. The embassy had just six Marine guards, whose job was limited to protecting the chancery. Ambassador Bishop made an urgent request to Washington for two platoons of soldiers to parachute into the embassy to defend it until the ships arrived. The request was denied, but the Ambassador was told that an advance element from the vessels would reach the embassy the following morning. USS Guam and USS Trenton began transit from the coast of Oman towards Mogadishu at 22:30 (23:30 Oman time) on 2 January. The commander of Amphibious Group 2 (PHIBGRU TWO) had initially proposed a seven-ship Amphibious Task Group, composed of vessels anchored at Masirah Island (off Oman) and Dubai and including four amphibious ships so that the full range of amphibious capabilities would be available for the operation. However, intervention in Kuwait seemed imminent and Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, did not want to divert that many ships from the Persian Gulf (and was mindful of the ongoing extended deployment of Operation Sharp Edge off Liberia), thus the decision to send just two ships.