A newly established unit of Marines in Spain has been put on 'high alert' today should it be necessary to evacuate American personnel in Libya.

CNN Security Clearance reports that the Marines are on standby, and have not moved from Spain yet, but that if civil unrest continues to simmer they may snap into action.

Planners placed the 500 Marines, six MV-22 Ospreys and two C-130 transport planes in Spain in what some say was a move to bolster security in northern Africa following widespread protests and the attacks on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi.

The Marine unit in Spain is based at Moron Air Base in southern Spain. The unit, which left the states at the end of April, is less than three weeks old and hasn't even reached the 30-day period to set complete their set up.