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It’s a huge operation ... AP etc says 4K. I pray it’s whatever is needed. St. Michael, be their protector in battle.

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US opens ‘major Afghan offensive’
breaking news

The United States army says it has launched a major offensive against the Taliban in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.

The US military says about 4,000 marines as well as 650 Afghan troops are involved, supported by US warplanes.

Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, said this operation was different because of its “massive size” and speed.

Officers on the ground said it was the largest marine offensive since Vietnam.

The operation began when units moved into the Helmand river valley in the early hours of Thursday.

Helicopters and heavy transport vehicles carried out the advance, with Nato planes providing air cover.

Southern Afghanistan is considered a Taliban stronghold.

UK troops are also operating in Helmand, but there has been criticism that British forces have been overstretched and under-resourced.

Last week the commander of UK troops in Afghanistan, General Jim Dutton, denied that the battle against the Taliban was “a losing campaign”.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8129789.stm

“St. Michael, be their protector in battle.”

A small crease of a smile came to my face as I read your post. I still have a St. Michael medal, with that statement, taped to my old dog tags from 40+ years ago. Those combinations were taped together of prevent rattling during night ops.

Semper Fi, Marines. Go get some.

Helmand Province is outlined in yellow

6-12-09 Lance Cpl. Scott J. Dunbar, 21, Raven operator and Seattle native, hooks up Ground Control Station power cables prior to launching an RQ-11 Raven unmanned aerial vehicle, June 12, at Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Raven is a small, hand-launched unmanned aerial vehicle that gives commanders a bird's eye view of the area their Marines are operating in by sending aerial images to a laptop display.

Dunbar is attached to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle. 1/5 is a subordinate element of Regimental Combat Team 3 whose mission is to conduct counter insurgency operations in southern Afghanistan with a focus on training and mentoring the Afghan national police.

"Officers on the ground said it was the largest marine offensive since Vietnam".

That line is COMPLETE BS.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force...well over 30k men...took out several Iraqi divisions...and innumerable "resistance forces" throughout Iraq.

Who the hell do they think took Faluja...TWICE!?!?!? In each case there were multiple brigades involved.

While the US Marine Corps still gives lip-service to Divisions, they are a brigade and battalion oriented organization.