Posted on 03/25/2004 5:51:42 PM PST by Calpernia
Some 2,200 Marines and sailors of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will follow long-established plans and deploy shortly to Afghanistan, Joint Staff officials said here today.
The unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., left home Feb. 18 and exercised in Albania. The unit will deploy to Afghanistan and aid other coalition forces there to deny sanctuary to terrorists and to capture or kill al Qaeda or Taliban members.
The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit is capable of special operations. It includes the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266 (Reinforced); and Service Support Group 22.
The 22nd MEU currently is aboard the USS Wasp, the USS Whidbey Island and the USS Shreveport in the Persian Gulf.
About 13,000 American service members are in Afghanistan. The Marines from the MEU will join some 2,000 Marines already in the country. Officials would not say how long the deployment will last, but the typical duration for a MEU deployment is six months.
The unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., left home Feb. 18 and exercised in Albania. The unit will deploy to Afghanistan and aid other coalition forces there to deny sanctuary to terrorists and to capture or kill al Qaeda or Taliban members.
Private Mail to be added to or removed from the GNFI (or Pro-Coalition) ping list.
LOL! Contact your Reps to make sure your Nov. votes are counted!
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, General Myers says another reason for dispatching the additional force is to assist in efforts to tackle the remaining pockets of Taleban and al-Qaida resistance in the country.
General Myers does not say how many Marines from the 2,200- strong force now aboard amphibious vessels in the Gulf will go ashore, nor will he specify when they will arrive or how long they will stay.
But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tells reporters at the same briefing the effort to eliminate al-Qaida is going well.
"It's going well. There's just no question but that added pressure is being put al-Qaida network in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere around the world and that's a good thing," he said.
However Mr. Rumsfeld declines to say whether U.S. forces are any closer to capturing fugitive al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
U.S. forces in Afghanistan have stepped up anti-Taleban and anti-al-Qaida operations in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of Operation Mountain Storm.
The Marine unit now scheduled to head to Afghanistan has been trained for special operations missions. The Marines are backed by attack helicopters and Harrier fighter jets.
We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.