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Posted on 01/10/2003 12:35:22 AM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
January 9, 2003
WASHINGTON: Preparing for possible war against Iraq, the Marine Corps has taken the unusual step of stopping all Marines from leaving the service for the coming 12 months, officials said Thursday.
The decision was announced to all Marines in an internal message Tuesday from Gen. James Jones, the Marine Corps commandant. He said it applies to active-duty as well as reserve Marines and is effective Jan. 15 through Jan. 31, 2004.
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The last time the Marines took this action, known as "stop-loss," was during the buildup to the 1991 Gulf War, said Capt. Gabrielle Chapin, a spokeswoman at the Combat Development Command at Quantico, Va.
Although the order applies to the entire Marine Corps, which has 173,000 men and women on active duty and 100,000 in the reserves, some exceptions can be made, including for those who already have a retirement date of April 1 or earlier. Commanders also can consider exceptions for personal hardship and other circumstances.
Separately, 125 Marine Corps reservists with Company A, 8th Tank Battalion, based at Fort Knox, Ky., were reporting for active duty Thursday. Sgt. Maj. Timothy J. Didas of the 8th battalion said in a telephone interview that the reservists are to report to the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Friday.
Another 20 reservists in support positions with the 8th battalion, including cooks, radio operators and motor vehicle repairmen are being mobilized from bases in New York, Kentucky, South Carolina and Miami along with Company A, Didas said.
Didas said he had no information on whether the reservists were going to deploy to the Persian Gulf area. During the buildup to the 1991 Gulf War the entire 8th Tank Battalion was activated and deployed to the Gulf.
Last fall the Army issued "stop loss" orders for nearly all its Special Forces soldiers, who are heavily engaged in the war in Afghanistan, although the action did not apply to the rest of the force. The Marines are the only ones to apply a "stop loss" action to all service members.
In addition to the approximately 1,000 Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force who recently arrived in Kuwait in anticipation of a possible war against Iraq, thousands more are either heading to the Gulf region from U.S. bases or are preparing to do so in coming weeks.
Specific figures are classified, but Jones said Wednesday in remarks at the National Press Club that if there is a war in Iraq, the Marines likely would contribute between 65,000 and 75,000 troops – mostly from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The Pentagon's Iraq war plan calls for the use of up to 250,000 troops from all services.
Today in Anchorage, Alaska:
Sunrise 10:04am
Sunset 4:11pm
Hi 32F
Lo 24F
Clouds and sun
Actual yesterday in Anchorage:
Hi 30F
Lo 19F
State Hi 48F Metlakatla
State Lo -38F Fort Yukon
TENT CITY — A U.S. Air Force C-130 flies over tent city at the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing at a forward deployed location in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on Jan. 7. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew
Members of the Petroleum Oils and Lubricants Squadron at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid, Qatar, take a break while replacing a 50,000-gallon fuel bladder. The POL squadron presently maintains about 1 million gallons of fuel to support Camp Andy and the KC-10 and KC-135 aircraft that are based at Al Udeid in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby
A host-nation contracted employee adjusts a valve on a fuel pump hose at the fuel receiving point of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid, Qatar. The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing receives up to 12 trucks daily to support the fuel requirements of Camp Andy and the KC-10 and KC-135 aircraft that are based at Al Udeid in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby
Senior Airman Jason Steel, a fuels technician at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid, Qatar, connects a pump to a host-nation contracted fuel truck. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby
A member of the Petroleum Oils and Lubricants Squadron at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid, Qatar, supplies fuel to a KC-10 aircraft . U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby
Members of the Petroleum Oils and Lubricants Squadron at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid, Qatar, check the fuel levels of their trucks. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby
LOL ! Tomkow, din't you get your coffee in my coffee ping this mornin'??
Caaaaarrrrrrrllll ! More coffee for the TK6 !!
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Gas 'n go
01/09/03 - OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) -- An airman from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, refuels a KC-10 Extender aircraft recently. The fuels section maintains about 1 million gallons of fuel to support the base and the KC-10 and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby)
Get rid of that
We got what you had... Our high today was about 14, and it's windy as all getout.
Couldn't get the mower started.
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND VETERANS
NO...
Photograph this! Antonia doesn't care much for the paparazzi at the Ruhrzoo in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany.
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