Shaffer
12-01-03, 08:33 AM
The Pentagon announced Wednesday the assignment of about 3,000 additional Marines to the forces that will be sent to relieve the U.S. troops currently struggling to stabilize and rebuild Iraq.
The extra Marines will bolster a total force of about 105,000 U.S. troops, including 21,000 Marines, initially scheduled for Iraqi service next year.
Pentagon and Marine Corps spokesmen were not able to provide any details on what specific units would be used for this expanded Marine commitment to Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the Marine force will be under the command of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, headquartered at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and is likely to consist heavily of personnel from units in that command.
I MEF includes the 1st Marine Division and the 1st Marine Service Support Group, both headquartered at Pendleton, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, headquartered at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Calif.
The Marines are expected to deploy to Iraq in February or March and, reinforced with an Army brigade, will relieve the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in the western third of Iraq. Their zone of action will include the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, two hotbeds of violent resistance to the U.S. occupation.
The Pentagon also notified additional National Guard and Reserve personnel from all four services to prepare for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest announcement means a total of more than 77,000 Guard and Reserve personnel have been alerted or mobilized for active duty to maintain the U.S. military presence in the two hot combat zones of the war on terrorism.
That total includes 1,290 Navy Reservists mobilized for duty in Iraq and 200 Marine Corps Reservists alerted or mobilized for active duty in Afghanistan.
There are 163,998 Reserve and Guard personnel currently on active duty, including 10,003 Marine and 1,694 Navy reservists.
Additional Marine Reserve personnel likely will be needed to fill out the expanded commitment in Iraq, although the active and reserve mix has not been determined, a Marine spokesman said.
The new announcement follows the Defense Department's Nov. 6 release of its plans for the second rotation of troops into Iraq. At that time, military official said the plan was to reduce the current U.S. force presence of about 133,000 troops - mostly soldiers - to about 105,000, including 21,000 Marines. That was described as the equivalent of 13 brigades, down from 17 brigades currently in Iraq.
But Wednesday's announcement said the new force level in Iraq would consist of 14 brigades. Three Marine infantry battalions plus their combat service support units would be roughly equal to an Army brigade.
The Marines had about two-thirds of their combat forces in Iraq or the Persian Gulf during the assault on Saddam Hussein's regime last spring. The last large Marine unit left Iraq in September.
The extra Marines will bolster a total force of about 105,000 U.S. troops, including 21,000 Marines, initially scheduled for Iraqi service next year.
Pentagon and Marine Corps spokesmen were not able to provide any details on what specific units would be used for this expanded Marine commitment to Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the Marine force will be under the command of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, headquartered at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and is likely to consist heavily of personnel from units in that command.
I MEF includes the 1st Marine Division and the 1st Marine Service Support Group, both headquartered at Pendleton, and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, headquartered at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Calif.
The Marines are expected to deploy to Iraq in February or March and, reinforced with an Army brigade, will relieve the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in the western third of Iraq. Their zone of action will include the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, two hotbeds of violent resistance to the U.S. occupation.
The Pentagon also notified additional National Guard and Reserve personnel from all four services to prepare for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest announcement means a total of more than 77,000 Guard and Reserve personnel have been alerted or mobilized for active duty to maintain the U.S. military presence in the two hot combat zones of the war on terrorism.
That total includes 1,290 Navy Reservists mobilized for duty in Iraq and 200 Marine Corps Reservists alerted or mobilized for active duty in Afghanistan.
There are 163,998 Reserve and Guard personnel currently on active duty, including 10,003 Marine and 1,694 Navy reservists.
Additional Marine Reserve personnel likely will be needed to fill out the expanded commitment in Iraq, although the active and reserve mix has not been determined, a Marine spokesman said.
The new announcement follows the Defense Department's Nov. 6 release of its plans for the second rotation of troops into Iraq. At that time, military official said the plan was to reduce the current U.S. force presence of about 133,000 troops - mostly soldiers - to about 105,000, including 21,000 Marines. That was described as the equivalent of 13 brigades, down from 17 brigades currently in Iraq.
But Wednesday's announcement said the new force level in Iraq would consist of 14 brigades. Three Marine infantry battalions plus their combat service support units would be roughly equal to an Army brigade.
The Marines had about two-thirds of their combat forces in Iraq or the Persian Gulf during the assault on Saddam Hussein's regime last spring. The last large Marine unit left Iraq in September.