Shaffer
01-30-04, 06:56 AM
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The top Marine general in Japan stressed Wednesday that deploying 3,000 Marines and sailors from Okinawa to Iraq would not endanger East Asian stability.
“We will definitely feel the impact,” Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman Jr., commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan, said during a news conference. “However, the redeployment of these Marines and sailors away from Okinawa is temporary.
“The U.S. will maintain adequate deterrence and response capabilities for East Asia until these units can return to Okinawa,” he said. “Okinawa continues to be a vital strategic location and we must have forces forward deployed to deter aggression and respond to crises.”
Most of the Marines and sailors deploying to Iraq from Okinawa are from units based in the United States and sent to Okinawa under the Unit Deployment Program. The 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment from Twentynine Palms, Calif., and the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment from Camp Pendleton, Calif., already have arrived on Okinawa and are to leave soon for a seven-month deployment in Iraq.
Additionally, a Marine Reserve unit, the 3rd Battalion
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=20132
“We will definitely feel the impact,” Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman Jr., commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan, said during a news conference. “However, the redeployment of these Marines and sailors away from Okinawa is temporary.
“The U.S. will maintain adequate deterrence and response capabilities for East Asia until these units can return to Okinawa,” he said. “Okinawa continues to be a vital strategic location and we must have forces forward deployed to deter aggression and respond to crises.”
Most of the Marines and sailors deploying to Iraq from Okinawa are from units based in the United States and sent to Okinawa under the Unit Deployment Program. The 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment from Twentynine Palms, Calif., and the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment from Camp Pendleton, Calif., already have arrived on Okinawa and are to leave soon for a seven-month deployment in Iraq.
Additionally, a Marine Reserve unit, the 3rd Battalion
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=20132