Shaffer
02-23-04, 07:21 AM
About 2,200 green camouflage figures stood at attention Friday morning on W.P.T. Hill Field to officially commemorate coming together as the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
In a brief ceremony, leaders of the four elements in the MEU unfurled their respective unit scarlet guidons in the breeze for the first time. A day after the 22nd MEU - troops they will relieve this summer - departed for the Mediterranean Sea, these Marines and sailors set in motion a clock that will be ticking for the next six months.
"In this global war on terrorism, the amount of time we have is limited," said 24th MEU commander Col. Ronald J. Johnson, 47, from Duxbury, Mass. "There are so many things to train to and so many lessons learned from the past, but I feel comfortable because we have a lot of returning veterans."
In March, some 24th MEU forces are scheduled to go to Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, and in the spring they are planning an amphibious squadron/MEU integration exercise aboard the amphibious assault ships that they will call home when they deploy - USS Saipan, USS Oak Hill and USS Trenton.
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In a brief ceremony, leaders of the four elements in the MEU unfurled their respective unit scarlet guidons in the breeze for the first time. A day after the 22nd MEU - troops they will relieve this summer - departed for the Mediterranean Sea, these Marines and sailors set in motion a clock that will be ticking for the next six months.
"In this global war on terrorism, the amount of time we have is limited," said 24th MEU commander Col. Ronald J. Johnson, 47, from Duxbury, Mass. "There are so many things to train to and so many lessons learned from the past, but I feel comfortable because we have a lot of returning veterans."
In March, some 24th MEU forces are scheduled to go to Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, and in the spring they are planning an amphibious squadron/MEU integration exercise aboard the amphibious assault ships that they will call home when they deploy - USS Saipan, USS Oak Hill and USS Trenton.
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