thedrifter
03-19-04, 06:04 AM
Pendleton marines in occupation zone, ready to take over
By Otto Kreisher
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
March 18, 2004
WASHINGTON – Most of the 25,000 Marines taking over occupation duties in Iraq are in the region and should assume responsibility for the dangerous area west of Baghdad some time next week, the Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday.
About two-thirds of the Marines, most of whom are from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps bases in San Diego County, already are in their occupation zone, Gen. Michael Hagee told a House Defense Appropriations subcommittee. The rest of the forces are in Kuwait, preparing to move north, Hagee said.
The troops of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force are to relieve the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in the volatile region that includes Falluja and Ar Ramadi, just west of Baghdad, and stretches nearly 200 miles to the Syrian border. The two main cities have been hotbeds of violent resistance to the U.S.-led coalition forces and the long Syrian border has been an avenue for foreign terrorists coming into Iraq.
Hagee said the Marines prepared for their new assignment by studying the tactics used by the Army forces they are replacing, plus their own experiences occupying the southeastern corner of Iraq last year after defeat of the Saddam Hussein regime.
He said the commanders "paid particular attention to protection" of their force, ensuring that the individual Marines had the best body armor, that all of the vehicles had armor reinforcement and the helicopters had systems to protect against guided missiles.
Most of the 270 U.S. troops killed and nearly 2,000 wounded since the end of major combat have been victims of the improvised explosive devices used against military vehicles on the streets and highways. Another major source of casualties has been helicopters shot down with shoulder-mounted guided missiles or rocket-propelled grenades.
Hagee said the Marines' self-protection efforts were helped by armored Humvees and vehicle reinforcement kits left by the Army.
During the hearing, Hagee and Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, said they are considering a radical new concept to provide increased presence of amphibious units in the Western Pacific or Persian Gulf region with fewer forces. The plan would be to build on the Navy's recently concluded Sea Swap experiment, in which two destroyers were kept on deployment for two years with new crews rotating every six months, avoiding the long voyages to and from the Western Pacific.
The two leaders said they were studying whether the Sea Swap concept, which has involved crews of about 300, could be used for an entire Expeditionary Strike Group with perhaps 10,000 sailors and Marines on four or more ships.
The two service leaders and Navy Secretary Gordon England also had to defend one of their highest priority programs – the Joint Strike Fighter – from challenges from two usually strong supporters.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the ranking minority member and a former Marine, suggested delaying the expensive program and Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., a former Navy fighter pilot, questioned the need for the Marine version of the multi-service aircraft.
Clark said a one-year delay already ordered added "at least $1 billion" to the program's cost and further delay would mean longer service for the early model F/A-18 Hornets that are getting old and more expensive to operate.
England also cited the cost of delay and said: "I very much encourage you to keep the program on schedule."
Hagee strongly supported the short takeoff model of the JSF, noting the valuable role played by the AV-8B Harriers, the Marines' current "jump jet," in the Iraq war.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040317-1452-cnsmarines.html
Ellie
By Otto Kreisher
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
March 18, 2004
WASHINGTON – Most of the 25,000 Marines taking over occupation duties in Iraq are in the region and should assume responsibility for the dangerous area west of Baghdad some time next week, the Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday.
About two-thirds of the Marines, most of whom are from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps bases in San Diego County, already are in their occupation zone, Gen. Michael Hagee told a House Defense Appropriations subcommittee. The rest of the forces are in Kuwait, preparing to move north, Hagee said.
The troops of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force are to relieve the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in the volatile region that includes Falluja and Ar Ramadi, just west of Baghdad, and stretches nearly 200 miles to the Syrian border. The two main cities have been hotbeds of violent resistance to the U.S.-led coalition forces and the long Syrian border has been an avenue for foreign terrorists coming into Iraq.
Hagee said the Marines prepared for their new assignment by studying the tactics used by the Army forces they are replacing, plus their own experiences occupying the southeastern corner of Iraq last year after defeat of the Saddam Hussein regime.
He said the commanders "paid particular attention to protection" of their force, ensuring that the individual Marines had the best body armor, that all of the vehicles had armor reinforcement and the helicopters had systems to protect against guided missiles.
Most of the 270 U.S. troops killed and nearly 2,000 wounded since the end of major combat have been victims of the improvised explosive devices used against military vehicles on the streets and highways. Another major source of casualties has been helicopters shot down with shoulder-mounted guided missiles or rocket-propelled grenades.
Hagee said the Marines' self-protection efforts were helped by armored Humvees and vehicle reinforcement kits left by the Army.
During the hearing, Hagee and Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, said they are considering a radical new concept to provide increased presence of amphibious units in the Western Pacific or Persian Gulf region with fewer forces. The plan would be to build on the Navy's recently concluded Sea Swap experiment, in which two destroyers were kept on deployment for two years with new crews rotating every six months, avoiding the long voyages to and from the Western Pacific.
The two leaders said they were studying whether the Sea Swap concept, which has involved crews of about 300, could be used for an entire Expeditionary Strike Group with perhaps 10,000 sailors and Marines on four or more ships.
The two service leaders and Navy Secretary Gordon England also had to defend one of their highest priority programs – the Joint Strike Fighter – from challenges from two usually strong supporters.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the ranking minority member and a former Marine, suggested delaying the expensive program and Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., a former Navy fighter pilot, questioned the need for the Marine version of the multi-service aircraft.
Clark said a one-year delay already ordered added "at least $1 billion" to the program's cost and further delay would mean longer service for the early model F/A-18 Hornets that are getting old and more expensive to operate.
England also cited the cost of delay and said: "I very much encourage you to keep the program on schedule."
Hagee strongly supported the short takeoff model of the JSF, noting the valuable role played by the AV-8B Harriers, the Marines' current "jump jet," in the Iraq war.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040317-1452-cnsmarines.html
Ellie