marinemom
06-18-04, 06:24 AM
Marine battalion heads for Kuwait, Iraq
By James W. Crawley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 18, 2004
About 500 Marines and sailors from Camp Pendleton will leave for Iraq today for an anticipated seven-month deployment, the Marine Corps said this week.
The 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment will head to Kuwait and then Iraq as part of a scheduled troop rotation.
The unit, commanded by Lt. Col. Willard Buhl, will join about 19,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station that have been operating in Iraq's Anbar Province since March. A second large-scale rotation of Marines is expected to begin in early fall.
The Marine Corps gave few details of this week's deployment, citing security concerns.
The infantry unit, which fought last year in Iraq, will replace another battalion-sized unit, but Marine spokesmen would not say whether the unit is a Marine or Army unit.
The Marines have encountered stiff resistance in Fallujah, Ramadi and the western Anbar Province, which is part of the so-called Sunni Triangle and a stronghold of pro-Saddam Hussein Baathist factions. In April, several Marine battalions were engaged in urban warfare in Fallujah following a March 31 ambush there that killed four American private-security guards.
Since April 1, 73 Marines and a Navy corpsman – most of them assigned to Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division – have been killed in Iraq. Hundreds more have been wounded.
My son- tigger - is one of those 500 Marines - like his father, he is off to serve his country, and his Corps.
But he has told me that he and his men will be back home safely . It seems that he told them there is no sweat - they have a guardian angel called "The Drifter" going over with them.
Miss Ellie - I know he is right about that, too.
By James W. Crawley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 18, 2004
About 500 Marines and sailors from Camp Pendleton will leave for Iraq today for an anticipated seven-month deployment, the Marine Corps said this week.
The 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment will head to Kuwait and then Iraq as part of a scheduled troop rotation.
The unit, commanded by Lt. Col. Willard Buhl, will join about 19,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station that have been operating in Iraq's Anbar Province since March. A second large-scale rotation of Marines is expected to begin in early fall.
The Marine Corps gave few details of this week's deployment, citing security concerns.
The infantry unit, which fought last year in Iraq, will replace another battalion-sized unit, but Marine spokesmen would not say whether the unit is a Marine or Army unit.
The Marines have encountered stiff resistance in Fallujah, Ramadi and the western Anbar Province, which is part of the so-called Sunni Triangle and a stronghold of pro-Saddam Hussein Baathist factions. In April, several Marine battalions were engaged in urban warfare in Fallujah following a March 31 ambush there that killed four American private-security guards.
Since April 1, 73 Marines and a Navy corpsman – most of them assigned to Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division – have been killed in Iraq. Hundreds more have been wounded.
My son- tigger - is one of those 500 Marines - like his father, he is off to serve his country, and his Corps.
But he has told me that he and his men will be back home safely . It seems that he told them there is no sweat - they have a guardian angel called "The Drifter" going over with them.
Miss Ellie - I know he is right about that, too.