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thedrifter
03-02-06, 06:57 AM
The Marines have landed - for training
BY STEPHANIE HEINATZ
247-7821
March 2, 2006

They're here, carrying weapons and running around Hampton Roads in desert camouflage uniforms. But not to worry, the service members with the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are only conducting their urban warfare training in preparation for a deployment in the coming months, possibly to the Middle East.

The unit arrived this week and is expected to be around town through March 12.

While most of the work will be done on local military bases - Naval Station Norfolk and Fort Eustis - unit spokesman Capt. David E. Nevers said, residents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Franklin and the counties of Isle of Wight and Mathews shouldn't be surprised to see Humvees rolling past their homes or hear helicopters flying overhead.

Prior to deploying to Iraq last year, the unit, which makes up the land component of the Norfolk-based Iwo Jima Strike Group, did similar training in West Virginia.

Richmond, Atlanta and Philadelphia have also hosted the Marines, who, throughout the urban training, simulate roadside bomb attacks, patrol neighborhoods and set up mock vehicle checkpoints.


Ellie