thedrifter
12-04-06, 09:51 AM
December 04, 2006
Commandant: Marine battalion may go to Afghanistan
By Gordon Lubold
Staff writer
A battalion of Marines may be asked to go back to Afghanistan, the Marine Corps’ top officer says.
In his first tour of the Corps as commandant, Marine Gen. James Conway told Marines he “wouldn’t be surprised” if he is asked to send a battalion, as many as 1,000 people, back to Afghanistan some time this winter.
“I would not be surprised to see a request on downrange to have a return to Afghanistan, or elements at least of a Marine battalion, possibly a [Marine Air Ground Task Force] depending on the nature of the request,” Conway said.
It’s not clear if the potential request Conway referred to would be in addition to the roughly 21,000 U.S. troops there now or if such a Marine unit would simply be relieving an Army unit.
A resurgent Taliban has been causing much violence in the country, especially in the southern region that includes the Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Although U.S. officials have been reluctant to send more U.S. troops there as they struggle to man the war in Iraq, they have been confronting challenges in getting NATO members to cough up enough resources to handle the worsening situation in Afghanistan.
Many NATO member countries simply don’t want to send forces to Afghanistan, which is once again seen as dangerous duty.
The last Marine battalion to serve there was 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, which returned home to Hawaii in May. Afterward, Corps officials said there would be no more Afghanistan tours.
Conway said the effort there, now being led by NATO, could benefit tremendously from a Marine Air Ground Task Force, and added that if commanders there determine more U.S. forces are needed, the Corps could provide it. Fewer than 200 Marines are in Afghanistan now.
Other U.S. forces in the country are conducting security and stabilization operations, reconstruction and training of the Afghan National Army. Of the 21,000 U.S. service members there, half are under control of the NATO commander, who is British, and half belong to Army Lt. Gen. Carl Eikenberry, the senior U.S. commander there.
In February, the Army’s 10th Mountain Division will be relieved by the 82nd Airborne Division. In April, the Oregon National Guard’s 41st Brigade Combat Team will be replaced by the South Carolina National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team, said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a spokesman at the Pentagon.
The U.S. contribution has stayed at around 21,000 for several months, Vician said.
A total of 43,000 NATO and U.S. troops are in Afghanistan.
Ellie
Commandant: Marine battalion may go to Afghanistan
By Gordon Lubold
Staff writer
A battalion of Marines may be asked to go back to Afghanistan, the Marine Corps’ top officer says.
In his first tour of the Corps as commandant, Marine Gen. James Conway told Marines he “wouldn’t be surprised” if he is asked to send a battalion, as many as 1,000 people, back to Afghanistan some time this winter.
“I would not be surprised to see a request on downrange to have a return to Afghanistan, or elements at least of a Marine battalion, possibly a [Marine Air Ground Task Force] depending on the nature of the request,” Conway said.
It’s not clear if the potential request Conway referred to would be in addition to the roughly 21,000 U.S. troops there now or if such a Marine unit would simply be relieving an Army unit.
A resurgent Taliban has been causing much violence in the country, especially in the southern region that includes the Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Although U.S. officials have been reluctant to send more U.S. troops there as they struggle to man the war in Iraq, they have been confronting challenges in getting NATO members to cough up enough resources to handle the worsening situation in Afghanistan.
Many NATO member countries simply don’t want to send forces to Afghanistan, which is once again seen as dangerous duty.
The last Marine battalion to serve there was 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, which returned home to Hawaii in May. Afterward, Corps officials said there would be no more Afghanistan tours.
Conway said the effort there, now being led by NATO, could benefit tremendously from a Marine Air Ground Task Force, and added that if commanders there determine more U.S. forces are needed, the Corps could provide it. Fewer than 200 Marines are in Afghanistan now.
Other U.S. forces in the country are conducting security and stabilization operations, reconstruction and training of the Afghan National Army. Of the 21,000 U.S. service members there, half are under control of the NATO commander, who is British, and half belong to Army Lt. Gen. Carl Eikenberry, the senior U.S. commander there.
In February, the Army’s 10th Mountain Division will be relieved by the 82nd Airborne Division. In April, the Oregon National Guard’s 41st Brigade Combat Team will be replaced by the South Carolina National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team, said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a spokesman at the Pentagon.
The U.S. contribution has stayed at around 21,000 for several months, Vician said.
A total of 43,000 NATO and U.S. troops are in Afghanistan.
Ellie