Shaffer
01-29-03, 07:19 AM
ABOARD THE USS NASSAU -- Young U.S. Marines aboard the USS Nassau still carry K-bar combat knives and train in hand-to-hand combat on the decks of a World War II landing craft.
But these combat troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit also know how to deliver food packages following an earthquake, perform peacekeeping patrols and fight their way into a city full of guerrillas.
"The days of landing into the teeth of our enemy are long gone," said Col. Richard Mills, the unit's commander. "You want to find out where he's not, move around his strong areas and go where he's weak."
The 2,300-strong unit from Camp LeJeune, N.C., is patrolling the Gulf as part of the three-ship USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group. While their operations are still routine, their proximity to Iraq makes everyone on board realize they could soon find themselves in combat.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-marines-iraq0128jan28,0,2674495.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
But these combat troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit also know how to deliver food packages following an earthquake, perform peacekeeping patrols and fight their way into a city full of guerrillas.
"The days of landing into the teeth of our enemy are long gone," said Col. Richard Mills, the unit's commander. "You want to find out where he's not, move around his strong areas and go where he's weak."
The 2,300-strong unit from Camp LeJeune, N.C., is patrolling the Gulf as part of the three-ship USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group. While their operations are still routine, their proximity to Iraq makes everyone on board realize they could soon find themselves in combat.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-marines-iraq0128jan28,0,2674495.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines