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thedrifter
02-04-07, 03:33 AM
Base: Pendleton deployments largely unchanged by Iraq force increase

By: JOE BECK - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- The deployment schedules of Camp Pendleton Marines leaving for and returning from Iraq have not been significantly affected by President Bush's decision to increase American force levels in Iraq by at least 21,500 troops, Marine Corps officials say.

"As far as Camp Pendleton, it's not affecting us too much," Lt. Esteban Vickers said in a telephone interview Friday.

Vickers' comments were confirmed in a Pentagon announcement that identifies only two Marine units based in Camp Pendleton that will be staying longer in Iraq as a result of the president's decision. Those units, totaling 1,000 to 1,500 Marines, are the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, and Combat Logistics Battalion 15, both of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

A third Marine unit, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 from the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, will also stay in Iraq longer than planned, according to the Pentagon. All members of the affected units will stay in Iraq for an additional 45 days, the Pentagon says.

Thousands of Marines have been returning to Camp Pendleton in January and more are expected in February as part of the normal rotation out of Iraq, Marine officials said. The most recent groups to return to Camp Pendleton were about 300 members of Regimental Combat Team 5 on Wednesday and hundreds more from the 1st Marine Logistics Group on Friday. Both returned from 12-month deployments, about five months longer than Marines' usual deployments.

There are currently about 25,000 Marines serving in Iraq, the majority of whom were part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton in 2006. Many of them are scheduled to be replaced this year by Marines from the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, N.C. Vickers said the Camp Pendleton units that returned last week are expected to go back to Iraq in eight to 15 months.

Military strategists have said most of Bush's force increase will be concentrated in Baghdad in an effort to sweep insurgents from the most violent areas in the city. Meanwhile, the military has said 4,000 more Marines will be dispatched to Al-Anbar province in western Iraq, where the majority of the Marines have been concentrated.

The Pentagon's announcement linked the extension of Marine deployments in Al-Anbar to the crackdown in Baghdad.

"These extensions will strengthen the coalition forces' abilities to secure areas of Al-Anbar province that might draw insurgents escaping the increase of forces in Baghdad," the announcement said.

Vickers identified several Marine units from Camp Pendleton that are expected to deploy to Iraq during the next four to five months as others return. Those scheduled to go to Iraq are: the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion; the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance; the 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.

A recent announcement from Gen. James Conway, Marine Corps commandant, hinted that more Marines from Camp Pendleton and other bases could be going to Iraq than the current deployment schedule suggests.

In a letter to all Marine units, Conway called on Marine commanders to make a special effort to deploy all those who have no combat experience in Iraq. Some military officials have put the number of Marines who have not been in combat zones at 33,000. Vickers said he believed the figure was more like 60,000, many of whom have been in the service for several years.

"There's probably more than you think," he said.

In his directive issued Jan. 7, Conway said bringing more Marines who serve outside combat zones into the Iraq war will help to reduce physical and mental strains on combat veterans facing long deployments and short rest periods at home.

"When they join our corps, Marines expect to train, deploy and fight. That's who we are; that's what we do; and we must allow every Marine that opportunity," Conway wrote.

Vickers said he welcomed Conway's announcement, and most Marines who haven't served on the front lines probably feel the same.

"I've been in the Marines for 13 years and haven't been deployed yet," Vickers said. Whether a Marine serves in combat depends on the "luck of the draw" and what unit he is serving with, not his personal preference, he said.

"I have requested to go to Iraq and probably would have went anyway," he said.

In a news briefing from Iraq last week, Maj. Gen. Rick Zilmer, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Forward said morale remained "very, very high out here." Zilmer's comments were taken from a Pentagon transcript of his briefing,

A recruiting/retention team that visited Marines in Al Anbar exceeded their re-enlistment goal by 6 percent, Zilmer said.

"So the Marines are voting with their feet by staying in, and so I'm very comfortable that despite the debate that goes on back here, our folks over here are staying true to their mission," Zilmer said.

Contact staff writer Joe Beck at (760) 740-3516 or jbeck@nctimes.com.

Ellie