thedrifter
11-20-08, 06:16 AM
Last modified Wednesday, November 19, 2008 6:42 PM PST
MILITARY: Mark Walker's travel notes from Afghanistan
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
As many as 15,000 Marines could be serving in Afghanistan by this time next year, says Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland.
Helland, commander of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East, made the prediction while talking with troops during a visit to Bastion, a British, American and NATO base located in the desert of Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
"What the (Marine Corps) commandant would like to do, quite frankly, is move the Marines out of Iraq," Helland told about 300 troops gathered to hear him speak and ask questions. "How big do we want to grow to here? Probably 15,000," he said.
There will be fewer than 3,000 Marines in Afghanistan by the end of this month and it would require a recommendation by the Pentagon to the president to increase the number of Marines to the figure cited by Helland.
Marine Corps brass has been asking for the authority to move its troops out of Iraq's now largely calm Anbar province to Afghanistan, where they say the fight against the Taliban and criminal groups more suits their capabilities.
"We want to grow our footprint and crush the enemies of Afghanistan," Helland said.
While the Bastion military complex is mostly a tent city, more modern facilities are springing up.
The base now has a dining hall and Internet cafes, the latter located inside small, boxcarlike metal containers.
The base is the largest built by England since World War II, a British officer said.
Bastion began to take shape in 2005 and serves as the jumping-off point for most troops now serving in the region.
The British call it Royal Navy Hospital Bastion, an informal name for the 24-bed hospital they opened at Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province in February.
The hospital treats about 80 patients a week, including wounded American, British and NATO troops, as well as local Afghans.
On Friday, an Afghan injured in a rocket attack at an outdoor market just outside of Bastion's razor-wire fences was being treated in the hospital's emergency room.
The hospital is staffed by 120 British troops, including Lt. Cmdr. Alison Hofman of the British Royal Navy.
The hospital often is the first medical facility for troops injured in roadside bombings or shootings.
"We see a lot of blast trauma, blunt trauma and gunshot wounds," Hofman said.
The facility has most of the diagnostic and treatment tools found in small hospitals and a staff of doctors that includes a plastic surgeon.
"We save life, we save limb and we save eyesight," Hofman said.
The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment based at Twentynine Palms is planning a memorial service for the 20 men it lost during its seven-month deployment in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
The deployment ends this month and regiment commander Col. Rick Hall said a Dec. 12 service for the fallen is planned at Twentynine Palms when all of its troops are back in California .
President-elect Barack Obama may want to move most, if not all, U.S. troops out of Iraq 16 months after he takes office in January, but a Marine general says he isn't certain that will happen.
Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland told a large group of Marines at Bastion that he believes U.S. forces will be in Iraq for years to come.
"We're still in the Balkans. We're still in the Philippines and we're still in Japan," Helland said.
Ellie
MILITARY: Mark Walker's travel notes from Afghanistan
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
As many as 15,000 Marines could be serving in Afghanistan by this time next year, says Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland.
Helland, commander of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East, made the prediction while talking with troops during a visit to Bastion, a British, American and NATO base located in the desert of Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
"What the (Marine Corps) commandant would like to do, quite frankly, is move the Marines out of Iraq," Helland told about 300 troops gathered to hear him speak and ask questions. "How big do we want to grow to here? Probably 15,000," he said.
There will be fewer than 3,000 Marines in Afghanistan by the end of this month and it would require a recommendation by the Pentagon to the president to increase the number of Marines to the figure cited by Helland.
Marine Corps brass has been asking for the authority to move its troops out of Iraq's now largely calm Anbar province to Afghanistan, where they say the fight against the Taliban and criminal groups more suits their capabilities.
"We want to grow our footprint and crush the enemies of Afghanistan," Helland said.
While the Bastion military complex is mostly a tent city, more modern facilities are springing up.
The base now has a dining hall and Internet cafes, the latter located inside small, boxcarlike metal containers.
The base is the largest built by England since World War II, a British officer said.
Bastion began to take shape in 2005 and serves as the jumping-off point for most troops now serving in the region.
The British call it Royal Navy Hospital Bastion, an informal name for the 24-bed hospital they opened at Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province in February.
The hospital treats about 80 patients a week, including wounded American, British and NATO troops, as well as local Afghans.
On Friday, an Afghan injured in a rocket attack at an outdoor market just outside of Bastion's razor-wire fences was being treated in the hospital's emergency room.
The hospital is staffed by 120 British troops, including Lt. Cmdr. Alison Hofman of the British Royal Navy.
The hospital often is the first medical facility for troops injured in roadside bombings or shootings.
"We see a lot of blast trauma, blunt trauma and gunshot wounds," Hofman said.
The facility has most of the diagnostic and treatment tools found in small hospitals and a staff of doctors that includes a plastic surgeon.
"We save life, we save limb and we save eyesight," Hofman said.
The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment based at Twentynine Palms is planning a memorial service for the 20 men it lost during its seven-month deployment in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
The deployment ends this month and regiment commander Col. Rick Hall said a Dec. 12 service for the fallen is planned at Twentynine Palms when all of its troops are back in California .
President-elect Barack Obama may want to move most, if not all, U.S. troops out of Iraq 16 months after he takes office in January, but a Marine general says he isn't certain that will happen.
Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland told a large group of Marines at Bastion that he believes U.S. forces will be in Iraq for years to come.
"We're still in the Balkans. We're still in the Philippines and we're still in Japan," Helland said.
Ellie