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thedrifter
03-10-09, 06:14 AM
Marines 'excited' about Afghanistan deployment
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March 9, 2009 - 7:21 PM
JENNIFER HLAD

The Marines and sailors of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade will face many challenges in southern Afghanistan, but they say they are eager to deploy this spring as part of the largest footprint of Marines in the country to date.

"Everybody's excited," said Maj. Don Caporale, information operations officer for the MEB.

Caporale has deployed twice before to Iraq. The infrastructure in Afghanistan is much more primitive, he said, which means the Marines will be doing more construction than reconstruction.

But the Marines are used to operating in an expeditionary environment, and they bring everything they need, said Col. John Simmons, commander of Combat Logistics Regiment 2.

"It's what we do," he said. "It's just a much bigger build this time."

CLR 2 "is proud to answer our nation's call as the logistics combat element for 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade," Simmons said. "We will work tirelessly to ensure that the forces on the ground have what they need, when they need it, in order to be successful."

Col. Kevin Vest, commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 40, the MEB's aviation element, said his Marines are trained for expeditionary missions and can build facilities where they don't exist.

"We are here solely to support the Marines on the ground," he said.

Lt. Col. Chris Naler, commander of the MEB's brigade headquarters group, said his Marines will work to provide security, sustain lines of communication and provide a quick reaction force and tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel unit when necessary.

He said the Marines want to partner with the Afghan people to help stabilize the area.

"We want to be behind them; we don't want to be in front of them," he said.

Capt. Brent Molaski, an information operations planner with the MEB's command element, said he went to southern Afghanistan about a month ago for a site survey. The area is very rural, he said, but the people are very supportive.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity," he said. "I'm looking forward to it."

Cpl. Matthew Madden, with the MEB's intelligence section, said he also is looking forward to deploying to Afghanistan.

"I'm pretty happy," said Madden, who has previously deployed to Iraq. "I'm just getting ready to go."

The Marines of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, also are gearing up for the deployment, said 2/8 Commander Lt. Col. Christian Cabaniss.

They have gone through training in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and are focused on cultural and language training, he said.

"We're used to an austere environment," he said, and used to "taking everything with us."

"They're excited," Cabaniss said. "It's a great opportunity ... to help the Marine Corps make history."



Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467

Ellie