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thedrifter
04-23-09, 06:09 AM
Gates to visit Marines at Lejeune today
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 23, 2009 5:28:32 EDT

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to visit Camp Lejeune as thousands of its Marines prepare to deploy as part of the president’s troop surge in Afghanistan.

Gates is scheduled to visit the sprawling coastal Marine Corps base Thursday. He will present awards to four Marines and meet with other members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade training at the base’s urban terrain facility.

About 4,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune and the nearby Marine Corps air stations at Cherry Point and New River are expected to deploy this spring, followed by two large Army brigades.

The troops will bolster the 38,000 American troops already fighting a resurgence in Taliban forces. President Obama recently ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan.

Ellie