Marines praise progress in Iraq
Cherry Point-based forward unit deactivated Friday after Marines, sailors return home
By Corey Friedman
February 8, 2008 - 5:14PM
Havelock News

American forces in Iraq have won their Gettysburg, a Marine commander said Friday.

Brig. Gen. Timothy Hanifen, who commanded the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Forward in Iraq’s Anbar province, compared the United States’ progress in Iraq to the Union’s storied turning point in the Civil War.

“I would use the analogy that this is July 5, 1863,” Hanifen said. “Forces in the field woke up and realized they had won both in Gettysburg and in Vicksburg. The tide had turned…it isn’t victory, but it is a dramatic shift. As historians look back, I believe they will say the turning point was 2007.”

Placed in historical perspective, the fledgling Iraqi democracy is maturing rapidly, Hanifen said after a ceremony to deactivate the returned Marine unit at Cherry Point.

“Our revolution ended, and it still took us 13 years to have a constitution with one failed attempt — the Articles of Confederation,” he said. “And they are 20 months old.”

Reinforced power grids have given Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and Anbar province more electricity than before the American invasion of Iraq and the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Hanifen said. The number of Iraqi police officers has jumped from 15,000 to nearly 30,000, with about 10,000 more volunteer police.

“The power of al Qaida is irreversibly in recession,” Hanifen said. “I think they (the Iraqis) see that their future is with us as a free nation with a representative government.”

The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Forward was deactivated and its colors were retired Friday in a ceremony aboard Cherry Point’s air station theater. About 5,000 Marines and sailors from the aircraft wing have returned from deployments that ranged from seven months to one year.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., commanding general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, lauded the work of troops on the ground and those who stayed behind at Cherry Point to support the war effort.

“You have made a difference, and every one of you can feel extremely proud of what you have contributed to our freedom, the freedom of the people of the United States,” Glueck said during the ceremony. “You are all heroes.”

The 2nd MAW Forward flew 140 to 170 aircraft missions each day in Iraq, Glueck said, and the Marines overseas were complemented by the 2nd MAW Rear at Cherry Point. He said the burning of the wing’s headquarters building in September resulted in “no loss of support to our Marines who were forward.”

“What you realize is it’s not the building, it’s the people that are your headquarters,” Glueck said.

Marines rolled up the 2nd MAW Forward’s flags and placed them in camouflage cases, signifying their retirement from the battlefield.

“I am extremely proud of what you accomplished over this past year,” Glueck told the returned Marines and sailors. “A year is a long time to stay focused on the mission, to stay focused on the fundamentals, and you did that. My hat is off to you.”

Ellie