Col.: Lejeune’s 1/6 to lead Afghan surge

Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit patrol in the town of Garmser, Helmand province, Afghanistan, in July 2008. Camp Lejeune's 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, served in the 24th MEU. That unit is now expected to be among the first units deploying as part of the additional 30,000 troops planned for Afghanistan.


Col.: Lejeune’s 1/6 to lead Afghan surge
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 4, 2009 11:59:07 EST

A North Carolina-based infantry battalion will be the first U.S. unit to deploy to Afghanistan as part of an additional 30,000 troops who will be sent into combat during the next six months, said a Marine official overseeing the unit.

Camp Lejeune’s 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, “will deploy in the near future,” said Col. David Fuquea, chief of staff for Lejeune’s 2nd Marine Division. He declined to say when the unit will arrive in theater, but Marine officials at the Pentagon said the first unit will deploy before Dec. 25.

The battalion was the first Marine unit to fight in Afghanistan in years when it deployed as part of Lejeune’s 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2008, but it has had nearly 15 months to rest and train for its next mission, said Fuquea, speaking at a Thursday night dinner sponsored by the Marine Corps Association, a professional organization composed of current and former Marines and their family members.

In all, about 9,000 Marines will be sent to Afghanistan by late-spring, Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, deputy commandant of plans, policies and operations, told guests at the dinner.

“That will bring our total in Afghanistan to just under 20,000,” he said. “We are in this for the long haul.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/marine_afghan_update_120409w/