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24th Marine Expeditionary Unit set
to return home
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq - After seven months of triumph and
heartache in one of the most dangerous regions in Iraq, the 24th
Marine Expeditionary Unit is headed home.
Several hundred of the MEU's 2,200 Marines and sailors will begin
returning to North Carolina this weekend, signaling the end of a
successful deployment that spanned one of the more turbulent and
decisive junctures in the two-year-old effort to bring democracy to
Iraq.
"It's hard to put into words exactly how well the Marines and sailors
of the 24th MEU have done here," said Col. Ron Johnson, the MEU
commander. "When you go to combat, it's like no other environment
you've ever been in. It's hard to believe that the horrors of war can
bring out the best in Marines. But that's what we saw here. The very
best."
Through scores of direct-action raids, hundreds of cordon-and-knock
searches, and thousands of patrols and vehicle checkpoints, the MEU
gradually thinned insurgent ranks in northern Babil Province and
chipped away at their supply of weapons. Working alongside Iraqi
security forces, the Marines rounded up nearly 900 criminals, thugs
and terrorists and seized more than 75,000 munitions.
In the end, while area militants had not yet lost their will to fight,
they had lost steam. After several months of steadily growing
activity, insurgent attacks fell by 20 percent in December and nearly
50 percent in January. Sunday's nationwide election ushered in the
expected spike in attacks, but they were largely ineffective, causing
few casualties and little damage.
The MEU's success came at a significant cost. Fifteen Marines were
killed and nearly 225 wounded. Including those units that fought under
the MEU's command - 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Battalion, 24th
Marines, and the 1st Battalion of Britain's Black Watch Regiment - the
casualties numbered 34 killed and nearly 300 wounded.
Among the local Iraqi security forces - including the 507th Iraqi
National Guard Battalion, the Iraqi SWAT team, and provincial police
officers - 44 were killed and more than 125 wounded.
The MEU arrived in Iraq in July, shortly after the June 28 transfer of
sovereignty from a U.S.-led civilian administration to an interim
Iraqi government. The hoped-for reduction in violence did not
materialize, and it fell to the MEU to tame a highly volatile area
south of Baghdad dubbed the "triangle of death."
The Marines were determined to hit the ground running - and to come
out swinging. From their forward operating bases, they spread out,
moving into so-called "no go" zones that amounted to insurgent
sanctuaries.
Johnson ordered his Marines to set up outposts in the worst trouble
spots, including Haswah, Taheer, Lutafiyah and Yusufiyah. They
encountered furious resistance with each encroachment. In a fierce
clash near Yusufiyah on Nov. 12, helicopters from Marine Medium
Helicopter Squadron 263 - the MEU's air combat element - came to the
aid of a company of Marines under attack by mortars, rockets, machine
guns and rocket-propelled grenades. An estimated 40 insurgents were
killed in the four-hour engagement. One Marine from Fox Company, 2nd
Battalion, 24th Marines, was killed and two others wounded.
Establishing footholds in the heart of the enemy safe havens produced
the desired effect. Before long, local Iraqis were coming forward with
information about insurgent activity, enabling the Marines to be more
precise in it's targeting.
Iraqi security forces would prove a vital component of the MEU's
strategy. As early as September 4, some 1,200 Iraqi police officers
and national guardsmen joined an equivalent number of Marines in a
citywide sweep of Lutafiyah. While many of the 200 military-age men
rounded up that day were eventually released, the massive show of
force sent a clear message: Insurgents would be forced to contend not
only with the Marines but with an Iraqi force far better suited to
rooting them out.
Two companies of the 507th ING Battalion were integrated with the
MEU's ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd
Marines. The 507th's other two companies operated in the MEU's
northern sector alongside 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines. By Election
Day, a confident and capable 507th had taken the lead in reinforcing
the local police stations, allowing the Marines to fade to a
supporting role.
No unit better illustrated the MEU's approach than the Hillah-based
Iraqi SWAT team. Living, training and operating alongside the MEU's
Force Reconnaissance platoon, the team quickly grew from a hand-picked
core of 12 to a strike force of nearly 250. By January, the team had
swelled to 500.
In 58 joint raids, the SWAT team and Force Recon Marines captured
nearly 500 insurgents, including many of the MEU's leading targets.
Most significantly, from the Marines' perspective, northern Babil
Province now boasts an elite, home-grown force admired by the populace
and feared by local insurgents.
Even as they hunted the enemy, the Marines sought to demonstrate their
goodwill to the 1.2 million Iraqi citizens in the MEU's area of
operations. Led by MEU Service Support Group 24, the Marines delivered
water, distributed medical supplies, renovated health clinics and
water-treatment plants, rebuilt bridges, restored dozens of schools,
and equipped thousands of Iraqi kids with the tools they need for a
decent education.
Despite the relentless pace of operations, the Marines consistently
rose to the challenge, according to their commander.
"There was no sub-par performance," Johnson said. "Everybody performed
at an all-star level. And it wasn't a sprint. It was a marathon of
seven long months, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every single
day. They never faltered and never failed. I have not worked with a
finer group of men and women, and I could not be prouder of them."
The bulk of the MEU is expected back in North Carolina by
mid-February. A handful of Marines will remain in Kuwait a couple of
extra weeks before returning home at the end of the month.
For more information, contact Capt. David Nevers at neversde@24meufwd.usmc.mil,
or visit the unit's Web site at www.24meu.usmc.mil. To cover the 24th
MEU's homecoming, contact Staff Sgt. Demetrio Espinosa at 910-451-3202
or espinosadj@iimef.usmc.mil.
Release #A050204q |
