24th Marine Expeditionary Unit set to return home
Marine Corps News
Story Identification #: 20052785936
Story by -
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (Feb. 4, 2005) -- 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.
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