Copley News Service January 3, 2003
More local Marines to be sent on gulf duty
By James W. Crawley
More Marines have been ordered to pack their gear and leave for the Persian Gulf as military pressure continues to build against Iraq.
"Select elements of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton have received deployment orders" from the Pentagon, 1st Lt. Dan Rawson said Firday.
The primary striking power of the 45,000-strong expeditionary force is the 1st Marine Division, which has infantry and armored units, along with artillery and support troops.
However, Marine Corps officials refused to disclose how many troops or what specific units would be sent overseas. It also wasn't revealed when they will depart. On Monday, Camp Pendleton's 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and three Navy amphibious ships will leave San Diego for the Persian Gulf on a previously scheduled deployment.
Several off-duty Marines in nearby downtown Oceanside, Calif., said Friday they didn't know when or where they will be deployed, but were certain their orders were on the way.
"There are a bunch of us going soon," Lance Cpl. John Connor said. "We don't know which units. I don't even know where we are going."
Christopher Luna, a Navy corpsman assigned to a Marine unit, said he feels a deployment is near because training exercises have become more intense in recent weeks.
"When the training gets tougher, you know you're shipping out," he said.
Several hundred Marines from Camp Pendleton, part of the command element for the expeditionary force, are already in Kuwait, arriving in November for last month's Internal Look exercise and to help plan possible action against Iraq.
Defense analysts said the latest orders were anticipated.
"It's not particularly a surprise," said Dan Goure, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute think tank in Arlington, Va. "We knew they'd be sending a Marine division."
The expeditionary force, which combines Marine ground and air units from Camp Pendleton, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and bases at Twentynine Palms and Yuma, Ariz., gives the Pentagon the ability to threaten Iraq from Kuwait and the Persian Gulf, Goure added.
The last time most of the expeditionary force deployed overseas was 12 years ago during the Persian Gulf War. It spearheaded coalition forces that attacked and defeated Iraqis occupying Kuwait.
Also receiving orders this week were the Army's 3rd Infantry Division and several Air Force fighter and bomber squadrons. In addition, the Pentagon decided to send more carrier battle groups to the gulf.
GlobalSecurity.org analyst Patrick Garrett said the orders suggest two Pentagon options. "This will be a long, drawn-out deployment process, lasting a month or more," Garrett said. "Or, it's an indication of a 'rolling start' strategy," in which an invasion of Iraq could begin before all the U.S. forces are in position in Kuwait and other neighboring countries.
With the arrival of deployment orders, Marine families braced for the inevitable goodbyes.
Some wives and family members are starting to get jittery, but the overall mood on the base remains calm, Cpl. Joe McManus said.
"It seems the same as ever," he said. "My fiancee is a little nervous. She probably wouldn't want me to go (to the Gulf)."
Sgt. Adam Byers said he has noticed his troops' families are on edge as war with Iraq seems more likely.
"The family members are scared that their servicemen are going to be deployed," Byers said. "We're ready to go."
The 2,200 troops of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit are spending their final weekend home before leaving Monday on three amphibious ships for a scheduled deployment that is likely to be anything but routine.
Those vessels could arrive off Iraq in four weeks.
Friday, even as they finished their deployment preparations, several members of the 15th said they were thinking about those getting orders.
"It does affect me," said Lance Cpl. Shane Dempsey, 19. "You want everyone to come home safe."
Copley News Service correspondents Brian Hazle and Jeanette Steele contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2003 Copley News Service
