The Department of Defense identified today two units to deploy as part of upcoming rotations of forces operating in Afghanistan. The scheduled rotation for these replacement forces will take place in early 2011. These units are scheduled to be deployed for approximately one year.
The announcement involves a headquarters element totaling 600 Marines and sailors, and a regimental combat team totaling 5,000 Marines and sailors.
Specific units:
Headquarters, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Regimental Combat Team-8, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
By: Brant
My guess would be that only the RCT-8 headquarters is deploying. In Afghanistan the USMC has typically deployed its' combat units by battalion, and then for only six months at a time. I find it difficult to believe that they're rotating an entire infantry regiment, plus attachments, into country and then changing the deployment cycle to a year; that would mark two tremendous changes in policy from what has been happening to date.
ReplyDeleteThat might be. But the text in green is directly from the DoD press release, which you can access through the link at the top of the post text.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't our assessment; it's the official statement from the DoD.