The Marine Corps’ footprint in Afghanistan is changing dramatically as a drawdown in forces continues throughout the summer. The latest changes include a shift in central Helmand province in which one infantry battalion — 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. — is distributed across Marjah, Nawa, and several other districts, with Afghan forces taking a leading role. Second Battalion, 9th Marines, and 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, both out of Lejeune, left the battlefield recently and were not replaced. The Corps also has realigned all remaining infantry units to fall under Regimental Combat Team 6, out of Camp…
Browsing: Drawdown
By now it’s no news that the military is facing serious cuts. The Marine Corps alone will drop 20,000 over the next five years. But just how leaders will make those cuts has been a mystery — until now. To get the lowdown on how the Marine Corps will drawdown by 2016, and what the plan means for you, check out this week’s edition of Marine Corps Times. For our cover story, we traveled to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to sit in on a briefing by the drawdown’s architects who are now on an eight-week tour of the fleet. In it,…
It’s no secret that the Marine Corps will trim 20,000 Marines from its end strength by fall 2016, but Commandant Gen. Jim Amos has offered few details so far about how that will occur. Amos and other top Marine officials have been clear about how it won’t be done, of course. The Corps will not “break faith” with its Marines, they’ve said repeatedly, a catchphrase that represents their promise to not authorize reductions in force, which would result in existing contracts being broken. What about how it will be done, though? This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story addresses that,…
