Garmser

Report: Deadly attack on Marines at FOB Delhi was carried out by unvetted Afghan teen

By Andrew deGrandpre on August 18, 2012 Afghanistan, Allies and training, III MEF, MARSOC, Safety

The Washington Post published a disturbing report Friday evening, detailing the deadly Aug. 10 attack on Marines at Forward Operating Base Delhi in the Garmser district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Among the revelations, according to reporter Kevin Sieff’s story: These killings were carried out, allegedly, by a 15-year-old Afghan boy — described as a personal assistant to the district police chief, who’s been accused of having an affinity for young boys and abusing them. Moreover, Sieff’s report contends the boy lived on the base but was never put through the coalition’s rigorous vetting process used for all members of the…

Marine Corps footprint in Afghanistan shifting as drawdown continues

By Dan Lamothe on July 9, 2012 Afghanistan, Drawdown, Infantry, Marjah

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…

Marine unit rotations in Afghanistan underscore ongoing drawdown

By Dan Lamothe on May 23, 2012 Afghanistan, Infantry

In a significant shift, the Marine Corps has replaced a full infantry battalion in Afghanistan with a single company — another sign that a drawdown in forces there is well underway. Third Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, returned home over the last week from Helmand province. They’ll hold a ceremony early Thursday to mark the end of its last combat deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to this report. The battalion was replaced in Afghanistan’s Garmser district by Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. The district was the site of heavy combat…

3/3 Marines deploy to Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on November 7, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry

America’s Battalion is back in the fight. Third Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, has arrived in Afghanistan for a seven-month deployment, Marine officials said in this news release. They will relieve 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in and around Helmand province’s Garmser district. The area has largely been pacified, but 3/3 will have the logistically and strategically challenging task of preparing the district for the expected withdrawal of Marine forces as the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police take over providing security. A small number of Marines will stay afterward, but in an advisory role.

Two Marines and a baby… a life begins in Afghanistan

By Gina Cavallaro on September 1, 2011 Afghanistan

There’s a little Afghan baby in Garmser District in southern Afghanistan whose first few minutes of life began in the hands of a couple of Marines. Sgt. LaJuanna Baker and Cpl. Andrea Moreira-Rios, members of a Female Engagement Team assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, set out from Combat Outpost Rankel south of Garmser District Center, on a mission to a health clinic to talk with Afghan women and give them a supply of personal hygiene items. When they got there, they were approached by a desperate midwife who asked if they would help deliver a baby for a woman…

With IAR in hand, 1/3 Marines set to deploy

By Dan Lamothe on April 13, 2011 Afghanistan, Gear, Infantry, Weapons

The debate rages on, but the infantry automatic rifle will soon join the war in Afghanistan. Marine officials announced last night that 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, will deploy to Helmand province beginning today. They’ll eventually take over in country for 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., which has patrolled Garmser district since the fall. The deployment by 1/3’s Lava Dogs will serve as the first war-zone test for the 5.56mm M27 IAR, which could eventually replace the M249 squad automatic weapon on many infantry patrols. For now, it’s expected the unit will…

Online and in print, an individual story of Marine heartache

By Dan Lamothe on April 5, 2011 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Infantry

Grief at our fingertips. The Internet is many things to many people, but for families with loved ones in a war zone, that is one of them. It’s a sad, yet inevitable fact, given the modern-day news cycle, social networking and the hundreds of ways in which information is shared in 2011. It’s the down side to all the positives we have, like being able to send friendly emails across the world that cheer up those we care about in a matter of seconds. For another reminder of that, we need to look no farther than the story of Cpl.…

Could drawdown in Afghanistan begin with Marines in Helmand?

By Dan Lamothe on March 31, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry, Leadership, MEU operations

Last week during an interview with Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, the outgoing Marine commander of Regional Command-Southwest, I asked for his thoughts on something hanging over everyone’s head in Afghanistan: The planned drawdown of U.S. forces. It was the kind of question I asked because it’s what people in my job are supposed to do, even though there’s an understanding he couldn’t answer it directly. Here were his thoughts: That decision will be made at a level much above mine. The way I see it, there will be a thinning out, a gradual reduction of coalition forces within a given area…

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