More than 1,000 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, have returned from Afghanistan to Camp Pendleton, Calif., since Friday, the culmination of their seven-month deployment in northern Helmand province. As this Marine Corps news release points out, the unit was based primarily in Musa Qala and Now Zad districts, teaming with other units as part of Regimental Combat Team 6. Other infantry units in that RCT this summer included 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., both of which photographer James J. Lee and I visited this spring…
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The Magnificent Bastards are coming home. Second Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., is returning to the U.S. this week after a seven-month deployment. Most of the unit was based in Musa Qala, but the unit also pressed into neighboring Kajaki district at times as part of an effort to squash the insurgency there. The battalion will be replaced downrange by a sister unit, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. Its Marines will continue to push the Taliban as far as they can from population centers, facing a mix of small-arms ambushes, improvised explosive devices and other threats. For 2/4,…
I was away covering Bold Alligator this weekend, but it’s worth circling back to an impressive New York Times Magazine article published Sunday. Pieced together after seven weeks of downrange reporting by Luke Mogelson, it examines in detail Marine operations in Kajaki, Sangin and Musa Qala districts. Those, of course, are the main battlegrounds at this point in the war in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where about 19,000 Marines are deployed. Details worth highlighting: The fight in Musa Qala Second Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., has continued to press into new areas in and around volatile Musa Qala.…
Last week, Marine Corps Times outlined how the deaths of four Marines in Afghanistan in a one-month period were under investigation. It looks like an explanation may be emerging for how one of those deaths occurred. A Marine sniper was killed in combat Oct. 6 when a tank platoon mistook Lance Cpl. Benjamin Schmidt and other Marines for enemy forces, Schmidt’s father said he was informed. The story was reported by the San Antonio News-Express, which is based in Schmidt’s hometown. From the story: Although a military investigation has not been completed, Schmidt said the Marine, who is stateside, told…
Marine units in two of the more volatile districts in Afghanistan’s Helmand province have been replaced in the last few weeks, Marine spokesmen confirmed to Marine Corps Times today. First Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., and 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., will return to the U.S. following deployments in Sangin and Musa Qala, respectively. Third Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., is now patrolling the Sangin area, while 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Pendleton, mans Musa Qala. Marines with 3/5 and 3/2 both fought the insurgency in northern Helmand, the…
A deploying Marine is trained to expect the unexpected. That’s fine — but it’s still frustrating when it comes because of incompetence. This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story takes a look at a deadly firefight aboard Musa Qala District Center, a forward operating base that served as the battalion headquarters last year of 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. Marines with 1/2 found themselves in an unusual situation on Aug. 7, 2010 — fighting an insurgent loose on the base. He’d busted loose from a detention center on base run by the Afghan National Police. This…
Last summer, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, shifted gears partway through its deployment to Afghanistan. After months in relatively quiet northeastern Nimroz province, the unit moved to Sangin, one of the country’s most violent districts. The differences were immediately apparent to Marines on the ground, as you can see in this video highlighting their deployment. They faced regular firefights as they pushed into Sangin’s Northern Green Zone, and terrain riddled with improvised explosive devices. Several Marines were killed in the first few weeks there, with Lima Company facing a sniper who drew blood numerous times. The unit, out of Twentynine Palms,…
Quietly, the Marines of Alpha Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, have joined the fight in Helmand province, Marine officials said. The unit replaced Delta Company, 1st Tanks, which became the first U.S. forces to operate tanks in the Afghanistan war earlier this year. Delta Company returned home to Twentynine Palms, Calif., late last month, but the mission rolls on. To date, not much has been shared publicly about 2nd Tanks’ mission. It is clear that they’re in northern Helmand province and attached to Regimental Combat Team 8, which oversees operations in Sangin, Musa Qala, Kajaki, Now Zad and other districts. In…
