Kajaki

1/12 Marines deploy to Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on May 6, 2011 Afghanistan, Kajaki

The “Kings of Battle” are heading downrange. First Battalion, 12th Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, deployed to Afghanistan during the last week of April. The artillery unit reported Tuesday on its Facebook page that Alpha Battery had arrived in Kyrgyzstan, the assumed last stop on their trip before reaching the war zone. About 500 Marines with 1/12 will replace 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., which has served as the Corps’ primary artillery battalion in Afghanistan for all of 2011, Marine officials said. Elements of 1/10 also have patrolled Kajaki, a volatile district to Sangin’s…

Marine turf in Afghanistan the most violent in last six months

By Dan Lamothe on April 29, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Sangin

The Marine Corps’ regional command in Afghanistan had the most violent activity in the whole country in the last six months, according to a new Pentagon report released to Congress. Regional Command Southwest was the site of about 8,000 “security incidents” from October 2010 to March 2011, said the biannual “Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan,” released today (It’s posted online here). The incidents include attacks with direct fire, indirect fire, improvised explosive devices, mines and surface-to-air weapons. The region includes Helmand and Nimroz provinces, where more than 20,000 Marines are deployed. That’s not necessarily a surprise,…

1/10 Marine artillerymen patrolling Kajaki, Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on April 25, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki

Much of the recent media attention in Afghanistan’s Helmand province has focused on the announced turnover of units in and around volatile Sangin district. That’s certainly newsworthy, but there are certainly other units in northern Helmand still in the fight. One that deserves to be spotlighted is 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, an artillery unit out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Marine Corps has released several reports from the unit in the last few days, focusing on their operations in Kajaki district. Noteworthy for its hydroelectric dam that provides power in southern Afghanistan, it received attention on this blog in October…

3/4 Marines deploy to Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on April 13, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Sangin

The Thundering Third is back in Afghanistan. At least that should be the case for 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. The unit deployed last week in waves, and will be deployed in northern Helmand province, according to this Marine Corps news release. It could be a tough deployment. The Corps hasn’t said it officially, but the L.A. Times reported recently that 3/4 will join 1/5 in Sangin district, the volatile area where 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., faced so many hardships in their recently completed deployment. Second Reconnaissance Battalion, out of Camp…

General: Expansion of Marine territory in Afghanistan likely

By Dan Lamothe on February 14, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, MEU operations, Sangin

Is the time coming for Marines in Afghanistan to spread out and fight insurgents in more provinces? Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, commander of Marine forces in Afghanistan, made that case in interviews over the weekend, telling reporters that as the Corps continues to push insurgents out of population centers in Helmand province, they may need to expand where they are operating to places ranging from the Iranian border to neighboring Uruzgan province. He added that a small number of forces under his command Marines already are operating in neighboring Kandahar province, where Army forces have been locked into a struggle with…

Saying goodbye to Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, in pictures

By Dan Lamothe on October 25, 2010 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki

Last week, Getty News Service published a series of photographs of a foot patrol near the Kajaki Dam, a landmark in northern Helmand province, Afghanistan, that provides hydroelectric power. Third Battalion, 12th Marines, an artillery unit out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., has been assigned the area for several months, protecting a potential Taliban target. This series of photographs was uncommon, though, because it includes scenes from the last foot patrol one Marine ever participated in. Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, a motor vehicle operator, died after stepping on an improvised explosive device, becoming one of the 19 casualties sustained by a Marine unit…

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