Helmand

Marines planning for 4,400 troops in Helmand province in 2014

By Dan Lamothe on July 31, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Washington

Marine commanders are planning to draw down to about 4,400 service members in southwestern Afghanistan by early 2014, as the U.S. continues to shrink its footprint across the country. That’s one of the takeaways of this new Marine Corps Times story, which was published in our print edition this week. It outlines the way the Corps continues to reshape its force in Helmand province, where tens of thousands of Marines have deployed and tangled with the Taliban since 2008. Marine officials released the proposed troop number for Helmand province to me for the story, while acknowledging it is subject to…

Attacks in Afghanistan: Here are the statistics for RC-Southwest

By Dan Lamothe on January 23, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Marjah, Musa Qala, Sangin

As you may have seen today in this story, Marine officials in Afghanistan released to me statistics outlining enemy-initiated attacks. The numbers compared 2011 and 2012 by district, shedding light on an interesting period of transition in southwestern Afghanistan. My story on the subject is posted here. We’ve also posted the whole slide that I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) released, so you can check out the details yourself. Among the details that stuck out for me: Sangin Lt. Col. David Bradney, head of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, told me in an interview in October that his Marines had “punched them…

Marines ask: Why not more Presidential Unit Citations?

By Dan Lamothe on June 25, 2012 Afghanistan, Awards, Infantry, Washington

The decision to award the prestigious Presidential Unit Citation to 28,000 personnel who served under Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 has led to a basic question from other Marines: Why not us? Marines, veterans and their family members are questioning online why troops who served in heavy combat in Iraq and Afghanistan outside the MEB’s deployment haven’t received a PUC, which is considered the unit-level equivalent to the Navy Cross. The only other PUC awarded to a Marine unit since 9/11 went to I Marine Expeditionary Force (Reinforced), for actions during and immediately after the initial invasion of…

Marines sport Justin Bieber paraphernalia in Afghanistan?

By James Sanborn on May 3, 2012 Battle Rattle, Marines, Pop culture

The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, ran a story today about some “Marines” in Afghanistan sporting tight pink shirts with pop-star Justin Bieber on them. When I first saw the headline I thought why would any U.S. Marine — a hardened warrior — sport a tight Justin Bieber shirt? Then I looked more closely and something seems off. These guys have a lot of hair. And the guy on the left needs to police his ‘stache. The Daily Mail reports that the photos were uploaded to Reddit by someone identifying themselves only as vchama. Thus begins my conspiracy theory. I…

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