John Toolan

Last U.S. Marine tank unit heading home from Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on September 5, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin

The Marine Corps made national headlines in fall 2010 when it sent tanks to northern Helmand province to bolster firepower there. It was a first for the U.S. in the war, which was nine years old at the time. Nearly three years later, the tanks are coming home. Delta Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., will redeploy to the U.S. soon, and will not be replaced by a similar unit, said 1st Lt. Philip Kulczewski, a Marine spokesman in Afghanistan. It’s one of the most tangible indications recently that that the U.S. drawdown in forces in Afghanistan…

Photos: Marine general busts a move in Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on March 13, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, General officers

As noted here, Maj. Gen. John Toolan turned over the reins of Regional Command Southwest yesterday to Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus, who will lead Marine forces in Helmand and Nimroz provinces this summer. Toolan has repeatedly praised Mohammad Gulab Mangal, Helmand’s provincial governor for his leadership. The general cited Mangal jumping to action as one reason why Helmand didn’t have the same kind of violent protests other parts of the country did after U.S. soldiers burned Qurans at Bagram Air Base last month. To thank Mangal and other top Afghan officials for their year-long partnership, Toolan held a farewell dinner…

I MEF Fwd. takes command of Marine mission in Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on March 12, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, General officers

The transition is official: Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus took command of Marine forces in southwest Afghanistan today, becoming the commander of Regional Command Southwest. Gurganus and his headquarters element, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), will lead nearly 30,000 coalition troops over the next year. It won’t be easy: they’ll oversee a massive drawdown of forces, continued combat operations and a shift toward Afghan security forces taking a leading role. Maj. Gen. John Toolan, the outgoing commander, highlighted what to expect in this long-form Marine Corps Times story published last week.

General: ‘Inside threat’ from Afghan troops takes courage to face

By Dan Lamothe on March 1, 2012 Afghanistan, General officers, Leadership

In next week’s Marine Corps Times, we’ll have a package of stories highlighting what’s coming this summer for Marines in Afghanistan. Much of it comes from an interview I did Friday with Maj. Gen. John Toolan, the top commander in Helmand and Nimroz provinces, where 17,000 Marines are deployed. We covered a lot of ground, some of which appeared in this breaking news story last week. Then I asked the general if there was anything else he wanted to touch on. Not surprisingly, he said he was proud of the troops under his command. But he also added a candid…

Marines in Helmand avoid Afghanistan’s Quran-burning violence

By Dan Lamothe on February 24, 2012 Afghanistan, Leadership

U.S. soldiers burning Qurans at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan has prompted violence and protests across the country, leading to at least 20 deaths. Noticeably absent from the fray, however, is an area that has seen more than its share of violence — Helmand province. Helmand, occupied by some 17,000 Marines, has avoided bloodshed tied to the controversy so far, Maj. Gen. John Toolan told me today during a phone interview. He attributed the success to a plan hatched by Mohammad Gulab Mangal, Helmand’s governor, to quickly respond with several respected mullahs to areas where anger over the burning of…

MARSOC role in Afghanistan comes into focus

By Dan Lamothe on December 1, 2011 Afghanistan, Kajaki, MARSOC, The CMC

Commandant Gen. Jim Amos’ trip to Afghanistan through the Thanksgiving holiday has brought a little reported Marine Corps mission to the forefront: village stability operations. Associated Press reporter Bob Burns was along for the trip, and outlined in some detail what operators with Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command are doing in Puzeh, a dusty village in Helmand province about 10 miles south of the Kajaki Dam. In September, I discussed the MARSOC village stability operations mission with Maj. Gen. John Toolan, the top U.S. commander in southwestern Afghanistan. Instead of being involved in raids or other high-profile spec-ops missions,…

Maj. Gen. John Toolan loves him some CFT

By Dan Lamothe on April 1, 2011 Afghanistan, Camp Lejeune, Combat Fitness Test, Fitness, General officers, Leadership

As outlined earlier this week, Marines in Afghanistan have a new commander, Maj. Gen. John Toolan. He has taken command from Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, who led troops in Regional Command-Southwest for nearly a year. Marine Corps Times news editor Tony Lombardo pointed out this photo to me earlier this week. It shows Toolan during a Combat Fitness Test carrying Sgt. Michael Taggart, the noncommissioned officer in charge of II Marine Expeditionary Force’s special security office. It was taken Dec. 10 at Camp Lejeune, N.C., before II MEF (Forward) Marines deployed to Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Toolan has been in the…

Meet Maj. Gen. John Toolan, your new Afghanistan commander

By Dan Lamothe on March 28, 2011 Afghanistan, General officers, Infantry, Leadership

As Marine Corps Times forecasted in a story Saturday morning, Maj. Gen. John Toolan has taken over as commander of II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and Regional Command-Southwest. The transfer of authority from Maj. Gen. Richard Mills and I MEF (Fwd.) puts Toolan in charge of more than 20,000 Marines, primarily in volatile Helmand province. I had the opportunity to interview Mills last week by telephone before he stepped down as commander. He was candid in offering perspective on where things have improved, but also warned that Marines will face another push from the insurgency this spring. “He defended all…

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