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U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force conduct fast rope tactics out of a CH-53E Super Stallion at Auxiliary Airfield 2, Yuma, Ariz., Sept. 26, 2014. The exercise is part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) 1-15, a seven-week training event hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) cadre. MAWTS-1 provides standardized tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications to support Marine Aviation Training and Readiness and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics. (U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Cpl. Xzavior T. McNeal, COMCAM/ Released)
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via Marine Corps Times.
The Marines’ new crisis response unit in U.S. Central Command will reach initial operating capability tomorrow with Camp Pendleton’s 5th Marine Regiment as its headquarters element, military officials said today.
Most of the 2,300 Marines who will make up Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command have already arrived in the Middle East, said Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Central Command.
Kloppel said the first deployment rotation for the task force included the following units:
■ Command element, 5th Marine Regiment, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
■ 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
■ Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, Miramar, Calif.
■ Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
Aircraft attached to the unit will include, among others, MV-22B Ospreys from VMM-363 and KC-130 planed from VMGR-234, a Reserve unit. The task force will also include a tactical aviation squadron, Kloppel said, but he declined to identify the squadron as it was in the process of arriving in the Middle East.
Fifth Marine Regiment commanding officer Col. Jason Bohm will command the task force, Kloppel said. Most units will be deployed for six or seven months, he said, although the regimental headquarters may see a longer rotation.
Reconsidered this whole thing. Its not a WTF! moment but simply a case of legacy building.
What does the outgoing Commandant have to hang his hat on as far as his lasting impact on the Marine Corps? The only thing he can do is gesture at the SPMAGTF-CR and "revitalizing" the MEB. That's the only reason why he would rush to establish these new units in the Middle East and S. America. Amos knows that once Combatant Commanders get new units available they're hard to disband.
