June 09, 2004

Associated Press

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — About 250 Marines are to ship out this week for Iraq, as the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit begins its deployment in the Middle East.
The rest of the unit’s 2,200 Marines and sailors are to head to Iraq over the next few weeks, according to a statement issued Tuesday.

Most of the first group will be members of the MEU’s aviation squadron, though others will be ground-combat Marines or members of the unit’s command and combat service support elements.

They are to board the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge on Wednesday, taking the unit’s 12 CH-46E helicopters with them, and the ship is to depart on Friday. At the same time, some of the unit’s trucks and Humvees will be put aboard a chartered commercial vessel to be shipped to Iraq.

The rest of the unit is to travel to Iraq by air, skipping the usual lengthy sea voyage in order to reach the Middle East more quickly.

About 850 Marines who are members of the MEU’s battalion landing team will head first in the opposite direction — to March Air Force Base, Calif., for training in security, the statement said.