Posted on 01/12/2004 9:34:49 PM PST by BenLurkin
The Antelope Valley-based Marine Corps Reserve aviation detachment based at Edwards will send both of its squadrons overseas, deploying giant CH-53 helicopters to Afghanistan and medium CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters to Iraq. "They will be joining with their active-duty counterparts of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Group based at Miramar Naval Air Station," said Lt. Col. Drew Crane, in the leadership team of Detachment Bravo at Edwards.
Both squadrons were mobilized within the past week, with Marines reporting for duty prior to overseas deployment. The Marines were told to expect to be activated for about 12 months, with a six-month overseas tour likely.
Marine Corps units from Camp Lejeune were sent to Afghanistan late last year, and the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton deployed late in 2002 for its role in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Marines who fought in Iraq are now being sent to Afghanistan, or are returning to Iraq, mostly to relieve Army units that have spent long tours in the combat zone, some there since the war with Iraq opened in March.
The squadrons of Marine Aircraft Group 46, Detachment Bravo, are mainly used for inserting infantry into combat zones.
Crane estimates that more than 200 of the unit's 300-plus Marines will be sent to the fray, with the Detachment Bravo site commander, Lt. Col. Michael Bruen, moving overseas with his Marines to fly missions.
Marine Reserve units differ somewhat in the way they are tasked alongside active-duty units in comparison to National Guard and Army and Air Force reservists.
"We join with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Group, our active-duty counterparts, and it is supposed to be a seamless integration," Crane said. "In some cases the reservists are more experienced. A half dozen of our reservists are police helicopter pilots in civilian life."
The giant CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters are the "largest in the free world." Well, they're big any way you look at them. Those choppers are tasked to HMH-769, known as the "Road Hogs" squadron. Some of that squadron's Marines already deployed to missions in the war on terror after 9-11, flying their aircraft to search for al-Qaida remnant forces in the Horn of Africa. They returned in December 2002.
For the Marines re-activated within the past week, Crane said, "They are glad they are going to be able to be a part of what they've seen on the television news, and they are glad they are going to be able to relieve all the forces that have been over there a long time."
The medium helicopters of HMM-769 are known as the "Moonlighters" squadron. Both units flew in Desert Storm.
The Marines at Edwards join one of the largest troop rotations in U.S. military, the biggest since World War II. In all, about 110,000 troops will replace the 130,000 already serving in the Iraqi theater. A smaller number are being sent to replace forces assigned to Afghanistan.
"Garden spots, all," Crane said.
The two squadrons of Detachment Bravo moved into Edwards in July 1999, coming from the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County, which was shut down as part of the base realignment and closing process.
"WARM WELCOME - Marine Staff Sgt. Rudy Malanum kisses his wife Irene after returning in December 2002 from a six-month deployment with Marine Aircraft Group 46, Detachment Bravo, in the Horn of Africa. Soon, members of Detachment Bravo will be off to Afghanistan and Iraq." ROB LAYMAN/Valley Press
The squadrons of Marine Aircraft Group 46, Detachment Bravo, are mainly used for inserting infantry into combat zones....estimates that more than 200 of the unit's 300-plus Marines will be sent to the fray.
The giant CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters are the "largest in the free world."...tasked to HMH-769, known as the "Road Hogs" squadron.
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Kuwait City, 02 April 2000 ~ A CH-46 Sea Knight of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166
U.S. Marine Corps photo courtesy of Gunnery Sergeant Glenn Holloway.
http://www.aircav.com/dodphoto/dod00/ch46-024.html
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Godspeed, Marines!
Some leader. That's Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Crane. Which it also was known long before it became a Naval Air Station. Drew must be a refugee from the grunts.
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