Corps tackles tough Afghanistan preparations

[unhappycamper]

Corps tackles tough Afghanistan preparations
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 21, 2009 14:29:50 EST

Ten weeks after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Marine Corps led the invasion of Afghanistan, sending leathernecks in six CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from a Navy vessel in the Arabian Sea over 400 miles into the heart of Taliban country.

It was the deepest insertion of Marines in the Corps’ history, a complex Nov. 25 nighttime raid launched from the amphibious assault ship Peleliu. It led to the capture of a dusty desert airstrip and the buildup of U.S. forces in Kandahar province, where 1,000 more Marines landed within a week. Fraught with potential disasters — helicopters being shot down, for example, or an aircraft collision occurring during aerial refueling — the mission was hailed a success.

Eight years later, the U.S. stands at a turning point in the Afghanistan war — and, once again, Marines will lead the way.

The U.S. plans to send an additional 30,000 troops, including 8,500 Marines, to augment the estimated 68,000 U.S. troops already there and secure a country best known for its lawlessness, unforgiving terrain and opium-producing poppy plants. U.S. forces are tasked with a counterinsurgency mission of not only striking insurgent strongholds, but also earning the trust of isolated villagers and the Afghan police and army, whom the U.S. plans to train to provide protection long-term.

“Counterinsurgency is not some mystery,” said Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, who led the initial invasion of Afghanistan as a one-star general. “It’s complex, but it’s very straightforward. The people are the prize, and you fight for the prize.”


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/12/marine_afghanistan_122109w/