Brigade needs more Afghan forces - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Brigade needs more Afghan forces

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Among the biggest challenges the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade faces when it enters Afghanistan this spring will be the lack of Afghan security forces in its area of operations, the MEB’s new commander said Monday.

“We need Afghan forces down there,” Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson said shortly after assuming command of 2nd MEB, a force of 8,000 Marines from across the Corps. The brigade’s arrival in Afghanistan will mark the largest presence of Marines and sailors in that country.

The brigade will conduct operations primarily in the southern part of Afghanistan, where the Taliban is “in great numbers and in great strength,” Nicholson said. To win the trust of the Afghans who live in that area, he said, Marines will need to work alongside Afghan forces.

Nicholson assumed command of the MEB during a brief ceremony inside II Marine Expeditionary Force’s headquarters at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“This is a historic day,” said Lt. Gen. Dennis Hejlik, II MEF commander. “This really is a positive change for our country. This formalizes the Marine Corps’ commitment to Afghanistan.”

The Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force currently in Afghanistan also will fall under the MEB, creating a force of more than 10,000 Marines and sailors. The SPMAGTF consists of about 2,000 Marines and sailors, including infantrymen from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, who are expected to be replaced this summer.

Before the ceremony, the Corps had not identified which units would make up the MEB. They are:

Brigade Headquarters Group

• 5th Battalion, 10th Marines from Lejeune

Regimental Combat Team 3

• 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

• 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, from Lejeune

• 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, from Marine Corps Base Hawaii

• 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

• 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, from Lejeune

Marine Aircraft Group 40

• Marine Attack Squadron 214, from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

• Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772, from Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pa.

• HMH-362, from Marine Corps Air Field Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

• A still-unidentified Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron, from Cherry Point

• Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2, from Cherry Point

• Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, from Pendleton

Combat Logistics Regiment 2

• Combat Logistics Battalion 8, from Lejeune

• 8th Engineer Support Battalion, from Lejeune