The
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) is
one of seven
Marine
Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the
United States Marine Corps. The
Marine Expeditionary Unit is a
Marine Air Ground Task Force
(MAGTF) with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists
of a command element, a reinforced infantry battalion, a composite
helicopter squadron and an MEU service support group.
The 24th MEU is
currently based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
, North
Carolina
.
Mission
Provide geographic combatant commanders with a forward-deployed,
rapid-response force capable of conducting conventional
amphibious and selected maritime special
operations at night or under adverse weather conditions from the
sea, by surface and/or by air while under communications and
electronics restrictions.
Current subordinate units
History
Early years
What is
today the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) was activated at
various times as the 34th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) to
participate in exercises and operations in the North Atlantic,
Mediterranean
and Caribbean
.
In May
1982, it was redesignated the 24th MAU and served twice as part of
the multinational peace-keeping force in Lebanon
(October
1982 through February 1983, and May through November 1983).
The 24th
MAU lost 221 in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
.
It
continued to make routine six-month deployments to the
Mediterranean during the next six years while also providing forces
for operations in the Persian Gulf
.
The 24th MAU was redesignated the 24th MEU in February 1988.
1990s
On
April 16, 1991,
following Operation Desert
Storm, elements of the 24th MEU, along with other U.S. and
allied forces, were mobilized to complete a mission of mercy on
behalf of the Kurdish people in
Turkey
and northern Iraq
.
During
Operation Provide
Comfort, the MEU delivered food, supplies and medicine and
transported Kurds to "safe havens" and temporary tent cities.
The 24th
MEU took part in Operation
Restore Hope and Operation
Continue Hope, in Somalia
during March
and April 1993. The MEU furthered its mission by providing
humanitarian aid to the Somalis by transporting much needed food
and aid to many remote areas of the country.
The MEU
then turned eastward, entering the Adriatic Sea
, where from May to June 1994, it served in support
of Operation Provide
Promise and Operation Deny
Flight in Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
Immediately upon returning from its six-month
deployment, the 24th MEU redeployed to the waters of the Caribbean, off the coast of Haiti
. The
MEU served there from July to August 1994 as part of
Operation Support
Democracy.
In June 1995, elements of the 24th MEU launched a daring, daylight
Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel mission to rescue
Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady, who had been shot down
over Bosnia and Herzegovina six days earlier.
In 1996, the MEU served as a contingency force in the Adriatic Sea
in support of
Operation
Decisive Endeavor. Near the end of October 1996, units from the
MEU assisted
U.S. Army and allied engineers with the
construction of a bridge across the Drina River
in Bosnia.
In March
1998, the MEU conducted 34 battlefield air interdiction missions as part of the
NATO
air campaign against Yugoslavia, attacking with its AV-8B Harrier IIs from the Adriatic
Sea. Also during 1998, the
MEU was diverted from its regular deployment schedule to provide a
forward presence in the Persian Gulf as the United
States 5th Fleet landing force in support of Operation Desert Thunder. In
addition, the MEU used its aviation assets to enforce the Iraqi
no-fly-zone in support of
Operation Southern Watch.
During
November and December 1998, Marines from the 24th MEU were called
upon to provide security for the American embassy in Tirana, Albania
.
From 1999
to 2001, the 24th MEU participated in numerous multinational
military exercises and conducted peace support operations in
Kosovo
.
Global War on Terror
In August
2002, the 24th MEU departed Marine Corps
Base Camp Lejeune. During its nine-month deployment, the MEU
participated in
Operation
Dynamic Response in Kosovo and
Operation
Iraqi Freedom before returning home in May 2003.
In July 2004, the MEU departed for Iraq again. The deployment
marked the first time in recent history that an MEU did not deploy
as part of an
Amphibious Ready
Group. Arriving in Iraq by plane and cargo ships, the MEU
served as part of the
1st Marine Division.
The MEU
was responsible for stability and security in northern Babil and
southern Baghdad
provinces, reported safe havens for insurgents. The 24th MEU also helped
secure the "Triangle of Death" for the first free Iraqi
elections.
On
July 18 2006, it was
announced that the MEU, along with the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group,
would be directed to Lebanon, to assist
in the evacuation of U.S. nationals in Lebanon. U.S. nationals had
become trapped in Lebanon, following a series of Israeli
strikes which made the Beirut
International Airport
nonoperational, and similarly destroyed a number of
major roads out of the country.
In February 2008, the 24th MEU began deploying its Marines to
Kandahar, Afghanistan. They began their combat operations in April
2008.
Marines of the 24th MEU flooded into the
Taliban-held town of Garmsir
April 29 2008 , in Helmand
province, in the first major American operation in the region
in years. By
June 1,
2008, the Taliban were pushed out of Garmser. By
mid-July, after a month and a half of heavy combat, the Marines
were reporting that they had killed over 400 Taliban fighters in
the Garmser area.
As the war in Afghanistan shifts from the expulsion of the Taliban
to the stabilization of the country, the role for the MEU also
shifts to a mission of winning hearts and minds. This involves
close coordination with local Afghan leaders and roles as peace
makers instead of just soldiers. Currently, the MEU is in southern
Afghanistan securing the Afghan-Pakistani border while also trying
to win the support of the Afghan population and helping to restart
the local economy.
Unit awards
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an
organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who
participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms
the awarded unit citation. The 24th MEU has been presented with the
following awards:
See also
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Web
External links