Photo By Cpl. Andrew Johnston | A crowd of family members and friends wait at the II Marine Expeditionary Force...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Family members and friends gathered aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., in the predawn hours of Sept. 17 for a long-awaited reunion with their Marines and sailors returning home from a yearlong deployment to Iraq as members of five military transition teams.
"It feels excellent to be home," said Lance Cpl. Angel J. Araujo, a motor transport operator normally assigned to 2nd Tank Bn., 2nd Marine Division.
Like the other approximately 60 service members returning to the United States, Araujo was pulled from his primary unit and duties and assigned to a MiTT. Araujo was assigned to MiTT 113, and joined Marines and sailors pulled from throughout II Marine Expeditionary Force to staff the MiTTs.
"I'm so excited to have my family back together," said the wife of Lt. Col. Nicholas S. Hale, team leader for MiTT 0100. "It's hard. I have to be mom and dad when he is away. This is the seventh deployment I've been through, but I use my support groups and take it one step at a time. All in all, it's been a good year."
The deployment was considered a success for the MiTTs, whose mission was to teach, mentor and advise the Iraqi army on military tactics, techniques and procedures, said Capt. Anthony Claviso, mentor for the 1st Iraqi Army Division (Quick Reaction Force).
"We still have some work to do over there," said Claviso. "But they are at a level where they can operate independently — without help from coalition forces. Overall our mission was a success. We did what we had to do, but I'm home now and it's great to be back."
For more information on the II Marine Expeditionary Force, visit the unit's web site at www.iimefpublic.usmc.mil.
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2009 11:04 |
| Story ID: | 39176 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 440 |
| Downloads: | 324 |
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