CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - More than 100 reservists and 50 active duty Marines and sailors with Retrograde and Redeployment in support of Reset and Reconstitution Operations Group, or R4OG, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, embarked on a deployment to Afghanistan here, May 16.
“(R4OG) has been training since January,” said Lt. Col. Craig C. Clemans, the commanding officer of 2nd Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. “They’ve got to prepare that gear for the next fight – wherever the nation calls (the Marine Corps) to next.”
The mission of R4OG is to organize, repair and bring the Marine Corps’ weapons, vehicles and other equipment back to the United States from Afghanistan. Once the equipment is fully operational and in the United States, R4OG will redistribute it according to the Marine Corps’ needs.
“I’m ready to hurry up and go,” said Lance Cpl. Kenneth M. Riggot III, a supply administration operations clerk with R4OG. “I’m in this for the learning experience. I know my job very well, but there is some knowledge you can’t get without going on a deployment.”
The deployment, which is scheduled to last seven months, will not only challenge the Marines and sailors in Afghanistan, but their family and friends at home.
“We’re very proud of his service,” said Ann M. Miller, the mother-in-law of Sgt. Justin Morgan, a Marine with R4OG. “I’m a little scared for his safety, but this is what he wants. When this (deployment) came up, he volunteered to go.”
When the three buses arrived, the family and friends said their final goodbyes before the service members with R4OG loaded their gear, boarded and began their half-year deployment.
“They’re going to do great,” said Clemans. “If their motivation during the pre-deployment training program and the preparation they’ve gone through is any indication, we have every reason to be confident in their success.”