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KADENA AIR BASE, Japan — About 100 Marines and sailors from units throughout III Marine Expeditionary Force returned from a seven-month Iraq deployment, Oct. 17.
The service members were attached to Task Force MP, which was comprised of 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division – based in Hawaii.
Task Force MP supported II Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq's Anbar province. The individual augments, which came from a wide variety of job specialties, mostly worked at detention facilities, conducted convoy escorts and provided administrative support.
Maj. Gen. Robert B. Neller, 3rd Marine Division commanding general, welcomed the troops back to Okinawa when they arrived at Kadena Air Base.
"What you just did is probably the most significant and important thing in your life," Neller said. "You went to war and came back."
Neller said he is proud of the job the Marines and sailors did, and he stressed the importance of focusing on making a smooth transition back to garrison life.
The service members will complete a five-day warrior transition program, which is tailored to meet the needs of service members coming from a wide array of units.
For some, getting back into a more relaxed state of mind is no problem.
"The deployment was awesome, but it's great to be back where I can relax and not worry so much," said Cpl. Thomas Lew, a videographer with Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. "I never thought I would say this, but I really missed Okinawa."
Three Marines and one sailor from the task force were killed in Iraq. While none of those casualties were from Okinawa, Capt. Jay-Jay Janabajal, who served as the Task Force MP Battalion staff judge advocate, said he will honor their sacrifice every day.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2007 20:38 |
| Story ID: | 13387 |
| Location: | KADENA AIR BASE, JP |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 15 |
This work, III Marine Expeditionary Force Marines, sailors return to Okinawa after Iraq deployment, by LCpl Daniel Todd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
