Story by: Maj. Stewart T. Upton
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - The Marines and sailors of the main element from Company D, 1st Tank Battalion, are scheduled to return to the Combat Center, July 28 from a successful seven month deployment to Afghanistan's Helmand province.
The deployment marked the first time Marines have deployed M1A1 Abrams tanks to Afghanistan. Upon arriving in Helmand, their mission was to provide over-watch security for strategic routes of movement and to escort and support infantry units such as Battalion Landing Team 3/8, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment and 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment during their operations.
The crews used their tanks' highly-advanced optics systems to spot enemy targets and monitor local area activity during infantry patrols and operations. Thermal and night vision optics enabled the crews to provide critical observation and reconnaissance during all hours of the day and in austere weather conditions for their fellow Marines, sailors and Afghan partners.
Company D had a significant impact on the enemy's ability to emplace improvised explosive devices, a major threat to military personnel and civilians in Afghanistan, according to then-commander of Regional Command Southwest, Maj. Gen. Richard Mills during a March press conference. "[The enemy is] frightened by them. He doesn't like them. He understands their impact and he wants to avoid them," he said.
"We've had a great ability to see threats as they emerge at a long
distance before they can harm us, and then to take action very precisely against those threats."
"[The tank crews] have already, in my mind, saved lives and done the job that I hoped they would do. So I'm very, very pleased with them, and they are having an impact on the battlefield," said Mills.