SAN DIEGO, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- More than 2,000 U.S. Marines set sail Saturday from San Diego and were expected to be on station in the waters off Afghanistan by Christmas.
The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Camp Pendleton left San Diego Bay aboard a trio of amphibious ships for the four-week voyage to the Arabian Sea, or any other part of the world where they are needed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
"The deployment comes more than a month earlier than originally scheduled as part of ... long-term participation of naval forces in the global war on terrorism," the Third Fleet said in a release.
The task force is led by the USS Bon Homme Richard, an amphibious assault ship similar to an aircraft carrier that serves as a base for the nearly 30 helicopters and Harrier attack jets; the other ships are the USS Pearl Harbor and USS Ogden.
The MEU is a standard Marine Corps unit that regularly deploys aboard ships and can be dispatched to hot spots around the world. The 15th MEU, also based at Camp Pendleton, went ashore in Afghanistan a week ago along with elements of the 26th MEU and has dug in around a dusty airstrip that will be used as a U.S. base of operations during the winter.
The San Diego-based aircraft carrier John C. Stennis headed for Afghanistan on Nov. 12 with its battle group and was making a brief stopover in Hong Kong during the weekend.
The 13th MEU, nicknamed "The Fighting 13th," accelerated its early-autumn training program in the weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in anticipation of departing before the holidays.
"My philosophy is that the earlier we go, the earlier we get back," one Marine enlisted man told reporters Friday as the 13th slowly packed their equipment aboard the ships at the 32nd Street Naval Station on San Diego. "I've got a great bunch of Marines with me, so there's nothing to be nervous about."
During two weeks of exercises off the Southern California coast in late October and early November, the 13th conducted nearly a dozen amphibious landings and also practiced defending their ships against terrorist attacks such as the one that damaged the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen early this year. The exercises involved as many as 400 reservists, National Guard troops and other military personnel acting as terrorists, diplomats, reporters and civilians.
"We tried to build scenarios that reflect real-world happenings," said Maj. D. Bowen Richwine, one of the officers responsible for certifying MEUs as being able to conduct what are broadly termed special operations.
