Letter to the editor from commander
Marines to use southern Indiana for training
Posted: Thursday, Sep 17, 2009 - 10:16:59 am EDT
To the editor:
By now you may have heard that approximately two thousand Marines and sailors from North Carolina will be conducting a training exercise in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky beginning later this month. As the commanding officer of that unit, I’d like to explain to you what we have in mind and why it is so important.
The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is the landing force for the Norfolk-based Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group, set to deploy next year as America’s 911 force ready to accomplish a variety of missions anywhere in the world. A Marine Expeditionary Unit’s job is typically to serve as a sea-based quick-reaction force, ready to respond to a contingency or crisis should it arise in our area of operations.
Some of you may remember the story of Air Force Capt. Scott O’Grady, an F-16 pilot shot down over war-torn Bosnia in June 1995. If the plot seems familiar, it was the basis for the movie Behind Enemy Lines.
For six days, he eluded capture by enemy forces. He finally established radio contact with U.S. forces, and within a few hours, Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit launched from the USS Kearsarge in the Adriatic Sea to pluck him to safety.
Many of the Marines you’ll see in the coming few weeks have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment — now the Marine Expeditionary Unit’s ground combat element — was in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, helping to wrest that city from insurgent control.
Another interesting aspect of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is the fact that we’re only the second Marine Expeditionary Unit to deploy with the MV-22 Osprey — a tilt-rotor aircraft that can fly like a plane and rotate its wings to hover like a helicopter.
Our aim in south central Indiana and northern Kentucky is to expose our Marines to realistic scenarios in an actual urban community. We simply cannot replicate those conditions aboard our home base.
The exercise runs from Sept. 24 through Oct. 7. We’ll be spread among a number of areas including Camp Atterbury, Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, Seymour, Nashville, Columbus, and Hoosier National Forest in Indiana as well as the Frankfort, Kentucky area. While much of the activity will take place aboard the military bases, residents in some areas can expect to see helicopters flying overhead, military vehicles on the roads, and Marines patrolling on foot. Residents living in close proximity to a select few sites will be notified in advance that Marines will be conducting mock raids nearby.
We understand that the added noise we’ll bring can be a nuisance. We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding, and we hope you’ll bear with us as we complete this critical training. Finally, we hope that what you observe will make you as proud of us as we are to serve on your behalf.
Pete Petronzio
Colonel, United States Marine Corp.
Commander, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
