2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) deactivates

Brig. Gen. Robert S. Walsh covered the flag of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), putting an official end to the unit’s 11-month mission in Iraq.

A deactivation ceremony for the 2nd MAW (Forward) was held Thursday at Cherry Point.

Walsh said wing Marines played a significant role in keeping military personnel out of harm’s way.

He said wing aircraft transported 800,000 passengers and 110 million pounds of cargo during the deployment, keeping people and supplies off the roads where they would be subject to improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

“A lot of those passengers and cargo we moved really supported keeping the Marines and soldiers off those roads so they weren’t threatened by the IED threat,” Walsh said. “The IED threat is a big threat over there for them, so aviation was able to support them so they weren’t having to drive on those roads.”

Walsh said the wing had more than 40,000 flight hours and 30,000 sorties during the deployment from its base in the Al Anbar Province. Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles, UH-1N Hueys, AH-1W Cobras, F/A-18 Hornets, CH-46 transport helicopters, KC-130J refueling aircraft, CH-46E and CH53 helicopters, and MV-22 Ospreys were among those taking to the skies as part of the wing.

Walsh said that prior to the 2006 surge, Al Anbar was one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, but now, as the aircraft wing leaves the country, Al Anbar is one of the safest places in Iraq.

“It really took that getting to work with the tribes, and getting the tribes to trust and believe in the U.S. forces which was what allowed us to kind of turn that tide, and that tipping point really occurred late in 2006,” Walsh said. “When that occurred, then the tribes started working with the U.S. Marine Corps in Al Anbar, and things then started to get much better. We were able to train them so they could take the fight on themselves.”

Walsh was highly complimentary of the caliber of personnel in the U.S. Marine Corps today.

“Today’s generation of Marines is by far and away the most capable and smart Marines we have ever had,” Walsh said. “The way they’ve grown up thinking for themselves, embracing technology. They just need to take the good old-fashioned Marine Corps leadership that we’ve always had and apply it to their way of thinking.

“Their innovativeness, we’ve got a combination now that’s something much better than I have ever seen in the past.”