From Iraq to Afghanistan

The Marine Corps is "ideally suited" to fight the war in Afghanistan, but before the Corps can shift thousands of Marines to that country, they must reduce their presence in Iraq, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command said.

Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski spent two days at Camp Lejeune this week, meeting with Marines and addressing the Marine Corps Association at a luncheon Thursday.

"The kids today in Iraq and Afghanistan perform so well because they have role models like I'm looking at right now," he told the group of retired and active-duty Marines.

The challenge now in Iraq's Anbar province is no longer security, but rather political and economic issues, Natonski said. Still, the troop level in the country remains at surge levels.

And while Iraq is getting better, he said, Afghanistan is getting worse.

"In order to put Marines into Afghanistan, there really has to be a compensatory reduction in Iraq," he said. "We're better suited to go to Afghanistan, where there is, so the reports show, a shortage of troops. We think with our expeditionary background, that ability ... to plop down in the middle of nowhere and operate against (the enemy), we think we're ideally suited for it."

Natonski said the Marines are able to operate out of their packs, while "there are other services that are not ready to go to Afghanistan until the infrastructure is built."

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway would like to see about 15,000 Marines in Afghanistan, fewer than the roughly 25,000 now in Iraq, which would allow more "dwell time" for returning Marines. That extra time at home would translate into more training and more time with families, Natonski said.

"We need to do the combined arms training. The ability to move ground forces while you're shooting artillery over their heads at targets in front of them, and bringing planes in to bomb targets ... we're really good at it, but we haven't had the opportunity over the course of the last several years to do that training, because we haven't had the time at home," he said.

The decision is not up to the Marine Corps, he said.

Natonski also addressed the growth of the Marine Corps, which was originally slated to grow to 202,000 over a five-year period.

"We're going to do it in three years," he said.

There are challenges to go with that growth, such as where the new troops and their families will live, but they are working on that now, Natonski said.

He also touched on care for wounded warriors, which he said does not end when they leave the military.

"We never treated our Vietnam veterans very well ... Thank God the United States of America appreciates our young men and women today," he said. "These are national treasures."

Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.