Marines return after keeping fighters safe in Iraq

CHERRY POINT MARINE AIR STATION — Brig. Gen. Robert S. Walsh, commanding officer of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, said Thursday that the wing played a significant role in keeping fighters out of harm’s way during the last 11 months in Iraq.

At a deactivation ceremony at Cherry Point Marine air station for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the general said that the wing had 40,000 flight hours and 30,000 sorties.

In collaboration with other Marine Corps Marine aircraft wings, 450,000 hours were flown on 300,000 sorties. A total of 800,000 passengers were transported around Iraq from Al Anbar Province by Marine aircraft wing assets.

Those assets include 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 CH-53 helicopters, and the new MV-22 Ospreys.

Explosions from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have taken a deadly toll for coalition forces in Iraq that are attempting to convoy on the country’s roadways.

“We moved more than 110 million pounds of cargo,” Walsh said. “And 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. 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 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 also complimented the caliber of personnel in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“Today’s generation of Marines is by far in a way 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.”