VMA-214 departs for Afghanistan Story by Lance Cpl. Gregory Aalto
The main body of Marine Attack Squadron 214 is scheduled to depart Saturday for the first Marine Aircraft Group 13 deployment with Operation Enduring Freedom since 2002.
The squadron will provide offensive air support to southern Afghanistan's NATO missions as part of Marine Aircraft Group 40 in southern Afghanistan, said Maj. Roger Hardy, VMA-214 executive officer.
More than 200 Marines will deploy with the unit for approximately seven months, however, their official deployment length is unknown, said Hardy.
"After being in garrison for nearly two years, it is exciting to get out and be part of the bigger picture," said Lance Cpl. Ryan Randolph, VMA-214 legal clerk.
In preparation for the deployment, VMA-214 logistics Marines transported approximately 200,000 pounds of gear for the 10 AV-8B Harriers deploying.
More than 400 Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 Marines deployed to Southern Afghanistan in March, which has seen the most Taliban-related activity in the country recently, with MAG-40.
Four out of every five insurgent attacks are now happening in
Afghanistan's southern region after military and police took a stronger stance in eastern Afghanistan, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations International Security Assistance Force in a recent press release.
VMA-214 is best known as the Black Sheep of World War II and for former commanding officer Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington's actions during that time. The squadron was commissioned July 1, 1942, at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa in Oahu, Hawaii and has participated in every major military campaign since.
Source
http://yuma.usmc.mil/?PgId=desertwarrior,2009,05,07,feature1
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