AMMAN, JORDAN
CPL GEORGE J. PAPAS TRAT
FLIGHT OF VIPS FROM AL ANBAR TO JORDAN, NO PROBLEM—Three MV- 22 Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162, Marine Aircraft Group
16, Third Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) land at Amman, Jordan, July 22. Four aircraft from the squadron transported Senators Barack Obama, D-Ill.,
Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., from Iraq’s Al Anbar province to Jordan.
lead for counter-insurgency and security
and stability operations in Iraq”s Al Anbar
province.
During the ceremony, Lieutenant General Keith J. Stalder, who has since passed
the reins of command to LtGen Dennis J.
Hejlik, gave control of II MEF (Forward)
to Major General Richard T. Tryon.
“Unless we are directed otherwise, our
role and mission will effectively continue to
be one of stability operations,” said MajGen
Tryon, a 1975 United States Naval Academy graduate and career infantry officer.
“[We] will set the conditions for success—
both our success … and the success of
the Iraqi nation.”
II MEF (Fwd) will deploy as a Marine
air-ground task force (MAGTF), a Ma-rine-unique warfighting organization that
places ground combat, aviation combat
andcombatlogisticalsupportforcesunder
the operational control of a single commander and his staff. MajGen Tryon was
selected to lead II MEF (Fwd) while serv-
ing as the commanding general of the Second Marine Division, and his staff was
drawn from throughout II MEF.
The activation of II MEF (Fwd) coincides with the Department of Defense announcement of June 30 that the Camp
Lejeune-based Regimental Combat Teams
6 and 8 were alerted for deployments to
Iraq in early 2009.
In addition to RCTs 6 and 8, II MEF
(Fwd) will serve as the command element
for units from the Second Marine Logistics Group, Second Marine Aircraft Wing
and other units from within II MEF. II MEF
(Fwd) will deploy with Brigadier General
John E. Wissler as deputy commanding
general, BGen Lawrence D. Nicholson as
the ground combat element commander,
BGen Robert S. Walsh as the aviation combatelementcommander, and BGen(select)
Juan G. Ayala as the combat logistics element commander.
“If I could have picked a team, this is
the team I would have chosen because of
their professional qualifications,” MajGen
Tryon said during the activation ceremony. “I know firsthand the professional
passions of these officers is absolutely
top-notch. I look forward to working with
each of you commanders as we move f
orward in the future.”
Once the most volatile region in Iraq,
Al Anbar province, where II MEF (Fwd)
will deploy, has seen a dramatic decrease
in violence in recent years through the
combined efforts of Iraqi forces and the
rotating annual deployments of II MEF
and the California-based I MEF.
In addressing the senior officer and enlisted leadership of II MEF (Fwd), MajGen
Tryon emphasized that their upcoming
tour in Iraq would not be a dull deplo
y-ment, and that keeping the province stable
and transitioning to full Iraqi control will
be a complex and challenging endeavor.
