CJTF-Horn of Africa Response Force in South Sudan

01/24/2014
01/24/2014: Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's East Africa Response Force or the EARF has been positioned at the U.S. Embassy in Juba, South Sudan, since Dec. 18, 2013 when the initial evacuation of U.S. citizens took place.  The EARF is part of a Defense Department initiative of regionally aligned…

Working on USMC Helos at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

01/20/2014
01/20/2014: Working on Helos at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan [slidepress gallery='working-on-helos-at-camp-bastion-afghanistan'] Credit: Regional Command Southwest:11/28/13 In the first two photos, pilots return to Camp Bastion in their AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter following a routine mission in Helmand, Afghanistan Nov. 28. In the third photo, a Marine with Marine Light Attack Helicopter…

Army Aviation Operating in Afghanistan

01/16/2014
01/16/2014: This slideshow looks at key assets from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, attached to Task Force Knighthawk, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade operating in Afghanistan. [slidepress gallery='army-aviation-afghanistan'] Credit:10th Combat Aviation Brigade:11/26/13 In the first photo, an AH-64 Apache helicopter makes its approach at Forward Operating Base…

USMC Long Range Raid Exercise: Training for More Effective Coordination

01/11/2014
01/11/2014: Students from the Infantry Officer Course (IOC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., completed a "Proof-of-Concept" 1,100 mile, long-range operation from Twentynine Palms, Calif., to Fort Hood, Texas, via MV-22 Ospreys, on Dec. 15, 2013. The Marines fast-roped into a mock city to secure the embassy and rescue key…

Rope Training for SP-MAGTF Insertion

01/09/2014
01/08/2014: Marines and sailors with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response load an MV-22B Osprey for helicopter rope suspension training at Morón Air Base, Spain, Dec. 6, 2013 and December 17, 2013.  The latter was during a visit of Second Line of Defense to SP-MAGTF in Spain. SP-MAGTF Crisis…

Visiting SP-MAGTF Crisis Response in Spain: Prior to the Sudan Mission

01/09/2014
01/09/2014: Second Line of Defense’s Murielle Delaporte visited the SP-MAGTF Crisis Response in Morón Air Base, Spain a few days prior to their mission to South Sudan to extract US embassy personnel.  The SP-MAGTF Crisis Response was formed over an 8-month period and first deployed to Europe for temporary basing…

Special Purpose MAGTF Deploys to South Sudan

01/05/2014
01/05/2014  The Special Purpose MAGTF is a very flexible instrument. As  Brigadier General James S. O’Meara currently serving as commander, U.S. Marine  Forces Europe, and deputy commander, U.S. Marine Forces Africa, commented about the SP-MAGTF in an earlier interview we conducted with him: The SP-MAGTF is the basic Marine Corps…