Marines of the 15th MEU land in Kuwait

ABOARD THE USS TARAWA — Another weapon in the U.S. military’s arsenal offloaded Wednesday in Kuwait.

The 2,200 Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit give military planners a quick-strike force capable of carrying out a variety of missions, including humanitarian aid, long-range helicopter raids and desert and urban warfare.

The MEU, labeled a Special Operations Capable unit based from Camp Pendleton, Calif., brings a flexible and highly mobile strike force to regional commanders.

And there are high expectations for the Marines this time around, said the MEU commander, Marine Col. Thomas D. Waldhauser. “We all thought the last deployment would be hard to top, but I think there’s a lot of excitement this time around.”

Sending Marines ashore against enemy forces isn’t new to Waldhauser.

In 2001, he led Marines 400 miles inland to establish Camp Rhino and Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. But unlike Afghanistan, Waldhauser isn’t the sole military force this time around.

For the past two months, the U.S. military has flowed thousands of servicemembers into Kuwait, bolstering a force that could invade Iraq to disarm it of weapons of mass destruction.

More than 100,000 servicemembers have either deployed to Kuwait or are expected to arrive shortly.

Waldhauser said the MEU didn’t alter its training before heading out.

Still, he explained that the Marines knew Iraq would be the primary focus of their scheduled deployment, and commanders took pains to prepare Marines for threats of chemical and biological attacks.

Every Marine received anthrax and smallpox vaccinations — suspected weapons in Iraq’s arsenal. Gas mask training was commonplace during training and atropine kits, to counter the effects of nerve gas, were distributed to the troops.

“The Taliban is, on a good day, a fourth-world army,” Waldhauser said. “The Iraqi army … they do have more likelihood to use chemical and biological weapons. That’s part of the training we emphasized this time around.”

Marines clad in desert-camouflaged uniforms scrambled to pack and repack gear in the final days before they hit the Kuwaiti shore. They’ll travel out to the desert to test-fire weapons and acclimate to the sandy conditions after more than a month at sea traveling from the California coast.

But training to fight in the desert is only one concern. Marines are also keeping in mind the possibility of street fighting in the cities.

“There’s no doubt about it, fighting in an urban environment is tough,” Waldhauser said.

Waldhauser’s Marines hunted Taliban forces through urban areas in Afghanistan, moving house-to-house and dealing with locals who were often difficult to discern from the enemy.

Iraq could pose bigger problems with its more traditional armor-clad army. The reason: the MEU is light on armor. The MEU has only four tanks, 16 light-armored vehicles and 15 tracked vehicles.

“We are a small unit, but a unique unit,” he explained.

The MEU specialized in exploiting its small but flexible size. They can send one portion of their force ashore for combat, while another does humanitarian work.

Another ability the MEU brings to the battlefield is the Navy ships on which they travel. The amphibious assault and transport ships serve as a floating platform that can get Marines supplies, aid and air support.

The USS Tarawa, USS Duluth and USS Rushmore will likely remain close to the Kuwaiti coast, said Navy Rear Adm. W. Clyde Marsh, commander of Amphibious Group Three, based in San Diego. Marsh commands all amphibious and maritime preposition ships in the region, close to 30 vessels.

“As a sea base, we provide support to the Marines ashore in the form of a floating airfield,” Marsh said.

“We could have the air wing embarked here with Marines ashore. Or we could transition the wing ashore, and they could return here for maintenance.”

But the ships aren’t just landing space for helicopters. The Tarawa is a secondary hospital ship, capable of caring for hundreds of casualties at a time.

The ship is equipped with a full surgical team, four operating rooms and the ability to treat victims of chemical biological attacks.

It’s a threat both commanders know is a grim possibility.

“The Marines know combat isn’t an antiseptic video game,” Waldhauser said. “People die.”