As Afghanistan winds down, Marines to resume Japan deployments
In this photo taken on April 4
More than 200 Marines with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment are expected to return to Hawaii Thursday from their final deployment to Garmsir district in southern Afghanistan — and possibly to the country itself.
With the full return of the 1,000-member 3rd Battalion, Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s three infantry battalions will have ended their rotational deployments to Afghanistan, with one Hawaii battalion replacing another, an official said.
Instead, Hawaii Marines are resuming the "Unit Deployment Program" rotations to Japan that were curtailed with war needs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A ceremony is expected to be held following the return of all the 3rd Battalion Marines recognizing the shift back to an emphasis on the Pacific, and with most of another infantry unit at Kaneohe Bay, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, heading to Okinawa on the UDP program, according to an official.
The Pentagon’s Marine Corps headquarters confirmed today that the 2nd Battalion from Hawaii will be the first infantry unit across the Corps to deploy as part of UDP resumption.
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"The Marine Corps, as America’s expeditionary force in readiness, constantly seeks opportunities to train and partner with allies and friends in the Pacific theater," the service said in a statement. "The Unit Deployment Program, or UDP, has been a cost-effective way to expose U.S.-based Marine units to various training environments and maintain military partnerships throughout the region since 1977."
The Corps said after reducing UDP in scale in 2003 due to the increased personnel and equipment demands involved in fighting two wars, it will begin, incrementally, to return to the routine deployment cycle of units rotating to Japan from U.S. home stations.
About 800 Hawaii Marines with the 2nd Battalion will deploy to Japan in early summer.
"The number and timing of additional deployments as part of the Unit Deployment Program are to be determined," the Marine Corps said. "The pace of UDP resumption is contingent upon the drawdown of Marines in Afghanistan."
