(NSI News Source Info) CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - March 1, 2009: The Marines based at Camp Lejeune now know when their missions to Iraq will end, but they also know their deadly days of fighting overseas are far from over.
"Being a Marine, you join the Corps to serve your country and do what you have to do to keep it protected," said Sgt. Kelvin Carrington, a 26-year-old from Florida who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. "No matter what the commander in chief says, I will follow."
U.S. marines stand guard during the hand over ceremony of the Green Zone in Baghdad January 1, 2009. U.S. forces came under an Iraqi mandate on Thursday for the first time since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and handed control of the Green Zone in central Baghdad to Iraqi troops in a symbol of the dramatic change.
President Barack Obama came to the camp near North Carolina's coastline Friday to announce the exact day combat operations will end in Iraq "By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," Obama told them.
But for the Marines at Camp Lejeune, new orders for Afghanistan have already arrived.
The change in their mission could end up being no more than a change in scenery.
Today in Americas
When Pfc. Jeffrey Gray arrived at Camp Lejeune from basic training, the 19-year-old from Plymouth, N.C., was told he was going to Iraq. As of this month, his unit is instead headed to Afghanistan.
"I am excited. I am serving my country," Gray said. "We have to fight back and take action."
Sgt. Joshua Keller, a 23-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, who has served two combat tours to Iraq, even said he was worried the American people would see Obama's decision to withdraw forces from the region as a retreat. To Keller, it's only a course correction to take on the bigger threat: a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
"A lot of Americans feel like we are tucking our tails," Keller said. "We are not tucking our tails. We are following the terrorists."
Camp Lejeune is the main East Coast base for the Marine Corps.
At least 117 service members who called North Carolina home have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many more lived here for a time while based in the state, including two Obama mentioned by name Friday: 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter of Sag Harbor, N.Y., and Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va., who died in Iraq's Anbar province last April.
"These young men enlisted in a time of war, knowing they would face great danger," Obama said. "They came here, to Camp Lejeune, as they trained for their mission. ... In an age when suicide is a weapon, they were suddenly faced with an oncoming truck filled with explosives. These two Marines stood their ground. These two Marines opened fire. And these two Marines stopped that truck."
The pair were credited with saving the lives of dozens of Marines and Iraqi police, and posthumously joined the sailors and Marines to be awarded the Navy Cross — the service's highest award for combat valor — since Sept. 11.
Obama has already ordered 8,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune to Afghanistan, and there are rumblings a brigade from the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg in the central part of the state could get similar orders soon.
The Marines who Obama addressed Friday insist they're ready, because fighting America's wars is their job. Pfc. Tiffany Johnson gave birth to her first son seven weeks ago, and admits she isn't looking forward to leaving him behind. But the 23-year-old intelligence analyst from Lillington, N.C., was prepared to fight in Iraq. Now, she's ready for Afghanistan.
"As a Marine, you have to be ready to go when the military says so," Johnson said. "I am ready to serve wherever my country needs."
U.S. marines stand guard during the hand over ceremony of the Green Zone in Baghdad January 1, 2009. U.S. forces came under an Iraqi mandate on Thursday for the first time since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and handed control of the Green Zone in central Baghdad to Iraqi troops in a symbol of the dramatic change.
President Barack Obama came to the camp near North Carolina's coastline Friday to announce the exact day combat operations will end in Iraq "By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," Obama told them.
But for the Marines at Camp Lejeune, new orders for Afghanistan have already arrived.
The change in their mission could end up being no more than a change in scenery.
Today in Americas
When Pfc. Jeffrey Gray arrived at Camp Lejeune from basic training, the 19-year-old from Plymouth, N.C., was told he was going to Iraq. As of this month, his unit is instead headed to Afghanistan.
"I am excited. I am serving my country," Gray said. "We have to fight back and take action."
Sgt. Joshua Keller, a 23-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, who has served two combat tours to Iraq, even said he was worried the American people would see Obama's decision to withdraw forces from the region as a retreat. To Keller, it's only a course correction to take on the bigger threat: a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
"A lot of Americans feel like we are tucking our tails," Keller said. "We are not tucking our tails. We are following the terrorists."
Camp Lejeune is the main East Coast base for the Marine Corps.
At least 117 service members who called North Carolina home have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many more lived here for a time while based in the state, including two Obama mentioned by name Friday: 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter of Sag Harbor, N.Y., and Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va., who died in Iraq's Anbar province last April.
"These young men enlisted in a time of war, knowing they would face great danger," Obama said. "They came here, to Camp Lejeune, as they trained for their mission. ... In an age when suicide is a weapon, they were suddenly faced with an oncoming truck filled with explosives. These two Marines stood their ground. These two Marines opened fire. And these two Marines stopped that truck."
The pair were credited with saving the lives of dozens of Marines and Iraqi police, and posthumously joined the sailors and Marines to be awarded the Navy Cross — the service's highest award for combat valor — since Sept. 11.
Obama has already ordered 8,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune to Afghanistan, and there are rumblings a brigade from the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg in the central part of the state could get similar orders soon.
The Marines who Obama addressed Friday insist they're ready, because fighting America's wars is their job. Pfc. Tiffany Johnson gave birth to her first son seven weeks ago, and admits she isn't looking forward to leaving him behind. But the 23-year-old intelligence analyst from Lillington, N.C., was prepared to fight in Iraq. Now, she's ready for Afghanistan.
"As a Marine, you have to be ready to go when the military says so," Johnson said. "I am ready to serve wherever my country needs."
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