About 40 reserve Marines in Hawaii are preparing to deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations in support of the ongoing war against terrorism, Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe announced yesterday. 40 reserve Marines
Gulf-boundStaff and news reports
The members of the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company were activated for duty Jan. 14 and are scheduled to deploy to the U.S. Central Command soon, Marine officials said.
The Central Command battle staff has moved from Tampa, Fla., to a base in Qatar, where Gen. Tommy Franks would oversee all land, sea and air forces in an Iraq war.
The mission of the reconnaissance Marines is to plan, coordinate and conduct amphibious and ground reconnaissance and surveillance.
They are also trained to conduct raids in support of other forces.
Earlier this month, 250 Marines and sailors belonging to the 1st Radio Battalion stationed at Kaneohe Bay were told to report to the U.S. Central Command in Southwest Asia.
Also, this month, the destroyer USS O'Kane, with a crew of nearly 350 sailors and officers, left Pearl Harbor to join the war on terrorism, with the possibility that it could be sent to the Persian Gulf if needed in a possible war against Iraq.
The 4th Force Reconnaissance Marines also join more than 4,500 other Marine reserves nationwide, who were called to active duty within the past week, and 3,600 others who were previously activated, Marine Corps officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.