24th MEU deploys to Haiti
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24th MEU deploys to Haiti | 24th, camp, deploys - News - Jacksonville Daily News
January 20, 2010 10:00 AM
Updated at 10:25 a.m.
Camp Lejeune’s 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will join other base Marines on the ground in Haiti, officials with the 24th MEU said.
The 24th MEU, which consists of New River Air Station’s Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, and Combat Logistics Battalion 24, was already scheduled to depart Wednesday on a routine seven-month deployment to locations within the European and Central Commands.
The three amphibious assault ships that will transport the MEU, Navy vessels U.S.S. Nassau, U.S.S. Mesa Verde and U.S.S. Ashland, will complete final loading stages and begin deployment on Wednesday.
The MEU’s deployment marks several historic firsts.
The deployment of VMM-162 will be the first time an Osprey squadron is deployed on a humanitarian mission, and only the second MEU deployment with the Osprey, following a successful deployment with the 22nd MEU. Other equipment including the Expeditionary Fire Support System and the Internally Transportable Vehicle, designed to fly inside the Osprey, will also deploy for the first time.
Nearly 2,000 troops from the 22nd MEU arrived in Haiti on Tuesday.