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The New Global Hot-Spot: Asia/Pacific
As US troops withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon is gradually shifting its focus to another region of the world—the Asia/Pacific basin. Our Marine lives and works smack in the middle of this current global hot spot.
Recent news headlines sound ominous:
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen James Amos (photo courtesy USMC)
The Marine Corps Commandant, Gen. James Amos, and Sgt Maj of the Marine Corps Michael Barrett recently visited Okinawa (and other Asia/Pacific countries) to build relationships and visit the troops to stress the importance of their mission. “This is a very important part of the world and we want to make sure that we’re here to talk to our Marines,” said Amos.
Amos also spoke about the importance of III Marine Expeditionary Force, to which Sean is assigned. “There is nobody further west, there is nobody more engaged…than the III Marine Expeditionary Force,” he said. “This really is the tip of the warfighting spear.”
Location of disputed islands (from Google Maps). Naha is on Okinawa.
While territorial claims fly fast and furious in the South China Sea (between China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and others), regional tensions have also flared recently not far from Okinawa.
A recent Marine Corps Times story outlined how “the Marine Corps’ plan for future deployments in the Pacific is solidifying.” The Corps plans to reduce its Okinawa presence from the current 14,000 troops to 10,200 in coming years; how this will affect Sean’s unit (if at all) is not yet clear.
We often joke that if the Russians are Klingons and the Chinese are Romulans, the North Koreans must be Tholian. (Apologies to non-Trekkers.) What’s the old proverb? “May you live in interesting times.” He certainly joined the Corps during just such one of those times. Rest assured that this Mighty Marine Mom will closely follow developments in the coming months.
Mighty Marine Mom 