{"id":38421,"date":"2020-03-24T19:54:02","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T19:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/24\/marines-stuck-in-norway-as-incoming-rotation-may-be-delayed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:54:09","slug":"marines-stuck-in-norway-as-incoming-rotation-may-be-delayed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/coronavirus\/2020\/03\/24\/marines-stuck-in-norway-as-incoming-rotation-may-be-delayed\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines stuck in Norway as incoming rotation may be delayed over COVID-19 concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A rotation of several hundred Marines to Norway has been stuck in the country with no date yet to return home due to COVID-19 concerns, according to U.S. Marine Forces Europe and Africa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An incoming rotation slated to replace the Marines assigned to Marine Rotational Force \u2013 Europe may also be delayed, further complicating efforts to bring the Marines home and reignite training in Europe\u2019s high north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corps\u2019 nearly six-month deployment to the Arctic country has ended, yet the Marines are sitting in Norway amidst a viral pandemic waiting to deploy back to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn compliance with DOD guidance, the scheduled redeployment of the current rotation of MRF-E has been delayed in order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure to our forces and to stateside communities. Consequently, we also expect a similar delay in the deployment of the next MRF-E rotation,\u201d Marine Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a spokesman for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, told Marine Corps Times in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rankine-Galloway said he would not speculate on when forces would start moving again, but he said the Corps was working \u201cdiligently\u201d to get the deployed Marines back home in a safe manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are working closely with the cognizant military organizations to carry out these movements in a manner that minimizes the risk of COVID-19 exposure to our Marines, stateside communities, and our Norwegian counterparts,\u201d Rankine-Galloway said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delay in moving Marines in and out of Norway may also have broader impacts on training in the Arctic. COVID-19 concerns have already canceled a large-scale exercise in the Arctic country known as Cold Response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the latest Marine deployment suffering a setback that was slated to rotate to strategic locations central to the Corps\u2019 plans to confront peer adversaries. COVID-19 continues to throw a wrench into the U.S. military\u2019s plans to pivot to the near-peer fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Marine infantry battalion rotation set to participate in six months of training in Australia<\/a> was recently told its deployment was put on hold. The Marines are still preparing for a potential on-time deployment while waiting for a final decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\t