{"id":37984,"date":"2018-01-08T17:22:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-08T17:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/08\/busy-deployment-sees-no-combat-action-for-marines-in-helmand\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:28:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:28:30","slug":"busy-deployment-sees-no-combat-action-for-marines-in-helmand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/08\/busy-deployment-sees-no-combat-action-for-marines-in-helmand\/","title":{"rendered":"Busy deployment sees no combat action for Marines in Helmand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A small Marine task force operating out of one of Afghanistan\u2019s bloodiest provinces saw no combat action during its deployment despite a high operational tempo and busy deployment cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly 300 Marines with Task Force Southwest deployed to the sparsely populated Helmand province, one of the most unstable areas in the country, late spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo members have earned the combat action ribbon. In our train, advise and assist capacity, we are not involved in direct combat operations,\u201d said Maj. Kendra Motz, a spokeswoman for the task force. \u201cThe Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are the ones directly fighting the Taliban in Helmand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Combat Action Ribbon is one of the most coveted and controversial awards in the Marine Corps. Marines and veterans alike have been ridiculed by other veterans, especially those who hail from the combat occupations, due to a lack of Combat Action Ribbons. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2015\/03\/30\/no-car-no-respect-the-push-to-end-the-ribbon-rack-divide\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635630646208587333-combat-action-ribbonjpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">No CAR, no respect: The push to end the ribbon rack divide<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The growing discord surrounding Combat Action Ribbons \u2014 the award issued by the sea services for active participation in ground or surface combat \u2014 is troubling some leaders.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the ribbon also is a metric of the number of combat experienced Marines still operating in the Corps today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq began to wane for conventional Marine forces, thousands have left the Corps. The drain of combat experienced Marines has resulted in a drop of more than half in the number of active-duty Marines with a Combat Action Ribbon, a report from Marine Corps Times found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rapid drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan have limited the number of combat deployments for conventional Marines. But even with recent deployments to Afghanistan, Marines are filing in advisory roles with the job to help train and equip partner forces, not engage in combat operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the Marines have not been kicking in doors and engaging Taliban militants directly on the battlefield, their presence this deployment cycle has paid major dividends and helped rebuild a more capable and deadly Afghan security force in Helmand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have served as a battalion commander in Iraq and regimental commander in Afghanistan, but in some ways, the Task Force Southwest mission has been the most complex challenge I have faced,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Roger Turner, the commander of Task Force Southwest. \u201cEven though we don\u2019t have Marines directly maneuvering against the enemy, we are most certainly fighting the enemy by, with and through our [Afghan National Defense and Security Force] partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just a year ago, Afghan forces in Helmand were on the verge of disintegration. Racked with corruption and phony troop rosters known as \u201cGhost Soldiers,\u201d the Taliban were on the verge of overrunning all of Helmand province. Lashkar Gah, the province\u2019s provincial capital, has nearly collapsed to Taliban militants several times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Afghanistan\u2019s 215<sup>th<\/sup> Corps based out of Camp Shorab, formerly known as Camp Bastion and Leatherneck during the height of the U.S. and U.K. participation in the Afghan war, has undergone considerable restructuring, and with the Marine advisers this year it is back on the offensive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early this summer, Afghan forces and Marine partners retook Nawa, a strategic district located just a stone\u2019s throw from Lashkar Gah and home to an important airfield known as Bost airport. The airfield recently began operations for the first time in several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marines also have aided Afghan counterparts in offensive operations in Sangin, Gereshk, and most recently Marjah \u2015 former hallowed battlefields of Marines not long ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marines recently beefed up lethality by bringing in the the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS system, which as of late, has been targeting Taliban narcotics operations and destroying the militant group\u2019s revenue streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/2017\/08\/14\/where-have-all-the-combat-vets-gone\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3499036.jpg_2cef9c.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Where have all the combat vets gone?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Corps is facing a drain of battle-tested Marines.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marines have been building new capabilities for Afghan security forces in the region that will aid in sustaining the force and bolstering the force\u2019s lethality. The Marines out at Shorab embedded with Afghan partners have introduced casualty evacuation training, which has reduced the time it takes to move injured Afghan forces off the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marines have also expanded and trained new Afghan air controllers capable of calling in precision airstrikes for maneuvering Afghan ground forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur success enabling the Afghans, especially with operations and intelligence warfighting functions, was solely due to the individual performance of the task force\u2019s staff and advisers,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite not engaging in direct combat with the enemy, Marines with Task Force Southwest are still bringing back important downrange skill sets that will help the Corps to continue to foster capable and competent leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith their experience from this deployment, the members of this Task Force are returning to the Marine Corps as some of the most proficient and ready Marines in their specific fields,\u201d Turner said. \u201cThe lack of direct combat in no way diminished the value of this experience for the Marines of the Task Force.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A small Marine task force operating out of Helmand saw no combat action during its deployment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3472],"class_list":["post-37984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"K4KZRXAWCBCVRELTDXX2CA7ZB4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/2018\/01\/08\/busy-deployment-sees-no-combat-action-for-marines-in-helmand\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- 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