Last Marines to Leave Iraq are Camp Pendleton-based

A dozen Marines and a Navy Corpsman from the 1^st Marine Expeditionary Force left Umm Qasr, Iraq and made their way to Kuwait Thursday.  They were the last Marine team left in Iraq.

Iraqi Marine Training Team Three had been in Iraq since mid-May, according to a Department of Defense release.

“This is officially the end of our mission here in Iraq,” said Col. Eric Thomas, the Marine Forces Central Command Marine Coordination Element- Kuwait officer in charge, at an Umm Qasr ceremony. “You should all be proud to be a part of this day in Marine Corps history.”

While major operations for the Marine Corps ended in January 2010, American Marines and sailors stayed to train their Iraqi counterparts.

Maj. Monte Powell was in charge of the dozen Marines and said a lot of Iraqis were eager to learn during the training, which included courses in managing checkpoints, conducting search and seizure operations, communications and key leadership engagements. 

 “The Marine Corps warrior ethos and spirit is cemented with the Iraqi Marines,” Powell said. They will continue to improve and defend the country of Iraq against all enemies both foreign and domestic.”