A Battlefield Tourist

Marines Tranfer Authority of Garmser (Garmsir)

Sep 8 at 8:08am by David Tate

Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) handed control of northern Garmser district, Helmand Province, over to Afghan forces and their British embedded trainers September 8.

4th Kandak, 3rd Brigade of Afghanistan’s 205th Corps officially took over security duty from the Marines who were the primary force responsible for liberating the area earlier this year.  The Afghan infantry unit has been moving into position since late July.

The move allows 24 MEU, already extended a month, to begin assembling at Kandahar Airfield where they are making preparations to return to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina by the end of November.

In all, the Marines killed as many as 400 Taliban fighters in the four months of offensive and stability operations across the northern part of the district. Known as the “snake’s head” (because of the way the area looks on a map) the area is considered a strategic transfer point by the Taliban moving weapons and fighters into the heart of Afghanistan, particularly northern Helmand and Oruzgan Provinces.