Photos

Marines with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment play cards and read magazines as they wait at an air terminal on Feb. 17, 2005 for their flight home after completing a seven-month deployment to Iraq. The Lejeune-based battalion's departure is part of a mass turnover of Marine forces in Iraq's Al Anbar Province. In coming weeks, more than 20,000 Marines from the II Marine Expeditionary Force will be replacing the I Marine Expeditionary Force. Already, Marines from 2nd FSSG, which falls under the Camp Lejeune-based II MEF, are beginning to replace Marine units of 1st FSSG, which has served as the central logistical hub for the 31,000 Marines, sailors, and soldiers of I MEF.