CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan -- Marines and sailors with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) stood proudly during a casing of the colors ceremony, marking the end of a successful tour in Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Robert Meade, CLB-5 commanding officer and Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, the battalion sergeant major, cased the battalion’s colors at Camp Dwyer, July 30. After their arrival in April, the battalion made a significant impact on operations in southern Helmand Province.
Brig. Gen. John J. Broadmeadow, Commanding General, 1st MLG (Fwd), spoke to the Marines and sailors at the ceremony about their accomplishments over the past few months.
“You have been incredibly successful in what you’ve done out here,” said Brig. Gen. Broadmeadow. “You have helped to off-ramp three infantry battalions and a regimental headquarters. You have reset the battle space out here, and you have done all of that on top of continuing to support those units in combat.”
Though the deployment was cut short from their original plan of six months, Brig. Gen. Broadmeadow compared the group’s short time to the length of combat operations during the Gulf War.
“We don’t measure success by the length of time that we’re out here,” said Brig. Gen. Broadmeadow. “It was 100 hours, you’re just over 100 days. By any measure of success, Desert Shield [and] Desert Storm goes down in our history books as one of our most storied moments. What we’re doing out here today is symbolic of another storied success.”
During their time forward deployed, Marines and sailors with CLB-5 conducted daily combat logistics patrols to multiple forward operating bases, patrol bases and combat outposts. In addition to supporting the retrograde throughout the area, the battalion also provided direct support to infantry units by delivering food, mail and needed to supplies to remote locations.
“The job you have done and the contributions you have made to [Regional Command (Southwest)], to 5th Marine Regiment, and the way you have represented this battalion, you all have made me extremely proud every step of the way,” said Meade. “We’re not leaving early, we’re leaving because our mission has been completed, and we have done it in fine fashion.”
As the Marines and sailors of CLB-5 return to Camp Pendleton, Calif., their training will turn to an expeditionary focus.
“This moment represents a change,” said Brig. Gen. Broadmeadow. “It doesn’t represent the end of your mission but a change in where your mission is going. You’re going to be preparing for the next fight that’s out there. We don’t know what the next one’s going to look like; we don’t know where we’re going to be next, and we don’t know when we’re going to go there. But we do know that America counts on us to be that force that’s ready to go.”