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Camp Lejeune Marines Help Launch Airstrikes on Libya

By Michelle Bliss

03-22-11 – More than 1,000 Camp Lejeune Marines are stationed aboard ships in the Mediterranean Sea, combating the unrest in Libya.

Members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Camp Lejeune, are part of the international efforts to protect civilians in Libya from Gadhafi's forces.

Captain Richard Ulsh is a public affairs officer aboard the U.S.S. Kearsarge. He says that the first airstrikes over the weekend hit just outside the city of Benghazi.

"What we had found and noticed was that there was an ability for us to minimize collateral damage and cut his lines of communication. And what I mean by that is that we struck at the rear elements of his forward units and severed him from his logistical train."

Ulsh says that his unit's unique ability to launch jets from ships, without a secured airfield, has enabled the group to step in during times of international crisis.

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