Marine History Operations in Iraq Operation Iraqi Freedom I PCN ...

assigned to Combined Forces Land Component Commander (CFLCC) at Camp Doha,
Kuwait during March. In addition to documenting the war from the command’s
perspective, including trips to Basra and Diwaniyah, Iraq to collect information from the
1st Marine and United Kingdom Divisions, he continued to orchestrate Branch historical
efforts throughout the region. During the post-war period, he conducted interviews with
members of II Marine Expeditionary Force’s Military Coordination and Liaison
Command.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Acosta was the field history representative on the
Enduring Freedom Combat Assessment Team, with which some members of the Branch
deployed to theater. Based in Bahrain, he focused on documenting activities at U.S.
Marine Central Command (USMarCent) and other local units, although he also led a
history team to Kuwait and Iraq to document Marine KC-130 assault support missions.
Throughout this period, Lieutenant Colonel Acosta worked with the USMarCent Staff
Judge Advocate and Museums Branch of History and Museums Division to address the
difficult issues of collecting and importing historical artifacts to the U.S.
After linking up with the I MEF staff at Camp Pendleton, California, Major
McKeldin and Chief Warrant Officer Hutson deployed as a team to Kuwait during early
February. Major McKeldin was tasked with covering I MEF headquarters at Camp
Commando, although he also visited Basra, Iraq on two occasions to interview United
Kingdom forces serving with the Marines. Chief Warrant Officer Hutson linked up with
the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU), documenting its seizure of Umm Qasr
and Az Zubayr while attached to the Royal Marines’ 3 Commando Brigade, as well as the
15th MEU’s role in An Nasiriyah as part of Task Force Tarawa. After the hostilities had
ceased, Hutson returned to Kuwait and began collecting information about the Marine
Logistics Command (MLC).
Lieutenant Colonel Visconage joined the 3d MAW at Camp Pendleton during late
February and immediately deployed to their forward headquarters at Al Jaber airbase in
Kuwait. He covered a variety of missions during the war, including the use of attack
helicopters during the battle for An Nasiriyah, casualty evacuations from An Numiniyah,
and an emergency resupply of ground forces in Baghdad. Following the cessation of
hostilities, he collected information from elements of the 1st MarDiv in Ad Diwaniyah,
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