CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq -- Marines from 1st Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, dropped in to meet troops from the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement at Border Fort #17A near Iraq’s western border with Jordan on the afternoon of Jan. 19, 2009.
The Marines and Sailors of Company E visited several border forts that day to make liaison with their Iraqi counterparts from the Department of Border Enforcement’s 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade to ensure security in the region for the Iraqi provincial elections which takes place Jan. 31.
Hamdi, 29, is a native of Basrah, Iraq. He served in the Iraqi Army for four years before joining the border patrol in 2004.
“This is a good career. You get to protect your country. This is a gap that we can close by putting the right people in the right place,” said Hamdi through interpretation. “We work together all the time with Coalition Forces. When I need some information or training, I ask them. It is never a shame to ask and learn.”
2nd Lt. Matthew Morrison (2nd from left in photo) of Sea Isle City, N.J. is the 1st platoon commander.
Morrison, an active duty Marine based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., joined the battalion in August 2008 for his first deployment to Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Raymond Birch (to right of Morrison) is part of the company-level intelligence cell. A 23-year-old Reserve Marine from Harrisburg, Pa., Birch is a diesel mechanic in his civilian career.
Sgt. Joel Ayers, 25, is a Reserve Marine squad leader from Lititz, Pa. Ayers recently graduated from Lancaster Bible College and plans to pursue a career in federal law enforcement when he returns stateside.
Company E, a Marine Forces Reserve unit currently serving under Regimental Combat Team 8 in al-Anbar province, is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa.
The nine reserve battalion which comprise the 4th Marine Division take turns mobilizing and deploying in support of overseas contingency operations.
This is 2/25's third mobilization since 2002 and second deployment to Iraq.
The reservists of Company E arrived in Iraq in September 2008 and are slated to complete their tour in the spring.
Once they arrive back in the States, the battalion's Reserve Marines and Sailors will go through a short demobilization period and then return to their civilian lives and careers.