CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa (July 25, 2008) -- The Marines of Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, passed on their responsibility July 13 to the Marines of 3rd Bn., 1st Marines, who took over as the MEU's ground combat element.
The Marines of BLT 2nd Bn., 4th Marines, who arrived on Okinawa in January, returned to Camp Pendleton, Calif.
During their time with the MEU, they participated in Exercise Balikatan 2008, Exercise Cobra Gold 2008 and jungle warfare training at the Jungle Warfare Training Center, Camp Gonsalves.
They also participated in bilateral training exercises in Indonesia - the first American military unit to do so in 11 years.
3rd Bn, 1st Marines, also based on Camp Pendleton, joins the 31st MEU after having served four different deployments to Iraq since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion fought in the battles of Fallujah, Nasiriyah and Haditha.