Military briefs

By Staff
May 3, 2003
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dustin E. Yeager, a 2001 graduate of Newton County High School in Decatur, is participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, homebased in Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Since their arrival in country, Marines and sailors from Yeager's unit have engaged enemy forces in Al Kut, conducted several successful convoy operations, including one containing 93 vehicles, and began a rebuilding process in the village of Hasham.
The unit also went to the town of Al Rifa, where they removed large berms put in place by the Iraqi soldiers.
Yeager's unit is an expeditionary intervention force with the ability to rapidly organize for combat operations in virtually any environment.
Marine expeditionary units are made up of more than 2,000 personnel divided into an infantry battalion, aircraft squadron, support group and command element. With this combination, Yeager's unit supplies and sustains itself for quick mission accomplishment and for clearing the way for follow-on forces.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Eddie D. Lawson, a 1992 graduate of Sumter County High School in York, Ala., participated in the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Arabian Gulf while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, homeported in Everett, Wash.
Lawson is one of more than 8,000 Pacific Fleet sailors and Marines aboard the ships of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Battlegroup. His ship returned home Friday after being at sea longer than any U.S. carrier battlegroup now on duty.
Aircraft carriers, like the USS Abraham Lincoln, are deployed around the world to maintain U.S. presence and provide rapid response in times of crisis. They serve as a highly visible deterrent to would-be aggressors, and are equipped with the most versatile and powerful weapons and aircraft available.