More U.S. Marines Being Deployed To Afghanistan

A U.S. Marine, left, watches Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers during training in Helmand province, Afghanistan on July 5, 2017. Omar Sobhani / Reuters

NBC: U.S. Is Sending More Marines to Afghanistan

The U.S. is sending dozens more Marines to Afghanistan, according to three U.S. defense officials.

Task Force Southwest, based in Helmand Province in southwestern Afghanistan, requested the additional Marines to help with internal force protection, the officials said. U.S. Central Command approved the request but the Marines have not yet moved into the country.

There are currently more than 300 Marines assigned to Task Force Southwest, and the total additional force is less than 100 marines, the officials said. The Marines will deploy from the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command, already based in the region. The officials would not say where the marines would deploy from specifically, with one saying, "we are redirecting them from where they're at now to help with the mission."

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WNU Editor: The numbers are less than a hundred, and it has nothing to do with the long awaited Afghan strategy promised by the administration. But I suspect that this number is going to increase in the weeks/months ahead.