USTommyMC

I’m writing this post to give a little insight as to how deployments to Iraq for Marines go. Right now most Marine units are in a 6-6-6 rotation. You go to Iraq for six months, come home for six months and go back to Iraq for six months. A Marine is in a unit for 3 years so the 6-6-6 rotation maybe more like 6-6-6-6-6-6.

Of course in the 18 months that a Marine has deployed, new Marines will arrive at the unit and give the currently deployed Marine a rest. I’ll use myself as an example to better explain.

I arrived at my current command in Feb of 2006. I just barely missed the Jan to July of 2006 rotation to Iraq by a few weeks. That gave me my first six months in my command at home or in the rear. During that time our Alpha Company was in Iraq. Ok now for August of 2006 to Jan of 2007, I deployed with Bravo Company. That put me in Iraq for my second six months with my command. So now I am at the 6-6 mark. It is now the Jan to July of 2007 rotation and I am at home while Alpha Company is once again in Iraq. So 6 @ home, 6 @ Iraq, and 6 @ home.

Following this schedule, I should expect to be deployed to Iraq again just like last year from August of 2007 to January of 2008. But during my time in Iraq, my section got about three to four new Marines. Unless something crazy happens they should be next to go to Iraq this summer effectively giving me one year off.

Another thing is that we have a new Commandant and he is adamant about giving Marines more down time. With the 6-6-6 rotation being at home for 6 months doesn’t mean that we’re just relaxing and enjoying our time back home. A lot of units use the 6 months back home to put their Marines through training and basically nullifying their time back home. The new Commandant wants to try and give Marines 6 months in Iraq with one year to 18 months off.

He is doing this in different ways that I don’t feel like going into right now. I say one thing that he is doing though. There are thousands of Marines that haven’t gone to Iraq not even once since 2003 and that is going to cease ASAP. To put it bluntly, if you haven’t gone to Iraq yet, get your bags packed and stand by because you will be on your way.

Well I hope that gives a bit of insight into why I might or might not be going back to Iraq this summer. If you have any questions please ask me and I will do my best to answer them.