It’s official: Marines are headed back to the Taliban hotbed of Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Marine Corps announced Friday. The deployment of 300 Marines from II Marine Expeditionary Force will return to the southwestern province that was the site of the Corps’ major battles within the country as advisers and trainers for the Afghan National Army and police, officials said in a release. The deployment comes at the request of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in support of the ongoing NATO-led Resolute Support mission, which began after most combat forces pulled out at the end of 2014. The Marine detachment will be called Task Force South West and will be led by Brig. Gen. Roger Turner Jr., most recently the director of capabilities at Marine Corps Combat Development Command. It will be tasked with training the Helmand-based Afghan National Army 215th Corps and the 505th Afghan National Police command.
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