For the first time since American troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001, thousands of San Diego-based Marines and sailors will be deployed to the country to join the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida, according to a published report.
About a thousand troops from Camp Pendleton's 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment will be deployed to Afghanistan in the next few weeks, according to the North County Times.
The Marines, who are currently training at Twentynine Palms, will be part of an 17,000 troop buildup ordered by President Barack Obama.
The Afghanistan buildup comes as U.S. troops are being withdrawn from Iraq. Yesterday, the military announced about 12,000 troops will leave Iraq by September.
All U.S. forces have been ordered out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
