A regiment of Camp Pendleton Marines went to UCSD this week to bone up on matters Asian prior to deploying to the region.
About 100 members of the 2nd battalion, 5th Regiment spent a couple days this week at the university, being lectured about North Korea, India, China, Japan and other Asian countries. The Marines are only the latest in a series of military units who went to the campus. The UCSD School of International Relations and Pacific Studies has been organizing similar lectures for the last two years, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Even for junior Marines, it's important for them to see the bigger picture -- to see how what they do fits into the strategic picture," Major Conlon Carabine, the battalion's operation officer, told the paper.
The regiment will leave next week for Southeast Asia as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
