--- title: "Artillery Marines Head To Syria Ahead Of Raqqa Offensive" date: "2017-05-17" modified: "2017-05-17" authors: - name: "James Clark" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/james-clark.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/artillery-marines-head-syria-ahead-raqqa-offensive/" categories: - "Artillery" - "Marine Corps" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "Tech & Tactics" - "Vehicles" tags: - "central command" - "ISIS" --- # Artillery Marines Head To Syria Ahead Of Raqqa Offensive ![]() A contingent of artillery Marines recently arrived in Syria to support friendly forces isolating Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State, according to [Marine Corps Times.]() Though U.S. Central Command did not identify the unit now in Syria, Marine Corps Times’ Jeff Schogol noted that they seem likely to belong to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is in the region on a scheduled deployment with *USS Bataan*’s amphibious ready group. On April 23, the 24th MEU posted a photo to the unit’s [Facebook page](), showing artillery Marines at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, firing M777 A2 howitzers at an artillery range. If the recently arrived Marines are in fact from the 24th MEU, this marks the third time in just over a year that artillery Marines from a MEU have deployed to establish or man a semi-permanent fire base in support of ground operations against the Islamic State. Related: Marine Expeditionary Unit Returns Home From Syria Deployment » The first was in March 2016, when roughly 180 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit established Fire Base Bell, in Iraq, and fired more than 2,000 artillery rounds from their Howitzers over a two-and-a-half month stretch in support of Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS in Mosul. The forward-positioned fire base came under frequent fire and on March 19, 2016, Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin was killed, and eight other Marines were wounded in an ISIS attack on the base. The artillery Marines were eventually replaced by an Army battery in 2016. Then in March of this year, Marines from the 11th MEU arrived in Syria, where they pre-positioned howitzers to provide artillery support for friendly ground forces. Based on Marine Corps Times’ coverage, it appears the newly arrived Marines — ostensibly from the 24th MEU — have taken over that mission. News of the 11th MEU’s arrival in Syria came to light around the same time that Army Strykers belonging to the 75th Ranger Regiment were spotted in Northeast Syria, Task & Purpose’s Adam Linehan reported in March. The 11th MEU is on its way home to San Diego, California, and is slated to arrive later this week. A Marine expeditionary unit offers commanders and leaders flexibility in conducting humanitarian aid missions, and functions as a hard-hitting and highly versatile tool for waging war. When joined by an amphibious readiness group, a Marine expeditionary unit functions as a self-contained fighting force, able to put troops ashore, and provide them with air, fires and logistical support. ## Author James Clark is the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. He is a Marine veteran and former combat correspondent. He deployed twice to Afghanistan with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, first to Marjah in 2010, and then to Kajaki and Sangin in 2011. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]() ## More - [Artillery Marines Headed Home After ‘Raining’ Fire On ISIS In Syria]() - [Marine Artillery Unit Went Hard On ISIS During Syria Deployment Shrouded In Secrecy]() - [7 Badass Photos Of Marines Shelling The Crap Out Of ISIS In Syria]() - [US Service Member Dies In Syria After A Vehicle Rollover Incident]() - [This Is The Devastating Piece of Artillery Leading The Ground Fight Against ISIS]() - [US Draws Up Plans For 1,000 More Troops In Syria As Raqqa Siege Looms]() - [General: The Marines, Victims Of Their Own Success, Are Stretched Too Thin]() - [On its first combat deployment, the Marine Corps’ F-35 bombed both the Taliban and ISIS]()