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By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer

After completing an abbreviated tour in Iraq, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit has been ordered off its ships and back into Kuwait should it be needed for more combat in Iraq, according to a March 2 message from the unit’s commanding officer.

“Our mission is to serve as a ready reserve force in support of combat operations in Iraq,” wrote Col. Kenneth McKenzie, commanding officer of the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based MEU, in a letter to family and friends on the MEU’s official Web site.

The MEU, which includes Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, is now at Camp Buehring, northwest of Kuwait City. The MEU’s helicopters and jets will stay aboard the amphibious assault ship Nassau, which leads the expeditionary strike group that brought the MEU to the Middle East, McKenzie wrote.

He did not specify how long he expected the recall to last, but assured family members awaiting the MEU’s return to Lejeune that “this current re-deployment has no bearing upon our planned return. I am convinced that our return will remain on schedule as I have previously briefed you.”

The MEU, which left home four months ago, spent parts of December through February in Iraq before leaving the country.