Congress has mandated additional security guards to serve at U.S. embassies, and roughly 100 Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors have deployed in recent days to serve in that capacity.
Troops with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines deployed on September 14 to provide security for an unnamed embassy in the Middle East, according to a news release from the 1st Marine Division.
Capt. Peter Hersey, the company commander of Bravo Company, explained:
“Right now in the Middle East, it’s a very volatile time. There are a lot of changes happening, and a lot of different people struggling for power in the governments.
“There are some people out there that want to do harm to the United States and the largest target out there is some of our embassies. We are going out there to an embassy. If someone decides to attack that embassy, we’ll be there to defend it.”
“For pre-deployment training typical of a Marine rifle company, their training focused less on typical conventional or even counter-insurgency skills. They trained such skills as expeditionary site security, interior guard, force protection, crowd-control techniques, rules of engagement and escalation of force.”
Although the embassy requiring security from the Pendleton Marines hasn't been announced, the Marine Corps Times surmises it is in Yemen.
