Gowanda PennySaver News - May 25, 2003

Service news...

Marine Corps Cpl. Garrett A. Barton, son of Janet A. and Wayne K. Barton of Gowanda, is currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom while assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Camp Lejeune, NC. Barton is one of more than 4,000 Pacific Fleet Sailors and Marines who deployed aboard the ships of the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.      The majority of Marines and Sailors in Barton's unit have safely returned to the ships of the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group from Mosul, Iraq, as Operation Iraqi Freedom continues to transition to humanitarian missions.      Barton's unit is an expeditionary intervention force with the ability to rapidly organize for combat operations in virtually any environment. MEUs are composed of more than 2,000 personnel and are divided into an infantry battalion, aircraft squadron, support group and command element. With this combination, Barton's unit supplies and sustains itself for quick mission accomplishment and for clearing the way for follow-on forces.      Barton is a 1999 graduate of Gowanda Central High School and joined the Marine Corps in June 1999.