WITH MARINES IN OPERATiON PROVIDE COMFORT                              59

Command's 14th Transportation Battalion was responsible to coordinate overland
movement from Silopi to Incirlik and Iskenderun.107
   Colonel Jones worried about several issues. There were no firm plans as to
where the respective command posts were going to be located or how they were
going to be configured as Joint Task Force Bravo moved back to Turkey. Jones
hoped they could be collocated somewhere near the border. He also had
questions about the overall force structure. Jones recommended that only combat
echelons, what he called 1,trigger pullers," stay until the last day. Finally, it was
necessary to carefully synchronize plans with the other allied forces, Joint Task
Force Bravo, and the 3-325th Airborne Combat Team.
   Lieutenant Colonel Kohl (MSSG-24) was most concerned about Turkish
customs and the agricultural inspection. The Turks had been very cooperative of
late, but had recently returned to stringent customs inspections. They intended
to strictly limit cross-border traffic at Habur and initiated detailed inspections to
ensure no weapons were being smuggled inside Turkey to arm PKK terrorists.
The washdown and follow-up agricultural inspection were difficult jobs. The first
elements pulled back were the Bravo Command Group, Company H, and
advance parties from MSSG-24 and HMM-264. They moved to Iskenderun on
1 June.
   General Shalikashvili declared 8 June `1R-Day,1' the official beginning of the
retrograde. The first CTF umt out was Joint Task Force Alpha. The 24th MEU
(SOC) was scheduled to begin pulling out once JTF-A left. Within two weeks,
most of the 24th MEU (SOC) rear echelon personnel, equipment, and vehicles
were either at Silopi or Iskenderun. On 12 June, the 4th Civil Affairs Group
departed Zakho for Camp Lejeune. Colonel Corwin closed Camp Denton on 15
June. Battalion Landing Team 2/8's Command Element and Company F moved
to Silopi after turning over the security zone to the Italians. Operational control
of Company G was transferred to the French at Shaladiza, and Company E was
attached to the British 40th Commando.
   On 16 June, Colonel Jones closed Camp Sommers and the 24th MEU (SOC)
Command Element moved to a new command post which it shared with Joint
Task Force Bravo. The new command post was located about four miles from
the Turkish border along Route 6. Major Boyd, the 24th MEU (SOC) S-4, used
a phased redeployment to move cargo, equipment, and personnel back to
Iskenderun by echelon. His plan worked well and the MEU had returned 97
percent of its cargo, 85 percent of its equipment, and 50 percent of its personnel
to the ships by the end of June.lOS
   Contingency MAGTF 1-91 ceased operations and recalled its teams in the
end of June. Lieutenant Colonel Bailey noted a sense of accomplishment. During
a visit by Lieutenant General Carl E. Mundy, Jr., Commanding General, FMF
Atlantic/FMF Europe, Brigadier General Burch (CG, CSC) told the Marine
commander that he was very pleased with the performance of CMAGTF 1-91
and intended to pass favorable comments to Major General Stackpole on Okinawa
and to the Marine Commandant in Washington, D.C. The Marines of CMAGTF
1-91 had efficiently accomplished every mission given them.