It seems we have two concurrent military operations underway in the same theater, with the same name.
‘New Dawn’ name used in 2 war zones
By Dan Lamothe – Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 8, 2010 9:27:45 EDTOperation Iraqi Freedom became Operation New Dawn on Sept. 1, as U.S. officials sought to highlight the end of combat operations in Iraq.
There’s a quirk to the new name, however: A Marine-led operation by the same name has been ongoing in Afghanistan since June 15, as infantry battalions and Marines with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., attempt to secure insurgent-controlled areas surrounding the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in February that OIF would be renamed New Dawn as of September, but military officials gave the operation near Marjah the same name anyway. The name was selected by Army Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of the International Security Assistance Force’s joint command in Afghanistan, said Air Force Master Sgt. Matthew Robbins, an ISAF Joint Command spokesman.
Rodriguez “wanted a name for the operation to reflect a new beginning for the area in and around Marjah,” Robbins said. “A group came up with the name ‘Nawi Sahaar,’ which in Pashto translates into new dawn or new morning. We use Pashto names for our operations and the translation into English is really only internal communications.”
The military has used the English translation of “New Dawn” in numerous external publications, however.
In fact, in several Marine Corps news releases, the operation is referred to only by its English name. Operation New Dawn is a “joint operation between Marine Corps units and the Afghanistan National Army to disrupt enemy forces which have been using the sparsely populated region between Marjah and Nawa as a safe haven,” according to a July 2 Marine Corps news release. A Sept. 3 Internet search for the phrase “Nawi Sahaar” showed no results.
There are no plans to rename the operation in Afghanistan, Robbins said.
Operation New Dawn in Afghanistan is ongoing and involves 1st Recon and 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, said 1st Lt. Justine Roberts, a Marine spokeswoman in Afghanistan. It also involved Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. Most of that battalion has since been relocated to northern Helmand province, particularly in the former Taliban stronghold of Sangin.