McCrory: Marine headquarters to remain at Lejeune
Gov. Pat McCrory said Wednesday that the Pentagon has decided to keep the Second Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters at Camp Lejeune, nixing plans to shift the command to Norfolk, Va., by 2017.
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McCrory, who was in Washington, D.C., applauded the change in plans.
“North Carolina is the most military-friendly state in the nation," he said in a statement. “We’ve made it clear to the commandant of the Marine Corps and the other service chiefs that the leadership of North Carolina will do everything in its power to protect the operational integrity of its units and commands.”
Military officials said last fall that they expected the II MEF headquarters to merge with U.S. Marine Forces Command in Norfolk as the Marine Corps slimmed down to meet troop needs after the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan.
About 50,000 Marines are assigned to II MEF at Camp Lejeune.
“Retaining a two-star command (at Camp Lejeune) is very significant and evidence that North Carolina is more resolute than ever in fulfilling its historic role of providing our military and the nation with the support it needs to base and train the forces on the cutting edge of our defense,” Cornell Wilson, a retired Marine general and McCrory's military adviser, said in a statement.
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