Gov. LePage to greet marines returning from overseas

PORTLAND, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage is expected to make an appearance at Portland International Jetport on Wednesday afternoon to greet approximately 130 U.S. Marines and  sailors who are returning from a 10-month deployment overseas.

Because of security, the event in Portland is not open to the media, the governor’s spokeswoman said. A more formal ceremony is planned in Brunswick, where the marines are trained. Most of them live and work in Maine or northern New England.

All are members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division of the Marine Corps Forces Reserve. The marines spent three months in California training and then spent seven months in Afghanistan conducting counterinsurgency and security operations.

This was the unit’s third deployment since 2003.

-ER