It has been a whirlwind of a week. The first main body of MEU Marines and Sailors arrived back at Camp Pendleton today, and no doubt it was a joyous day for those troops and their families and friends.

Earlier this week, Gen. Casey, the top commander of all troops in Iraq, visited MEU Marines and sailors at FOB Duke and congratulated them on their role in the success of Najaf. Stating that the battle of Najaf was a tactical success that turned into the first strategic win for the Iraqi people and the Iraqi Interim Government, he also congratulated them on a successful elections that was made possible by the peace they helped create in the city.

Within the next upcoming weeks and days, the rest of us in Iraq will finish up preparations and packing before heading to Kuwait to catch our plane home. There is still quite a bit to do, but Marines and sailors eager to go home can make miracles happen. We can't wait to see you all again. Also, just as warning, on Feb. 9 our e-mail will shut down and we will not be able to update the webpage anymore. Take that as a positive sign that we'll be home soon!

In closing, North County Times reporter Darrin Mortenson and photographer Hayne Palmour are still with us. Just in case you might have missed on, listed below are the stories that they have produced so far. If you would like to read these, go to the newspaper's website www.nctimes.com and do a search on "11th Marine Expeditionary Unit." Links to these articles will pop up.

In addition, we had the following media embedded with the 11th MEU or out in town covering elections last week. If you want to read more about how Najaf is doing, you can do searches on the following agencies and their reporters and photographers:

• Doug Struck-Washington Post
  
• Lin Noueihad-Reuters
  
• Lamia Radi-Agence French-Presse or AFP
  
• Ed Wong-New York Times
  
• Thanassi Camabanis-Boston Globe
  
• Liz Sly-Chicago Tribune
  
• Jill Carroll-USA Today
  
• Anne Garrells-National Public Radio or NPR
  
• Dan Murphy-Christian Science Monitor
  
• Ashraf Khalil- Los Angeles Times
  
• Babak Dehghanpisheh- Newsweek

Photographers:

• Lucian Read-World Picture News (our embedded photographer who has been with us since May!)
  
• Max Becherer-Polaris and New York Times
  
• Ghaith Abdul Ahad-Getty Images
  
• Brent Stirton-Getty Images
  
• Hadi Mizban-Associated Press Photo

North County Times articles:

• Feb. 6: Hard-fought peace still fragile as Marines pack up
  
• Feb. 4: The mentors of Camp Pendleton: In Iraq, they're training National Guardsmen to take over
  
• Feb. 2: Iraqi poll workers return to hometowns
  
• Feb. 2: With election over, local troops packing for home
  
• Feb. 1: Marines resume patrols after election
  
• Feb. 1: Pendleton Marines responded to British crash
  
• Jan. 31: Peaceful, joyful, day of voting in Najaf
  
• Jan. 30: Pendleton Marines stand by during historic vote\
  
• Jan. 29: Marines get crash course in how to come home
  
• Jan. 28: Marines raid suspicious Iraqi tent city
  
• Jan. 27: Marines clear roads in preparation for vote
  
• Jan. 26: Navy Seabees build school for Iraqi nomads
  
• Jan. 26: Commander: Marines made history
  
• Jan. 25: U.S. Marines pay Iraqis for battle damage, death
  
• Jan. 24: Marines try to heal body, spirits of girl maimed by U.S. bomb
  
• Jan. 23: Marines try to capture hearts of locals in quest to keep peace