Local Marine deployed

HIGHLAND MILLS-Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christoph M. Burrell, son of Barbara Conway of Highland Mills, and more than 2,100 Marines and sailors assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are in the middle of a scheduled deployment with the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group to the Mediterranean Sea in support of the global war on terrorism. During the deployment, Burrell's unit participated in a number of exercises including Eagle Resolve, a joint exercise with the Israeli Defense Force, a one-day exercise in Dijibouti in support of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, and a one-month live-fire exercise at Udairi Range, Kuwait. The unit also participated in community outreach projects in Malta, Italy, and Bahrain. Burrell's unit is an expeditionary intervention force with the ability to rapidly organize for combat operations in virtually any environment. Marine Expeditionary Units are built around a reinforced infantry battalion, a combat service support element, a reinforced helicopter squadron, and a command element. With its complement of fully integrated air and ground forces, Burrell's unit is ready to conduct real-world operations including amphibious, heliborne and boat raids, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, noncombatant evacuation operations, and humanitarian assistance operations. Burrell is a 2001 graduate of Madison High School of Madison, N. J. and joined the Marine Corps in January 2001.