A quick reaction force consisting of 550 marines and sailors has begun to deploy to Morón Air Base in Spain according to Commandant General Jim Amos.
"Right now they’re temporarily going to Morón, Spain, as a placeholder," General Amos said during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Navy's proposed budget for FY2014. "It wouldn’t surprise me to find them moving about the African continent."
The force, called Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force–Crisis Response, is also equipped with six MV-22B Ospreys to aid it with whatever crisis it is called to.
The Obama administration has been criticized for not deploying forces to Libya following the September 11, 2012 attack at the Benghazi consulate that killed ambassador Stevens.
