BEVERLY — A U.S. Marine Corps colonel who grew up in Beverly is leading the first major military operation in years in a dangerous section of southern Afghanistan populated by Taliban fighters.
Col. Peter Petronzio is the commander of the 2,300 Marines in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Early yesterday morning, his unit captured the center of the Taliban-held town of Garmsir, according to the Reuters news service.
The mission is the first by U.S. forces that far south in Afghanistan in many years. The fighting is taking place in Helman province, the world's largest opium-producing region and a hotbed of insurgent activity.
"It's a very important mission, and he's the commanding officer," said his father, Jake, a retired Marine captain who lives on Greenleaf Drive in the Centerville section of Beverly. "It's an awful lot of responsibility, but he's been trained for it. He's a very capable Marine officer." The elder Petronzio is a Korean War veteran.
Peter Petronzio, 47, was born in Parris Island, S.C., while his father was serving as a drill instructor at the Marine Corps boot camp. He graduated from Beverly High School and Norwich University and joined the Marines in 1984.
Petronzio has been trained in special operations in everything from jumping out of airplanes to underwater diving. He was named commanding officer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in February 2006 and has been deployed several times to Iraq and Afghanistan. His wife and three children live at Camp Lejeune, N.C., the home base for the 24th Expeditionary Unit.
Peter Petronzio told The Baltimore Sun that his goals for the mission in Helman province are to kill insurgents, establish security for reconstruction and disrupt the flow of weapons and fighters from the Pakistani border through the region.
In an interview with The Sun before the operation, Petronzio expressed frustration that the effort would have little long-term effect.
"As heavy as we are, we're going to go in there and there will be a couple of days of fighting and (the insurgents) will throw down their guns and melt away," Petronzio told the newspaper. "And when we're gone, they'll come back.
"The biggest advantage the insurgents have against us is time. He's not going anywhere. Everybody else moves in and out."
Petronzio and his troops are scheduled to return to Camp Lejeune in the fall after a seventh-month deployment, according to The Baltimore Sun.
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