The Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) took control of Anbar province, Iraq, for the third time since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003, during a Feb. 9 ceremony at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. II MEF (Forward) relieves I MEF Forward, who had performed the job since deploying from Camp Pendleton, Calif., last January, and played a key role in providing a safer environment in which the Iraqi army and police could operate.