On 24 February 2003, the 11th MEU Command Element deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and later Operation Iraqi Freedom. On 5 March 2003, the Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), designated the 11th MEU as Task Force Yankee (TFY), named in memory of the victims of the 11 September terrorist attacks. The following units were soon attached to the new task force: 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines; Sensitive Site Team No. 3, 75th Exploitation Task Force, U.S. Army; and Company C, 478th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army. TFY’s responsibilities were varied and challenging. They included: planning and operation of the MEF Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) temporary holding facility; force protection for Camp Commando, MEF Main in Iraq, ships transiting uncertain waters in the region, and MEF’s primary ammunition supply point; initial investigations of suspected Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) sites; coordination of security plans for designated air bases, logistic support areas and lines of communication in Iraq; and Phase IV planning. The 11th MEU returned to the United States on 20 May.