Marinestan is now a separate command.

Do you remember a few weeks (maybe months now) the article by Victor Hanson calling a portion of Afghanistan "Marinestan"?

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, retired three-star Army general Karl W. Eikenberry, reportedly made a comment about there being 41 nations serving in Afghanistan — and a 42nd composed of the Marine Corps. One unnamed Obama-administration official was quoted by the Washington Post as saying, “We have better operational coherence with virtually all of our NATO allies than we have with the U.S. Marine Corps.”

Some officials call the new Marine enclave in Nimruz Province “Marinestan” — as if, out of a Kipling or Conrad novel, the Marines has gone rogue to set up their own independent province of operations.

Yet once again, it would be wise not to tamper with the independence of the Marine Corps, given that its methods of training, deployment, fighting, counterinsurgency, and conventional warfare usually pay off in the end.

Well "Marinestan" has formally declared its independence.  This from the DefPro (yeah its old but hey...I miss stuff too)...

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, commanding general of the new command, leads a combined force of about 27,000 personnel, with units drawn from eight nations.

"It is a distinct privilege for all of us to stand up Regional Command Southwest," Mills said. "We are truly building on the outstanding work of all who have served here in Helmand and Nimroz provinces. This is a natural military progression based on the number of troops serving here and the priority placed on Helmand and Nimroz provinces."

Absolutely awesome.  On the weekend of our nations birth, we also have the birth of a new command in Afghanistan...a US Marine Corps led command.  Too cool.