NEWS FROM THE ARMED FORCES: MORTON RETURNS FROM DEPLOYMENT

Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew M. Morton, son of Michael R. Morton of Jackson, recently returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea with the 24th Expeditionary Unit.

He was aboard the ships of the USS Saipan Amphibious Ready Group.

During the deployment, Morton took part in multinational training for noncombatant evacuation and humanitarian and maritime operations.

The exercise conducted in Romania among the 24th MEU and Marines from Italy and Romania was designed to test inter operability between NATO and partner nations' naval forces in conducting joint peace keeping exercises.

Morton was involved in smaller field training exercises throughout the Mediterranean region and provided assistance to engineers building bridges in southeastern Bosnia-Hercegovina.

He is a 1993 graduate of Jackson High School.