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Posted: Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 1:17 PM HST

Marine commander to visit Hawaii to talk to troops

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U-S Marine Corps commandant plans to visit Marine Corps Base Hawaii to reinforce the importance of adhering to Corps standards of behavior. General Michael Hagee's planned trip to Kaneohe Bay comes amid allegations a small number of Marines murdered 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in November. The alleged incident happened after a roadside bomb killed one of their fellow Marines. Hagee traveled to Iraq last week to talk to troops about Corps standards. He told a news conference in Washington today he plans to travel to Hawaii, California and Japan to repeat the same message to Marines there. Hagee says he was pleased to find that the morale of Marines in Iraq was quite high despite concerns about the atrocity allegations. He says the Marines are focused on what they're doing and are making a difference. (Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved)