One-time recruit now commands drill instructor in Iraq

[thedrifter]

One-time recruit now commands drill instructor in Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20047132127
Story by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald



CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Iraq(June 28, 2004) -- Capt. Wilson S. Leech III knew he had seen Master Sgt. Rod B. Schlosser somewhere before.

Leech, company commander of Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, assumed command of the company the same day Schlosser and the battalion's advance party headed to Iraq earlier this year.

"I went out to see the Marines off and let them know that I was their new commanding officer," said Leech, of Stonington, Conn.

Schlosser, who was a gunnery sergeant at the time, remembered what he thought was his first meeting with Leech.

"He shook my hand and looked at me for a while. Then he asked if I remembered him," explained Schlosser, the company operations chief. "It took me a second, but then I knew he was one of my recruits when I was on the drill field."

The master sergeant initially couldn't pinpoint when he instructed Leech. After Leech asked Schlosser if he remembered Platoon 3165, all the memories came flooding back to Schlosser.

In 1994, Leech joined the Marine Corps and attended boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. Schlosser had been a drill instructor for almost a year by that time.

It wasn't until both Marines arrived in Kuwait in February that Leech and Schlosser caught back up on old times.

"When I saw him again in Kuwait, I asked him what happened to his big white truck,"
Leech said. "I think he was shocked I still remembered. He about fell over backward."

According to Schlosser, Leech was known as the "old man of the platoon."

Leech chose to join the Corps at the age of 27, after graduating from college and working for a few years.

"He was an older recruit, which made him stick out," Schlosser added. "We used to use him as a training aid for the younger recruits."

Because of his age and maturity level, Leech was given billets with greater responsibility within the platoon. During field days, he was often responsible for getting various areas of the squad bay cleaned.

Leech remembered Schlosser's "Sunday field day Olympics" vividly.

"We'd have to pull all of the racks to the center of the squad bay. Then we'd take our bath towels and clean the floors as fast as we could," Leech said with a laugh. "It was painful, but we had the cleanest squad bay in Lima Company."

Besides being known for his intense cleaning sessions, Leech said Schlosser was also known as the education DI. The "knowledge hat" was responsible for teaching recruits Marine Corps history and customs and courtesies. Schlosser's job was to prepare the recruits for examinations.

"I think he never had anyone fail any of the exams," Leech said. "He ensured that everyone learned the Marine Corps way of life. He was relentless."

After graduating from boot camp, Leech became an infantryman. He was enlisted for four years before earning his commission in 1997. Throughout his career, Leech knew he'd one day run across one of his drill instructors.

"The Marine Corps is so small, you're bound to run into someone," he said. "A few years ago, I saw one of my drill instructors, but that was the only other time."

Schlosser also bumped into a handful of his recruits. He never imagined he'd be working for one of them.

"I knew Captain Leech would be successful," said Schlosser, of Steubenville, Ohio. "He's one of those guys you meet and you don't know what path he'll choose, but you know he'll be successful."

Schlosser added he has yet to meet another one of his recruits who has achieved the kind of success Leech has attained.

"It's been great having him as my company commander. He's a great commanding officer because he uses all of his experience and applies it to his leadership to teach his Marines," Schlosser explained. "It makes me feel good to see a Marine that I was responsible to train become so successful."

Leech said working with his former drill instructor hasn't been as weird as some might think.

Leech said, "Any task I give him, he gets it done. It just goes back to what he taught me in boot camp: to be a professional. He's earned my respect; I just hope I've earned his respect by doing what he taught me."

He also said he couldn't ask for a better Marine to serve with in Iraq. In April, Schlosser was promoted to his current rank.

"It's strange to think that in 1994 Sergeant Schlosser gave me my eagle, globe and anchor," added Leech. "Ten years later I was the one who promoted him to master sergeant."


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20047132355/$file/meetup1lr.jpg

Master Sgt. Rod B. Schlosser (right) was one of the Capt. Wilson S. Leech III's drill instructors at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., nearly 10 years ago. Now, Leech is the commander of Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. Schlosser is the company's operations chief.
(USMC photo by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald) Photo by: Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E75392B44A74ED5185256EC400286ABA?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Blast-resistant vehicles finding favor among Marines in Iraq <br />
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 20047133043 <br />
Story by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP HURRICANE POINT,...

[thedrifter]

U.S. Strikes Suspected Iraq Terror Hideout <br />
<br />
By TODD PITMAN <br />
<br />
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. jets pounded a suspected safe house of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah on Thursday, the latest in a...

[thedrifter]

Saddam Hussein Appears Before Iraqi Judge <br />
<br />
By FISNIK ABRASHI <br />
<br />
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein appeared before an Iraqi judge Thursday to hear charges of crimes committed...

[thedrifter]

U.S. Embassy in Iraq officially reopens
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Dogen Hannah
Knight Ridder Newspapers
June 30, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Once again the American flag flies beside the U.S. Embassy in Iraq - just not too high.

In a brief, highly secure ceremony Wednesday beneath a searing sun, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, presided over the embassy's official reopening, 13 years after it closed on the eve of the Gulf War.

As Negroponte, embassy officials, top Army generals in Iraq and an audience that included about 75 embassy staffers quietly watched, Marines raised the nation's flag on a 30-foot pole in a small patch of grass in the back yard of what will be America's largest embassy.

"The embassy of the United States of America in Iraq is once again open for business," Negroponte declared.

That business includes overseeing more than $18.4 billion in U.S. aid earmarked for reconstruction. Also, the embassy replaces the defunct Coalition Provisional Authority as the source of American influence in Iraq. Scores of U.S. advisers to the interim Iraqi government will operate from it.

Yet Wednesday's event - inside the fortified Green Zone, behind embassy walls and under armed helicopters - left it clear that America's front door in the newly sovereign Iraq remains closely guarded. As it was, the flagpole rose just to the top of the embassy, below the view of those who could use it to target the building for attacks.

"It's not really a standard size," said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Lance V. Chwan, 36, of Little Falls, N.J., the leader of the Marine security guard detachment that raised the flag. "I don't think we really want to go too high right now."

No Iraqi government officials attended Wednesday's ceremony. In an earlier interview, Kasim Daoud, an Iraqi minister of state, said the embassy opening was a natural course of events. That same day, Iraq officially reopened its embassy in Washington.

"We are happy and we are proud that our diplomatic relationship returns with the United States," Daoud said. "We are really looking forward to cooperating with all the nations because we need the expertise to help us for reconstruction.

"There are many advisers from different countries that may reach Iraq very soon."

Negroponte also invoked the spirit of cooperation during a two-minute speech before the American flag rose.

"These have been a long, difficult 13 years, and now there is a new Iraq to explore, the likes of which has no precedent in the history of this ancient land," he said. "Our presence, our outreach and our insight into Iraq's political life, its economy and its society will be crucial to shaping a new era in bilateral relations."

Despite Wednesday's rhetoric and symbolism, America's unpopular presence in Iraq, which includes about 140,000 troops, is a giant obstacle between Negroponte and the successful completion of his diplomatic mission.

For instance, the decision to use Baghdad's presidential palace, which the CPA staff had occupied, as an embassy annex rankled many Iraqis, including Daoud. "Yes, indeed, I share this criticism," he said. "I think that the presidential palace is a symbol of Iraqi sovereignty."

Daoud said American officials have assured their Iraqi counterparts that they will vacate the palace in about two months.

Perhaps of greater concern is whether Iraqis will view the massive U.S. Embassy as an unwelcome influence on the Iraqi government.

Yet if the Iraqi government can improve security, the economy, infrastructure and otherwise raise the standard of living, such perceptions will fade or become irrelevant, Daoud said.

"Let us be realistic," he said. "If you show them (Iraqis) these things, I doubt very much they will listen to any other argument."



Ellie

[thedrifter]

washingtonpost.com
Hostage Broadcasts Spark Backlash Among Iraqis


By Doug Struck and Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 1, 2004; Page A10


BAGHDAD, June 30 -- The videotape of a bound and blindfolded U.S. Marine held hostage in Iraq has produced a backlash of revulsion among Iraqis.

"This is a terrible thing," said Ali Hashim, 33, a shoe salesman in downtown Baghdad. "Hostage-taking, beheading . . . it's not our tradition. We have a tradition of hospitality. This hurts the image of the Iraqi people."

Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, 24, a Lebanese American, is the latest of a succession of hostages shown on videotapes sent to Arab broadcasters by underground groups opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq. Hassoun was listed as missing, reportedly after leaving his post, but now has been classified by the U.S. military as "captured."

Of the dozens of hostages, at least two -- an American businessman and a South Korean contractor -- have been beheaded. A videotape purporting to show another captured American soldier, Spec. Keith M. Maupin, 20, being shot in the head was received Tuesday by the al-Jazeera satellite television network. Earlier this week three Turkish hostages were released by their captors. At least one Pakistani worker and two other Turks are still believed to be held.

The hostage-takings and the threat of continued violence have further isolated foreigners in Iraq from their work. In the past few days, U.S. authorities have urged Western contractors not to leave the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad. Most of those who do venture out wear bulletproof vests and are accompanied by highly paid armed guards.

Foreigners who did not consider themselves likely targets are nonetheless rethinking whether to remain in the country. In Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation, a company that provided cleaning personnel to a U.S. air base near Fallujah, west of Baghdad, said it was abandoning its work in Iraq after two of its workers were kidnapped. "While our boys are in this situation, we cannot think about business anymore," said Cumali Kayacam, manager of the Kayteks company, based in southeastern Turkey. "We've stopped the business." About 15 Turkish nationals working for the company returned home on Tuesday, he said.

After the countless broadcasts of videotapes of hostages, Iraqis expressed sympathy for the danger felt by foreigners. A reporter on the street was greeted with invitations to tea and solicitous questions about his safety.

"We don't approve of taking hostages. If the insurgents really want to do something, they should chase soldiers, not civilians," said Kawakib Peters, 39, who was shopping for shoes.

"These beheadings destroy the image of the Iraqi people and shows them as uncivilized," said Saad Abdel Ali, 54, an electrical supply salesman. "It is being done by outsiders," he said.

"Beheading and hostage-taking are not legitimate in Islamic law," said Riyadh Hussein, the white-turbaned imam of a soaring new mosque in downtown Baghdad. He suggested that the hostage-takings were the result of some unspecified conspiracy. "I have no doubt some of our people gloat over it. But this is being done to destroy the image of the resistance and the image of Muslims in the rest of the world. I feel there are some pockets of extremists in the Islamic world who are motivated and manipulated by Americans or others."

Many kidnappings are carried out for ransom. Hussein recalled that a relative had recently signed a contract to do electrical work in a rural area north of Baghdad, and "just a few hours later he received a threat." The caller "said he would be subject to attacks or kidnappings if he goes ahead with the contract . . . unless he negotiated to pay them a percentage," Hussein recounted. The contract was canceled.

Vick reported from Istanbul. Special correspondents Saad Sarhan in Najaf and Yesim Borg in Istanbul contributed to this report.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Hunter returns from visiting troops in Iraq

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer

After a two-day trip visiting troops in Iraq, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter said Wednesday that he was glad to see sovereignty returned to the country's interim government and praised local Marines stationed in the region for their efforts.

The congressman, whose district includes Poway and Ramona in North County, said he would also like to see better equipment to protect servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq.

Hunter said he arrived in the country Monday to be greeted by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top commander in Iraq, with the news that sovereignty had been transferred to the new government. The transfer occurred two days early to prevent violence on the day of the handover, officials said.


"We're giving Iraqis a running start at freedom," Hunter said from his office in Washington moments after arriving from the Middle East. "There's no guarantee that any government can keep their freedom, not even the United States, but they have a chance."

On the trip, Hunter was accompanied by U.S. Reps. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, Texas, and Ken Calvert, R-Riverside. Hunter is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, which allocates funding for the military. Reyes and Calvert are committee members.

The trip was paid for by the Department of Defense, Hunter said. He said he did not know how much the trip cost.

Hunter said the trip was primarily to visit the troops and assess their equipment needs.

Based on his trip, Hunter said he will work to provide the military with more unmanned aircraft, which provide a way for troops to spy and strike at enemies at a distance, and better protective equipment, such as face masks and protective plating for trucks.

"The U.S. will keep its commitment to maintain force protection of our troops," he said. "Unmanned aerial vehicles allow us to be able to have eyes in the skies and that is very important."

After arriving at an airfield in Balad, 20 miles north of Baghdad, the congressmen met with troops as explosions could be heard in the distance, Hunter said. Despite the circumstances, he said the military's morale was good.

"I was pretty surprised at the coolness of our troops. There was no panic, no stampede. Americans should take a lesson from them," he said.

The congressmen traveled by Black Hawk helicopters from Baghdad to Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah, areas where American forces have faced some of the toughest resistance to the occupation.

With sovereignty restored, troops will help provide security for the interim government and focus their efforts on training the new Iraqi military, Hunter said. Once Iraqis are better able to provide security for their country, U.S. troops may be able to withdraw.

"Our exit strategy is the standing up of the Iraqi military," Hunter said. "The sooner it can be done, the sooner Americans can leave."

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-5426 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/07/01/military/16_38_426_30_04.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Lima Company Marine Recalls Iraq Duty

By: By BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
06-30-2004

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GRAY — If the U.S. Marine Corps needs a new face for its recruiting posters, it might want to consider Sgt. William “Bill” Cuddy, 29, a member of the Lima Company Marine Corps Reserve based here.

Cuddy, who until the death of his mother three weeks ago was serving in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment, was almost apologetic about being home.

“I even told my father and all my family that all those guys wanted to come home just as bad as I did,” he said. “I didn’t feel right leaving them behind. I still don’t.” Cuddy spoke Tuesday with reporters in this region about his experiences in Iraq. Cuddy said he was ready to return to Iraq.

“I’d go back today, if they would ask me,” he said. “I would do anything for this country.”

USMC Maj. Pete Gill, who is the media spokesman for Lima Company, said on Tuesday that he expects the other members of Lima Company, including a number of Greene County residents, to be home “before Christmas.”

Lima Company, and the rest of the 3rd Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment, was called to active duty in January and has been in Iraq since late February.

While introducing Sgt. Cuddy on Tuesday morning, Maj. Gill said Cuddy and another member of Lima Company, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class Jason E. Cutshaw, had been sent home early from Iraq because both had experienced recent deaths in their families.

Cutshaw, of Johnson City, also had been scheduled to take part in the Tuesday morning “news availability” arranged by the Marine Corps, but was unable to do so because of a family obligation, according to Maj. Gill.

Asked to talk about what he did in Iraq, Sgt. Cuddy explained that he had flown into a base camp in Iraq with his unit’s advance party. “Our primary mission was base security,” he said. “But I also went out on a couple of foot patrols and a convoy to Camp Fallujah.

“Our base was hit by rocket attacks or mortars when we first got there. But after April, it quieted down a lot.”

Cuddy said he had difficulty at first realizing that he was in a war zone. “It didn’t really sink in until you heard the first explosion,” he said. “I never really thought about it a lot. I was just proud to be there and proud to do my part.”

Still, he said, it was difficult, at first to believe “there were actually people out there shooting at us.”

Fortunately, he said, he soon grasped the seriousness of his situation. “I woke up real fast and realized where I was and that it wasn’t a game,” he said. Cuddy said he generally avoided news reports.

“We could get the news, but I didn’t worry about that,” he said. “I worried about our mission and what we were there for, not the politics of it all. I just wanted to get back home to my wife and kids.”

Like Blow Dryer On ‘High’

Asked to describe the climate in the part of Iraq where he served, Cuddy described it as “extremely hot and dusty.”

He noted that when he arrived in Iraq in early March, it had not been very hot, but the weather quickly grew worse as summer approached.

“When I left, it was around 120 to 130 degrees,” he said. “The worst was the sand storms. ... We had one that the sand was so thick all day that it was still about 110 degrees at 2 a.m.

“I tell people that if they want an idea of what it was like, hold a (hair) blow dryer in front of your face on high and have someone throw sand at you.”

Cuddy maintained that the Marines were still able to function despite such extremely difficult weather conditions.

“With our training and communications, we were still able to operate,” he said. “It just slowed you down a little bit.”

Cuddy said he and three other members of Lima Company were attached in Iraq to the 3rd Battalion's Headquarters and Service (H&S) Company and were located on a separate base from the rest of the Lima Company Marines.

He said the Marines on his base lived in tents. They initially slept on cots before later receiving “bunk beds.”

The tents, he said, were equipped with “window type” air-conditioning units that were supplied with electricity by portable generating units which sometimes broke down. E-Mails And Letters

The young Marine Reservist, who is a husband and father of 5- and 6-year-old children, said he stays in contact via electronic mail with Lima Company members still in Iraq.

Sgt. Cuddy, a Meadowview, Va., resident, said Marines normally had to wait 45 minutes to an hour during their off time to get access to a computer to send an electronic mail.

“You’re timed,” he said. “You get 20 minutes on the Internet.” He said receiving letters from loved ones and friends was superior to sending and receiving electronic mail.

Asked what area residents could do to support the troops in Iraq, Cuddy said, “Keep sending the letters.”

“I tell everyone that it was like Christmas Day every time you would get a box,” he said. “I was always happy getting letters to find out how things were going here at home.

“Phone calls and e-mails are nice, but there aren’t any time limits on how often you can go back and look at letters and pictures,” he said. “That was the nice thing about that.”

Cuddy said he had received letters “from schools all over the country.” “You see on the news that everyone is against it (the war in Iraq), but then you get all these letters. It makes you proud to know that there are people pulling for you.”

He said it normally took 10 to 14 days to receive a letter from home. Cuddy said the Marines in Iraq spend their free time lifting weights, watching DVD movies, listening to music and playing cards.

“The big thing was working out,” he said. “We had some trouble with the generators breaking down so it would get pretty hot in the tents during the day,” he said. “But it was pretty decent.” He said his base also was equipped with “shower buildings” and a post exchange.

Food Was Good Cuddy said the food at his base in Iraq was very good, especially on Saturday nights when the Marines often were served steak, lobster, crab legs and other such dishes.

“The only time we ran short (of hot food) was in April,” he said. “We ate a few MREs (packaged field rations know officially as “meals ready to eat”). They always kept us supplied with food. We even had cold pop (soft drinks).”

Cuddy said that when he first arrived there he was assigned as a “duty driver” who would drive a noncommissioned officer to the base’s various observations posts (OPs) during the changing of guard shifts.

“Then, I actually sat on an observation post for awhile,” he said. “After that, I started working for a major and a staff sergeant, taking care of small generator repairs and making sure the troops were comfortable at night on their posts.”

Asked about contact with the Iraqis, Cuddy said it was easy to see nearby Iraqi villages from the perimeter of his base. He also said that many Iraqis worked on the base.

“Most of them leave you alone,” he said, noting that elderly Iraqis often spoke with Marine translators when patrols were in progress. “I tried not to talk to them too much. I left that up to the officers and the staff non-commissioned officers (NCOs).”

Felt Sad For Children

Cuddy said he “felt sorry” for the Iraqis. “I mainly felt sad for the children, being a father myself,” he said.

He said his own son and daughter, ages 5 and 6, were “a little bit too young” to ask many questions about Iraq after he returned home.

Noting that his children “were tickled” when they learned he was coming home, Cuddy said they have asked only about “little things” since he returned home. “My son likes tanks and airplanes, so he asks about thinks like that,” he said. “Just normal children’s stuff. They really didn’t get into it too much. They were just glad I was back.”

‘Complacency Kills’ Asked if felt comfortable around the Iraqis, Cuddy said he was “constantly aware” of danger.

“There were signs everywhere on base (that said) ‘complacency kills,’” he said. “Even though it might be a friendly town, or whatever, you had to keep the thought in the back of your head that there might be somebody out there who is not (friendly).” Asked how he felt when he heard about other Marines being killed in Iraq, Cuddy said, “it bothers me every time I hear it. They’re brothers.”

Cuddy said he had spend four years on active duty in the Marine Corps before getting out of the service in 1997. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve in January 2003.

“There was a five-year span in which I wasn’t affiliated with them (the Marine Corps),” he said. “All the way up until I finally reenlisted, I kept telling my wife that it wasn’t fair that I had been through training and I was sitting at home, knowing other guys were over there doing something for me. I felt like I should be there, too.” Cuddy said plans to remain in the Marine Corps Reserves.

http://www.greene.xtn.net/common/engine/displayimage.php?imagefieldname=picture1&tablename=news&recno=112618

Sun Photo by Phil Gentry
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. William Cuddy, a member of the Lima Company unit of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve that is based in Gray, spoke with reporters on Tuesday about his experiences in Iraq.

http://www.greene.xtn.net/index.php?table=news&template=news.view.subscriber&newsid=112618


Ellie

[thedrifter]

No Rights for Captured GIs

Why isn't Michael Moore making a movie about that?

There was a grim irony in the coincidence: On the very day that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its rulings on the treatment of enemy combatants, Al Jazeera broadcast a videotape that it said showed a captured American soldier being executed by Iraqi insurgents.

Army Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, 20, did not get an opportunity to file a petition with a judge asking that his captors provide good reasons for holding him. He did not get to complain to the Red Cross about the conditions in his cell. Nor, as far as we know, was he photographed in the buff, threatened with electrocution or menaced with guard dogs. Assuming the report is accurate, he was simply shot in the back of the head and tossed into a shallow grave.

Where's the ACLU to protest this lack of due process? Where's the outrage of the "international community"? Why isn't Michael Moore making a film about Pfc. Maupin, or about captured Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, 24, who could join the growing list of Americans beheaded by our fanatical foes?

This is not meant to suggest that the Supreme Court decisions were necessarily wrong, or that we should treat our captives the way Maupin was treated. The high court rulings probably were an inevitable response to the Bush administration's highhanded unilateralism.

By promulgating one-sided detainee rules on his own, without seeking Congress' consent, President Bush practically invited the justices to step in and create a more balanced process. But Maupin's case does suggest an inherent naivete in how we think about these matters.

The essence of the U.S. position on enemy captives is the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Geneva Convention, that supreme product of Western rationalism, is an attempt to codify this concept into international law. The problem is that it is essentially unenforceable; it binds only those inclined to follow its principles anyway. For most of the world, the Western legal tradition is utterly alien; it simply doesn't apply.

Look at how American POWs have fared since 1941. Just about the only enemies who played by the rules were the Italians and Germans during World War II. The Nazis reserved their barbarism for Jews, Russians, Poles and other "subhumans." Captured Americans and British were regarded as fellow soldiers and Aryans and were treated accordingly. There were some abuses, of course, but on the whole conditions in the stalags were tolerable. Only 1% of American POWS in Europe died in captivity.

The contrast with the Japanese approach couldn't be greater. For the samurai, who believed nothing was more dishonorable than surrender, POWs forfeited their humanity. The Americans and Filipinos who gave up on Corregidor in 1942 were sent on the infamous Bataan Death March. The sick, hungry, exhausted men were driven mercilessly. Those who fell out of line were clubbed, bayoneted or beheaded. When an officer refused to give up his wedding ring, his finger was hacked off. Nearly 45% of all U.S. POWs in the Pacific did not return alive.

Americans captured in the Korean and Vietnam wars fared just as poorly. The North Koreans and their Chinese allies subjected POWs not only to physical abuse but also communist brainwashing. Fewer than 50% got home alive. Later, North Vietnamese guards freely tortured captured fliers to force them to make public statements denouncing their country. Accounts of what John McCain, James Stockdale and other heroes went through in the "Hanoi Hilton" still make for harrowing reading.

The 23 Americans captured by Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1991 Persian Gulf War got similar treatment but for a much briefer time. Held in a secret police prison, they were denied food and medical care and given savage beatings. A female officer was sexually assaulted. "I can tell you that for about 20 minutes of my captivity, they played by the Geneva Convention," Marine Col. Cliff Acree told ABC News. "The rest of the time, they did not."

Americans have been far from blameless in their own handling of enemy prisoners. There have been notorious excesses from the Confederacy's Andersonville prison to Abu Ghraib. But there is no question that the U.S. military has treated enemy captives much better, on the whole, than ours have been treated. However bad things got at Abu Ghraib, it was nothing compared with the beheadings of Nicholas Berg, Paul Johnson and Daniel Pearl.

By all means, let's retain the moral high ground by treating our captives humanely. Give them the right of judicial appeal. Allow them to complain to the Red Cross. Hand them cozy slippers and fluffy robes. Just don't expect our enemies to reciprocate our kindness.


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-boot1jul01,1,7281729.column


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Support from home, helping Iraqis made mission worth it
June 30, 2004 TROOPS0630


It was just a Beanie Baby dressed in a camouflage uniform, one of several items sent by Michigan elementary school students to U.S. troops stationed in Kirkuk, Iraq. And it humbled Tech Sgt. Jeff Williams of the 506 Air Expeditionary Group as much as anything he saw in four months in Iraq.

"That they would share that little Beanie Baby with those of us in Iraq, that elementary schoolchildren would think that highly of us meant the world to us," said Williams, still with the Air Force Reserve, but now home in West St. Paul.

"When we went to Iraq, we were going there to get the job done," said Williams, 32. "Then you see how thankful these [Iraqi] people are that you're there. You receive CARE packages from back home with gifts like the Beanie Baby. And it reinforces everything.

"I was there the day Saddam Hussein was captured," said Williams, who returned home March 10. "A translator gave me a hug and said, 'No more nightmares.'

"They're looking at this as a new beginning."

Air Force Maj. Mike Laughton, 52, of Newport, said that before leaving the Twin Cities for Iraq he had hoped the Iraqis would have the opportunity "to decide their own fate." His four months in Baghdad did nothing to change his mind.

"Have my thoughts changed since September 11? No, not really," said Laughton, who returned April 10. "It's wonderful to give the country back to the Iraqis. I saw a lot of good people there ... and the Iraqis were glad to see us."

He knows what it means to be rejected. Laughton remembers coming home from Vietnam in 1972. The first thing he did was take off his uniform and put on civilian clothes to avoid the jeers of protesters.

Air Force Staff Sgt. John Brown returned from Kirkuk Nov. 19. Before going to Iraq, he felt "public opinion was we should be there" and he was happy to oblige.

"My feelings haven't changed," said Brown, who lives in Apple Valley. "Being there was a great experience and now I'm excited for the Iraqis.

"Let them experience a democratic government and run with it as they will. They have a clean slate. That makes the experience worthwhile."

Paul Levy

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1762/4853444.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines train Iraqi Special Forces for security role
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2004714342
Story by Cpl. Macario P. Mora Jr. and Sgt. Jose L. Garcia



CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq(June 26, 2004) -- For nearly two weeks Marines with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion's Company B trained Iraq's most experienced elite force - former Republican Guard.

The 11-day one-time event helped the Marines gain valuable lessons from men who first fought during the Iraq-Iran War, during the 1980s.

"These guys are pretty old," said 1st Sgt. Octaviano Gallegos Jr., company first sergeant from Las Cruces, N.M. "They're anywhere from their late thirties to fifties. Most of them are old and look out of shape, but they're fierce."

The Iraqi group has been working directly for Coalition Forces since the fall of Saddam's regime, joining different units throughout Iraq, patrolling towns in search of anti-coalition forces.

"These guys are very loyal to their country," Gallegos said. "They were never loyal to Saddam's regime. So once his regime fell, they were some of the first men to join the Coalition Forces in helping provide security for the country."

Training with Iraq's Special Forces offered Marines a chance to experience not only a different military structure, but culture as well.

"We're learning from them as much as they are from us," said Lance Cpl. Michael K. Sutton, from Houston, and a mechanic. "Everybody seems happy to be here. They're interested in coming out here and learning and they are doing it for the big game. There is no question on my mind they will do a good job. They want to help their country."

One of Regimental Combat Team 7's primary missions is getting local forces trained and equipped to handle security for its own people, now that sovereignty is completely turned over. Former Iraqi forces will be relied on to help further the process along.

"These guys know what they're doing," Gallegos explained. "There are some really bad dudes out there. They may not look impressive but they move like lightning when in a fight."

The training sessions include physical training twice a day as well as classes on tactics and martial arts.

"They use tai kwon do," Gallegos said. "A lot of our moves are derived from this martial art. They concentrate more on throwing though."

The Iraqis were put in different groups according to their abilities and demonstrated different techniques for the Marines.

The Marines enjoyed their time training with the Iraqis due to their hard work ethic and ability to quickly lean into the training.

"They came over here to see the other side of the fence," Lance Cpl. Rodney V. Trinidad, from Mangilao, Guam, a communications technician. "They basically try to learn what we do. Their knowledge is good and a lot of these guys are really smart. We're learning a lot of Arabic from them."

According to several Marines they have a tendency to use a copycat technique. Marines demonstrate the tactics and techniques and Iraqi forces perform them as they were taught.

They were also just as grateful to participate in the cross-training exercise.

"We are very grateful to the American Forces for ousting Saddam Hussein," said Iraqi 1st Sgt. Nohad Kadhm Jadoaa, a paratrooper and 18-year veteran of the Iraqi military. "Giving the power back to the Iraqi people is nice but we still need their help."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20047143629/$file/specfor1lr.jpg

An Iraqi Special Forces soldier takes his partner to the ground during a defensive tactics session. The Iraqi forces learned defensive tactics and martial arts during a two-hour physical training session. The forces trained with Marines from 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion for 12 days to prepare for the transfer of soveriegnty.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/46BCB96FE15EF52A85256EC4002F0FB5?opendocument


Ellie