'King of Battle' rules over enemy in Fallujah

[thedrifter]

'King of Battle' rules over enemy in Fallujah
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200482154027
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 20, 2004) -- A deep, rolling boom echoed across the desert, quickly followed by another. This was no mortar or rocket attack, though. It was the calling card of the King of Battle: the 16,000-pound combat workhorse called artillery.

The artillerymen of the 1st Marine Division continued to shoot and communicate here recently, shielding their brothers-in-arms on the front lines near Fallujah.

"We're here to support all of our infantry units, but we support anyone who needs artillery out there," said Sgt. Felix A. Rocha, an operations chief for Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment. "Most of our missions have been from Marines near Fallujah."

Army infantry units also called for Marine artillery in March.

"They still had people out there. They needed fire support and we shot it," said Sgt. Andrew S. Hecker, a 28-year-old section chief from Miami, Fla.

Marines in Battery A are routinely committed to bringing down "the rain of pain" as their motto states, and they often get that chance when "fire mission!" is shouted. The result is like clockwork, according to the Marines.

"We make sure each fire mission is taken with speed and intensity because those grunts need arty - they need our help," said Lance Cpl. Joseph K. Arthur, an artilleryman from New York City.

A battle damage assessment of the effects the artillery rounds had on the target is collected after each fire mission. The BDA is relayed to commanders by forward observers or the unit closest to the target.

"We don't normally get BDAs, but we received one that we destroyed an enemy mortar platoon and Iraqis with RPGs," said Rocha, a 26-year-old from Hart, Texas. "We're pretty accurate."

Although the battery is not engaging the enemy as frequently as they did last year, their presence has been felt throughout the province and proven critical.

"Artillery has always been extremely vital because of their quick response to counter battery fire," explained Lt. Col. Sparky Renforth, operations officer for Regimental Combat Team 1, from Wheeling, W.V.

"Their fire support for offensive units maneuvering onto the enemy is also vital," Renforth said. "They've been timely, responsive and accurate. We can use artillery when we want to."

A lot of coordination goes into executing artillery missions.

"It takes time to have aircraft on station, as with artillery - it's just a faster means of returning fire to the enemy," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thomas D. Kircher, senior watch officer for the regiment's combat operations center.

"The battery is connected to every battalion. That allows them to directly communicate with each other," added Kircher, 34, of Swanville, Minn.

One way the regiment keeps the enemy on their heels is tracking the enemy's system of fighting, according to Kircher.

"There's a consistency of enemy," Kircher said. "We have points of origin - or places we're now firing back on."

Precision weapons like hellfire missiles fired from fixed wing aircraft and armed predator drones are often used to destroy confirmed threats when use of artillery is not ideal, according to Renforth.

"We don't want to shoot artillery into the city - that's stupid," explained Renforth. "It's so much harder to clear rubble than to clear buildings that are already standing."


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482154953/$file/Arty2lr.jpg

Marines with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, wait for the order to begin a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482155536/$file/Arty3lr.jpg

Lance Cpl. Richard Escobar, an artilleryman with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, aligns 95-plus pound artillery shells for a fire mission directed at targets near Fallujah, Aug. 18.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen) Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/8DCEACD2F2A5802D85256EF700352480?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Militia, Shiite Leaders Bicker Over Shrine

By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI

NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in control of a revered Shiite shrine at the center of the crisis in Najaf on Saturday, as they bickered with top Shiite religious leaders over how to hand the holy site over.

Despite the standoff, Najaf remained largely calm Saturday. Occasional explosions shook the city, but the violence was at a far lower level than fierce fighting that raged in the city earlier this week.

The violence in the city and a threatened government raid of the mosque risked inflaming the nation's majority Shiites and undermining the interim government's efforts to bring stability to the country and gain legitimacy for itself.

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The crisis appeared on the verge of resolution Friday with insurgents' surprising decision to remove their weapons from the Imam Ali Shrine, where they had been hiding, and turn the holy site over to top Shiite clerics.

But the two sides were still debating how to arrange such a transfer Saturday.

Al-Sadr aides said they tried to hand the keys over to representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who refused to accept them, demanding the shrine be evacuated first.

Sheik Ali Smeisim, a senior al-Sadr aide, said the militants wanted a delegation from al-Sistani's office to first inspect the shrine and make sure its treasures were intact, so that al-Sadr's followers would not be accused of stealing or damaging anything. Only then will the militants leave, he said.

Al-Sistani's aides say they will not send a delegation because of the security situation in the city.

"If the brothers in the office of ... al-Sadr want to vacate the holy shrine compound and close the doors and hand over the keys, then the office of the religious authority in Najaf will take the keys for safekeeping until the crisis ends," Sheik Hamed Khafaf, an al-Sistani aide, said from London where the cleric is undergoing medical treatment. "We cannot receive the shrine compound unless they agree to this formula."

Another al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany, said earlier the keys had already been handed over, but later said that they had only offered to hand them over.

The shrine's keys are for the shrine compound's outer gates, inner doors and safes.

The proposed handover of the shrine to religious authorities offered a face-saving way to end fierce fighting between U.S. and Iraqi forces and al-Sadr's militia that has killed scores of people.

A peaceful pullout mediated by religious authorities would allow Iraq's interim government to keep its pledge not to negotiate and let the militants say they had not capitulated to U.S.-led troops.

Meanwhile, attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. military vehicle in the Iraqi capital early Saturday, killing one American soldier and wounding two others, the military said in a statement. As of Friday, 949 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

Elsewhere, one Iraqi National Guard soldier was killed when a bomb exploded in the northern city of Mosul, said Mahmoud Saadallah. Two guardsmen and three civilians were wounded in the blast.

In Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, assailants detonated roadside bombs in two separate attacks apparently aimed at passing U.S. troops, hospital officials said. There were no immediate reports of American casualties.

In one of the attacks, a bomb exploded after a U.S. convoy drove by, said Hussein Ali, an official at Baqouba's main hospital. Two civilians were killed and four injured in the blast.

In Sabtiya, two miles north of Baqouba, another roadside bomb exploded after a U.S. convoy passed, killing a sanitation worker cleaning the street and wounding another man, said Mudher Sabah, another hospital official.

West of Baghdad in Ramadi, unidentified gunmen shot dead Lt. Col. Saad Smayer, a senior police officer, as he left home for work, said Jaadan Mohammed al-Alwan.

Elsewhere, a Polish soldier was killed and six more were injured near central the central city of Hillah Saturday when a car bomb exploded as a military convoy passed by, Polish radio reported.

Meanwhile, an aide to al-Sadr said kidnappers had lifted their threat to kill a U.S. journalist abducted in the southern city of Nasiriyah along with his Iraqi translator Aug. 13, and the man could be released as soon as Saturday.

The kidnappers, calling themselves the Martyrs Brigade, threatened Thursday to kill Micah Garen of New York within 48 hours if U.S. troops did not leave Najaf.

But al-Sadr aide Sheik Awas al-Khafaji said Saturday he had spoken to mediators who said the death threat had been lifted, adding that they were working out a way to have Garen released.

"We hope that he will be released today and our efforts would be fruitful," he said Saturday. "As for the Iraqi translator, we have received assurances that he is going to be released with the journalist."

Garen appeared in a video aired Friday on Al-Jazeera saying his captors were treating him well. "I am an American journalist in Iraq and I've been asked to deliver a message," he said. "I am in captivity and being treated well."

The peace moves in Najaf headed off a government attack on the revered shrine, which was certain to cause bloodshed and likely damage the gold-domed mosque _ a result that would enrage Shiites throughout the country and Muslims throughout the world.

Iraqi officials had said they wanted to destroy the Mahdi Army to send a strong message to insurgents across Iraq, but the prime minister said the offer to give up control of the shrine meant a peaceful resolution was still possible.

Earlier this week, al-Sadr's militants rejected a government ultimatum to withdraw from the shrine or face an assault. Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi backed off the threat even before the new offer from al-Sadr, and his national security adviser reiterated that the government wanted al-Sadr to join the political process.

Al-Sadr has said previously he would not give in to the government demand to disband his militia and take up politics. It remained unclear how the government would react if that demand went unmet.

The government was not part of the talks, and it continued to demand that al-Sadr disband his militia and join in peaceful politics and help create a democracy for Iraqis.

"We need to get rid of this militia and we need to get them to disarm and leave the shrine," Iraqi National Security adviser Mouaffaq al-Rubaie told CNN. "There's no way we can build democracy in this country with a militia all over the country."

Also Friday, the Italian Foreign Ministry said that Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni had gone missing in Iraq. Baldoni, a freelance journalist who came to Iraq for the news magazine Diario, was believed to have been in Najaf, the ministry said.

http://www.nctimes.com/


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines survive attack on seven-story building
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20048215275
Story by Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski



CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Iraq (Aug. 18, 2004) -- Lance Cpl. Ronald C. Conyers thanks God and a single pillar for saving his squad's life here Wednesday.

Conyers and his squad were manning an observation post on the roof of a seven-story building when two large improvised explosive devices were detonated, destroying the floor directly beneath them.

The Marines with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, man the top of the observation post to prevent any terrorists from planting IEDs along Main Supply Route Michigan, which passes through Ar Ramadi.

That day, Conyers and the members of his squad knew something was going to happen.

"We knew something was up, because there was no one in the building," said Conyers, 19, and an automatic rifleman from Mullins, S.C. "The building normally had more people."

"The Iraqi Police looked nervous," said Cpl. Jason T. Chadwick, a fireteam leader.

"Around (6:30 p.m.), the first explosion went off," said Conyers, who was sitting on the opposite side of the roof. "I looked back and I could see the roof bobbling, getting ready to collapse."

The first explosion was detonated on the east side of the building, blasting glass and debris to the street below.

"The explosion pushed me up and away from the wall," said Chadwick, who was sitting above the first explosion on radio watch.

"At the time, my first thought were that the (terrorists) shot an RPG. So I just laid there and waited for additional RPGs. That's when the second explosion went off," said Chadwick, from Richmond, Mo.

The second bomb exploded at the northwest corner of the building, directly underneath a room where Marines off-shift were sleeping.

"I saw a lot of smoke, and I froze for a second," said Conyers. "Then I low-crawled to see if the other Marines were alright."

Conyers crawled to the room where the Marines had been sleeping.

"They were coughing from the smoke, and I did my best to assist them," said Conyers.

After everyone was assessed for injuries and no one was badly hurt, the Marines radioed in for the quick reaction force. They then carefully crawled to the center of the roof and provided security until help arrived.

"We tried to remain as still as possible," said Conyers.

The door leading from the roof to the inside of the building was bowed in from the blast, locking the Marines on the wobbly roof with no way to escape.

The QRF arrived a few minutes later, along with Cpl. Ian R. Burns, a military dog handler, and his four-year-old German Shepard, Cak, to clear the building of terrorists and additional bombs.

"When we got there, there was debris and glass all the way out to the road," said Burns, 21, from Farmingdale, Maine.

Burns and the QRF approached the building, unsure of what they would find inside.

"This was a building search from hell," said Burns, who had to use his dog's sense of smell to sniff out any additional bombs that might injure Marines. "It had such a high chance of a secondary explosion."

Carefully, they cleared each floor up to the roof, until they reached the jammed door that locked out their fellow brothers. The Marines kicked open the door, freeing their trapped comrades and everyone quickly descended down the seven flights of stairs.

"The stairs looked pretty stable," said Conyers. "After I realized that everyone was okay, I was just hoping we could get out safe. That's when I noticed the rebar wire and the pillar. That was the only thing keeping the roof up."

Conyers believes God was watching over him that day.

"I believe it's faith," said Conyers. "I pray every night."

However, attacks here have not always had such fortunate outcomes. Terrorists have targeted the post before.

"A few days prior, one of our fellow Marines was killed by a terrorist sniper," said Staff Sgt. Jason C. Petrakos, platoon sergeant. "They take small arms fire periodically."

The Marines believe they were targeted on this post by terrorists, who want them to retreat.

"We are preventing them from putting IEDs on the road below. They are trying to get us off MSR Michigan," Petrakos said.

Since the incident, the Marines have moved their observation post and will continue to maintain a watchful eye on the road. They have implemented new security procedures to prevent anything like this from happening again.

"The terrorists are trying to scare us back to the firm bases," said Petrakos. "They need to realize that it's never going to happen."


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482153452/$file/7STORY2lr.jpg

The top floor of this buidling was destroyed by two improvised explosive devices in an attack on Marines from Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Aug. 18. Marines used this observation post to overlook the city of Ar Ramadi and prevent terrorists from planting IEDs along the roadways.
(USMC photo by Cpl. Jason T. Chadwick) Photo by: Cpl. Jason T. Chadwick

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/93CD3DD3729B4CD985256EF70033EB51?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines outfit Rasheed police station
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20048206731
Story by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes



CAMP MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 19, 2004) -- Five blue and white vehicles paraded down the highway here recently, interspersed with US military humvees. It wasn't a raid or a joint patrol, though. It was a special delivery.

The vehicles were given to the Rasheed police department by 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment Aug. 18 to aid in their duties.

"It was a smooth mission overall but there was a lot involved in getting the vehicles to the police department," said Staff Sgt. Christopher E. Kelly, assistant team leader of the civil affairs group here. "Ultimately, we hope the vehicles benefit both the Marines and the police force."

Ten vehicles altogether changed hands between Baghdad and Kalsu. The battalion's CAG unit, which is responsible for the police departments in the area, traveled to Kalsu to pick up the four sedans and one SUV.

"We hit a (roadside bomb) on the way down there but other than that it was uneventful," said Kelly, a 34-year-old from Arroyo, Calif.

Five of the vehicles went to the Rasheed police department. The other five will be dispersed between Mahmudiyah and Ladafiyah police departments.

"We gave five of the vehicles to Rasheed because right now they have the capability to patrol and get outside the police station," said Maj. Robert J. Derocher, the CAG team leader.

The chief of police signed for the vehicles. He also assured the Marines the vehicles would be properly utilized, as the police force is still learning the new way of running things.

"Now that they have these vehicles they'll be able to respond to calls in their area and assist the Iraqi National Guard if they need help," Kelly said.

There are no plans at the present time for additional vehicles. However, additional requests can be submitted, added Derocher, 36, of Riverside, Calif.

The police officers were happy to see the vehicles and inspected them when they arrived by discovering which dial did what on their new equipment.

"The cars are outfitted with police radios and sirens," Kelly said. "The Iraqis were excited about getting them. You could see it on their faces."

One police officer took a vehicle for a spin around the parking lot, testing its turning capabilities. When he was satisfied he parked it next to their new fleet of cars and smiled.

"These cars mean they'll actually be able to go out on patrol. There's no reason for them not to now," said John Chapman, 61, of Joshua, Texas. Chapman brings 15 years working for various police and sheriff's departments to the team as an International Police Officer. He works as a liaison to the police departments in the district.

"They're nice cars ... we expect good things out of them," he added.


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482061346/$file/cars2lr.jpg

Lieutenant Col. Giles Kyser speaks with the Rasheed police chief about his new fleet of police cars delivered Aug. 18. Kyser, commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, of Dumfries, Va., signed the cars over to the eager police chief. The four sedans and one SUV will hopefully aid the police department in their ability to patrol their district.
(USMC Photo by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes) Photo by: Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A7E81BB5DC8ADEEA85256EF600379EBE?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

OIF Marines return to Beaufort <br />
Submitted by: MCAS Beaufort <br />
Story Identification #: 2004820105242 <br />
Story by Cpl. Micah Snead <br />
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT (Aug. 20, 2004) -- More than...

[thedrifter]

Echo Company

By John Simerman
Contra Costa (Calif.) Times

IMPERIAL, Calif. - Marcus Cherry had to practice that Marine Corps stare.

He'd stand in front of the mirror at home, jaw forward, eyes hard, holding it as long as he could before a wide grin broke across his face.

They all talk about his big, irrepressible smile. How it lit up the eager entertainer who would sing at the slightest prompt. How it won him the "cutest smile" tag in the high school yearbook. How it magnified a charm that helped him escape trouble in the classroom and dance around arguments with his fiancee.

"I’d try to pick a fight with him. He'd find a way to weasel out of it," said Shannon Severe, who'd set a Nov. 20 wedding date with Marcus.

"When Marcus came up to you and smiled, you smiled, too. You didn't have a choice," said Lisa Tabarez, the principal at Imperial High School, a 730-student school on a stucco campus near the Mexican border, 120 miles east of San Diego.

Marcus and his older brother, Andre - half black, half Latino - were young boys when their father left. Their mother, a native of Mexico, struggled in poverty. They were in and out of shelters, and they moved around a lot.

When the boys were 5 and 6 their mother, Genevieve King, met James Tyler, a Marine who became their stepfather and took them to North Carolina, where he was stationed at Camp Lejeune.

"We both decided when we were younger that we liked the Marines," said Andre Cherry, 19, a Marine lance corporal stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Tyler retired nine years ago and they moved back to California, bouncing from place to place. They settled in the Imperial Valley, a dusty, sun-baked flatland where high school graduations feature mariachi music and fireworks, and the air carries the faint, sweet stench of the beet sugar plant up the road.

Tyler and King had two children, Stephen and Monique, but the marriage failed and the couple split. The Cherry brothers found themselves taking care of the kids, cleaning and cooking while their mother trained and worked as a corrections officer at Centinela, one of two nearby state prisons.

They kept their troubles private.

"We were able to show the world it was OK, and let it out to each other," Andre Cherry said. "Me and him just had each other."

The brothers went to a youth group at Christ Community Church in nearby El Centro, where a friend in the group, Jimmy Holmes, wrote Christian rap songs.

They sang on the Calico Stage at the Imperial Valley fairgrounds, at a center for troubled teens, at Youth for Christ events and church sleepovers, where they rapped about sexual purity and finding Jesus.

Marcus also sang on the "DJ Phat Friday" hip-hop show on local youth radio.

"Young brothers, keep your head up," he wrote.

"When your parents ain't there and the world got you fed up

"You say it's hard and it's a struggle

"I know

"But God said all things through him are possible."

Marcus was often the center of attention at summer camp or in the church youth group, said James Whitehead, the youth pastor at Christ Community Church. "He could relate to the pain most kids are going through now, whether raised by single parents or not having funds, or just growing up in these times."

At school, Marcus and Andre played running back for the Imperial High Tigers, sometimes in the same backfield. Marcus wore his letter jacket proudly.

"Cherry on the carry," the announcer would intone.

Before Andre joined the Marines, Marcus had his mind set on studying studio engineering at Washington State University, aiming at a future in entertainment. Andre joined in 2002. Then Marcus enlisted, skipping out on his high school graduation to go to boot camp.

Mike Swearingen, his former football coach, once asked Marcus why he joined up.

"He says, '(Andre's) in there, I'm going, coach,' " said Swearingen. "They were inseparable, I mean true brothers. They looked out for each other."

In a letter to his mother, one of his superiors described Marcus as a "fast-burner" who could have risen in the ranks. 2nd Lt. V.S. Valdes praised his dedication and more.

"Whenever we would run platoon or squad PT (physical training), he would get out to the side of the formation and just sing. His singing was beautiful, and it motivated those Marines in the formation to step a little smarter and to hold their heads just a little higher," Valdes wrote. "... He never complained, did things at one hundred percent and always had an infectious smile on his face."

On April 3, Andre was in Ramadi to pick up some armor-plated doors and heard someone calling his first name. It was his brother. They got to visit for a few hours.

"He seemed like the same person. He hadn't changed at all. Still smiling, still joking," Andre said. "He was all about the Marine Corps.

"That's all we talked about out there. He was proud. ... When we were in Iraq, there was never a day we doubted our being out there."

In a picture, the two brothers are standing that day in pale fatigues, weapons strapped across their backs. Marcus is the one with the bill of his cap over his eyes, his hands on his hips and a big grin on his face.

Three days later, Lance Cpl. Marcus Miguel Cherry was killed at age 18. His brother escorted his body home.

Contact John Simerman at jsimerman@cctimes.com

http://www.realcities.com/images/realcities/realcities/9263/85808818430.jpg

Age: 18
Home: Imperial, Calif.
Lance Cpl. Marcus Cherry
"When Marcus came up to you and smiled, you smiled, too. You didn’t have a choice," said Lisa Tabarez, the principal at Imperial High School.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/echo_company/9282982.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

1st FSSG supply unit delivers the goods <br />
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group <br />
Story Identification #: 2004820101218 <br />
Story by Sgt. Matt Epright <br />
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CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Aug. 20, 2004)...

[thedrifter]

New FOB Kalsu dining facility open for business
Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 200482082628
Story by Staff Sgt. Demetrio J. Espinosa



FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (Aug. 15, 2004) -- Marines, sailors and soldiers here welcomed the opening of a new dining facility Aug. 15.

The new dining facility replaces a temporary tent they had used since the Army’s field dining facility was closed here nearly three weeks ago.

The new facility offers service members a refuge from the heat, dust and stress of working at a forward operating base.

“It will improve the quality of life immediately,” said Staff Sgt. Wavelay T. Jones, 30, mess chief, Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group 24. “It’s a more relaxing environment.”
The dining facility will have several items, from different food to creature comforts, that will allow people here a place to runwind.

According to Jones, a Raleigh, N.C., native, the new chow hall already offers more comfortable seating and serves ice cream. It will also have televisions for everyone to watch while they eat.

Those things, in addition to the prepared food that replaced Meals-Ready-to-Eat people here were eating, will give service members a respite from the operational grind.

“People will be able to relieve some of the stress from their jobs and tasks they are doing,” Jones said. “They can come here to get piece of mind”

The dining facility, named Unger Hall, is named after Army Spc. Daniel Paul Unger, 19, Company A, 1st Battalion, 185th Infantry Regiment, 81st Brigade Combat Team, who was fatally wounded during a rocket attack here May 26. He died the following day.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482085041/$file/040815-M-2361E-001lores.jpg

Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary unit wait in line Aug. 15, for their first meal in the new dining facility at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq.
The MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in the Northern Babil province of Iraq. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Demetrio J. Espinosa

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/1EA7EE6673E03D0985256EF600445783?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

COMMANDING GENERAL

1ST MARINE DIVISION (REIN), FMF

AL ANBAR, IRAQ 20 August 2004

Friends and Comrades:

For two years, the story of the 1st Marine Division has been one of honor. Today, my message is one of thanks:

·Thanks to the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines who have stood the test, ·and proved to the world that our experiment called the United States of America will survive;

·Thanks to our families who have stood with us through thick and thin, ·and bore unbearable tragedy with a courage that has humbled me;

·Thanks to the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing whose warriors have always come through, ·and painted the Blue Diamond on their wings and carried us in their hearts;

·Thanks to the 1st Force Service Support Group who committed to doing the impossible, ·and then exceeded the best we could have hoped for;

·Thanks to our Division's veterans, whose spirits have marched with us since we crossed the line of departure, ·and whose example reminded us that there was nothing the enemy could throw at us that we would not overcome;

·And thanks to countless others whose commitment and loyalty made us what we are- ·Who allowed us to achieve what we achieved, ·Who allowed us to develop the character of No better friend, No worse enemy.

Today I haven't the words to capture what is in my heart as I look out at these beautiful Grunts who represent thousands of cocky, selfless, macho young troops of our infantry Division-

infantry - infant Soldiers, young Soldiers, young Soldiers of the Sea, who have given so much, and who have taught me courage, as they smiled, heading out to risk their lives again, to destroy the enemy.

So lacking the words, I will close with a warrior's prayer from a man who understands:

Give me God, what you still have, Give me what no one else asks for; I do not ask for wealth Nor for success, nor even health- People ask you so often, God for all that That you cannot have any left. Give me, God, what you still have; Give me what people refuse to accept from you.

I want insecurity and disquietude, I want turmoil and brawl, And if you should give them to me, my God Once and for all Let me be sure to have them always, For I will not always have the courage to ask for them. Amen

Thank you, my wonderful young Soldiers, Sailors and Marines May God be with you all as you head out once again into the heat of the Iraqi sun, into the still of the dark night, to close with the enemy.

Beside you, I'd do it all again. Semper Fi.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Ex-Saddam fighters aid Shi'ite militia in Najaf fray


By Aqil Jabbar
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES


NAJAF, Iraq — A colonel from Saddam Hussein's most elite fighting force, the Special Republican Guard, has been training members of the Shi'ite militia battling U.S. forces in this holy city for more than two weeks.
His presence was tangible evidence of links between Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army and fighters loyal to the ousted regime. Saddam's mainly Sunni officer corps and the Shi'ites who make up the Mahdi's Army long have been hostile to one another, but could cause more trouble for the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi by joining forces.

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad was reluctant to comment on links between Sheik al-Sadr's forces and the fighters in Fallujah.
"We have nothing that we can confirm at this time," he said.
The former colonel, Rifaat al-Janabi, was interviewed in a shaded corner of the green-and-gold Kufa mosque, where he had been training six Shi'ite fighters in the art of guerrilla warfare.
He said he and nine other officers from the Special Republican Guard had been sent to Najaf from Fallujah, the main Sunni flash point west of Baghdad.
"The Fallujah Consultancy Council of Mujahideen [holy warriors] sent me with nine other officers and 40 soldiers who are well-trained in using mortars and RPG-7 grenade launchers," said Col. al-Janabi, who, unlike most Iraqi insurgents, had no qualms about giving his name.
"We had to stand by our Shi'ite brothers in Najaf, who stood by us in Fallujah," he said.
That was a reference to aid provided by the Mahdi's Army during a major insurrection in Fallujah in the spring.
"It is an honorable stance of Fallujah people, who sent us experts in using weapons," said one Mahdi's Army militiaman. "We are in need of military training."
Indeed, although a few of the Mahdi's Army trainees had military training, many were inexperienced volunteers.
"I'm not a kid ... I can kill many Americans," said 13-year-old Hassan Kamel, a preparatory-school student who stood guard with his rifle at a checkpoint.
Outside the Mahdi's Army base in Najaf, Col. al-Janabi's fellow officers and soldiers from Fallujah could be seen drilling the Shi'ite militiamen in the use of RPG-7 grenade launchers.
"We welcomed the mujahideen of Fallujah who came, without being asked to come, to help us out in training the fighters who lack experience in using weapons," said Sheikh Kudair al-Ansari, who runs Sheik al-Sadr's office in Kufa, just outside Najaf.
While he spoke, militiamen swarmed around trucks unloading AK-47 assault rifles that had been smuggled into the city under a load of watermelons.
Minibuses from the southern towns of Amara, Kut and Diwaniya disgorged more young men who gathered outside the Kufa mosque and chanted: "By our blood and souls, we sacrifice for you, Muqtada."
Under Saddam's rule, Iraqis chanted the same slogan ending with the word "Saddam."
"I left a wife and three children to come and defend Muqtada," said one volunteer from Diwaniya, who refused to give his name. "We could not protect his father, Mohammed al-Sadr, from Saddam, but now we can protect his son from the Americans and the Jews."
The popularity of Sheik al-Sadr is built on the reputation of his father, a charismatic ayatollah who was killed in 1999 by assailants suspected of being Saddam agents.
During this week's fighting in Najaf, there also was evidence that some U.S.-trained police have been cooperating with the Mahdi's Army militiamen.
Near the mosque, four uniformed policemen were seen standing beside their car with three militiamen. Hidden behind a building, they were listening to their radios and informing the militiamen of their fellow officers' movements.
"I have four cousins in the Mahdi's Army," one of the police officers explained. "According to the proverb, 'My brother and I are against my cousin, but my cousin and I are against the foreigner.' Thus, I can't fight against my cousins and stand beside the Americans."
Soon after, one of the fighters ran into the street and shouted "Ali." He fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a concrete barrier erected by U.S. forces.
Then he ran back into the alley, climbed into the police car and was driven away.
•Aqil Jabbar is a correspondent for the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Paul Martin in London contributed to this report.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20040819-111616-9858r.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines award Bronze Star to Vincent
Published Sat, Aug 21, 2004

By MICHAEL KERR
Gazette staff writer
Even with small arms, machine-gun and mortar fire exploding all around him, Maj. John Vincent knew what he had to do.
Leading a convoy of 200 vehicles and 750 personnel, a number that had more than tripled from the start of the mission, Vincent pushed through coordinated ambushes along Iraq's Route 7 toward Qalat Sikar airfield where a 1st Marine Regiment unit waited, badly in need of food, water, supplies and fuel.

"I had the best kids in America, as far as I'm concerned," Vincent said, humbly deflecting the glory to the Marines he led. "A lot of them just came out of Parris Island, or places like this all over the world ... young kids, 18 and 19 years old who were called to duty and did it."

For his bravery and leadership that day, March 27, 2003, Vincent, 42 was awarded Friday the Bronze Star with Combat "V" for valor during a small ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, where he serves as a regimental officer.

The citation, signed for President George W. Bush by Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway, commends the Louisville, Ky., native's "calm, measured reactions," which allowed him to engage the enemy and lead his convoy out of a dangerous situation.

"Major Vincent, it is indeed a pleasure to be able to present this award to you today," said Col. Kevin Kelley, the commanding officer of Parris Island's Recruit Training Regiment, as he pinned the Bronze Star to Vincent's camouflage uniform. "You did really well."

Capt. Anish Raub, the depot's adjutant for weapons and field training battalion, served under Vincent before the Iraqi tour, and knows what kind of leader the humble major truly is.

"He epitomizes what a good Marine officer is," Raub said after the medal presentation. "He is always involved in whatever his Marines are doing."

While Vincent, of course, focuses on the mission at hand, he never forgets to take special care of the Marines who serve under him, Raub said.

"Him getting the Bronze Star just speaks to the kind of person he is," Raub said. "I feel really proud to know him."

The Marines in Vincent's convoy were support personnel, not infantrymen, but they proved that every Marine truly is a rifleman first, the major said proudly.

"It's truly an honor," Vincent said of the Bronze Star. "To me it shows that I trained the Marines that were with me in the right way. I'm just one man, but I could have an impact."

The convoy reached the Marines at Qalat Sikar at about 1 a.m., March 28, 2003, bringing with it the supplies so gravely needed. The Marines then got to work fixing the airfield, so another trip through "ambush alley" near Ash Shatrah wouldn't be needed to resupply the Marines stationed there.

Just as the last jeep pulled off the rebuilt airfield, Vincent said, a Marine C-130 supply jet touched down.

"I wish they could have been here," Vincent said Friday of the Marines who served with him, adding that about 90 percent of them are already back fighting in Iraq. "In spirit, they are."

Contact Michael Kerr at 986-5539 or mkerr@beaufortgazette.com.

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/3755492p-3362474c.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

The Unapologetic Warrior <br />
In Iraq, a Marine Corps Captain Is Living Out His Heart's Desire By Tony Perry <br />
<br />
Tony Perry, Tony Perry is The Times' San Diego bureau chief. He last wrote for the...

[thedrifter]

A broad-shouldered 6 feet, 2 inches tall and 190 pounds, Zembiec is an imposing physical presence even among Marines known for their tough-muscled physiques. He oozes self-confidence (&quot;confidence is...

[thedrifter]

William Pfaff: When the Marines make policy, Iraq burns <br />
William Pfaff TMSI Friday, August 20, 2004 <br />
Who's in charge? <br />
<br />
PARIS Argument over American policy in Iraq and the Middle East...

[thedrifter]

Tribune Media Services International Who's in charge? <br />
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PARIS Argument over American policy in Iraq and the Middle East presumes that there is a considered policy in Washington and that in Baghdad,...

[thedrifter]

Victor Marine recounts Iraqi firefights -- and progress <br />
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By Jennifer Snyder <br />
News-Sentinel Features Editor <br />
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Andres Lopez, of Victor, had a range of experiences as a Marine in Iraq for the past...

[thedrifter]

Echo Company

By Nevy Kaminski
Bradenton (Fla.) Herald

BRADENTON, Fla. - Years ago, a gray-haired minister sat a boy on his knee and shared war stories with him.

An Army veteran, John Marlow wanted to teach 8-year-old Christopher Cobb what it meant to be a soldier.

Somehow, even then, Christopher already knew.

"We were talking and I said, 'Chris, I was in the U.S. Army and I tried to be a good soldier,' " recalled Marlow, now 70. "Chris looked me in the eye and said, 'Well, I will be a good soldier.' "

More than a decade later, Cobb, 19, died as a U.S. Marine in combat in Iraq.

"He was very, very shy and always very serious," said Marlow, Christopher's lifelong minister. "But his eyes spoke more than his words did."

Sitting in the same church where Cobb's coffin sat in April, Marlow talked about how he’d dedicated Christopher to the church and God as a 6-month-old at Bradenton Gospel Tabernacle.

"It's a sad mixture of feelings, knowing this boy was fulfilling the duty of a soldier," Marlow said in a raspy drawl. "But at the same time, it was a sharp reminder that war is so costly - and that we'd lost someone so close to us."

Pfc. Christopher Cobb was killed April 6 in Iraq. A member of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., he’d been in Iraq less than two weeks when he was killed.

Two weeks after his family buried him, Sheila Cobb got a letter from her only son.

"I am coming home alive and in one piece," Christopher wrote. "I promise you that mom."

The letter was funny and irreverent - everything you’d expect from a teenager: "I have been in Camp Victory here for two weeks. It's retarded here, boring."

"It brought the war home to me,” Marlow said. “It's a tremendous sacrifice our people are making for the vision of our government. We all question the cost of war, I think."

Sometimes overwhelmed with grief, Sheila Cobb tries to focus on preserving her son's legacy.

Christopher R. Cobb was born on New Year's Day, 1985, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital to Ronald and Sheila Cobb.

He grew up in Bradenton, a community 50 miles south of Tampa teetering somewhere between being reminiscent of an old-Florida town and a growing city filled with a steady flow of tourists and Midwestern transplants. The town is anchored by juice-maker Tropicana's factory, and it’s the spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Christopher went to public schools and spent summer days playing with his cousins and half-sister, Kelly Krueger, now 26.

He never got to know his father, an Air Force Vietnam veteran. When Christopher was 5 months old, Ronald Cobb died from an illness caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

Krueger said that while she was the type to explore the outdoors, her little brother preferred to explore through computers.

"He was always super, super quiet and shy even when he was with me," Krueger said.

After losing her husband in 1985, Sheila Cobb was left to raise Christopher alone until she met Howell Tuten, a Marine Corps veteran who began raising the boy as a loving stepfather.

Christopher led the life of a typical teen: fiddling around on his computer, hanging out with friends, working part time at a local nursing home and Walgreen's, and playing in his high school orchestra.

Richard Jorgensen taught Christopher's orchestra class for three of the four years that Christopher was at Bayshore High School.

"He was a quiet kid in the back of the class. He was dependable, consistent," Jorgensen said. "He would come in early and help get things ready - move the chairs in place and get the room ready - and stayed late to help clean up, too. He was always quiet, but doing his part for the whole."

He was an 11th-grader at Bayshore when he asked his mom to sign a form so he could enlist in the Marines’ delayed-entry program.

"He wanted to join because his friends were joining," Sheila Cobb said. "He wanted to travel and get out of Bradenton. He wanted to better himself."

When Christopher came back to Bradenton, something inside him had changed.

"When he came back last fall, he came back in wearing his uniform. He was so proud. He had just finished basic. He seemed more relaxed," Jorgensen said. "I think the Marines gave him a sense of identity. A sense of pride that he didn't seem to have before."

It hurts Kaylee Morris, his 18-year-old cousin, to realize that he never got to read the four-page letter or snack on the beef jerky she mailed to him.

"It's been hard. Like when I got back the last package that I sent him," Morris said. "I mean I knew it was coming back, but I didn't expect it so soon. I got home from work and I just saw it there on my doorstep and started crying. It's the little things like that that make it hard."

"You have to believe that no life is given in vain," said Marlow, the minister. "Otherwise you have no reasoning for the insanity of war."

Contact Nevy Kaminski at nkaminski@bradentonherald.com

http://www.realcities.com/images/realcities/realcities/9263/85808827693.jpg

Age: 19
Home: Bradenton, Fla.
Pfc. Christopher R. Cobb
Two weeks after his family buried him, Sheila Cobb got a letter from her only son: "I am coming home alive and in one piece. I promise you that mom."


http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/echo_company/9227248.htm



Ellie