Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps visits Marines in Western Iraq

[thedrifter]

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps visits Marines in Western Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200482093041
Story by Cpl. Macario P. Mora Jr.



CAMP THUNDER, Iraq (Aug. 18, 2004) -- Sergeant Maj. John E. Estrada, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, paid a visit to more than 50 Marines from various units throughout Regimental Combat Team 7 Aug. 18, giving thanks for a job well done.

Estrada, 48, of Washington, D.C., was unable to visit with the commandant of the Marine Corps nearly a month ago. However, he took this opportunity to tell the group about future efforts and plans to make deployments easier and answered Marines' questions.

"We're going to do everything in our power to get those Marines who've missed out on coming here the chance," Estrada said. "That's what Marines do. They fight, and I know those Marines who haven't been here yet want to come."

The reenlistment rate has far surpassed other services, according to Estrada. He passed on his thanks to the Marines here.

"I wanted an opportunity to look you all in the eyes and say, 'thank you,'" Estrada said. "The commandant and I have bragging rights now because of you. It takes a special breed to do what we do. Being an all volunteer force just proves my point."

Estrada reminded them of what they've accomplished over the past year.

"You all have helped free nearly 25 million people," he said. "Because of your efforts and sacrifice the world is a safer place."

The constantly-traveling senior enlisted man in the Marine Corps promised he'd make every effort to visit Marines serving in a combat environment.

"I will continue to visit Marines out here until the last group leaves," Estrada said. "This is where it's at. This is what being a Marines is all about."

The visit imbued many Marines with renewed confidence in what they came here to do.

"It was great that he would come to see us," said Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hall, 18, an administrative clerk with RCT-7's Headquarters Company. "I know he has a lot on his plate being the sergeant major of the Marine Corps, so it was nice."

Hall was one of two Marines who received a coin from Estrada in recognition for their hard work.

"It was unexpected," said Hall, of Thomasville, Ga. "This is going to be one of those memories I'll never forget."

The experience was just as memorable for others in the crowd.

"It was very motivating," said Lance Cpl. Kendall L. Dawson, 20, a motor transportation operator with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, from Tuscaloosa, Ala. "Seeing him and meeting him in person made me want to strive to get were he is."

Throughout Estrada's speech, he emphasized one thing: his tremendous pride in the work they've accomplished and continue to do.

"I will not stand up here and lie to you," Estrada said. "But if anything, know that the commandant and I are very proud of you."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482093538/$file/SgtMaj1lr.jpg

Sergeant Maj. John E. Estrada, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, visited Marines from various units throughout Regimental Combat Team 7 in Western Iraq Aug. 18. Estrada thanked the Marines for a successful job and answered questions and concerns they had.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/907B78071211C44485256EF6004A3881?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

PHOTO ESSAY: Marine MPs key to convoy success in Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 2004821125142
Story by Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Aug. 21, 2004) -- Throughout Iraq, military policemen plow like locomotives along highways and dusty trails clearing the path for 1st Force Service Support Group supply convoys.

With watchful eyes, the MPs remain vigilant. Roads in Iraq are corridors of danger, laden with tire-popping obstacles and shrapnel-spraying improvised explosives. From palm groves and rooftops, insurgents take potshots with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

The Corps' cops from B Company, 2nd MP Battalion, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., and MP Company based in Camp Pendleton, Calif., have spent much of the past six months on the road, logging in tens of thousands of miles to guard the lifeline convoys which haul food, water, fuel and ammunition to Marines operating across Iraq.


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Standing atop his humvee at sunset, Lance Cpl. Chris Musick, with 3rd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Military Police Battalion, puts on his camouflage blouse in preparation for the departure of a Combat Service Support Battalion 15 supply convoy from Camp Taqaddum to Camp Fallujah on Aug. 2, 2004. The company, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., provides security to numerous 1st Force Service Support Group convoys trucking throughout Iraq's Al Anbar Province. As of Aug. 21, the company's three platoons based at Taqaddum have escorted more than 400 convoys with a total of more than 8,000 vehicles across 75,000 miles, according to Capt. Amy R. Ebitz, the company commander. Two other platoons operate out of different bases. Musick, 24, a native of Concord, Mass. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004821134844/$file/Musick040802_low.jpg

From the gun turret on top of his humvee, Lance Cpl. Chris Musick, with 3rd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Military Police Battalion, keeps an eye on an approaching vehicle while he and other Marine MPs guard an intersection while escorting a Combat Service Support Group 15 supply convoy from Camp Taqaddum to Camp Fallujah in Iraq on Aug. 2, 2004. The company, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., provides security to numerous 1st Force Service Support Group convoys trucking throughout Iraq's Al Anbar Province. As of Aug. 21, the company's three platoons based at Taqaddum have escorted more than 400 convoys with a total of more than 8,000 vehicles across 75,000 miles, according to Capt. Amy R. Ebitz, the company commander. Two other platoons operate out of different bases. Musick, 24, a native of Concord, Mass. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004821143747/$file/Rosales040802_low.jpg

Marine Corps military policeman, Lance Cpl. Arthur Rosales, with 3rd Platoon, B Company, 2nd MP Battalion, guards an intersection while escorting a Combat Service Support Group 15 supply convoy from Camp Taqaddum to Camp Fallujah in Iraq on Aug. 2, 2004. The company, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., provides security to numerous 1st Force Service Support Group convoys trucking throughout Iraq's Al Anbar Province. As of Aug. 21, the company's three platoons based at Taqaddum have escorted more than 400 convoys with a total of more than 8,000 vehicles across 75,000 miles, according to Capt. Amy R. Ebitz, the company commander. Two other platoons operate out of different bases. Rosales, 21, is a native of Lufkin, Texas. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

More pic's clicl link
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/352D69EE3611C22585256EF7005CA013?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Prisoner abuse trial to begin this week <br />
<br />
By: DARRIN MORTENSON - Staff Writer <br />
<br />
CAMP PENDLETON ---- More than a year after the unclaimed body of Nagem Sadoon Hatab was quietly buried behind a...

[thedrifter]

Shiite militants hold shrine amid disputes over its handover to religious leaders

By: ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI - Associated Press

NAJAF, Iraq -- Militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr kept their hold on a revered shrine, and clashes flared in Najaf on Saturday, raising fears that a resolution to the crisis in the holy city could collapse amid bickering between Shiite leaders.

An unofficial mediator pleaded with al-Sadr to disarm his militants, pull them out of the shrine and disband his militia immediately." We are in a race with time," said Hussein al-Sadr, a distant relative of the cleric.

Clashes between U.S. troops and al-Sadr fighters were brief but heavy, punctuated by gunfire and explosions, with one blast hitting the street 50 yards from the Imam Ali Shrine at the center of the standoff.


Marine Capt. Carrie Batson said U.S. troops came under mortar attack in the Old City and destroyed two militant mortar positions with gunfire and an Apache helicopter attack.

The fighting died down after about 45 minutes, returning the city to the relative calm that it has seen.

Still, the flare-up reflected the danger that peace efforts could fall apart once again, mired in last-minute delays. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia still held the Imam Ali Shrine, their stronghold throughout this month's fighting, and while it has agreed to hand it over to Shiite religious authorities, the two sides were squabbling over how to do so.

Meanwhile Saturday, a series of attacks targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces across the country killed a U.S. soldier, a Polish soldier and five Iraqis. Militants have been using car bombs, assassinations, sabotage, kidnappings and other attacks in a 16-month insurgency aimed at destabilizing the country.

The violence in Najaf, which had spread to other Shiite communities, posed the greatest risk to the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Government officials had threatened to raid the mosque to set an example to other insurgent groups, but such an operation risked turning the nation's majority Shiites against the government.

The crisis appeared on the verge of resolution Friday, when insurgents decided to remove their weapons from the shrine and said they were willing to turn the holy site over to representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani.

Then, the handover bogged down Saturday amid arguments over its implementation.

Al-Sadr's followers said they tried to give the shrine's keys to al-Sistani's representatives, who refused to accept them. But an aide to al-Sistani -- who is in London undergoing medical treatment -- said al-Sadr's followers must leave the holy shrine's compound, "close the doors and hand over the keys."

"We cannot receive the shrine compound unless they agree to this formula," said the aide, Sheik Hamed Khafaf.

Sheik Ali Smeisim, al-Sadr's chief lieutenant, said the militants would not leave until a delegation from al-Sistani's office inspects the shrine to ensure its treasures are intact, so they could not be accused of taking anything.

Khafaf said the violence precludes such a delegation.

In a hastily called news conference in Baghdad on Saturday evening, Hussein al-Sadr, who had headed a peace delegation to Najaf earlier in the week, appealed to the militants to end the standoff "to keep the sanctity of our holy sites, to ease the suffering of Najaf and to quiet the situation."

He asked al-Sadr himself to send him a handwritten letter with his response, which he promised to relay to the government. "I call on Muqtada al-Sadr -- and all our brothers and sisters -- to understand the depth of this crisis," he said.

The standoff has frustrated many in Najaf, who have suffered cuts in their water and electricity, had their streets rocked by explosions and seen scores of their neighbors killed since the fighting started Aug. 5.

"All parties are stalling," said Saeed Mohammed, 41. "There has been no change, only more shelling and clashes that have hurt the city even more."

The proposed handover of the shrine to religious authorities offered a face-saving way to end the fighting, allowing Iraq's interim government to keep its pledge not to negotiate and the militants to say they had not capitulated.

As the crisis continued, al-Sadr aide Sheik Awas al-Khafaji said Saturday that 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.

The kidnappers, calling themselves the Martyrs Brigade, threatened Thursday to kill Micah Garen, 36, of New York, within 48 hours if U.S. troops did not leave Najaf.

Al-Khafaji said Saturday that mediators told him the death threat had been removed and they were working for Garen's release.

"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."

Also Saturday, coalition forces arrested Maj. Gen. Jaadan Mohammed al-Alwan, the police chief of volatile Anbar province, accusing him of corruption and criminal activity, including extortion, embezzlement and accepting bribes, the U.S. military said in a statement. Al-Alwan also has possible connections with kidnapping and murder, the military said.

Al-Alwan's arrest was authorized by the Iraqi government, and he is to be replaced by an interim chief to be appointed by the governor, the statement said.

Violence continued Saturday elsewhere across Iraq:

--Insurgents bombed an oil pipeline in Berjisiya, 20 miles southwest of the southern city of Basra, setting it ablaze, said Lt. Mohammed al-Mousawi of the Iraqi National Guard. The pipeline had been closed for a week due to threats, and the attack did not appear likely to effect exports.

--Attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. military vehicle in Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding two others, the military said. As of Friday, 949 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations here in March 2003, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

--A Polish soldier was killed and six more were injured when a car bomb exploded near their convoy outside the city of Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad; Polish troops exchanged gunfire with the insurgents, killing some of them, Maj. Krzysztof Plazuk said. The death brought to 10 the number of Polish soldiers killed in Iraq.

-- An Iraqi National Guard soldier was killed and two guardsmen and three civilians were wounded when a bomb exploded in the northern city of Mosul, a guard official said.

-- Assailants detonated a roadside bomb after a U.S. convoy drove by in Baqouba, 35 miles outside of Baghdad, killing two civilians and injuring four, a hospital official said. A separate roadside bomb exploded in Sabtiya, near Baqouba, after a U.S. convoy passed, killing a street cleaner and wounding another Iraqi.

-- In Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, gunmen shot dead Lt. Col. Saad Smayer, a senior police officer, as he left home for work, police said.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/08/22/military/19_35_298_21_04.txt

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq's air force launches first flights since U.S. invasion

By: TODD PITMAN - Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's new air force took to the skies this week for the first time since the U.S. invaded last year and disbanded the country's armed forces, the U.S. military said.

Iraqi pilots on Wednesday flew two Seabird Seeker SB7L-360 reconnaissance aircraft on what the U.S. military described as "limited operations missions intended to protect infrastructure facilities and Iraq's borders."

The two light reconnaissance planes are fitted with surveillance systems that can transmit live video images to ground forces. They are the first of a fleet that will eventually number 10 light aircraft of "similar capability," the statement said.


Coalition forces and neighboring Jordan have been training Iraq's 162-member air force, which is expected to grow to about 500 by December 2004.

Former President Saddam Hussein invested a huge portion of the country's oil wealth to equip his air force during the 1980-88 war with Iran. At its height in the late 1980s, it listed nearly 750 combat aircraft, including Soviet MiGs and Sukhois and French Mirage fighters.

In the 1990s, Iraq's air force fell apart due to two wars with the United States and a dozen years of international sanctions.

British military officials helping form the new force are focusing on map-reading and navigation.

"The old air force had previously placed more of an emphasis on getting airborne before receiving direction from the ground on operational details and destinations," the statement said.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/08/22/military/19_35_388_21_04.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines in Iraq keep NBC skills sharp in case of attack
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200482262814
Story by Cpl. Macario P. Mora Jr.



CAMP RIPPER, Iraq (Aug. 19, 2004) -- Although no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, Marines here continue to hone their skills should such a destructive attack ever come.

Regimental Combat Team 7 selected more than a dozen Marines to train in becoming part of the Regiment's Monitor Survey Decontamination Team in case of a nuclear, biological or chemical attack during a two-day course Aug. 16-17.

"With this training this group of Marines should be able to set up a hasty decontamination site if necessary," said Staff Sgt. Robert W. McDaniels, the regiment's NBC chief.

The Marines learned about the different types of NBC agents, how to detect the agents and also how to set up a decontamination center for service members and equipment.

Such equipment included proper use and maintenance of the Mission-Oriented Protective Posture suit and the M-17 Field Protective Mask.

"They would be able to hand out MOPP gear and wash down vehicles," said McDaniels, 26, of Kettle Falls, Wash. "The vehicles wouldn't be fully decontaminated but enough so where they could be used again."

The Marines spent their first day in a classroom learning the different types of agents that might be used, how they might be used and how to detect them.

"They need a corpsman, so they chose me," said Navy Seaman Daniel T. McGowen, 22, a corpsman from Moore, Ok. "It's been a good experience so far though, much different than what I'm used to."

The team will stay together until their tours are over, according to McGowen.

The second day of training consisted of practical application, giving the service members the opportunity to put into practice what they learned the previous day.

"Today we showed them how to use the M-17, break it down, properly exchange MOPP suits and wash down the vehicles as well as set up the whole site," said Cpl. Julian N. Cofer, 21, an NBC instructor from Richardson, Texas. "We're going to show them all the little things that are hard to forget about but may save their life."

The team will train in NBC as frequently as possible, according to Cofer.

"The best thing for them is to keep up their knowledge," Cofer said. "It's hard to get training time because of different unit priorities but it's important they know what they're doing."

The team was assembled from Marines taken form various units, according to McDaniels.

"We didn't get to choose the Marines," McDaniels said. "They're all willing to learn and that is what matters."


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Staff Sgt. Robert W. McDaniels, 26, the NBC chief for the Regiment's Monitor Survey Decontamination Team from Kettle Falls, Wash. hands M9 Tape to Cpl. James R. Lazarewicz, 23, from Columbia Falls, Mont. The M9 tape will turn red if it comes into contact with chemical agents.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482263945/$file/NBC4lr.jpg

Navy Seaman Daniel T. McGowen, 22, a corpsman with Regimental Combat Team 7 from Moore, Okla., dons a gas mask during an NBC training exercise held at Al Asad Aug. 16 - 17.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20048226465/$file/NBC6lr.jpg

Cpl. James R. Lazarewicz, 23, from Columbia Falls, Montana, and Cpl. Bradley R. Zirkley, 25, from Castown, Ohio, of Regiment Combat Team 7, decontaminate a vehicle during an NBC training exercise held at Al Asad Aug. 16 - 17.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5E5A0CACA9E8999785256EF80039846B?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Echo Company

By David Swanson
Philadelphia Inquirer

ONEIDA, Wis. - Ryan Jerabek was enthralled with Ireland, his ancestral home. He and his older brother Aaron visited Ireland once, the fulfillment of a boyhood dream.

"He was an old soul," Aaron said. Ryan watched the History Channel, read a lot. Anything Celtic interested him.

Ryan and his good friend Mike Andrews joined the Marines while they were still in high school under a delayed-enlistment program. Both were 17. They needed their parents' permission. They left for boot camp in the summer of 2003, after graduating from Pulaski High School.

As a member of Echo Company's weapons platoon, Ryan wore a silver Celestial Celtic cross, jingling with his dog tags against his chest. Various symbols were etched in the metal: the sun, the moon, earth, water, fire and air, all meant to bring balance and harmony.

He also wore what he jokingly told his family were "BC glasses" - birth control glasses - military issue with plastic frames so ugly that they chased girls away.

In his eyeglasses case, he saved a folded ticket stub from a San Diego Padres game he attended as a reward for best platoon in boot camp.

In February, Echo Company flew from California to Germany and on to Kuwait, headed for Iraq. During the flight, the commanding officer asked the platoon sergeant to send up a hardworking Marine. Ryan got to sit in the cockpit of the C-17.

In a letter from what Ryan described as "one big giant sandbox" he wrote, "One of the section leaders said to me, 'Jerabek, you're always smiling and happy. You don't let anything get you down. Don't ever lose that. You are fortunate to have that characteristic. Fortunate.' "

In March, Echo Company arrived at Combat Outpost, the base in Ramadi.

On a bright cloudless day in April, Ryan, age 18, rode atop a green camouflaged Humvee as it turned a corner.

"Courage was no stranger to Ryan," his captain, Kelly Royer, wrote. Ambushed and trapped by enemy fire, "it was Ryan who laid down a superior volume of machine gun fire so that the other men around him could move to safety." He died in the fight April 6.

"He was a gift," his mother, Rita, said through tears. Her 10-year-old daughter, Sarah, had died of cancer when Rita was five months pregnant with Ryan. In almost every photo in the Jerabek home, older brother Aaron's arms are touching or wrapped around Ryan's shoulders.

In May, a month after Ryan was killed, a month after his brown-framed military glasses lay crushed in the sand, a package arrived at the Jerabek home. Inside was a white shield with the family crest painted on it and a polished silver and gold sword, presents that Ryan had ordered from Ireland in December.

Contact David Swanson at dswanson@phillynews.com

http://www.realcities.com/images/realcities/realcities/9263/85808846219.jpg

Age: 18
Home: Oneida, Wisconsin
Pfc. Ryan Jerabek
"One of the section leaders said, 'Jerabek, you're always smiling and happy. You don't let anything get you down. Don't ever lose that. You are fortunate to have that characteristic. Fortunate.' "

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/echo_company/9282959.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Cracks May Be Forming in Cleric's Rebel Camp <br />
Sadr's hold on the Shiite shrine in Najaf is in question after a day of captures and confusion. <br />
<br />
By Edmund Sanders and Henry Chu, Times Staff Writers...

[thedrifter]

Cleric gives shrine up to Shi'ites


By Abdul Hussein al-Obeidi
ASSOCIATED PRESS


NAJAF, Iraq — Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday ordered his fighters to hand over control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shi'ite religious authorities.
He took the action hours after U.S. forces bombed militant positions and Iraq's prime minister made a "final call" for the cleric's militia to surrender.

Blasts and gunbattles persisted throughout the day in the streets of Najaf, where militants bombarded a police station with mortar rounds, killing seven police officers and injuring 35 others. At night, at least 30 explosions shook the Old City as a U.S. plane hit militant targets east of the Imam Ali shrine.
U.S. forces also battled Sheik al-Sadr's supporters in a Baghdad slum, where militants said five fighters and five civilians were killed.
Also, late yesterday, an American warplane bombed targets in the Sunni city of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. Insurgents fired back mortars toward a U.S. base as calls of "God is great" and Koranic verses blared from the loudspeakers of Fallujah's mosques.
Militants elsewhere in Iraq attacked oil facilities in the north and south, fired mortars at U.S. Embassy offices in the capital, injuring one American, and threatened to kill two hostages, a Turkish worker and a U.S. journalist.
In a speech, Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi had warned the radical cleric to disarm his forces and withdraw from the shrine after his government threatened to send a massive Iraqi force to root them out.
Defying that ultimatum, Sheik al-Sadr sent a telephone text message vowing to seek "martyrdom or victory," and his jubilant followers inside the shrine danced and chanted.
Later in the day, a top al-Sadr aide said the cleric had ordered his militia to relinquish control of the shrine where they have been holed up for two weeks fighting Iraqi and U.S. forces. But in a letter shown by the Arab television station Al-Arabiya, Sheik al-Sadr said he would not disband his Mahdi's Army.
Sheik al-Sadr had said in recent days he wanted to make sure the shrine was in the custody of religious authorities, though it was not clear whether the government would agree to that.
The violence in the holy city between the insurgents and a combined U.S.-Iraqi force has angered many in Iraq's Shi'ite majority and proven a major challenge to Mr. Allawi's fledgling interim government as it tries to build credibility and prove it is not a U.S. puppet.
Any raid to oust militants from the Imam Ali shrine — especially one that damaged the holy site — could spark a far larger Shi'ite uprising. Government accusations that militants have mined the shrine compound and reports that women and children were among those inside could further complicate a raid.
Some of those in the compound were "dancing and cheering," a CNN journalist reported from inside the shrine, where she was among journalists escorted there with help from the Iraqi government, the U.S. military and Sheik al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army.
"They are all very proud to be in here and seem to be very adamant about staying in here," CNN reporter Kianne Sadeq said. "They aren't going anywhere until the fighting is over."
In the impoverished Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City — named for the cleric's late father — U.S. tanks moved throughout the streets and helicopter gunships shot at al-Sadr militants. The militants said five fighters and five civilians were killed.
There was no certainty that the latest offer from Sheik al-Sadr to withdraw would be implemented, as both sides appeared to be engaged in brinkmanship.
Yesterday's violence came a day after Sheik al-Sadr had accepted an Iraqi delegation's peace plan for Najaf that demanded he disarm his militia, leave the shrine and turn to politics in exchange for amnesty. But he continued to attach conditions the government rejected, and fighting persisted.
Reiterating his government's refusal to negotiate with the armed militants, Mr. Allawi had called on Sheik al-Sadr to personally accept the government's demands to end the Najaf fighting — not through aides or letters as he has been communicating so far.
"When we hear from him and that he is committed to execute these conditions we will ... give him and his group protection," the prime minister said in a Baghdad press conference.
In Washington, the Bush administration said Sheik al-Sadr needed to match words with deeds. "We have seen many, many times al-Sadr assume or say he is going to accept certain terms and then it turns out not to be the case," said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.



http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20040819-111615-9888r.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

'It's the nicest place in Iraq' <br />
<br />
By Doug Struck <br />
Washington Post <br />
8/22/2004 <br />
<br />
HADITHA DAM, Iraq - &quot;Welcome to this dam place,&quot; said Maj. Mark Winn. He couldn't resist. &quot;Take all the dam pictures...

[thedrifter]

Her thoughts are on Dad in Iraq
This high-achieving 10-year-old focuses on her activities until the day her family can be together again.

By Michael Ordoña, Times Staff Writer


Madison Holcomb has an awful lot on her résumé already: class president, treasurer and "supreme judge" of her class' disciplinary court (the last two simultaneously); a 4.0 GPA last year; member of her school's swim team; fourth-year Girl Scout and active in a community group that pairs volunteers with the elderly for service and companionship.

Naturally, this articulate 10-year-old from Twentynine Palms wants to become the first woman president of the United States.

"I'd like to have no taxes," she says, "and I would have everybody equal. Everyone would have money, even the poor people."

This summer was shaping up like any other, including a trip to the Girl Scouts' Camp Azalea Trails near Idyllwild (thanks to the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign). But there's something very different this year: Staff Sgt. David Holcomb, her father, golf buddy and "other" swim coach, is in the midst of a 14-month deployment to Iraq.

He's been gone for 147 days, says his wife, Michaela. He'll be home next April, but for now he's back for two precious weeks. This is the first time that Holcomb has been deployed. Michaela says, "Other families in the 7th Marines know how to deal with it better because they've done it before. If the kids don't hear from him for a while, they worry. We wait for the next phone call."

"If we haven't had dinner but he says he's going to call at a certain time, then we hurry home from practice," Madison says. "When I got 100 on my tests I'd send them off to him so he could hang them in his room."

Holcomb's unit is in Al Anbar province, about 100 miles west of Baghdad.

"Our area's relatively quiet," he says, explaining that the situation has improved. "When we first got there, we took rockets, mortar rounds."

Michaela limits Madison's exposure to the news. "I have to be extremely open with her," she says. "I'd prefer for her to be able to ask questions of us."

Jessica Lawrence, fund development associate at Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, says that Madison was an outstanding candidate for a campership because of the leadership she has shown but also because of Holcomb's deployment.

"We knew that Madison would want a special experience this summer, a chance for her to get away and explore things," Lawrence says. "She's such a bright and spirited young woman, interested in learning about things. She's a perfect person to go to camp."

About 11,000 children will go to camp this summer, thanks to $1.6 million raised last year.

The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make donations by credit card, go to latimes.com/summercamp.

To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-et-camp20aug20,1,4723503.story


Ellie

[thedrifter]

31st MEU headed to Middle East


By Fred Zimmerman, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, August 22, 2004


CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit recently received orders to the Middle East, where it will support Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to a Marine news release.

An MEU comprises four elements — command, aviation, ground combat and combat service support — according to 2nd Lt. Antony Andrious, Marine spokesman on Okinawa. He said there are more than 2,000 Marines and sailors in the MEU.

Earlier reports stated that nearly 1,000 Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment — the MEU’s ground combat element — were deploying to the Middle East. Those Marines are based in Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, but they have been on Okinawa since July under a six-month Unit Deployment Program.

The air combat element of the MEU is Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265, which lost a CH-53D helicopter when it crashed Aug. 13 at Okinawa International University.

Ginowan City officials stated Friday that 17 helicopters — 12 CH-46s, 2 UH-1s and 3 AH-1 Cobras — left Futenma Marine Corps Air Station. They also reported that 16 of the helicopters landed on the USS Essex at White Beach Naval Facility. Marine Corps officials refused to confirm that the helicopters were from HMM-265 or if they were deploying with the MEU.

According to Andrious, the USS Essex out of Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, is transporting the MEU.

The Marines are “still preparing and still loading up” and should be leaving Okinawa sometime over the next week or so, said a Marine Corps official at the Pentagon.

The official said the length of the deployment — usually seven months for Marines — “remains to be seen.”


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=23962


Ellie

[thedrifter]

1st Marine Division battle colors pass on to new hands
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2004822121232
Story by 1st Lt. Eric M. Knapp



CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq (Aug. 21, 2004) -- "Sergeant major, deliver the colors to the commanding general," boomed the narrator.

In a small ceremony in an Al Asad airplane hangar Aug. 20, Brig. Gen. Richard F. Natonski received the battle colors of the 1st Marine Division and his new command from Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis.

"Marines, sailors, soldiers of the 1st Marine Division, you have done a job greatly in the past and I know you'll continue on doing it," Natonski said. "Just remember we are no 'better friend, no worse enemy' in the 1st Marine Division."

Natonski, who commanded the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - better known as Task Force Tarawa - last year in Iraq, was frocked by Conway to the rank of major general Aug. 21 in a separate private ceremony in Fallujah.

"I am really proud to be part of the 1st Marine Division," Natonski said. "I never dreamed this in a million years, just to be here among those professionals who are in this audience, that are out on patrol, that are spread throughout this province and that are back at Camp Pendleton. This really is a first-class outfit."

Natonski's way ahead for the division includes both those deployed overseas and those back home.

"He understands this is a warfighting division, but there is a behind-the-scenes part of that, which is the family program," said Sgt. Maj. Robert N. Thomas, acting division sergeant major. "If that chain is broken, if families are disrupted, that disrupts the warfighting readiness of our Marines."

"If not for our families, our jobs would be much harder," Natonski added.

Mattis relinquished command of the oldest and most decorated division in the Marine Corps to Natonski after serving two years as commanding general.

The division has deployed twice to Iraq during Mattis' time in command. It has been an arduous task that the Marines, sailors and soldiers have stepped up to accomplish.

"In the last 5 1/2 months we have taken 1,555 killed and wounded," Mattis said. "Out here, our soldiers, sailors and Marines are giving 100% and continue do so. General Natonski, you are inheriting probably one of the finest commands privileged in America."

Mattis credited Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commanding general of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, with his parting words to Natonski.

"There are two words General Conway gave me when he handed me the battle colors two years ago when we prepared for what we knew was coming," Mattis said. "Those two words that I will pass on to you: 'honor it.'"

Those words have special meaning to those that command the division, according to Thomas.

"When it's time for you to pass the torch on, you take it and say to the next person 'honor it,'" Thomas said. "That is a tradition of words that have been passed from division commander to division commander. Hopefully that chain has never been broken."

The ceremony was not complete without an invocation from the 1st Marine Division chaplain, Father Bill Devine.

"As one relinquishes command he thanks you not only for the opportunities and challenges he's been given, but for the privilege of leading Marines, sailors and soldiers in battle," said Devine.

Both generals extolled on those battle-proven troops of the 1st Marine Division.

"Our most important asset is not our M-16, it's not our M1-A1 tank, or our laptops," Natonski explained. "It's the individual Marine. Our success is not due to our superior technology. What really matters in Fallujah and Ramadi is one individual with a rifle next to another."

The outgoing Mattis gave his praise of the Leathernecks in his own unique fashion.

"Obviously, I owe a great deal of thanks to the cocky, rambunctious, oftentimes obnoxious grunts who are always willing to go in harm's way," said Mattis. "I stand in awe of them every single day."

Both incoming and outgoing generals then stood before Conway while he read their citations for the Distinguished Service Medal. Both received the medal for their great part in last year's offensive.

Mattis will go on to take command of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va. He has led Marines in combat in Desert Storm, Afghanistan and last year's march to Baghdad.

"Under his leadership, the division conducted the longest sequence of coordinated overland attacks in the history of the United States Marine Corps and added yet another laurel to the Division's historical wreath," read Mattis' medal citation.

Natonski was commended in his citation for securing the bridges in An Nasiriyah and liberating the city during a bloody eight-day battle, allowing the 1st Marine Division to use a major highway for their attack to Baghdad.

An F-18 flew low and fast overhead after each man was awarded, signaling the National Anthem. All three generals stood together one last time, saluting the colors before being dismissed.

The ceremony over, Mattis flew back to the U.S., accompanied by many of his Marines.

Mattis left the 1st Marine Division with these words, printed in a letter to the troops:

"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 - MATTIS SENDS"

Natonski, however, returned to his new command in Ramadi, where he addressed those very same Marines for the first time.

"Cherish the time that you have here," said Natonski. "I have heard stories from regimental commanders of Marines who will not even take (rest and relaxation) back at their base camp because they don't want to leave their squad buddies. What a testament to the Marines that we have. Take care of these Marines and they'll take care of you."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004822123629/$file/CHANGE4lr.jpg

Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis and Brig. Gen. Richard F. Natonski salute at the playing of "Ruffles and Flourishes" during the 1st Marine Division change of command ceremony at Al Asad, Aug. 20.
(USMC Photo by Staff Sgt. Paul L. Anstine II) Photo by: Staff Sgt. Paul L. Anstine II

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004822124545/$file/CHANGE7lr.jpg

Sgt. Maj. Robert N. Thomas, acting 1st Marine Division sergeant major, returns the colors during the 1st Marine Division change of command ceremony between Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis and Brig. Gen. Richard F. Natonski at Al Asad, Aug. 20.
(USMC Photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan C. Knauth) Photo by: Staff Sgt. Jonathan C. Knauth

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482212547/$file/FROCK3lr.jpg

Lt. Gen. James T. Conway frocked Brig. Gen. Richard F. Natonski to the rank of major general Aug. 21 in a private ceremony at Camp Fallujah. Natonski took command of the 1st Marine Division Aug. 20.
(USMC Photo by Sgt. Robert E. Jones) Photo by: Sgt. Robert E. Jones

More pic's on link
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/8E0AC319CD0AD2BA85256EF8005909E6?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Love in a time of war

The wedding may go on, without the groom.

By Dianna Marder and David Swanson

Inquirer Staff Writers


Oh, the things we do for love.

When U.S. Marine Second Lt. Tommy Cogan, a 23-year-old nice guy from Philadelphia now serving in Iraq, and Theresa Elizabeth Arnold fell in love last year, no one imagined it would take an act of the California Legislature for them to marry.

But it will.

Before the legislative session adjourns on Friday, both the state Senate and Assembly are expected to overwhelmingly pass a bill that would let military men and women serving overseas in combat marry their stateside sweethearts by proxy.

No wedding date has been set, but all concerned are hoping the ceremony can happen before the bride gives birth.

She's due at the end of September - and it's a girl.

Hence the urgency. Cogan can't just leave his duty in Iraq. And until now, California law has demanded that the groom be present.

So Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the bill, and there is speculation the governor may even stand in for the groom at the wedding.

"I don't know if Theresa sees the enormity of what she's done," said Cogan's mother, Roberta. "But I am so grateful. The law is going to make a huge difference."

•

Tommy Cogan is a platoon leader in Echo Company, Sec-ond Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment, which since March has been in Ramadi, on the main road between Baghdad and Jordan. A Sunni stronghold, it is among the most dangerous places in Iraq, and this Marine battalion has suffered the most casualties in the war.

"Tommy knew in high school he wanted to join the service," his father said. "He never seemed to shake far from this dream."

Tom Cogan 3d and his wife, a Philadelphia teacher and a retail manager, live in Lawncrest. Anxiety is apparent in their voices all the time now. Tom Cogan says they can't help "listening for the doorbell at odd hours."

Tommy, their only son, graduated from Central High and went to Niagara University, in New York, where he played hockey and majored in political science.

After graduation, Tommy Cogan joined the Marines. He was in Quantico, Va., for training when he met Theresa.

"They were in a bar," his father began. He likes to tell this story because it shows Theresa's strength.

"Tommy comes in feeling good and he talks to Theresa and gets her phone number. Now he's thinking he's hot stuff, so he walks around to another part of the bar and starts talking to another girl.

"Well, Theresa saw that and she came over and said, 'Lose my number, pal' - and walked out.

"Tommy was shocked. But that intrigued him. He gave up on the second girl and he and Theresa have been together ever since."

•

Theresa Arnold, 23, knows Army life. Born in Germany, where her father was stationed, she lived in Hawaii and Indiana before the family settled down in Fredericksburg, Va.

She was celebrating her 22d birthday with a girlfriend the night she met Cogan and discovered their mutual interest in the military. She was majoring in administration of justice at George Mason University.

The two talked about marriage early on and he made sure his parents met her before he left in November 2003 for Camp Pendleton, Calif.

As soon as her semester ended, Theresa drove out to be with Cogan and he surprised her with an engagement ring.

"He proposed," she said, "the moment I got there."

In February, Cogan left for Iraq, and soon after, Theresa learned she was carrying his child. Although he is slated to return from Iraq late next month, Cogan knows he could be delayed, or worse.

"In his letters he said he was nervous about being a father," Theresa said. "And he told me to find a way for us to get married right away."

•

The essayist Diane Ackerman wrote that love is an "ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization... a force so powerful it has altered the flow of history... and made mincemeat of kings."

She would likely agree that getting Republican and Democratic legislators in California to even consider Senate Bill 7 so late in the session - when the state didn't even have a budget - was quite a coup.

As San Diego Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith, a former member of the state assembly, tells it, the would-be bride came into the courthouse in late June. She was looking for a judge to conduct her wedding ceremony and was told it could not happen without the groom.

When Goldsmith caught wind of the bride and groom's situation, he was appalled.

"I said, 'Let's change the law - that's ridiculous!' " Goldsmith recalled.

It didn't seem right, he said, that the nation asking Cogan to risk his life should deny him the opportunity to marry in time to give his child the security of medical benefits.

No one seems to know why the question of proxy marriage for military men and women had not presented itself forcefully before. Only three states - Texas, Colorado and Montana - allow any form of proxy marriage.

The deadline for introducing bills was in February, but Goldsmith got the ranking Republican, Sen. James L. Brulte, and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, a Democrat, to coauthor the legislation.

"It was a logistical nightmare," said Tom Sheehy, Brulte's legislative aide. "I told Brulte: 'This can't happen.' He said: 'Tom, get it done.' "

Officially, Schwarzenegger's office has no comment on whether he will sign the bill, let alone stand in for the groom. But Goldsmith trusts that the governor will sign it. Nearly everyone who hears about this volunteers to stand in for the groom.

"I can't believe the governor would turn down that photo opportunity," said Goldsmith, who is among the volunteers.

•

In May, just after his company experienced some of its heaviest losses in combat, Cogan got letters from fourth graders at Chester A. Arthur elementary school, where his father teaches kindergarten.

The students wanted to know if he was scared or hungry. What is it like to be in combat, they asked? As a leader, how do you feel when your men get killed?

"During the firefights I didn't have time to think about it," Cogan wrote back. "But when the dust settles it really hits home.

"I lost some great Marines and my best friend... . It hurt pretty bad picking up their bodies and taking them to get sent home.

"The hardest part is writing to their families. I always wonder if they blame me for what has happened.

"My only regret," he wrote, "is not being there for my future child's birth."

And in her own letter to Brulte, Theresa put it this way: "We both want our child to be taken care of if anything were to happen to him... . He is a good, honorable man and definitely deserves this."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Dianna Marder at 215-854-4211 or dmarder@phillynews.com. Inquirer staff photographer David Swanson was embedded with Echo Company in Iraq; see his work at http://go.philly.com/echocompany.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/9461518.htm?ERIGHTS=-5261205729798087856philly::moms_taxi2002@yahoo.com&KRD_RM=3psmoqqollssosjjjjjjjjlnnm|E|Y&is_rd=Y


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Najaf Shrine Wall Hit by U.S. Fire-Shi'ite Cleric

Sun Aug 22, 4:48 PM ET

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A senior commander of Shi'ite militants holed up inside a Najaf shrine said the wall of the mosque was hit by U.S. fire on Sunday night.



Sheikh Ahmed al-Sheibani, who is also a top adviser to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said it was hit during fighting.


It was not immediately possible to independently confirm the accusation. Serious damage to the shrine would enrage millions of Shi'ites around the world and give Sadr political ammunition in his rebellion against U.S. troops.


A U.S. AC-130 gunship hit suspected positions held by Sadr's fighters earlier on Sunday in an apparent bid to break their will.


Although U.S. troops outpower Sadr's men with tanks and aerial support, any raid on the shrine could backfire and fuel anti-American sentiment, which is already running high in Iraq (news - web sites), where Shi'ites make up 60 percent of the population.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040822/ts_nm/iraq_najaf_shrine_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480


Ellie