Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Visits Marines of HMM-263

[thedrifter]

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Visits Marines of HMM-263

Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 20048235220
Story by Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers



FORWARD OPERATING BASE AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Aug. 19, 2004) -- Marines from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, were honored Aug. 19, with a visit by Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John Estrada, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott.

Here, they praised the Marines and sailors participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom for the time and sacrifices they’ve made.

“The world is a much safer place because you’re in it,” said Estrada to a captive audience. “Thank you for serving at this point in our nation’s history.”

Marines of the 24th MEU were happily surprised to see their senior enlisted travel into such a dangerous area just to express their encouragement to the troops.

“It’s nice to know they aren’t afraid to come to a combat zone to [speak to us],” said Sgt. Ray Warman, 24, a native of Millington, Tenn., and CH-46E air framer with HMM-263.

But it wasn’t just the daily hazards of living in Iraq that made this a surprise visit, but also their decision to speak at one of the smaller bases in Iraq.

“I never thought he’d come to [Forward Operating Base Al Taqaddum],” said Lance Cpl. Leonel Ramos, 23, an operations clerk with HMM-263 and a native of Bridgeport, Conn.,. “You’d think that he’d just go to the bigger bases, but it was nice to see [him] come here.”

Estrada began his speech by expressing his camaraderie towards our fellow sailors, and the important role they play in the war against terrorism.

“The reason [Scott and I] are traveling together is to remind everyone that this battle is being fought by the Navy-Marine Corps team,” said Estrada.

He also shared stories of his personal experiences with the troops before giving the Marines here an opportunity to ask questions.

“I was walking one day, and was stopped by a total stranger who began thanking me for what I do for my country,” Estrada told the Marines and sailors. “What she really meant was, ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done to keep our country safe.’”

In addition to offering encouragement, Estrada brought some good news for the troops of the 24th MEU.

“ I was really happy to hear we’re still looking at seven month rotations,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class William Galegor, 29, a native of Saint Louis, Mo., and hospital corpsman with HMM-263.

This was a significant announcement for the troops of the 24th MEU since the MEU’s last deployment was extended in excess of nine months. The Marines and sailors realize that their time in country is dependent on the mission, but they appreciate knowing their return date hasn’t changed yet.

Before leaving, Estrada and Scott’s closing remarks encouraged each member of the 24th MEU to be proud that they represent the highest standards of military tradition.

“Each of you here serve with pride and dignity,” said Scott. “Continue to be the role-models our nation looks up to.”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20048235257/$file/040819-M-1250B-001low.jpg

Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps John Estrada speaks to the Marines and sailors of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, during his visit to Forward Operating Base Al Taqaddum, Iraq.
Estrada was accompanied by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott. Together, they praised the troops for their participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom and for the time they’ve given/devoted and sacrifices they’ve made.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FD0AFC76838F63D085256EF900337429?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Forces, Militants Battle in Najaf

By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI

NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf on Monday amid fierce battles between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, who remained in control of a revered shrine here as negotiations dragged on for its handover to religious authorities.

In the southern city of Nasiriyah, kidnappers released U.S. journalist Micah Garen on Sunday after more than a week in captivity. Garen confirmed his release in comments to Al-Jazeera television and thanked radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's representative for helping secure his release.

Four over an hour Monday, militants in the holy city of Najaf fired mortars at U.S. troops, who responded with artillery, residents said.

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Late Sunday, U.S. warplanes and helicopters attacked positions in the Old City for the second night, witnesses said. Militant leaders said the Imam Ali Shrine compound's outer walls were damaged in the attacks.

The U.S. military said it had fired on sites south of the shrine, from which militants were shooting, and did not hit the compound wall.

Also, five U.S. troops were reported dead in separate incidents, and an American journalist held hostage for more than a week and threatened with death if U.S. forces did not leave Najaf was released by his captors.

Sunday's clashes in Najaf appeared more intense than in recent days as U.S. forces sealed off the Old City. But Iraqi government officials counseled patience, saying they intended to resolve the crisis without raiding the shrine, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites.

"The government will leave no stone unturned to reach a peaceful settlement," Iraqi National Security adviser Mouaffaq al-Rubaie told The Associated Press. "It has no intention or interest in killing more people or having even the most trivial damage to the shrine. We have a vested interest in a peaceful settlement."

Senior government officials said last week an Iraqi force was preparing to raid the shrine within hours to expel the militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, but interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi quickly backed off that threat.

Such an operation would anger Shiites across the country and could turn them against the new government as it tries to gain legitimacy and tackle a 16-month-old insurgency.

In the Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni insurgency, four U.S. Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in separate incidents, the military announced Sunday.

One Marine was killed in action Saturday and two others died Saturday of wounds received while conducting "security and stability operations" in the province, the military said. Another Marine was killed Saturday when his Humvee flipped after running into a tank, the military said.

A roadside bomb attack Sunday targeting a U.S. military convoy outside the northern city of Mosul killed one U.S. soldier assigned to Task Force Olympia and wounded another, the military said. The injured soldier was in stable condition. Two Iraqi children also were injured in the blast, said Dr. Mohammed Ahmed of al-Jumhuri hospital.

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.

Late Sunday, Garen, who was kidnapped Aug. 13 in Nasiriyah, was released along with his Iraqi translator at al-Sadr's offices there after the cleric's aides appealed for his freedom.

Garen and his translator, Amir Doushi, were walking through a market when two armed men in civilian clothes seized them, police said. Insurgents later released a video of Garen and threatened to kill him if U.S. troops did not leave Najaf.

In a brief interview with the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera after his release, Garen thanked al-Sadr's representatives for their work, which included an appeal to the kidnappers during Friday prayers.

Sheik Aws al-Khafaji, an al-Sadr aide, said the kidnappers mistakenly had thought Garen was working for the U.S. intelligence services.

"The kidnappers listened to the call that we made during Friday prayers, and they contacted us and we asked them to bring him to (al-Sadr's) office and promised that no one would pursue them," al-Khafaji said.

In Najaf, U.S. tanks rumbled down deserted streets Sunday, while sporadic gunfire filled the air. The roads leading to the shrine were muddied and filled with chunks of concrete ripped from the streets. Black smoke trailed from a building, as the clatter of automatic gunfire rang out.

In the afternoon a fierce battle between the military and al-Sadr's militants broke out when insurgents launched a mortar barrage at U.S. troops, witnesses said. Calm returned to the city after about half an hour.

Early Sunday, U.S. warplanes bombed the Old City and the sounds of shelling could be heard in the streets, witnesses said. The U.S. military could not confirm the bombing.

At least three people were killed and 18 injured during overnight fighting, said Tawfiq Mohammed of Najaf General Hospital.

Fighting in the nearby city of Kufa on Saturday killed 40 militants, according to the Interior Ministry. However, Mahmoud al-Soudani, an al-Sadr aide, called the claim "government propaganda" and said only one militant had been killed.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/08/23/ap/headlines/d84kqpjg1.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Blasts, gunfire shake Najaf as talks drag

By: ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI - Associated Press

NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold.

Late Sunday, U.S. warplanes and helicopters attacked positions in the Old City for the second night with bombs and gunfire, witnesses said. Militant leaders said the Imam Ali Shrine compound's outer walls were damaged in the attacks.

The U.S. military, which has been careful to avoid damaging the compound, said it fired on sites south of the shrine, where militants were shooting from, and did not hit the compound wall.


Also, five U.S. troops were reported dead in separate incidents, and an American journalist held hostage for more than a week and threatened with death if U.S. forces did not leave Najaf was released by his captors.

Sunday's clashes in Najaf appeared more intense than in recent days as U.S. forces sealed off the Old City. But Iraqi government officials counseled patience, saying they intended to resolve the crisis without raiding the shrine, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites.

"The government will leave no stone unturned to reach a peaceful settlement," Iraqi National Security adviser Mouaffaq al-Rubaie told The Associated Press. "It has no intention or interest in killing more people or having even the most trivial damage to the shrine. We have a vested interest in a peaceful settlement."

Senior government officials said last week an Iraqi force was preparing to raid the shrine within hours to expel the militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, but interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi quickly backed off that threat.

Such an operation would anger Shiites across the country and could turn them against the new government as it tries to gain legitimacy and tackle a 16-month-old insurgency.

In the Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni insurgency, four U.S. Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in separate incidents, the military announced Sunday.

One Marine was killed in action Saturday and two others died Saturday of wounds received while conducting "security and stability operations" in the province, the military said. Another Marine was killed Saturday when his Humvee flipped after running into a tank, the military said.

A roadside bomb attack Sunday targeting a U.S. military convoy outside the northern city of Mosul killed one U.S. soldier assigned to Task Force Olympia and wounded another, the military said. The injured soldier was in stable condition. Two Iraqi children also were injured in the blast, said Dr. Mohammed Ahmed of al-Jumhuri hospital.

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.

Late Sunday, U.S. journalist Micah Garen, who was kidnapped Aug. 13 in the southern city of Nasiriyah, was released along with his Iraqi translator at al-Sadr's offices there after the cleric's aides appealed for his freedom.

Garen and his translator, Amir Doushi, were walking through a market when two armed men in civilian clothes seized them, police said. Insurgents later released a video of Garen and threatened to kill him if U.S. troops did not leave Najaf.

In a brief interview with the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera after his release, Garen thanked al-Sadr's representatives for their work, which included an appeal to the kidnappers during Friday prayers.

Sheik Aws al-Khafaji, an al-Sadr aide, said the kidnappers mistakenly had thought Garen was working for the U.S. intelligence services.

"The kidnappers listened to the call that we made during Friday prayers, and they contacted us and we asked them to bring him to (al-Sadr's) office and promised that no one would pursue them," al-Khafaji said.

In Najaf, U.S. tanks rumbled down deserted streets Sunday, while sporadic gunfire filled the air. The roads leading to the shrine were muddied and filled with chunks of concrete ripped from the streets. Black smoke trailed from a building, as the clatter of automatic gunfire rang out.

In the afternoon a fierce battle between the military and al-Sadr's militants broke out when insurgents launched a mortar barrage at U.S. troops, witnesses said. Calm returned to the city after about half an hour.

U.S. forces sealed off the Old City, the center of the more than two weeks of fighting here, restoring a cordon that had been loosened in recent days.

Several mortar attacks targeted police offices in the city, but no one was injured, officials said.

Early Sunday, U.S. warplanes bombed the Old City and the sounds of shelling could be heard in the streets, witnesses said. The U.S. military could not confirm the bombing.

At least three people were killed and 18 injured during overnight fighting, said Tawfiq Mohammed of Najaf General Hospital.

Fighting in the nearby city of Kufa on Saturday killed 40 militants, according to the Interior Ministry. However, Mahmoud al-Soudani, an al-Sadr aide, called the claim "government propaganda" and said only one militant had been killed.

Al-Sadr himself has not been seen in public in days, but al-Soudani said the cleric was in good health and remained in Najaf.

The crisis in Najaf, which has spread to other Shiite communities, appeared on the verge of resolution Friday, when insurgents agreed to turn over the shrine to representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani.

But the transfer has bogged down amid quibbling over technicalities. Representatives from both sides said Sunday they were still working out the details.

Al-Rubaie said the government was willing to wait while the two sides worked out an agreement on the shrine, but added that al-Sadr needed to dismantle his Mahdi militia as well to end the violence.

"He has to show definite signs that he agrees, whether going on television or signing an agreement promising that he will disband the army," he said. "It's very important. We cannot live in a peaceful, democratic country with a militia."

Also Sunday, Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski paid a visit to his troops in Iraq and said the persistent attacks here would not deter Poland from fulfilling its commitments.

Attending a memorial Mass for a Polish soldier killed in a bombing Saturday, he said: "Let us make a vow that his death will not be in vain, that we will go on with our mission." Poland has about 2,400 troops in Iraq.

In other violence Sunday:

_ A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb alongside the convoy carrying a deputy provincial governor, Bassam al-Khadran, in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The blast killed two people and injured 14 others, including al-Khadran, Iraqi officials said.

_ In Jur al-Nadaf, 12 miles south of Baghdad, attackers sprayed a police vehicle with machine-gun fire, killing two policemen before fleeing, said Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman of the Interior Ministry.

_ In Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a car, killing an Indonesian citizen and injuring a Filipino, hospital officials said. Two Iraqis, the car's driver and a bodyguard, were also killed in the attack, Dr. Dhia Taha said.

_ In the southern city of Basra, an Iraqi intelligence officer kidnapped nearly a week ago and threatened with death if U.S. and Iraqi forces did not end the violence in Najaf was found dead, his body riddled with bullets, police said Sunday.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/08/23/military/21_55_228_22_04.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

In Najaf House for the Dead, a First Taste of War
By ALEX BERENSON

Published: August 22, 2004


NAJAF, Iraq, Aug. 21 - After years of training, years of waiting, the marines of C Company 1-4 finally got to fight this month, when they entered into a battle as fierce as any that American troops have seen since Vietnam.

Now, as the battle in Najaf lurches toward a possible cease-fire, the 120 men in the company that spearheaded the attack are grappling with what they saw early this month during the opening days of the fight. They were pitted against the militia of Moktada al-Sadr, the rebel Shiite cleric who is basing his insurgency at a famous shrine here, in an immense 1,000-year-old cemetery where much of the warfare ensued.

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Iraq is trying to control the religious and political effects of the battle, but the men who fought it face more personal consequences.

"You spend eight years training for days like these, and it seems like your entire goal is to get in an environment like this," said Capt. Matthew T. Morrissey, the company commander. "But when you get into it, the reality of it smacks you in the face."

Some marines have told friends and family members back home about killing enemy fighters who were only a few yards away, about the sight and stench of bodies baking in the sun, about mortar shells that exploded just a few feet from them and sprayed them with shrapnel. Others keep the details to themselves, hoping to avoid frightening their wives or parents.

Marines pride themselves on their willingness and ability to fight. At least since the Vietnam War, the marines' unofficial combat motto has been "get some." The unit stationed in Najaf, the First Battalion of the Fourth Marines, saw almost no action last year during the first phase of the Iraq war, and many marines here say they looked forward to changing that when they arrived in the holy city in July.

But the fight with Mr. Sadr's guerrillas has left the men of C Company with a different perspective. The marines remain confident in their abilities, proud of the fight, and many are eager to finish off Mr. Sadr.

But others say they would be satisfied with a peaceful solution, acknowledging that the risk of damage to the shrine of Imam Ali means that American forces cannot bring the full power of their heaviest weapons to bear on Mr. Sadr's guerrillas.

On Wednesday, the Army battalion at this dusty base on the northern edge of Najaf held a funeral for two soldiers killed in fighting in the cemetery. But the marines have not yet held funerals for five marines who died, including four in the first two days of fighting.

While fighting here has slowed in the last two days, the men here do not delude themselves about the reason for the delay. Until Mr. Sadr and the interim Iraqi government agree to a truce, the battle is not over, and they must be prepared for the reality that more men may die. They would rather see one joint funeral than a succession of individual services, they say.

"There's a possibility that there's gonna be more," said Cpl. Joey W. McBroom of Lafayette, Tenn. "We should do it all together, because they all died together."

But the cemetery fight sticks in the minds of the men. C Company was not the only unit in the cemetery, a warren of graves and mausoleums that is nearly two miles wide and three miles long. Nearly the entire battalion of 1,200 troops participated in the battle, at least on the fringes.

Even on the edge of the cemetery, fighting was heavy, said Cpl. Greg Confer, who joined in the battle that C Company led. Corporal Confer said his most vivid memory of the attack was the moment that he and other marines killed a guerrilla who had been shooting at him.

"The guy didn't move, he just stood there," Corporal Confer said. "He already had his try. It's him or me. I'm just pretty happy it was me." Corporal Confer said he had thought about the man he killed since the battle ended.

"I wondered if he was a father," he said. "What did he have going for him?"

But the marines in C Company were at the point of attack. They pushed their way on foot through the crumbling brick graveyard, which is filled with memorials to Shiite Muslims buried there from far and wide.

With graves stacked nearly on top of each other and burial chambers the size of small houses, the cemetery is a complex and forbidding place. Mr. Sadr's guerrillas knew the terrain intimately and had spent months setting up arms caches and snipers' nests.

The result was combat at extremely close quarters, nearly hand-to-hand, carried out in 120-degree heat. Insurgents popped up from catacombs and sprayed automatic rifle fire as marines approached. From positions near the shrine, Mr. Sadr's guerrillas launched hundreds of mortar shells, forcing marines to hide behind graves or even in mausoleums.

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C Company pushed almost a mile west into the cemetery and killed scores, if not hundreds, of guerrillas. After two days of fighting, the marines reached the inner ring of Najaf's Old City, just a few hundred yards from the shrine of Imam Ali, which Shiite Muslims hold sacred.

The fighting was exciting and frightening, said Sergeant Phillippi J. Ledesma, of Panama City, Fla.

"You do get afraid a little bit," he said. "There's nothing that can prepare for fighting in a cemetery, especially going down catacombs."

Sgt. Ledesma said the fighting had not bothered him personally, but he said the fact that one of the marines in his platoon had died in the cemetery had troubled him deeply.

"I'd actually rather go down myself than lose one of mine," he said. "It is my obligation to bring them home alive, do everything in my power to keep them safe." His family does not fully understand that feeling and grows upset when he mentions it, he said.

Nearly every marine in C Company has a story of a close call. In many cases, mortars landed within lethal range of marines, who survived only because tombs or walls in the cemetery blocked shrapnel.

"A mortar hit behind me and shrapnel went into my hand," said Pfc. Heladio Zuniga of Jackson, Miss. "It was an interesting experience, I'd have to say."

Corporal McBroom said a mortar shell had landed less than 10 feet from him, temporarily deafening him and knocking the air from his lungs. His hearing is still impaired, and he does not know if the damage is permanent, he said. A few minutes later, he saw another marine killed by a shell a few yards from his position, he said. "You think it could be you, but it's not, so you've got another day to do your job," he said.

After the battle, he spoke to his wife, but gave her few details about what had happened, he said. "I told her a little bit about it, and I told her I never wanted to talk about it again," he said. "I wanted to spare her it going through her mind like it goes through my mind."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/international/middleeast/22troops.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraqi police grow stronger <br />
Submitted by: 24th MEU <br />
Story Identification #: 200482284939 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Caleb J. Smith <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (Aug. 19, 2004) -- As the...

[thedrifter]

ACE Prepares for Next Generation
Of Terrain Flight

Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 200482355939
Story by Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers



FORWARD OPERATING BASE AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2004) -- A CH-46E Sea Knight with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit descends deep inside the Majarrah Canyon, cruising at an altitude far below the canyon’s ridge.

This is one of many maneuvers essential to the terrain-flight certification pilots with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, the MEU’s Aviation Combat Element, are undertaking in order to prepare future Marines for duty in Iraq.

“It [allows us] to teach new pilots how to effectively maneuver in this
environment,” said Capt. Adam McLendon, 31, an Asheville, N.C., native, and a CH-46E Sea Knight pilot with HMM-263. “[The training] also brings into account the effects of the sun, wind and power of the aircraft.”

The successful completion of this exercise will qualify pilots to instruct future members of HMM-263 in these tactics. One of the key tactics of this training are low-altitude maneuvers in the desert environment.

“The primary purpose is to deny the enemy acquisition with their weapon systems,” said McLendon “By using these techniques, you mask yourself below the terrain.”

Another aspect in terrain flying is the ability to perform a main-mount landing. This is a process in which the front of the aircraft hovers as the rear touches down onto an available surface.

“We use this [technique] when the terrain can’t provide enough room for the aircraft to make a complete landing,” said Capt. Doug Thumm, 28, a native of Havelock, N.C., and a CH-46E pilot with HMM-263. “[This method] is used for the tops of buildings or if the [environment] creates a plateau in an area we need to get troops to.”

The responsibility to train new pilots may seem like a daunting task, but to the Marines of HMM- 263, it’s a necessary step in ensuring the mission success of today, and tomorrow.

“We’re building the squadron for future deployments,” said Capt. Lance Henderson, 33, a CH-46E pilot with HMM-263 from Beaumont, Texas.

“Training can’t stop just because we’re in Iraq.”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20048236237/$file/040817-M-1250B-001low.jpg

A CH-46E Sea Knight with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit flies over the area surrounding Forward Operating Base Al Taqaddum, Iraq, before beginning terrain flight training.
The Sea Knight belongs to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, the Aviation Combat Element of the 24th MEU.
Terrain flight training is performed in order to certify pilots to instruct techniques such as low-altitude flying, which masks the aircraft below the terrain.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/BC207F55500495C985256EF90036E6AD?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Alpha 1/2 conducts counter-mortar patrol: Photo Essay
Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 200482283738
Story by Sgt. Zachary A. Bathon



FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2004) -- In an effort to stop mortar attacks to the forward operating base here, Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted counter-mortar patrols.

The Marines from Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, patrolled the area around the base, looking for suspicious activity and talking to local Iraqis.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482283938/$file/040816-M-7371B-001lores.jpg

Lance Cpl. Michael Levinson of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit scans the area during a counter-mortar patrol outside of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, Iraq, Aug. 16.
Levinson, 20, is a Boston native and forward observer with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines.
The 24th MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in the Northern Babil province of Iraq.
Photo by: Sgt. Zachary A. Bathon

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482284144/$file/040816-M-7371B-002lores.jpg

Lance Cpl. Brad Stringfellow of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit scouts the area around him during a counter-mortar patrol outside of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, Iraq, Aug. 16.
Stringfellow, 20, is a Dearborn Heights, Mich., native and mortarman with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines.
The 24th MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in the Northern Babil province of Iraq.
Photo by: Sgt. Zachary A. Bathon

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482285125/$file/040816-M-7371B-006lores.jpg

Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit look at empty artillery shells discovered on a patrol outside of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, Iraq, Aug. 16.
The Marines are from Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines.
The 24th MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in the Northern Babil province of Iraq.
Photo by: Sgt. Zachary A. Bathon

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/75E104683889A79585256EF800455D43?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Alpha 1/2 recounts fire fight in Iskandariyah
Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 20048228584
Story by Sgt. Zachary A. Bathon



FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2004) -- It started out much like every security and counter-mortar patrol conducted from the forward operating base here. Marines gathered in the tent of the patrol leader to receive the patrol order.

This time, the leader was Sgt. Robert Ballance, 24, a squad leader and Springfield, Ill., native with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines.

As Ballance went over his patrol route, an area his Marines were familiar with, he told the Marines to pay attention to an apartment complex in Iskandariyah from which several patrols had received small-arms fire in the previous few days.

"When we get by the apartments, we'll see if anyone wants to put their dukes up," Ballance told the Marines who seemed excited about the opportunity to engage enemy Iraqi insurgents.

Six hours later, the Marines from Alpha Co. had already covered much of their route and conducted several hasty vehicle checkpoints along the way. They also uncovered more than 200 empty 155 mm artillery shells, requiring them to provide security around the area until the arrival of Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians.

Now they found themselves on their way to the apartments in Iskandariyah they were warned about earlier. The humvees were on a small dirt road that ran along a canal. It was getting late and becoming difficult to see.

Just as the convoy began slowing down to scout out the apartments, the dark sky around them lit up with tracer rounds from enemy machine gun and small arms fire.

"What the (expletive) was that?" said Lance Cpl. Brad Stringfellow, 20, a Dearborn Heights, Mich., native and mortarman who instantly started returning fire.

The patrol's mounted M-240G machine guns began to unload, sending even more tracers flying across the horizon.

"Lance Cpl. Michael Levinson, 20, a Boston native and the patrol's forward observer, briefly stopped returning fire and got on his radio. "We've been engaged, we've been engaged," he said into the handset.

"After they opened up on us, all the vehicles spread out and we gained fire superiority over them. I don't run," said Ballance. "We were attacking these guys."

The next thing you heard was the blast from a rocket propelled grenade followed by more small-arms and machine gun fire, which seemed to be coming from both the north and the south.

Then came the dreaded sound of "I'm hit, I'm hit." It was Levinson. He had taken shrapnel in his hand and arm.

Stringfellow also took some shrapnel to his hand. "I was bleeding pretty badly," he said. "That made me mad so I jumped up and kept firing at them."

Levinson then jumped out of the vehicle and ran to a radio to call for artillery illumination rounds over the area. At the same time, Stringfellow and Lance Cpl. Kevan Horn, 23, an Inez, Ky., native and mortarman, grabbed their 60 mm mortar tube and started sending up illumination rounds, making it easier for the other Marines to see what they were shooting at.

The patrol's machine guns continued to light up the area. The enemy fire began to slow down.

The artillery illumination rounds were now overhead and most of the firing had ceased. The Marines waited awhile, then jumped back in their vehicles and sped to the FOB to get their casualties treated.

"That was a prime time for them to attack us. I think everyone did well after the initial shock of getting hit," said Ballance. "Everyone knew their job and went to it.

"I didn't think they would attack us like that," said Horn. "When I looked out and saw all those tracers, I didn't know what we would do."
Ballance and Horn agreed that Stringfellow and Levinson both did an excellent job.

"It was intense" said Levinson. "It all seems like a haze, but it was a rush from hell. I think everyone did a great job. They all knew what they had to do."

The Marines from Alpha Co. all made it back from the fight in Iskandariyah. Stringfellow and Levinson are recovering, but their wounds haven't dampened their spirits. All of the Marines seemed ready for their next patrol.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20048229255/$file/040816-M-7371B-007lores.jpg

Tracer rounds fly across the sky as Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are engaged by Iraqi insurgents in the town of Iskandariyah, Iraq, Aug. 16.
The Marines are from Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines.
The 24th MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in the Northern Babil province of Iraq.
Photo by: Sgt. Zachary A. Bathon

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FCED3C2AE84B236885256EF800473C19?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Najaf siege endures as militia vows defiance


By Neil Barnett
LONDON SUNDAY TELEGRAPH


NAJAF, Iraq — Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday dashed hopes for an end to the siege in Najaf, with his fighters vowing to remain inside one of Shi'ite Islam's most holy shrines, with or without the keys.
"We will keep defending the shrine after handing over the keys. There will be no end," declared Ahmed Shebani, Sheik al-Sadr's spokesman, reflecting the defiance of militants inside the Imam Ali mosque.

Despite last week's relentless onslaught on the old city in Najaf, morale seemed high among the fighters and Sheik al-Sadr's supporters.
As the morning sun reflected off the shrine's golden minarets, hundreds marched around the courtyard singing and waving black flags.
Soon after, the vast cemetery, a stronghold of Sheik al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army militia, came under American bombardment, yet nobody flinched: only the donkeys pulling traders' carts seemed alarmed.
Inside the gold-domed mosque, many appeared to find it all amusing — one street hawker outside the shrine started juggling an inch-long piece of shrapnel that was too hot to hold.
Throughout the day, representatives of Sheik al-Sadr and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shi'ite leader, bickered over details of the proposed turnover of keys to the sacred site.
Al-Sadr aides said they had tried to hand the keys over to the ayatollah's followers, but claimed that they refused to accept them, demanding the shrine be evacuated first.
Mr Shebani's insistence that the Mahdi's Army would continue to defend the shrine, however, appeared to end hopes that the transfer of the keys would be anything other than a symbolic act.
Ayatollah al-Sistani is recovering from heart surgery in London. A spokesman for the Imam Ali Foundation in London said that he had instructed on Friday that the keys should be delivered to his office in Najaf, but that they had not been received.
Spokesman Jaffar Bassam said the ayatollah was "saddened and very worried" and that he planned to return to Najaf as soon as possible.
Yesterday's 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 shrine.
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 relative calm.
Elsewhere, a series of attacks targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces throughout Iraq yesterday killed a U.S. soldier, a Polish soldier and five Iraqis.
The standoff has frustrated many in Najaf, who have suffered disruptions in their water and electricity, had their streets rocked by explosions and seen scores of their innocent neighbors killed since the fighting started Aug. 5.
"All parties are stalling," Saeed Mohammed, 41, told the Associated Press. "There has been no change, only more shelling and clashes that have hurt the city even more."
As the crisis continued, another al-Sadr aide, Sheik Awas al-Khafaji, said 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 AP reported.
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.
Sheik Al-Khafaji said yesterday that mediators told him the death threat had been removed and they were working for Mr. Garen's release.
Violence continued across the country.
Insurgents bombed an oil pipeline in Berjisiya, 20 miles southwest of the southern city of Basra yesterday, setting it ablaze, said Lt. Mohammed al-Mousawi of the Iraqi National Guard.
The pipeline, which connects the Rumeila oil fields with export storage tanks in the Faw Peninsula, had been shut down for a week by threats from insurgents, and the attack did not appear likely to affect exports.
Early Saturday, attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. military vehicle in Baghdad, killing one U.S. soldier and wounding two others, the military said.
Explosions continued to rock residential neighborhoods in Baghdad, having become so routine that they are rarely mentioned in daily news reports.
In the northern city of Mosul, one Iraqi National Guard soldier was killed and two guardsmen and three civilians were wounded when a bomb exploded.
Assailants detonated a roadside bomb after a U.S. convoy drove by in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing two civilians and injuring four others, said Hussein Ali, a hospital official.
A roadside bomb also exploded in Sabtiya, two miles north of Baqouba, after a U.S. convoy passed, killing a sanitation worker cleaning the street and wounding another Iraqi, said hospital official Mudher Sabah.
In Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, gunmen shot and killed Lt. Col. Saad Smayer, a senior police officer, as he left home for work, said provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Jaadan Mohammed al-Alwan.


http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040821-115524-1115r.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

An appreciation of military wifes-article


http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005508


An appreciation of American soldiers' wives.

BY BEN STEIN
Saturday, August 21, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

This is a letter I wrote to the newsletter of an Army unit called the Strykers, stationed in Iraq out of Fort Lewis, Wash. The editor asked me what I would say to make the wives feel appreciated while their husbands are in Iraq. This is what I wrote to one soldier's wife.

Dear Karen,

I have a great life. I have a wife I adore, a son who is a lazy teenager but I adore him, too. We live in a house with two dogs and four cats. We live in peace. We can worship as we please. We can say what we want. We can walk the streets in safety. We can vote. We can work wherever we want and buy whatever we want. When we sleep, we sleep in peace. When we wake up, it is to the sounds of birds.

All of this, every bit of it, is thanks to your husband, his brave fellow soldiers, and to the wives who keep the home fires burning while the soldiers are away protecting my family and 140 million other families. They protect Republicans and Democrats, Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists. They protect white, black, yellow, brown and everyone in between. They protect gays and straights, rich and poor.

And none of it could happen without the Army wives, Marine wives, Navy wives, Air Force wives--or husbands--who go to sleep tired and lonely, wake up tired and lonely, and go through the day with a smile on their faces. They feed the kids, put up with the teenagers' surliness, the bills that never stop piling up, the desperate hours when the plumbing breaks and there is no husband to fix it, and the even more desperate hours after the kids have gone to bed, the dishes have been done, the bills have been paid, and the wives realize that they will be sleeping alone--again, for the 300th night in a row.



The wives keep up the fight even when they have to move every couple of years, even when their checks are late, even when they have to make a whole new set of friends every time they move.
And they keep up the fight to keep the family whole even when they feel a lump of dread every time they turn on the news, every time they switch on the computer, every time the phone rings and every time--worst of all--the doorbell rings. Every one of those events--which might mean a baseball score or a weather forecast or a FedEx man to me and my wife--might mean the news that the man they love, the man they have married for better or worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, is now parted from them forever.

These women will never be on the cover of People. They will never be on the tabloid shows on TV about movie stars. But they are the power and the strength that keep America going. Without them, we are nothing at all. With them, we can do everything.

They are the glue that holds the nation together, stronger than politicians, stronger than talking heads, stronger than al Qaeda.

They deserve all the honor and love a nation can give. They have my prayers, and my wife's, every morning and every night.

Love, and I do mean Love, Ben.

Mr. Stein, a television personality and writer, is co-author with Phil DeMuth of "Can America Survive," forthcoming from Hay House.
***
Yep,more credit needs to be given to the women that sacrifice much here at home.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Echo Company

By John Simerman
Contra Costa (Calif.) Times

SAN RAMON, Calif. - Before you saw Kyle Crowley, you heard him coming.

The hip-hop beats declared his arrival, rattling from the weathered brown 1980s Cadillac with the beefy stereo and the Marine Corps sticker he'd slapped on the back.

Crowley - his friends called him "Crow" - would sit low in the driver’s seat, dressed in a ribbed tank top, baggy jeans and boots, arm fully extended to the steering wheel.

Small and lean, he carried his tough look around the wealthy suburbs east of San Francisco. Beneath that veneer, loved ones said, was a caring boy with a goofy streak, a rocky home life and abiding loyalty to friends.

"He knew for certain, always, that there were things worth fighting for, and dying for, even if the rest of us in high school weren't sure," said Angela Hale, 19, who met Crowley when both were freshmen at California High School in San Ramon.

Among the college-bound students at school, Crowley struggled to keep up in class. He didn't like homework. He was a gym rat, and valued his friends over his schoolwork while he plotted a future in the military. His grades burrowed lower.

"He was putting in his time. All he needed was to graduate high school to become a Marine," said Cindy Bonagura, who taught Crowley in computer classes. "Friends were his deal."

Once, when a guy cheated on a friend, Crowley trashed the guy's car, a friend said. At a barbecue restaurant where he bused tables, the boyfriend of a pregnant waitress broke up with her on Valentine's Day. Crowley bought her a dozen roses.

Crowley thought about becoming a firefighter, but at 15 homed in on the Marines. In his room, he hung American flags and a Marine Corps flag, and he wore Marine shirts to school, friends said.

Earlier, he'd talked about it with his great-grandfather. Lloyd Speights, a World War II Marine who served on the battleship USS Iowa, would take young Kyle on long walks up to Feather Falls, or fishing for trout in the Northern California woodlands.

"I said, well, it's not an easy deal. I said it's tough," said Speights, 80. "Oh, but he was going to be a 20-year man. I think he wanted to be a sniper."

His father, Mark Crowley, said his son also saw the Marines as a way to stay close to his girlfriend, Trisha Johnson, who was headed to San Diego State University, near Camp Pendleton. When Kyle turned 16, he pre-enlisted. Mark Crowley, who'd served four years in the Army, opposed it, but relented and signed the papers.

Kyle's parents split up less than a year after he was born, and four years later his father had sole custody of him. His sister later left their mother and joined them.

When Kyle was young, his father took him fishing and hunting for pheasant, chucker and quail. They were inseparable, Mark Crowley said. He taught Kyle to shoot .22s and BB guns at age 7. When Kyle was older, he hung off the fence behind his house with friends, shooting a BB gun at cars.

Later, father and son sparred over grades, house manners, respect. "Kyle was a renegade," Mark Crowley said.

"He needed to go do something," said Robert Rinaldi, the owner of the restaurant where Kyle worked.

In the months before boot camp, Kyle left home, spending the night at friends' houses or sleeping in the Cadillac, which was packed with his belongings, friends said.

When he returned from boot camp, Crowley had shelved hip-hop for country and traded the tank tops and baggy pants for plaid shirts and tight jeans. He also took on the Texas twang of fellow Marines he met at Camp Pendleton.

"The Marines really did help him and make him feel good about himself," said Johnson, 19. "He was just really proud."

Crowley also came back from boot camp 20 pounds leaner and more serious, said Steve Johnson, Trisha’s dad, who befriended him.

The young Marine went back to his high school campus, talking to old teachers and admonishing students to behave.

"He said, 'You listen to this lady,' " said English teacher Barbara Foss, who remembers Crowley as a freshman, writing poetry in her class. "He was telling them the same stuff he would have not been too receptive to back then."

Crowley, 18, was killed April 6 in Iraq.

Contact John Simerman at jsimerman@cctimes.com

http://www.realcities.com/images/realcities/realcities/9263/85808836956.jpg

Age 18
Home: San Ramon, Calif.
Lance Cpl. Kyle Crowley
"The Marines really did help him and make him feel good about himself," said Trisha Johnson, 19. "He was just really proud."

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/echo_company/9282983.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Over Najaf, Fighting for Des Moines <br />
By GLEN G. BUTLER <br />
<br />
Published: August 23, 2004 <br />
<br />
Najaf, Iraq — I'm an average American who grew up watching &quot;Brady Bunch&quot; reruns, playing dodge ball and...

[thedrifter]

Corps’ top enlisted leader revisits 3rd MAW
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200482285056
Story by Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri



AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 18, 2004) -- Morale was high and spirits were lifted when Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John L. Estrada paid a visit to the deployed Marines and Sailors of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing here August 18.

Traveling across the region alongside Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott on a joint tour intended to motivate and inspire the deployed Marines and Sailors here, Estrada, the former sergeant major of 3rd MAW, had an opportunity to visit the unit he lead during the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I have my (3rd MAW) Marines in combat,” said Estrada, “and while they are in combat I’m going to come see them every chance I have. It gives me a chance to get the pulse of morale over here.”

“It’s important that I’m here,” he stressed, “This is were I want to be. I feel pumped up when I see my Marines over here and I hope the same thing happens when they see me.”

Estrada and Scott visited various units throughout the airbase, letting Marines and Sailors know that they are proud of the work they are doing and that their efforts are not going unnoticed.

“Every opportunity I have, I brag about my Marines and what they are doing for our country,” Estrada said. “I am one of their biggest fans.”

“I want my Marines to know that I appreciate their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their family,” continued Estrada, “and to know that the vast majority of the citizens back home recognize and appreciate that too.”

Estrada and Scott agreed that, when combined, their two branches of service create a unified fighting force capable of accomplishing any mission.

“The Navy and Marine Corps team is the epitome of expeditionary warfare,” said Scott. “We can (take on the enemy) harder, faster, and better than anyone.”

“(The Navy) has been alongside us throughout our history,” added Estrada, “I appreciate their commitment to the Marine Corps.”

According to the sergeant major, the morale of the troops is extremely important to the success of the Marine Corps’ efforts in the Middle East.

“I care a lot about my Marines,” said Estrada. “I want to see what their concerns are, and I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that they are given the support they need to be successful.”

Following the sergeant major’s tour of the airbase here, several Marines expressed that having the enlisted leader of the Corps pay them a visit in a combat zone provided a much-needed boost to their morale.


“It was pretty motivating to have the sergeant major of Marine Corps take the time out of his busy schedule to come and talk to us,” said Sgt. Daryl W. Thomas Jr., radar technician, Marine Aircraft Control Squadron 1, Marine Aircraft Group 16, and 22 year-old native of Ft. Worth, Texas. “Most of us have families and don’t feel too comfortable being out here, but having encouragement from the sergeant major makes it that much easier.”

“It’s very inspiring and motivating to see the sergeant major,” agreed Cpl. Maria Medrano, supply clerk, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 11, 3rd MAW, and 21 year-old native of Earlimart Calif.,

Before departing Al Asad, the sergeant major provided his Marines with words of both encouragement and appreciation.

“Be safe, stay motivated, and remember, you are helping to maintain peace throughout the world,” pointed out Estrada. “You are heroes to your families, and to your country.”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482285755/$file/040818-M-5865P-010-SGTMAJ-LR.jpg

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John L. Estrada, gives words of wisdom to a group of Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 273, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, during his visit to Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 18. The top enlisted leader's trip was intended to motivate and inspire deployed Marines and Sailors currently serving overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Photo by: Pfc. Andrew D. Pendracki

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A7BE34E9F1E8D33085256EF8004694F3?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Deadly mission in Iraq
Marines died trying to save their brothers
DAVID SWANSON and JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY
Knight Ridder Newspapers

RAMADI, Iraq - The Marines of Echo Company jumped from their trucks into Ramadi's narrow streets and alleys and ran toward the sound of the guns. They followed their commander, Capt. Kelly D. Royer, through palm trees and warrens of cinder-block buildings.

One of Echo's sniper teams had come under fire, and Royer's "quick reaction force" was going to reinforce the pinned-down Marines.

Before they'd gone far, headquarters at Combat Outpost, a Marine base in the Iraqi city of 500,000 on the Euphrates River, called on the radio. The snipers had repulsed the attackers, but now Echo Company's 1st Platoon, which had been sent out earlier to clear the main supply route through Ramadi, was taking fire and needed help.

Something's not right

Amid the dust and noise, Royer radioed 2nd Lt. John Wroblewski. While Royer's team moved on foot, "Lieutenant Ski," as his men called him, was leading a second Echo quick-reaction force in Humvees through the chaotic streets of Ramadi. Pick us up at the intersection at the marketplace, Royer told Wroblewski.

Wroblewski had told his men the day before to be alert. Something's not right, he said. In this neighborhood, the residents didn't wave and the children didn't flock to the Marines, the way they did in other parts of the city. They only stared.

Although neither Royer nor Wroblewski knew it, earlier that morning, April 6, Iraqi and foreign fighters had slipped through the marketplace, telling shopkeepers to close their stores and kiosks and warning: "Today, we are going to kill Americans."

If the Iraqi insurgency has a center of gravity, Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province and a bastion of Saddam Hussein's military and intelligence services, probably is it. The city sits astride the main road from Baghdad to Jordan, and the insurgents in Ramadi were far better organized and far better schooled in guerrilla warfare than the Marines originally realized.

Marine Corps stare

Gunfire rattled to the east, where Royer's force had been moments earlier. Marines seemed to be under attack everywhere. Royer and his men started running to reinforce their comrades in the 1st Platoon.

Two Marines from the 1st Platoon, Pfc. Benjamin Carman, 20, of Jefferson, Iowa, and Lance Cpl. Marcus Cherry, 18, of Imperial, Calif., already were dead.

Carman's high school coach said he was "one of the hardest-working football players I've ever had."

There are five large tires in a field near Jefferson-Scranton High School. Four of them are for tractors; the fifth and largest is for a combine. It's 5 feet tall, and it weighs 80 pounds. As part of their daily workout, the football players had to flip each tire 10 times.

Medium-sized Ben Carman ran straight to the big tire every day, and he didn't flip it 10 times. He flipped it 12.

Like Ben, Marcus Cherry had wanted to be a Marine. But he had to practice that Marine Corps stare. He would stand in front of a mirror at home, jaw forward, eyes hard, and hold it as long as he could before his trademark grin gave him away.

In a letter home from boot camp, Marcus wrote: "I knew, Mom, the Marine Corps was the best decision for my life at the time I joined. It's a fast way to grow up, but I was made for it."

As Royer and his men hustled toward the 1st Platoon, Wroblewski rolled past with his convoy. Royer radioed Wroblewski again: Stop and pick us up.

"Roger, Six," Wroblewski responded, using the military term for "commanding officer."

Royer and his men heard Wroblewski's Humvees and trucks slow as they approached the marketplace.

Then Royer's Marines heard the staccato sound of AK-47 rifle fire, the deeper growl of a machine gun and the thuds of rocket-propelled grenades.

Always faithful

Like Cherry, Wroblewski was where he'd always wanted to be: leading Marines in combat. He'd even named his Alaskan malamute pup Semper, after the Marine Corps motto, "Semper fidelis" ("Always faithful").

Six feet two, with piercing blue eyes and a linebacker's build, Wroblewski, 25, was a natural leader, popular with his men and respected by other officers. Royer called him "one of my best."

The day before the firefight, "J.T." had talked about home as he led a 10-mile foot patrol through Ramadi. He talked about fishing, about the Marines, about his wife, Joanna.

He grew up in Morris County, in northern New Jersey, where he was a high school football and baseball standout, and he graduated from Rutgers before he joined the Marines in 2002.

Wroblewski had caught Joanna's eye at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J. "Wow, that guy's hot," she thought. He also was shy. "I had to ask him out," she said. They were married in July 2003.

He had been at home with Joanna in Oceanside, Calif., on Valentine's Day when he got his orders to Iraq. She was making waffles with strawberries for breakfast when the call came. He had to leave the next day.

His last phone conversation with her had been three days earlier. Instead of signing off as usual by saying, "I'll see you soon," he'd told her: "I'll always be with you."

On all sides of the intersection that marked the Ramadi marketplace, Iraqi fighters with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers had taken positions on the roofs of the one-story buildings. A heavy .50-caliber Russian-made machine gun was on one corner rooftop, where the gunner could sweep the street. Other fighters were hidden behind trees just beyond the market stalls.

About 50 well-armed insurgents were waiting for Wroblewski and his Marines.

READ/EDIT, INSERT 3 SUBHEDS WITH CODING BELOW

XXXXXXX

"Today, we are going to kill Americans."

Iraqi militants on April 6, 2004, warning Ramadi shopkeepers of the violence to come

Echo Company force dives into danger on Ramadi streets

• TODAY: An Echo Company force dives into trouble on the streets of Ramadi

• MONDAY: An Iraqi ambush catches Echo Company at a vulnerable moment, and Marines die

• TUESDAY: Echo Company has lost 22 of its 185 men, more than any other Marine or Army company; proud Marine families bury their dead



© 2004 Bradenton Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.bradenton.com

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/9463866.htm



Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines pay last respects to fallen comrades in Ramadi
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200482365223
Story by Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski



CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq (Aug. 23, 2004) -- As the sun set Friday, casting a golden light upon a rifle with two sets of dangling dog tags, Marines with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, gathered to Camp Snake Pit to say goodbye to two of their fallen brothers.

Lance Corporals Jonathon W. Collins and Caleb J. Powers were each killed by a single shot from an enemy sniper while manning different observation posts in Ar Ramadi.

"Tonight we gather in memoriam for tribute to two fallen comrades, who were struck by unseen assassins," said Lt. Col. Paul Kennedy, battalion commander. "We have come to honor these fellow Marines who answered the country's call to duty, and represented the best of our Corps."

Twenty-year-old Collins, from Oak Lawn, Ill., was killed Aug. 8 at Observation Post "Ghetto" in the heart of Ar Ramadi. Powers, 21, from Alexandra, Va., was killed Aug. 17 while manning an observation post atop a seven-story building overlooking one of Ar Ramadi's main roadways.

Collins was described as a good Marine and good man by his platoon commander, 1st Lt. Ethan C. Taranta.

"He had confidence in his abilities that bordered on cockiness," Taranta said. "But he was justified in that confidence. He was a SAW gunner and considered himself to be the best in his platoon, if not the whole company. He was very, very good at his job."

What Taranta remembers most about Collins, was his sense of humor.

"He always had a joke or a smile no matter how tired he was, or how difficult the task was,' Taranta said. "I don't think I ever talked to him, with out walking away with a smile on my face."

With a little over a month left in Iraq before returning to the states, Collins compared his experience in Iraq with the game of football.

"A couple of days before he was killed, Collins said, 'In the game, the teams score most of their points in the first two minutes and the last two minutes. And right now we are in the last two minutes. Even though we are down a handful of Marines we still need to go out there and do our job and make it out of here safe and alive,'" said his close friend, Lance Cpl. Clark H. Davidson.

After several Marines shared their feelings about Collins, Powers' platoon commander, 1st Lt. Joseph M. Denman, stepped up to the podium and shared his thoughts.

"Words fall short of describing or consoling us in the loss we have experienced in the death of Lance Corporal Powers," said Denman. "And to Third Platoon, he was more than a friend. He was our brother in arms. For he lived, sacrificed and fought at our side taking equal share in the dangers and hardships in the past six months."

Friends of Powers knew of his love for his friends, family, farming and dirt bikes.

"If you knew Lance Corporal Powers, you knew he was all about wheat and farming," said his close friend, Lance Cpl. Taylor G. Wiley. "You could make fun of him about it all the time and he would take it like a champ.

"Right before he died, Lance Corporal Powers' last words were, 'Dirt bike riding is my life,'" said Wiley. "So we all like to think at that moment when Powers went, he was happy."

Collins is survived by his parents, Jack and Angela Collins, his two sisters and an older brother.

Powers is survived by his wife, Sarah Powers, and his sister.

The battalion commander said each of these Marines would be greatly missed, and gave some words of encouragement to the mourning Marines.

"Lance Corporals Collins and Powers are watching over us now," Kennedy said. "They will measure our devotion in the remaining month against their own sacrifices. We will not let them down."


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482371014/$file/COLLINS8lr.jpg

Staff Sgt. Jason C. Petrakos with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, salutes an upturned rifle during a memorial service held at Camp Snake Pit in Ar Ramadi, Aug. 20. Lance Corporals Jonathan Collins and Caleb Powers were killed recently by terrorist snipers while manning two different observation posts.
(USMC photo by Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski) Photo by: Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20048237541/$file/COLLINS5lr.jpg

A Marine pays respects to two lance corporals who were killed recently in Ar Ramadi. The memorial service for Lance Corporals Jonathan Collins and Caleb Powers was held at Camp Snake Pit, Aug. 20.
(USMC photo by Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski) Photo by: Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200482385125/$file/COLLINS4lr.jpg

Marines with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, attend a memorial service at Camp Snake Pit in Ar Ramadi Aug. 20. Lance Cpl.'s Jonathan Collins and Caleb Powers were killed by terrorist snipers while manning different observation posts recently.
(USMC photo Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski) Photo by: Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/6A882E6084417A1985256EF9003BBA6C?opendocument


Ellie