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thedrifter
09-05-04, 07:46 AM
MAG-16 rotates squadrons in Iraq
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 20049415313
Story by Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte



AL ASAD, Iraq (Sep. 1, 2004) -- The rotation of Marine forces is changing the face of Marine Aircraft Group 16 for the second half of this phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Some incoming squadrons are deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for the first time and are upbeat about their arrival, said Maj. Ian R. Clark, assistant aviation maintenance officer, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, MAG-16.

"During OIF I, the squadron was in Okinawa, (Japan)," said the 34-year-old from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. "We may have felt a little left out and were eager to do our part. (The Marines) have positive attitudes about doing their part and doing what they joined the Marine Corps to do. We are ready to execute missions in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force."

"Scarface" Marines of HMLA-367, MAG-39, have arrived in Iraq recently to replace the "Coyotes" of HMLA-775, MAG-46.

Gunnery Sgt. Drake S. Simms, quality assurance representative, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774, MAG-16, spoke of the reserve Marines' outlook on supporting the mission in Iraq.

"Most are excited to help out," he said. "The active component has been out here working hard, so it's good to come out and give them a break."

"Everybody knows it's their job," he continued about his fellow squadron mates. "They're proud of what they do and proud to be Marines even if it is part time. They all know it could be a full time thing if they're needed."

The "Moonlighters" of HMM-764, MAG-46, are being relieved from duty in Iraq by "Wild Goose," HMM-774, MAG-42.

Of the many concerns that face incoming squadrons, maintenance was on the top of the list, explained 1st Lt. Matthew R. Crouch, CH-46E Sea Knight pilot, HMM-268, MAG-16.

"There was some concern that the aircraft may suffer by being here for 14 months," voiced the 26-year-old from Reno, Nev. "The maintenance shop has laid that to rest. (HMM-161) has really taken care of their birds. For the turnover, I am impressed by what they have left us. They have set us up for success."

The "Red Dragons" from HMM-268, have come from MAG-39 to assume the casualty evacuation mission from the "Greyhawks" of HMM-161, MAG-16.

Simms echoed Crouch's testimony to the aircrafts' condition.

"The condition of the aircraft is pretty good and they're holding up pretty well," said the 34-year-old from Suffolk, Va. "We don't think there will be a big problem keeping them up for seven more months. The 'Phrog' is a work horse and you just can't stop that thing."

Other concerns are also weighing on the minds of leadership within the incoming squadrons, revealed HMM-365's Sgt. Maj. Blaine H. Jackson.

"One of our biggest things is the weather," said the 39-year-old from Plaquemine, La. "We're coming in one of the hottest months in the year. We're getting people acclimated to the weather so they won't get fatigued working 12 to 14-hour days."

Many of the squadrons began preparing their Marines for the extreme Iraqi temperatures months before, he noted.

Blaine's "Blue Knights" from HMM-365, MAG-29, have taken over the support responsibilities from the "Raging Bulls" of HMM-261, MAG-26.

Other changes include the "Flying Tigers" of HMH-361, MAG-16, replacing the "Wolfpack" of HMH-466, MAG-16; the "Yankees" of VMGR-452, MAG-49, who are relieving the "Rangers" of VMGR-234, MAG-41; and the "Vipers" of HMLA-169, MAG-39, who have already turned over with the "Warriors" of HMLA-167, MAG-26. Other units will be changing over personnel, but staying in Iraq to continue operations.

All incoming personnel have nothing but glowing remarks about their predecessors in Iraq. This may give them a goal in excellence to shoot for, according to Jackson.

"When you replace a unit that has done exceptionally well, you want to at least meet that level," Jackson revealed. "They have set a precedence. They have done a complete and thorough turnover so we could take over and not miss a beat."

The reserve Marines have echoed Jackson's statements, noted Simms, but he also spoke of fulfilling the legacy that the outgoing crews have left behind.

"I think there's some pressure to do well...not as much pressure as much as pride," he said. "HMM-764 has proven themselves that they can do what the active guys can. We want to uphold that."

Although the incoming squadrons have been given transition assistance in arriving, all of the squadrons have received training for the long months ahead, which the Marines will hold onto when they meet the new challenges that will face them, Simms noted.

"We train at home to do this and everybody knows what to do," he said. "There's an inherent danger of taking fire. Hopefully, the training we have done will carry us through without incident.

"I think that what we're doing here is important," Simms continued about Marines' presence in Iraq. "We're doing the right thing and I hope we can resolve this so Iraq can be a free country."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20049415751/$file/040826-M-9245L-002changeover%20LR.jpg

Sgt. Dominic W. Basile, a 21-year-old from Johnstown, Pa., works on power unit of a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 26, while Lance Cpl. Bret A. Moore, a 22-year-old Marine from Warren, Pa., watches. Both Marines are flightline mechanics with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which recently arrived in Iraq as part of the Marine Corps' scheduled rotation of forces. Photo by: Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/949DC7DB81660BD385256F050020569B?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
09-05-04, 07:46 AM
Militants Seek Edict on Iraq Kidnappings



BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi militant group appealed Sunday to an influential Sunni Muslim organization for an edict on whether the kidnapping of foreigners who work for occupation forces is acceptable under Islam.

The appeal came in a video aired on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite channel, which showed a masked man reading a statement seeking a "fatwa" from the Association of Muslim Scholars.

"We are confident that all the Islamic resistance in Iraq will abide it if it was in the interest of Islam, Jihad and Iraq," said the man, who identified himself only as a member of Holders of the Black Banners.

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The group recently kidnapped seven truck drivers, demanding their employer stop working in Iraq. The drivers were released after weeks in captivity.

The Association of Muslim Scholars had no immediate comment.

Militants waging a 16-month insurgency have increasingly turned to kidnapping to force coalition forces and contractors from the country. More than 100 foreigners have been abducted since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2002 and many have been executed.

On Sunday the body of an Egyptian man was discovered in northern Iraq.

Iraqi National Guard Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin said the body was found near Beiji, 150 miles north of Baghdad. The man's hands were bound with a rope and it appeared he had been beaten.

Amin said identification found on the body showed the man was an Egyptian citizen.

Officials at the Egyptian Embassy in Baghdad said they had no immediate information about the remains.

On Saturday, militants threatened to behead a Turkish truck driver if his employers and a Kuwaiti contractor did not leave Iraq within 48 hours.

And France's foreign minister, Michel Barnier, returned home from the Middle East without winning the release of two French journalists held hostage since mid-August.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/09/05/ap/headlines/d84teo5g0.txt

Ellie

thedrifter
09-05-04, 07:47 AM
Suicide bombing at Iraqi police station kills 20, injures 36

By: YEHIA BARZANJI - Associated Press

KIRKUK, Iraq -- A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb Saturday outside an Iraqi police academy as hundreds of trainees and civilians were leaving for the day, killing 20 people and wounding 36 others in the latest attack designed to thwart U.S-backed efforts to build a strong Iraqi security force ahead of January elections.

U.S and Iraqi forces, meanwhile, launched an operation in another northern town, Tal Afar, to flush out a militant cell allegedly smuggling men and arms in from Syria, sparking a fierce gunbattle that left at least eight people dead and more than 50 injured.

South of Baghdad, attackers fired mortar rounds at an Iraqi police patrol, killing three officers, said Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman of the Interior Ministry. The attack occurred between the towns of Mahmoudiya and Latifiyah 25 miles from the capital.


The car bomb in Kirkuk littered the street with bloodied bodies, gutted cars, shards of glass and twisted metal. The police academy's steps were covered in blood.

"I saw one of my friends killed before my eyes. I couldn't do anything to help him," said Bassem Ali, a student at the academy who was hurt in the blast.

Kirkuk police put the toll at 20 dead and 36 wounded.

"This is a terrorist act against members of Iraqi police who were going home," said Kirkuk police Col. Sarhat Qadir.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Insurgents see police as collaborators with U.S.-led forces and are bent on disrupting American efforts to build a strong Iraqi security force ahead of January elections.

Militants have blown up police stations all over the country, gunned down officers in drive-by shootings and battered police recruitment centers with mortar barrages and rocket-propelled grenades -- leaving policemen increasingly terrified and deterring would-be recruits.

From April 2003 to May 2004 alone, 710 Iraqi police were killed out of a total force of 130,000, authorities said.

In Tal Afar, a U.S. OH-58D Kiowa helicopter was hit by enemy fire and forced to make an emergency landing, said U.S. Army Capt. Angela Bowman. The aircraft's two crew members were wounded, she said.

A U.S. Stryker Brigade vehicle securing the helicopter's site was later attacked by rocket-propelled grenades, the military said. Troops fought back, killing two attackers.

The attacks came amid fierce resistance to smash a militant cell operating in the town, which U.S. intelligence believed had become a haven for militants crossing the border from Syria.

Fawazi Mohammed, the head of the local hospital, said at least eight people died and another 50 were wounded during the clashes. Many of the casualties were caused by a mortar shell explosion in a Tal Afar market, authorities said.

In Baghdad, mortar rounds landed near a convention center where members of Iraq's 100-member transitional assembly, known as the Iraqi Council, gathered for a meeting. Despite the explosions, delegates elected four vice chairmen of the National Council, which is intended to act as a watchdog over the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi until the election.

The Cabinet met Saturday and agreed to allocate more funds to security operations and rebuild areas damaged by fighting. They also decided to build up a strategic food reserve able to supply the country for three months, Allawi's office said in a statement.

Also Saturday, saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline in southern Iraq, part of a campaign of attacks on the country's oil infrastructure aimed at hampering reconstruction efforts.

Firefighters struggled to put out the blaze caused by the explosion near Hartha, 19 miles north of Basra, and technicians were forced to shut down the pipeline, said police Maj. Col. Nouri Mohammed.

Its shutdown is not expected to significantly affect Iraqi oil exports.

In the latest hostage crisis, Iraqi militants threatened to behead a Turkish truck driver if his employers and a Kuwaiti contractor don't leave Iraq within 48 hours, according to a video aired Saturday on the pan-Arab television channel Al-Arabiya.

The group, calling itself the Islamic Resistance Movement-Al-Noaman Brigades, released a tape showing a bearded man, purported to be the truck driver, sitting in front of a black banner bearing the group's name in gold Arabic characters. It was not immediately possible to verify the tape's authenticity.

More than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March.

France's foreign minister, Michel Barnier, returned home from the Middle East without winning the release of two French journalists held hostage since mid-August. But Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said in Paris that there were signs Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot could be released soon.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/09/05/military/16_29_209_4_04.txt


Ellie

thedrifter
09-05-04, 07:48 AM
Iraqi National Guard, Marines work together <br />
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 20049555141 <br />
Story by Cpl. Matthew R. Jones <br />
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BAGHDADI, Iraq (Aug. 31, 2004) -- As the...

thedrifter
09-05-04, 07:49 AM
Marines rejoin families after long tour in Iraq
BY OMAR FORD, Special to The Packet
Published Saturday, September 4th, 2004


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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT -- Seven months was the longest time Cpl. Harry Petithome had been away from his wife, Tracy.
The couple was married in August 2003 and began building a home on St. Helena Island. But those plans were put on hold when Petithome was deployed to al Asad, Iraq, in February as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"This lady right here is what kept me going," he said, pointing to Tracy.

Petithome was one of 60 members of the Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 who returned Friday to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, with an additional 300 personnel scheduled to return today.

The squadron provided ground support to units such as airfield communications, weather services, motor transport and chemical defense. But it was a mission that didn't go unhampered as rebels attacked the military facility with mortar fire at least once a month.

"You have your rough days," Petithome said. "We were attacked once a month and one month was just 'woooh' ..."

He said a small river separated the base from the highway that rebels often would drive alongside and attack from. The terrain and climate also were difficult, said Pfc. Jeremy Pinckney, a Hardeeville native.

"It was hot -- very dusty and very dirty (in al Asad)," he said. "You could take a shower and go outside and be dirty all over again."

It easily reached into the 100s, peaking at the 130-degree mark in the day and cooling off to 90 at night, Pinckney said.

But it was all worth it, he said, as he walked over to his family and received hugs.

Pinckney's grandmother, Barbara, was waiting under the hangar to welcome the 23-year-old, while other family members were en route.

"We've been waiting for this," she said. "I've been counting down the days."

She said she sped over when she got word her grandson's flight would be coming in two hours earlier than previously expected.

"There wasn't a patrolman alive that could've caught me," she said. "He would've had to have a faster car."

Lt. Col. Gary Rhinesmith said he had been in the military for 19 years, but nothing was more powerful than seeing the families reunite.

"Every time I see one of these things I get a lump in my throat," he said.

Rhinesmith added it was especially tough for the wives of the Marines to carry on during their husbands' absence.

As she patiently waited for her husband Brian to retrieve his belongings, Julie Harrelson said she agreed with Rhinesmith's statement.

The couple has been married for 12 years and have two children. During Brian's absence, Julie watched the news intently to see if there were any updates about the area he was in.

"You have your trials, your ups and downs," she said. "But in the end, it's so good to see them walk off the plane."

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/3793769p-3401055c.html


Ellie

thedrifter
09-05-04, 11:18 AM
Young Republicans support Iraq war, but not all are willing to join the fight

By Adam Smeltz

Knight Ridder Newspapers



NEW YORK - Young Republicans gathered here for their party's national convention are united in applauding the war in Iraq, supporting the U.S. troops there and calling the U.S. mission a noble cause.


But there's no such unanimity when they're asked a more personal question: Would you be willing to put on the uniform and go to fight in Iraq?


In more than a dozen interviews, Republicans in their teens and 20s offered a range of answers. Some have friends in the military in Iraq and are considering enlisting; others said they can better support the war by working politically in the United States; and still others said they think the military doesn't need them because the U.S. presence in Iraq is sufficient.


"Frankly, I want to be a politician. I'd like to survive to see that," said Vivian Lee, 17, a war supporter visiting the convention from Los Angeles,


Lee said she supports the war but would volunteer only if the United States faced a dire troop shortage or "if there's another Sept. 11."


"As long as there's a steady stream of volunteers, I don't see why I necessarily should volunteer," said Lee, who has a cousin deployed in the Middle East.


In an election season overwhelmed by memories of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military's newest war ranks supreme among the worries confronting much of Generation Y'ers. Iraq is their war.


"If there was a need presented, I would go," said Chris Cusmano, a 21-year-old member of the College Republicans organization from Rocky Point, N.Y. But he said he hasn't really considered volunteering.


At age 16, Chase Carpenter has.


"It's always in the back of my mind - to enlist," Carpenter, a self-described moderate Republican visiting Manhattan this week from Santa Monica, Calif., said Wednesday on the convention floor. He said he's torn over whether he'd join the military if he were 18.


Others said they could contribute on the home front.


"I physically probably couldn't do a whole lot" in Iraq, said Tiffanee Hokel, 18, of Webster City, Iowa, who called the war a moral imperative. She knows people posted in Iraq, but she didn't flinch when asked why she wouldn't go.


"I think I could do more here," Hokel said, adding that she's focusing on political action that supports the war and the troops.


"We don't have to be there physically to fight it," she said.


Similarly, 20-year-old Jeff Shafer, a University of Pennsylvania student, said vital work needs to be done in the United States. There are Republican policies to maintain and protect and an economy to sustain, Shafer said.




Then there's Paula Villescaz, a 15-year-old from Carmichael, Calif. who supports Bush and was all ears Wednesday afternoon at the GOP's Youth Convention in Madison Square Garden. She doesn't support the war, but she supports the troops and thinks the United States "needs to stay the course" now that it's immersed.


If Iraq is still a U.S. issue when she's 18, Villescaz added, she'll give serious thought to volunteering.


"I'm in college right now, but who knows?" said Matthew Vail, a 25-year-old from Huntsville, Ala., who works with Students for Bush. He said he might consider enlisting after he finishes his degree at the University of North Carolina, but not until then.


"The bug may get me after college," he said.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9556221.htm


Ellie

thedrifter
09-05-04, 03:45 PM
September 03, 2004

Corps will test its version of ‘Sea Swap,’ Hagee says
Entire MEU might rotate to strike group

By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer


The Marine Corps will soon fly all or part of its Marine Expeditionary Unit personnel to deployed amphibious ships in an experimental plan that borrows from the Navy’s “Sea Swap” concept, according to the commandant.
The Navy has been using Sea Swap — in which sailors fly out to ships while the hulls stay overseas — since 2002, when it rotated as many as four destroyer crews during one ship’s two-year deployment.

Top Corps officials say the concept could be applied to Marines on a grander scale — replacing as much as an entire MEU, about 2,200 Marines — aboard an at-sea expeditionary strike group. But moving such a large number of personnel all at once could prove daunting, Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee told reporters Aug. 23.

“We believe it can be done and we are going to experiment with it over the next year or so,” Hagee said. “Because if it can be successful, we can provide [Marines] to that [regional] commander in chief without any increase in end strength or equipment.”

It is unclear when the experiment would begin. With most Marine units rotating through Iraq or training to deploy, the Corps is running short of units to conduct such exercises.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-335110.php

Ellie

thedrifter
09-05-04, 06:56 PM
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Let’s say you’re a military intelligence officer pumping a...