Local Marine returns from Iraq

[thedrifter]

Local Marine returns from Iraq
Submitted by: MCB Quantico
Story Identification #: 20049911148
Story by Cpl. Sara A. Carter



MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Sept. 9, 2004) -- They are someone’s mother or father, brother or sister, son or daughter. They might be our next-door neighbor or someone we have casually passed on the street. But for now, they are The Marines…putting their personal lives aside to fight the war on terrorism in Iraq, trying to stay alive to come home to their families and friends. For one local Marine, she is home now, safe and sound.

Sgt. Hala Monsour, an administrative chief at Enlisted Assignments, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, returned to Quantico June 2 after a three-month deployment to Iraq.

Monsour’s interest in the Marine Corps started when she was 19.

“I realized that I needed a challenge in my life. The Marine Corps highly impressed me,” said Monsour. “The recruiter was at my door in 20 minutes from the time I hung up the phone with him. Three weeks later I was in boot camp.”

Monsour, who was deployed as a linguist with 1st Force Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, left for Iraq on March 3, with only ten days notice.

“I am a single parent,” said Monsour. “I had to tell my 4-year-old the same day I got the news. That left me with less than two weeks with him. He didn’t completely get the concept of where I was going but I watch the news and so by default, he knows there is a war. I don’t think he had the concept clear but he knew I was going to leave. I made sure I told him I loved him no matter what happens and to never forget that.”

With her future unclear, Monsour prepared for the worst-case scenario.

“I also left (my son) a goodbye letter in case something was to happen to me and [I] asked his grandmother to hang on to it and read it to him when he was at an age he could really understand what was going on around him,” said Monsour.

During her last ten days with her son, Monsour’s thoughts were mainly on her son’s well-being and how he would handle her being in Iraq.

“(My) major concern was having my son understand where his mommy is going and why,” said Monsour. “He handled it greatly for a 4-year-old and by the time I was with I MEF I kept complete contact with him, even from Iraq. Whenever I could get through I spoke with him.”
Even though a majority of her thoughts were about her son’s welfare, she imagined what it would be like for herself in Iraq.

“Honestly, I prepared myself for the worst, and hoped for the best,” said Monsour. “I knew I was going to be in the desert and I was. The one thing that helped us kill time was watching movies or else it would have been extremely boring.”

“I expected to stay put but I did a lot of visits to the towns with the Army and the 3rd Bn., 24th Marine Regiment (Marine Corps), and did a few foot patrols so that was definitely something different,” she continued. “And if I may say, my hats off to our grunts. They are the best and they really do keep us alive.”

Nothing but actually going to Iraq, could prepare Monsour for what it was like.
“First thing I did when we got off the plane was get on a bus in Kuwait,” she said. “I immediately had to use my language skills with the driver. He didn’t know what camp we were supposed to go to.”

“Once I got to Iraq, I felt a bit reserved. I was extremely eager to get working, but since we were doing turnover with the Army’s 82nd Airborne, things moved slow for me.” “Once we were locked on, and worked picked up, I was gainfully employed and worked numerous hours translating and working with the Navy’s Surgical Trauma Platoon as wounded Iraqi’s would get medevac’d to us due to injuries. I was glad that I got to work with both sides, and I took the bitter and the sweet in stride.”

Sent to the Al Anbar Province, Monsour said she did not expect the sometimes-daily attacks the base would receive.

“Our base would get hit on a weekly, sometimes daily basis with Mortars,” said Monsour. “We have been very lucky to not have any person get injured and I continue to pray that no one else will.”

“One day we got hit with 10 mortars that were really close by,” she recalls. “Those attacks started from 2:30 a.m. till about 3 p.m. One was when we were in the chow hall, the whole building shook. It was a rush, but we were told to sit tight, till we were cleared to leave.”

Despite the constant threat of attack, life had to go on. With the number of causalities rising everyday, Monsour’s skills as a linguist assisted in saving lives.

“While helping the Surgical Trauma Platoon, I got to save lives,” said Monsour. “[At times] I was the only person there to communicate for the Navy doctors and the injured Iraqi citizens.
In that aspect, I felt it was very critical to remain calm and to get the message across.”

“I was glad I was given that opportunity and the “thank you’s” I got from both sides and from the families of the Iraqis was enough to make me smile for the rest of my life.”

“We also went on humanitarian efforts with 3/24,” she added. “We would take clothes, shoes, water, books, pencils for the children in the villages.”

Because of a non-combat injury to her ankle, Monsour was sent back to Quantico June 7.

“I tried talking the doctors into keeping me in country, but of course, there was no way that could have happened,” she said.

Having her tour cut short was bittersweet, she said. She was safe at home but she missed her unit.

“I would think about (my unit) a lot. I got attached to the environment and a routine, so (returning) was a bit hard to get adjusted to,” said Monsour.

Although she was back in the states, she was not reunited with her son for two more months.

“I was also extremely worried at how my son was going to react to me being injured and away from him for almost seven months,” said Monsour. “I got some serious work done to my foot and after surgery, I ended up with ten screws and a metal plate to hold my ankle together.”

There was just a lot of stress. The feeling of coming home didn’t finally sink in till I got my son back and return to work.”

Monsour returned to MMEA and was reunited with her son Aug. 2.

“Now (my) major concern is getting back on track, attempt to get to 100 percent and see if I can get back out there for a second tour,” said Monsour.

Although her tour was cut short, Monsour learned a valuable lesson during her stay in Iraq.

“Never take anything or anyone for granted,” she said. “Always kept that in the back of you mind. The most important thing is to treat people as human beings and never dismiss any advice that is given to you. You may not act on it, but keep it in the back of your mind.”

To those who are currently deployed or are about to deploy Monsour gives these words of advice.
“Keep your faith strong and your mind clear. Keep your head down and your spirits high.”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20049911215/$file/MONSOUR_lowres.jpg

Sgt. Hala Monsour, an administrative chief at Enlisted Assignments, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, sits in the back of a seven-ton truck while she eats a Meals, Ready-to-Eat during her deployment to Iraq. Monsour was deployed as a linguist to Iraq March 3 with 1st Force Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force. She returned to Quantico June 7 due to a non-combat injury to her ankle. Photo by: Photo provided by Sgt. Hala Monsour

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/1819E1E3BFCAF5E385256F0A0053B153?opendocument

Ellie

[thedrifter]

'Greyhawks' return home after trial by fire
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2004910175536
Story by Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte



AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sep. 7, 2004) -- Lt. Col. David W. Coffman, commanding officer of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and squadron Sgt. Maj. Charles L. Booker, cased their squadron colors and the Stars and Stripes at their headquarters building here Sept. 2.

The squadron will return home shortly to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., after spending six months here and flying 3,042 combat flight hours in support of some of the most heavily engaged ground units in Iraq.

The "Greyhawks" mission since their redeployment to Iraq has been casualty evacuation, which is the evacuation of personnel, friendly or enemy, from the battlefield in their CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters.

The journey for the squadron started half a year ago when the "Phrog" squadron initially deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Since they began their journey, they have seen high and low points during their deployment. Some of the high points of their journey included the support they provided to the Marines operating in Al Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Vigilant Resolve.

They continued flying support missions throughout the area of Iraq known as the "Sunni Triangle," where much of the heavy fighting and enemy resistance have taken place in the last six months.

Lt. Col. David W. Coffman, commanding officer, HMM-161, MAG-16, recalled a specific moment where his squadron's resolve was tested during a difficult time. May 2 was a regular day even when an indirect fire attack struck Camp Ar Ramadi, Iraq, and the "Greyhawks" were called for CASEVAC support.

The scope of the attack revealed itself quickly when the call was clarified from one set of CASEVAC helicopters to any and all assets available. In all, the squadron airlifted over 30 personnel from Ar Ramadi to different care facilities in the area of operations.

Coffman specifically remembered a young Marine asking him how long his Marines would keep coming, and he answered with a simple, but more far-reaching statement than he could have known.

"As long as you have casualties," said the 41-year-old from Eustis, Fla., "'Greyhawk' helicopters will keep landing in this zone."

When Coffman made his claim to the young Marine at the landing zone, it resonated throughout his squadron's entire stay in Iraq. While here they have evacuated 1,016 patients, including 328 urgent evacuations, which required surgical care within the hour to save "life, limb or eyesight."

The squadron has successfully achieved 100 percent mission accomplishment throughout all 752 consecutive on-time launches of their aircraft on combat missions

The ability to keep the aging Sea Knight airframes fully operational under these conditions was a total squadron effort since the beginning, noted Gunnery Sgt. Mark A. Arvizu, airframes chief, HMM-161.

"They haven't missed a beat since we deployed," said the 37-year-old from Phoenix. "Getting these planes flying from sitting on the ship and then not missing a single mission. This is a first to be at 100 percent like this."

The Marines attention to detail has allowed them to keep the squadron fully mission capable without the benefits of a rear-area supply chain, added Staff Sgt. Michael A. Miller, quality assurance representative, HMM-161.

"They did it all with minimal supplies," explained the 28-year-old Marine from Martinez, Calif. "If something was broke, they'd run out there and fix it with minimal time down. If something usually took an hour, they could get it done in 20 minutes because they are always on the line troubleshooting the aircraft."

A powerful factor that has led to the unit's "maintainers" putting in tireless hours is the knowledge of their own impact on the CASEVAC mission, revealed Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thomas R. Smith, avionics officer, HMM-161.

"I still remember the first time the maintainers washed blood from an aircraft," the 33-year-old Ontario, Calif., native remembered. "It was then they understood how important their job is."

It was then that the young Marines learned a valuable lesson that has stayed with them to the end, Miller said.

"Every time we launch, it's life or death," he stated. "It made the Marines strive harder to keep the aircraft in a flyable status."

All in all, "Greyhawk" aircraft came under enemy surface-to-air fire 57 times and had their aircraft hit eight separate times.

The most notable time was July 5, when a routine CASEVAC mission took a turn for the worse and nearly ended in disaster, Smith mentioned.

"We were about five miles from the northwest corner of Fallujah when we were hit," Smith explained. "We had 75 percent of the overhead cabin wires damaged from bullets. A lot of other wires were damaged from the aircraft fire. It was a flash fire and went out on its own, which was probably a good thing."

The aircraft took damage from small arms fire and also shrapnel from rocket-propelled grenade rounds, Miller explained.

"The engines were still fully functional," he said. "We were just thinking about getting back to base and landing."

Luckily, the damage to the aircraft would allow them to make it back to base; but not without injury, however. Both CASEVAC corpsmen aboard, Petty Officer 1st Class Jeanne M. Wilkinson and Petty Officer 3rd Class James R. Howeth, received Purple Hearts for burns sustained from the helicopter fire.

Coffman, the squadron's commanding officer, was shot in the front "chicken plate" of his flak vest through the front windshield of the helicopter. The bullet fragmented into his shoulder and chin, which broke under the force of the impact.

"The 'Charlie-Oscar' was still trying to fly a little bit because it didn't knock him out, it just buckled him a little," Miller explained of Coffman, who was the pilot for the trip. "Once they made the turn back to base, he gave the controls to (1st Lt. Steve M. Clifton), who got us home."

One thing the crew will always remember is the fact that Coffman walked off of the helicopter when it landed, Smith said.

Coffman was rushed to the medical clinic and found himself recovering in Naval Medical Center, Balboa in San Diego when he finally regained consciousness. His only thought was of his Marines and what would become of them in his absence.

In hindsight, he said he shouldn't have worried in the least. He hasn't forgotten their perseverance in the face of a challenge and it is this resolve that has earned his squadron the Edward C. Dyer Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron of the Year award for the year 2004.

"Great units thrive in adversity and this is how the (executive officer) put it to the squadron when I was evacuated," he said. "They could've fallen apart, they refused to fail."

"They decided on a course and did it," he continued. "What could've been a degrader, they turned around. Someone had to lead that and Maj. (James R.) Kennedy had the challenge of doing that."

With the commanding officer's return after just under two months of recovery, the squadron has packed up their personal belongings and transferred their well-maintained helicopters to the "Red Dragons" of HMM-268.

Coffman addressed his Marines about the job they have accomplished since their arrival in Iraq. He mentioned the low statistics the squadron has accumulated.

The "Greyhawks" lost no aircraft to enemy fire - even the aircraft in which Coffman himself had been shot. They also lost no Marines, dropped no missions or had any mishaps since they began. This, Coffman noted, are the stats of which he is most proud.

"Marines and Sailors, you have seized your opportunity to serve Corps and country in combat," he said to them after casing the squadron colors. "You have served with honor, courage and commitment. You have done everything asked of you and have made a difference."

Take that success and plant it deep in your heart," he continued. "Remember it, cherish it, and celebrate it for the rest of your life. Know that you did your best and your best was good enough. Well done Marines, well done."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20049101819/$file/040902-M-9245L-001retroLR.jpg

Lt. Col. David W. Coffman (left), Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 commanding officer, and HMM-161 Sgt. Maj. Charles L. Booker both of Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, case the 'Greyhawk' squadron colors at Al Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 2. The'Phrog' squadron will return home after six months of performing casualty evacuations for I Marine Expeditionary Force in the area known as the 'Sunni Triangle.' Photo by: Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E68665A67B46A58085256F0B0078725F?opendocument

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004910181031/$file/040902-M-9245L-003retroLR.jpg

Lt. Col. David W. Coffman (left), Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 commanding officer, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, returns a salute to a group of Marines whom he just presented awards at Al Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 2. The Marines each received awards for superior performance of their duties while aiding the squadron's overall mission of casualty evacuation. Photo by: Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200491018527/$file/040902-M-9245L-002retroLR.jpg

Lt. Col. David W. Coffman (left), Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 commanding officer, and HMM-161 Sgt. Maj. Charles L. Booker both of Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, case the Stars and Stripes at Al Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 2. The 'Greyhawks' transferred their casualty evacuation mission to HMM-268 after six months of combat flights around the Al Anbar province of Iraq. HMM-161 has completed a total of 752 flights and transported 1016 patients since their arrival in Iraq. Photo by: Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E68665A67B46A58085256F0B0078725F?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Aviation accidents alarming Marines

Miramar officer cites 'supervisory gaps'
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 10, 2004

Marine Corps aviation is having its most accident-prone year since 1990, prompting the high command to worry that it is "degrading" the service's ability to fight the war on terrorism.

Since October, when the fiscal year began, 15 crashes have killed 15 Marines. Eight accidents and 10 deaths involved aircraft based at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

The situation is so serious that Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee sent a safety message to flight commanders in late July saying: "We are currently taking significant losses from a self-inflicted internal threat: noncombat mishaps. Our peacetime training mistakes are significantly degrading our ability to prosecute the global war on terrorism.

"We all must do our utmost to turn the tide on this terrible trend," he urged. "Everyone . . . must personally reflect on this situation and recognize its grave operational implication."

If Hagee dangled the carrot, Maj. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the 3rd Marine Air Wing based at Miramar, promised the stick.

Stalder told subordinates he believed the accidents were largely due to a lack of leadership and inattention to detail.

"In my view, there are supervisory gaps," Stalder said in an interview with the Marine Corps Times. "I told my commanders that if you do something like this, you're going to be gone and probably some of the people who work for you are going to be gone."

Robert Work, a defense expert for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and a former Marine, said Stalder's warning is unusually blunt, even by Marine standards and considering that he is new to the job. He took command of the air wing in late May.

"Normally, a commander would not take this route unless he thought people were cutting corners and not paying attention to the details," Work said.

Although none of the accident investigations have been completed, Marine spokesman Capt. Jerome Bryant said human error is suspected in a number of cases because the accidents happened during routine training missions in the United States.

Three of the 15 accidents were in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The deadliest accidents occurred in San Diego during training missions.

In January, a UH-1N Huey helicopter crashed on Camp Pendleton, killing all four Marines on board.

In March, a UC-35 Cessna Citation built for the military crashed on approach to Miramar. Four Marines died.

Two F/A-18 fighters based at Miramar collided over Oregon in July, killing the pilots of both planes.

There were no fatalities in the other accidents.

Bryant said that a Marine aviation panel is expected to deliver recommendations this month on how to improve aviation safety.

Not everyone is convinced human error is responsible for the spate of crashes. Marcus Corbin, a senior defense analyst for the Center for Defense Information, a think-tank in Washington, D.C., said the problem likely rests with the aircraft.

"I think it is more likely that the defense industry is not providing good equipment," he said. "The leadership is buying stuff that is unreliable and is too complex.

"And the reason there are more accidents during training missions in the United States, as opposed to overseas in combat, is because you send your best stuff to war and you make sure it is all working," he said. "If you look at accidents across the decades, it is the reliability of the of the aircraft in the first place."



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Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040910-9999-7m10crashes.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

1st FSSG reservists train to clear minefields
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2004911181722
Story by Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri



AL ASAD, Iraq (Sep. 4, 2004) -- The sun is high and beating down on a focused Marine as he moves across the desert as carefully as possible. Sweat trickles down his face and back as he tries his best to remain calm.

Each cautious step is as nerve racking as the last, as the sun-drenched leatherneck advances forward, hoping that he has scanned the area sufficiently, since the lives of his fellow Marines may hang in the balance.

Scanning for mines isn't the safest job, but it's a necessary one because improvised explosive devices and mines have been responsible for numerous deaths during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Marine reservists from Peoria, Ill., have been called to active duty to serve with Combat Service Support Battalion 7, 1st Force Service Support Group, and conducted training here with an upgraded metal detector Sep. 4.

The combat engineers participating in the training are responsible for constructing and repairing military structures and facilities. As a result, they need to be able to scan possible mine-polluted areas and clear the vicinity of anything that could hinder construction progress.

The new AN/PSS-14 metal detector has all of the features of the previous model, but also includes ground-penetrating radar to find mines deep underground.

"(I feel) it's important that (all my students) learn how to use this new detector," said course instructor Cpl. Josh B. Blankenship, combat engineer, CSSB-7. "It's a complicated machine and requires a lot of hands-on experience."

The Marine Corps recently added the new detector to its arsenal, so Marines throughout the Corps are studying up for new tests.

"It's a weeklong class with a written portion on the first day," explained Blankenship, a 22-year-old native of Springfield, Ill. "The written test must be passed before the student can go through the rest of the training."

Each Marine going through the training has to clear multiple lanes with simulated mines placed in random locations and depths by the instructors.

"Each lane is different, and they get increasingly harder as you go through the course."

"There are about 20 to 30 mines per lane," he continued. "The student uses the radar detector to find the mine, and then places a marker where he thinks the center is.

In order to pass, the Marine has to find every mine in the lane. If he fails, he is allowed one remediation session before having to take the entire course again.

Having strict rules and regulations for the instructing and testing of the Marines ensures that they are truly prepared to perform a service that leaves virtually no room for error.

"The course may seem harsh," Blankenship said, "but this is real life out here, and the standards are much higher."

"It's a dangerous job, but it's got to be done," said instructor Lance Cpl. Jason J. Gibbs, combat engineer, CSSB-7, 1st FSSG.

A native of Quincy, Ill., Gibbs served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and helped clear mines for bases being built in Iraq. Now, the 22-year-old is teaching other Marines how to operate the new detector.

"There's no one who doesn't get a little nervous and scared when out there clearing a minefield," said Gibbs, "but if you take your time and do it right then you'll be ok."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200491118343/$file/040904-M-0484L-mines-money1LR.jpg

After placing a locating grid on the ground, instructor Lance Cpl. Jason J. Gibbs, combat engineer, Combat Service Support Battalion 7, 1st Force Service Support Group, sticks a rod into the ground find a simulated mine during training with the new AR-PSS14 mine detector, Sep. 4 in Al Asad, Iraq. The Marines who attended the course must place a marker within an inch of the mine or they fail the final test. Photo by: Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri

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http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/85606CE03FB11B4285256F0C007A70B0?opendocument

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine community's patriotism unshaken, despite deaths

By KATE WILTROUT, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 10, 2004

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Most of Camp Lejeune’s young warriors aren’t old enough to remember this city’s defining moment.

The youngest weren’t even alive on Oct. 23, 1983 – the day a terrorist truck bomb exploded outside the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The day that 241 men died, most of them Lejeune Marines.

The day that even 20 years later, almost every Jacksonville resident remembers. Like with the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, people here know where they were and what they were doing when the awful news broke from Beirut.

The legacy of that day lives on. Like in most towns near military bases, flag-waving and patriotism didn’t reappear after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – it never went out of vogue. But the Beirut bombing forged the city’s soul, residents say, leaving it stronger and closer-knit than other base towns.

That strength has been tested since the invasion of Iraq 18 months ago. Members of Lejeune’s 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, which participated in the invasion, are preparing to return there early next year. Thousands more are already there, and at least four died this summer, bringing the number of North Carolina-based Marine fatalities to more than 80.

Those killed have been mourned and honored. But their deaths, and the injuries of hundreds of other Marines, have not shaken the community’s faith.

While much of America readies itself for a polarizing presidential election, and debates whether the 1,000 U.S. casualties in Iraq have been worth the cost, this city of 70,000 stands apart – largely unburdened by doubts about the war, confident that the sacrifices have been just and resoundingly supportive of President Bush.

Across the street from the Beirut memorial is the North Carolina Veterans Cemetery, a green patch of calm beside a busy highway leading to Camp Lejeune’s main gate.

Among the hundreds of graves lies that of Army Spc. Daniel A. Desens Jr., killed in Iraq on June 24, 2004. His headstone, flush to the ground, was surrounded Wednesday with seven vases of fresh flowers. Above the pink carnations, yellow chrysanthemums and white daisies, choppy helicopter rotors churned the cloudy sky.

A few feet behind the grave rested a new bench, donated in the soldier’s memory, a groundskeeper said, by parents who visit three or four times a week. The last line of the headstone says: “Mom & Dad’s Hero.”

Every casualty, said real estate broker Sheila Pierce, is important to the residents of Jacksonville, “whether you knew them personally or not. The community truly treasures those lives, because we see those young faces every day. Your faith in youth gets reinforced.”

Pierce is about to take over as chairman of Project CARE – for Community Action Readiness Effort, an outreach to families left behind by deployed service members. The group, which includes representatives from businesses, local government, the base, schools and charitable organizations, works to link dependents with services and support, from changing a tire to offering discounts on goods.

“We’re a fairly small community,” Pierce said. “Many of our military people – they’re our soccer coaches and our Sunday school teachers. They’re our neighbors and our friends.”

Earl Taylor, the director of community affairs for Onslow County Public Schools and a resident of Jacksonville for 31 years, said he thinks that residents have learned the lessons of the Vietnam era, when many people didn’t support the war or those asked to fight it.

Taylor said just as soldiers and Marines are asked to carry out presidential orders without questioning them, he believes it’s the community’s duty to support them regardless of the mission.

“Grenada, Iraq – it doesn’t matter,” Taylor said. “These guys get calls in the middle of the night and the next morning they’re in another country somewhere performing a mission.”

Another indication of local support for the Marine mission is the ease with which recruiters fill the ranks.

In his 2½ years recruiting in Jacksonville, Staff Sgt. Daniel Locke said he has never had a problem meeting the goal for new recruits. His station – in a strip mall, alongside Air Force, Army and Navy recruiters – is short a Marine recruiter and has still reached its target, he said.

Locke said he hasn’t noticed much fluctuation in the motivation of recruits. Many join to help fight terrorism, or simply because they’re patriotic. And because of the local demographics, almost all the recruits are related to or know Marines.

“They know exactly what they’re getting into,” Locke said. “Everybody pretty much knows what the Marines stand for. They know every Marine is a rifleman first. They accept that before they come in.”

A 23-year-old woman sitting next to Locke’s desk proved his point. Theresa McKee, a native of Toledo, Ohio, first walked into Locke’s office on Saturday.

McKee, who worked in data entry for four years after high school, said she was looking both for a career and a way to serve the country. Her brother spent four years as a Marine, she said – but her mother didn’t want to have two children serving at the same time.

McKee, who described Jacksonville as more patriotic than any city she had ever seen, had not heard about the seven Marines killed one day this week in Iraq, and seemed more worried about losing weight and getting into shape before boot camp than by the prospect of dying in combat.

“If it’s meant to happen, it’s meant to happen,” she said.

Judy Pitchford remembers what it’s like to be that nonchalant about the perils of Marine life.

Pitchford, who retired as a gunnery sergeant after 20 years in uniform, is married to a Marine lieutenant colonel and has a daughter who is a lance corporal.

Pitchford, now president and chief executive officer of the USO of North Carolina, said she doesn’t have any problem watching her husband go off on deployments. But she feels different about her 4-foot-10 daughter, whose unit is expected to ship out to the Middle East in early 2005.

“It’s a whole different ball game when you’re sending your child,” said Pitchford, who admits being taken aback by her daughter’s zeal for Marine life.

“She is ate up with it,” Pitchford said before heading onto base to hand out USO care packages to troops heading overseas. “I’d like to think I was hard-charging and motivated. I had nothing on this girl.”

Though Pitchford worries about her daughter and other Marines in harm’s way, she said she doesn’t feel – or see – frustration with a war that has gotten deadlier since the end of major combat last spring. From her perspective, families aren’t full of anxiety about the situation in Iraq.

They still have time to think about it: The majority of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Lejeune is expected to deploy to the Middle East by next spring. It will be a second or third tour in Iraq for many of the Marines, most of whom were transported across the Atlantic in Hampton Roads-based Navy ships.

There is one topic very much on people’s minds, one that could alter how the United States carries out its mission in Iraq: the November presidential election. The Marine community – and Jacksonville as a whole – unabashedly supports Bush. Mention the Democratic ticket in a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post and be prepared for a lecture.

“It’s very rare that you have a military member who’s a Democrat and is brave enough to say it,” Pitchford acknowledged. “They know they can’t win the war, so they don’t get into the battle.”

Inside VFW Post 9133 on a recent night, a handful of veterans talked about North Carolina’s junior senator – vice presidential nominee John Edwards – and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry with disgust.

“If Kerry gets in there, God bless America, we’re finished,” said Ron Rang, a retired Marine who served two tours in Vietnam. Should Kerry win, Rang said, the thousand military deaths in Iraq will have been in vain.

Rang said he doesn’t see Iraq evolving into a conflict like Vietnam, with dozens of daily casualties compounding over years that stretch to decades. Neither does he consider the Vietnam War a waste of lives, or an American defeat.

“We fought because our government said we had to fight,” he said. “We didn’t lose in Vietnam. We actually won the damn thing. Those guys over there didn’t die in vain, and Kerry will never, ever, ever take that away from us.”

Jack McKee , a retired Marine captain who served alongside Rang, disagreed with Rang’s prediction that U.S. troops would pull out of Iraq in another year.

“I’m sure it’s going to drag on and on and on,” McKee said. “But I’m not there. All I worry about now is my retirement check coming the first of every month. I did 25 years. That’s enough.”

Reach Kate Wiltrout at 446-2629 or kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com

http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/military/lejeunemarines.jpg

Marines from the 2nd Recon Battalion pass the time before leaving for Iraq at Camp Lejeune in Jackson-ville, N.C., on Thursday. As in many military towns, the city’s support of its soldiers has never wavered. ARIANA LINDQUIST/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=75397&ran=161088

Ellie

[thedrifter]

September 10, 2004
11th MEU combat in Najaf: A fireteam's tale



by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards
11th Marine Expeditionary Unit


FORWARD OPERATING BASE HOTEL, Iraq -- Early August, the world watched as Marines and sailors of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) battled against Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia in the opening days of a tough fight in a huge cemetery sacred to the Shia Muslims.

By August 6, the struggle was well known as it flashed across television sets around the globe, but the story of the men wedged inside this vicious fight was untouched by the eyes of the world.

These Marines and sailors trained for many months before this day arrived. Infantrymen and corpsmen participated in the battle, along with many other Marines from varying technical specialties. All, however, walked in the footsteps imprinted in history by the endless unsung heroes who fought America's battles before them.

Men like Lance Cpl. Sanick P. Dela Cruz, a twenty-one-year-old team leader from Chicago. Lance Cpl. Nathaniel A. Ziobro, a twenty-year-old rifleman from Temecula, Calif. Private first class Ryan D. S. Cullenward, a nineteen-year-old rifleman from Cool, Calif. And Pfc. Heladio Zuniga, a nineteen-year-old rifleman from Jackson, Mich.

These Marines, only one of which is old enough to buy a beer, all walked away from the battle unscathed and without individual recognition. Their names won't be remembered for their actions that day, except for a lifetime by the men who fought alongside them.

They were just another fireteam with 2nd Platoon, Company C, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th MEU (SOC).

They were relaxing in between shifts of guard duty at Forward Operating Base Duke, Iraq, when they got the word to saddle up and get ready. They were going into combat to join the ongoing fight.

"It was not really a shock, but we were excited and nervous at the same time," said Dela Cruz, the fireteam's only veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom I.

They were split at the time of the announcement. Dela Cruz and Zuniga had come back from breakfast when they heard the news. But Cullenward and Ziobro were told as they came back from sitting up all night on the flight line, ready to jump on a helicopter in case a casualty needed to be evacuated.

"We were just coming in after a long night and we were thinking we would get some sleep when they told us to pack our stuff and get on the seven-ton (truck)," Cullenward said.

But they were ready for the action.

"A lot of us were kind of excited to get off guard and kind of do something," Cullenward said.

Zuniga agreed with him.

"Just like he said, I was happy we got to do something," Zuniga said.

The battle had been going on for one day and was all over the news. More important than the politics behind the fighting, they only cared about the battle they were called to join, deep inside that massive cemetery.

They loaded up and rushed to the fight. No sooner had they arrived there than a rocket-propelled grenade flew directly over their heads.

"I heard it go right over our heads and heard the boom right behind us," Cullenward said, mimicking the flutter sound of an RPG in flight.

Except for Dela Cruz, it was the fireteam's first taste of combat and it came as a shock at first.

"I first thought, 'whoa, I'm getting shot at,'" Ziobro exclaimed. "It was kind of funny because the walls are real short and I'm kind of a tall guy."

They joined the rest of the Marines lined up down the road that ran along the edge of the cemetery. The fireteam happened to be on the far right side while the company pivoted on the left. They moved the farthest and the deepest into the cemetery, and were responsible for covering the company's right flank.

"Above all, we knew our responsibility was that flank," Dela Cruz said. "It was only our fireteam covering it."

They took constant sniper fire, mortars and RPGs. They could hardly ever see who was shooting at them.

"We had no idea where they were coming from, we just would shoot where everyone was shooting," Dela Cruz said. "Every now and then they'd pop out at us."

This was different from what they had expected.

"I was kind of hoping they'd show their face a little more," Cullenward said as Dela Cruz acted as if he was ducking behind a wall and shooting blindly. "If you're going to shoot someone, show yourself."

They eventually became accustomed to the never-ending, incoming fire.

"After a while you just get used to it," Cullenward said. "You're just standing by a tomb as rounds fly by you head."

At one point they were taking constant sniper fire from a building near the cemetery. The enemy fire ended abruptly, however.

"We started taking fire from a building and the (81mm Mortar Platoon) told us they'd been taking fire all day from that building," Dela Cruz said. "Then all of the sudden the whole building just went boom! Someone had called in an air strike or artillery on it."

Once they took up a defensive position, they continued to receive sniper and mortar fire.

"What (stunk) was we could hear the mortar rounds being walked in on us," Cullenward said. "One landed just to the left side of us and our doc had to go to help a Marine that didn't make it."

Cullenward felt an inner conflict when he thought of all the Marines taking heavy fire.

"You're relieved when it hits somewhere else, but it's difficult because it might have hit someone else," he said.

Later that day, water began to run low during the hottest part of the afternoon and Cullenward became very dehydrated.

"When we had no water, my tongue felt like paper," he said. "I could just tear it in half."

Dela Cruz did the best he could for the team.

"I tried to rotate them all into the shade while we were fighting," he said.

Once nightfall came the fireteam was still there. They were constantly watching for the enemy and spent a restless night watching and waiting. They each only got an hour of sleep.

"I kept hearing their flags flapping, thinking it was somebody coming," Ziobro said.

The other Marines joked and poked fun at Zuniga because during the course of the night he claimed to have seen two ghosts.

"That cemetery is a spooky place, I swear I saw two ghosts," Zunga said as the others laughed. "Maybe I was just hallucinating from the heat."

Dela Cruz wasn't worried about ghosts, he was thinking about the fight the next day.

"I didn't want the morning to come," he said. "The only thing I was scarred about was one of us getting hurt, and I was worried about Cullenward being a heat casualty."

But morning inevitably came. They didn't stay long that next day. In fact, after the fireteam was tasked as a security element for their company first sergeant, the entire BLT pulled out of the engagement.

They had to run the 500 meters back to their trucks under mortar and sniper fire in full combat gear.

"I was the very last one of our platoon in the seven-ton," Zuniga said.

They lived through the battle that day and fought like Marines, their contribution a small footnote in Marine Corps history.

http://www.dcmilitary.com/marines/hendersonhall/newspics/1979_1w.jpg

Cpl. Daniel J. Fosco
Marines with 2nd Platoon, Company C, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), fight from tomb to tomb against Muqtada Militia entrenched in the Wadi Al Salam cemetery during combat operations in An Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 6.

http://www.dcmilitary.com/marines/hendersonhall/9_35/national_news/31050-1.html

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Violence Roars In Baghdad
Associated Press
September 12, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Strong explosions shook central Baghdad early Sunday, and fighting erupted on a major street in the heart of the city near the U.S.-guarded Green Zone. Five civilians died and 48 were injured in the violence, Iraqi officials said.

In western Baghdad, a car bomb killed two Iraqi police officers on patrol, the Interior Ministry said. Insurgents have regularly attacked police because they are seen as being collaborators with American troops.

Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded outside the Abu Ghraib prison on Sunday, killing one militant, the military said.

The attack occurred at 6:30 a.m. when a vehicle tried to crash through the prison's protective gate, said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman. The facility is west of Baghdad.

Rocket and mortar fire erupted about 5:30 a.m. and continued into the morning. Several rounds landed in the Green Zone, raising clouds of black smoke and triggering warning sirens.

The rattle of heavy machine-gun fire echoed through Haifa Street, located on the western side of the Tigris river near the Green Zone and a "no go" area for international forces. A Bradley fighting vehicle caught fire and children climbed on top, cheering and dancing beside the flames after the Americans left.

U.S. soldiers fired from behind walls and trees along Haifa Street while several hundred residents milled about to watch the battle. A military spokesman, Maj. Phil Smith of the 1st Cavalry Division, said the Bradley was apparently hit by a roadside bomb. Four soldiers were slightly hurt, he said.

The battle on Haifa Street lasted for about 90 minutes. Afterward, as a column of a dozen Bradleys and armored personnel carriers left the scene, residents shouted "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great."

A low-flying helicopter later swooped down over the burning Bradley and the cheering crowd, who dispersed following a series of explosions, possibly caused by stun grenades.

"The battle began before daylight," said Mohammed Salah, 19, whose third-floor family apartment overlooks the area where most of the fighting took place. "We all sat on the floor in a room away from the windows and waited until it was over."

Scattered shoes, pools of fresh blood and debris scattered the roadway after the morning violence. Five people were killed and 48 were injured, said Health Ministry official Saad al-Almili.

The early morning explosions followed a late-night barrage that rattled the capital. Three or four projectiles - believed to be either mortar shells or rockets - slammed into apartment buildings across the street from the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, where many international journalists are based.

Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman, an Interior Ministry official, said there were no reports of casualties. Earlier, mortars or rockets exploded near the Green Zone and at a U.S. base in northern Baghdad. No casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, an audiotape purportedly by key terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, boasted that Islamic holy warriors have humiliated the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. It was impossible to verify the authenticity of the audiotape, which surfaced Saturday, the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

In Basra, Iraq's major southern city, a bomb exploded outside a Saddam Hussein palace now housing a U.S. consular office. One person was killed and two were wounded, police said. The victims were believed to be Iraqis.

In Baghdad, a U.S. warplane carried out an airstrike against militants loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr during a battle in the sprawling Sadr City slum.

The plane fired on militiamen manning a machine gun, said U.S. Capt. Brian O'Malley of the 1st Brigade Combat Team. Residents reported that gunfire rocked the city before the attack; there was no word on civilian casualties.

"They spotted the team from the air ... and they engaged and destroyed the team," O'Malley said.

Elsewhere, insurgents kidnapped the family of an Iraqi national guard officer and burned his home northeast of the capital, Iraqi authorities said Saturday.

Kidnappers seized the wife and three children of Col. Khalis Ali Hussein on Wednesday, said Maj. Gen. Walid Khalid, the head of the Diyala provincial police force.

The incident in Khalis, 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, was the latest act of intimidation against security forces cooperating with the U.S. military. Insurgents consider the Iraqi police and security personnel to be collaborators.

Also in Khalis, gunmen killed a national guard officer, his son and their driver in a drive-by shooting Saturday, Khalid said. The men were traveling to Baghdad at the time.

North of Baghdad, more residents fled Tal Afar amid a siege of the largely ethnic Turkish city, where Iraqi and American forces say they are trying to root out hundreds of militants and restore government control, the military said.

The extent of the exodus was not immediately clear, but the military said the International Red Crescent was offering help and medical care to the displaced.

The campaign was part of a new American effort to restore government authority to lawless areas of the country - either through negotiation or by force.

The U.S. military said Iraqi police raided a house north of Baqouba and arrested two Egyptian men, confiscating a large cache of weapons, including bomb-making gear.

In Saturday's audiotape, the speaker noted recent battles between American forces and militiamen in the holy city of Najaf, indicating the recording was made recently.

The voice was similar to that of previous recordings of al-Zarqawi and used a similar style of rhythmic speech. There was no reference to the Sept. 11 attacks in the tape, titled "Where is the honor?"

"The holy warriors made the international coalition taste humiliation ... lessons from which they still are burning," the speaker said. His speech lasts about 25 minutes.



Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine Corps Sgt. Edgar Lopez, 27, Los Angeles; Killed in an Explosion

By Wendy Thermos, Times Staff Writer


Edgar E. Lopez of Los Angeles not only loved his two children, he was a kid at heart.

His wife, Rosie, said she will always treasure her memories of one of the family's last outings before he left for Iraq with his Marine Corps unit on July 7. The four of them went with some of his Marine friends to a beach near their base at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He was so full of life, and he was having so much fun with the kids, he was like a kid himself," his wife said. On hands and knees, he patiently built a perfect sandcastle, she said, and lightheartedly walked the beach in search of seashells with his 4-year-old daughter, Anamaria.

Lopez, a 27-year-old sergeant, was killed in enemy action Aug. 28 in Iraq's Babil province, according to the Defense Department. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune.

Military officials gave his wife few details except that he was killed while trying to help Marines under attack. "The only thing they said was there was an explosion, and he was in one of the first vehicles in his unit," she said. "When he turned back to make sure everyone was OK, he got hit by a second explosion."

Relatives said that Lopez, a Los Angeles native, had been unsure of what to do after he graduated from high school. But one day he came home and told his mother, Ana Fajardo, that he had enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Although friends and family members had always seen a cheerful Lopez, his wife said, when it came to military duty he was businesslike. "I am very proud of him," she said. "He was a dedicated Marine, and he was very proud of that too."

Lopez was deployed twice to Iraq, initially serving there from January to June 2003. His letters to his wife often mentioned his military activities. "He'd say, 'My unit went out on seven missions today,' but he also was constantly asking how the kids were," his wife said.

Despite his dedication to the Marines, he planned to leave when his enlistment expired in three years, she said. "In his letters, he would say he wanted to get out because he was always gone and he wasn't watching his kids grow up," she said, adding that he talked of becoming a police officer or firefighter.

At home, one of his favorite pastimes was watching sports on TV, especially the Raiders, the Dodgers and the Lakers. "He would always wear his Raiders jersey to watch the games, and he had one for our son too," said his wife, referring to 2-year-old Edgar Jr. "I guess he thought if he wore it, they would win."

Outgoing and friendly, Lopez socialized at every opportunity. He loved to invite friends over and grill their favorite food outdoors. "There was always a barbecue going at the house," his wife said with a laugh.

He also was a dependable friend, she said. "One of the last things I remember him doing was that when a friend of his got into a car crash, he said, 'You can borrow one of our cars until you get yours back,' " his wife said. "That's the type of person he was, always kindhearted. He would go out of his way for anyone."

Lopez was buried Tuesday at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-me-edgar12sep12,1,2606816.story

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine Corps Cpl. Mick Bekowsky, 21, Concord; Killed in Bombing

By Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writer


When one of his Marine Corps buddies half-jokingly complained about spending yet another birthday in a far-off land, Mick Bekowsky took an MRE meal, pulled out a pound cake, found a candle and fashioned his friend a birthday cake.

The setting was Kuwait in 2003, near the eve of the invasion of Iraq.

"Mick really was everyone's best friend," said Mike Baity, the former Marine who celebrated his 22nd birthday in the desert on the brink of war. "One thing about Mick, he was never worried for himself. He was always worried about everyone else."

Bekowsky came home to Concord, Calif., in July 2003 and Baity helped his friend retire the American and Marine flags that Bekowsky's family had flown during his tour of duty. With his father, Bekowsky raised two new flags, which were larger and less faded.

Soon after, Bekowsky returned to Iraq for his second tour of duty. Baity said he and his friend had long before "come to the conclusion that freedom is not something unique to America, and something everyone is entitled to."

Bekowsky, a 21-year-old corporal, was among seven Marines killed Monday when a bomb-laden vehicle was detonated near their convoy outside Fallouja. All but one of the Marines were members of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Bekowsky was an outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish, said his father, Brian.

Before his death, Bekowsky had talked about coming home and chartering a fishing boat at Lake Tahoe so the entire family could get together. "Mick was very outgoing, very active," his father said. "He was somewhat adventurous."

Bekowsky graduated from Concord High School in 2001, although his mind wasn't always on school, his father said.

"He was a good student when he wanted to be," he said. "Once he discovered girls, he had other things on his mind to pursue. We really had to work with him a lot to get him through high school."

Bekowsky's grandfather, Fred Dull, had served 30 years in the Navy, inspiring in Bekowsky an early interest in the military.

His parents said the Marine Corps instilled in him a sense of discipline that the energetic young man had not had before.

During his first tour of duty, Bekowsky related stories of being among the first American servicemen to cross into Iraq in 2003. His battalion hoisted an American flag at the port of Umm al Qasr, only to be ordered to bring it down shortly after.

Bekowsky told his family the Iraqis gave the Marines a warm reception. "One woman gave him a scarf from her head she no longer had to wear," his father said. "The children welcomed them and they came out and greeted them with open arms. He really believed, 'They need us.' "

When Bekowsky returned to Iraq for his second tour, friends and relatives said, he learned that the atmosphere had gone from welcoming to hostile.

"He knew when he was going back the second time that things were different," his father said. "A lot of things had taken place that changed the climate."

But he was undeterred.

"He talked about the possibility of reenlisting," his father said. "He talked about becoming an officer, which he hadn't talked about before."

In addition to his father, Bekowsky is survived by his mother, Joan; a sister, Haley, 12; his maternal grandparents, Adonna and Fred Dull; and his paternal grandmother, Cecile Bekowsky.

Bekowsky will be buried with full military honors at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Concord at a date yet to be determined.


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-bekowsky12sep12,1,5949222.story


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marriage by proxy

New law unites Vista woman and Marine on duty in Iraq
By Daniel J. Chacón
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 12, 2004


Theresa Arnold said "I do" to the man of her dreams yesterday even though he was thousands of miles away on the front lines in Iraq.

Holding a silver cell phone next to her ear and a surrogate groom standing by her side, the nervous but smiling bride married 1st Lt. Thomas Cogan IV, a Camp Pendleton-based Marine, as the real groom listened to her words half a world away.

"I wouldn't change it," Arnold, who wore a pink flowered dress and her shoulder-length brown hair in curls, said after the ceremony. "It's going to help plenty of people, plenty of other military families."

The 11 a.m. wedding at the County Clerk's Office in Kearny Mesa is believed to be the first marriage by proxy in California.

Arnold and her persistence initiated the change.

Marriages by proxy were illegal in California until Friday, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law allowing military personnel stationed overseas in a war or conflict and unable to appear in person to marry through a legal stand-in or proxy.

"It is fitting that this marriage is between Tommy and Theresa, two individuals whose love transcends a war and changed the course of California history," said Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith, a former Assemblyman who performed the wedding ceremony. "It was through the power of their love and desire to be wed that California law was changed."

Arnold, from Fredricksburg, Va., met Cogan on the East Coast and moved with him to Vista when he was transferred to Camp Pendleton.

She is pregnant and due any day. The couple, both 23, hoped to get married before their baby – a girl they plan to name Isabella – was born. The couple wanted to make sure that hospital bills would be covered and that both baby and mom would receive military benefits if Cogan were killed in Iraq.

Cogan, a Philadelphia native who serves with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Division, is expected to return soon, but not before the baby is due. That prompted Arnold to look into a marriage by proxy. She discovered that some states allow it, but California required both the bride and groom to be present to get married.

Cogan's aunt, Debbie Feldman, lives in Philadelphia and is the assistant dean at Temple University School of Law. She knew San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Gallagher when he attended law school there, and turned to the judge for help.

"When the family called me, it was something that I did not want to say no to," said Gallagher, who stood in as the surrogate groom yesterday.

"He consulted with me and I said, 'Let's change the law,' " Goldsmith said.

Goldsmith, a state legislator from 1992 to 1996, asked state Sen. Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, to sponsor a legislative solution. Brulte recruited Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton, D-San Francisco, as a co-author of the bill, SB 7. The pair pushed the legislation through in a month.

Cogan and Arnold "brought together Republicans and Democrats in both houses to unanimously change that law, a new law that will not only benefit Theresa, Tommy and Isabella, but many others now and in the future," Goldsmith said.

Cogan's parents, Thomas III and Roberta, and his two sisters, Alison and Mallory, who traveled from Philadelphia to attend yesterday's ceremony, said they were grateful so many people stepped in to help.

But Roberta Cogan said it was Arnold's determination that made the new law possible.

"We always say small but mighty," she said.

The Cogans said they considered Arnold part of the family a long time ago.

"I told my friends I was going to California for my brother's wedding but my brother's not going to be there," said Alison Cogan, 25. "It's really strange Tommy's not here. But we're really glad we can be here for Theresa."

In a brief telephone interview from Ramadi, Iraq, Cogan said he was nervous about becoming a father and is thrilled he will see his new bride in two or three weeks.

"I love her," he said. "I just knew since the day I met her."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Chacon: (619) 542-4581; daniel.chacon@uniontrib.com

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040912-9999-1m12wedding.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Issue Date: September 13, 2004

Army shifts reserve role, closely mirrors Corps

By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer


First, it borrowed the Corps’ “Every Marine a rifleman” ethos, declaring that “every soldier” should be a rifleman first.
Then, it took and modified the Corps’ digital design for its cammies.

Now, it appears the Army wants its National Guard forces to operate more like the Marine Corps Reserve.

Facing increasing stress on Guard and reserve forces, Guard officials are reorganizing their citizen-soldiers to allow for a high mobilization tempo without burning them out or leaving a state governor high and dry if disaster strikes. And that’s where the Army is again taking a page from the Corps’ book.

This year, the Army began training and equipping its reserve-component forces to seamlessly assimilate into brigade-size units throughout the active-duty force.

In the past, entire reserve units deployed as one and operated as a component of a larger, division-size force. Now, a single battalion or even company-size unit may readily plug into an active brigade and deploy to a war zone without a hitch.

“What I’ve committed to is taking all of our brigades and moving them to exactly the same shape, size, organization [and] equipment as the active brigades,” said Army Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, head of the Army and Air National Guard.

Though the Corps does not contribute to America’s state militias as the Air and Army National Guard do, its small size has forced the organization to mirror the active duty in almost every way.

Thus, a Reserve AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter squadron based in Atlanta can plug in effortlessly with the active-duty 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, in Afghanistan — or even an active-duty Army unit, if necessary.

The Army already has done that with some of its Guard units. Soldiers with the Florida National Guard’s 124th Infantry Regiment teamed up with active-duty Special Forces troops and operated with them throughout much of the Iraq war as prison security and quick-reaction forces.

The Army also is mirroring the Corps by training 12 units to respond to potential chemical, biological or radiological attacks in the United States.

Blum sent the teams this year to the headquarters of the Corps’ Chemical Biological Incident Response Force in Indian Head, Md., where they learned how to deal with mass casualties during a possible domestic attack.

Though CBIRF is an active-duty unit — part of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) — it has been deployed several times for domestic chemical attacks.

CBIRF teams deployed to Capitol Hill in fall 2001 after letters contaminated with anthrax were found in several Senate offices.

The chemical warriors again deployed in February when traces of the deadly chemical ricin turned up in a Senate office.

The Army has a similar team in its Guard forces to take some of the strain off of the Corps’ CBIRF and to provide relief to local law enforcement and medical personnel in the event of a domestic terrorist attack.

“When we trained at Indian Head with the CBIRF and had them certify our packages, we had never thought about being a reserve of the Marine CBIRF unit, but that’s what we end up being,” Blum said. “Because now, they have 12 National Guard packages that can back up the two that exist on active duty in the Marine Corps.”

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-334324.php


Ellie

[thedrifter]

NEARLY 300 MARINES TO RETURN FROM PERSIAN GULF SATURDAY

09-10-2004) - Close to 300 Marines from the 3rd Marine Air Wing will return to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Saturday after service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, base officials said.

The Marines are scheduled to return to the base around 3:30 a.m., Miramar base officials said.

Members of the contingent were deployed in the Persian Gulf between five and eight months, Miramar base officials said.

About 5,000 Miramar-based Marines went to Iraq this year, most of whom are expected to come home between now and October.

http://www.kfmb.com/topstory29097.html

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fallen Marines from Utah to be memorialized
With honors: Both were decorated combat veterans serving their second deployment to Iraq
By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune

Funeral services for Lance Cpl. Michael J. Allred, a Utah Marine killed in Iraq, will be held Monday in his hometown of Hyde Park.
Allred, 22, and Lance Cpl. Quinn A. Keith, 21, of Blanding, were killed last Monday when a suicide bomber crashed into their convoy near the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Five other Marines in their company also were killed.
Allred's family retrieved his casket Saturday at Salt Lake City International Airport. Keith's is expected to arrive in Utah on Tuesday and private funeral

Lcpl. Michael Allred

services are scheduled for Wednesday in Blanding.
"It was heart-wrenching to bring him home this way, but it's comforting to put him to rest with honors," said Allred's father, Brett Allred. "Whenever we want to pay our respects, he'll be close by."
Allred's funeral is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. at the Hyde Park LDS Stake Center, 535 E. 200 South. Burial will be at the Hyde Park City Cemetery, 400 E. Center St.
Blackhawk helicopters from the Utah National Guard will fly over as a tribute to the fallen Marine after graveside services. Brett Allred said his son had wanted a ride in one of the choppers and a friend arranged the flights.
Keith's funeral is scheduled for Wednesday in Blanding, his boyhood home, where he also will be buried. A private memorial service is to be held later next week in Page, Ariz., where Keith and his three brothers lived with his uncle and aunt, Clyde and Shannon Keith, after their parents divorced.
Both Marines were decorated combat veterans, said a spokesman at Camp Pendleton, Calif., their home base.
Allred, a rifleman and squad leader, was awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal. He joined the Marine Corps in October 2003.
Keith, a member of the Navajo Nation who joined the Corps in September 2001, was a rifleman whose awards include a Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal.
Unbeknownst to his family, Keith earned a Purple Heart for a wound received in combat several weeks ago. He had remained at his post in Iraq.
Four of the seven Marines who died in the bombing, including Allred and Keith, were serving their second deployment to Iraq. The company was scheduled to return to the United States next month, the spokesman said.

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2412395


Ellie

[thedrifter]

With Hugs and Some Tears, Marines Head for Fallouja
Camp Pendleton becomes the scene of solemn departures as Kilo Company departs for the Iraqi city that is a center of insurgency.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


CAMP PENDLETON — After a week of ominous casualty numbers from Iraq, family members and friends of the Marines of Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment gathered Saturday to say a tearful goodbye as the company left for Fallouja.

"It's too scary to think about," said Lyndale Coduto, 31, wife of Sgt. Gage Coduto. "Last night, it started to be real. Now there's no denial left; he's really going."

After more than a year of war, military families know there is service in Iraq, and then there's Fallouja.

On Monday, seven Marines were killed outside the combative city in the heart of the Sunni Triangle when their convoy was attacked. It was the most deadly attack on Americans since April.

Six of the seven were with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, the battle-scarred battalion that Kilo Company and the rest of the infantry troops from the "three-five" are to replace.

On Tuesday, the U.S. fatality count for the Iraq war exceeded 1,000 — including 234 Marines. All but a handful of the fatalities came from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.

Denial is no longer an option. Most have known someone killed or wounded in Iraq. But family members believe training, leadership and prayer will bring their loved ones home safely.

"I don't watch the news because I want to keep having my hopes that he'll be back safe," said Karina Flores, 20, wife of Lance Cpl. Jose Flores, as she cuddled their daughter Shandell, 18 months.

The family of Cpl. Terrence Vandoorn wore their confidence on their T-shirts. His photo graced the front and back of the shirt, the back with the caption, "See You When You Return."

"Every day will be hard. There are so many negative things going on there," said Vandoorn's sister, Monita Jones, of Modesto. "Your life isn't the same when you have a family member in Iraq; it changes everything."

Some sobbing children had to be pried away from their fathers when the buses started their engines and sergeants barked out orders for Marines to get on board.

Gina Richardson, 22, wife of Cpl. Justin Richardson, has been planning what to tell their 3-year-old daughter, Heaven, who seemed unsure what it all meant.

"She worries when he goes to the store for a few hours," Richardson said. "I'm just going to tell her that Daddy has gone to Iraq to become a hero."

The military is its own subculture, a distinction never more acute than when forces head overseas. Even well-meaning civilians don't understand, said many of the Marine wives.

"They seem to pity you when they learn your husband is going to Iraq," said Tess Prato, 27, wife of Lt. Michael Prato. "They don't understand: My husband wants to be there. It's what he's trained for. He was built to be a Marine."

In Iraq, U.S. military officials have talked of resuming offensive ground operations against a stubborn insurgency in Fallouja. If so, it is likely Kilo Company will play a leading role.

Some family members already are envisioning the date seven months from now when Kilo Company will return.

"I'm here to see him leave, and I'll be here to pick him up when he comes home," said Linda Collins of San Juan Capistrano as her daughter, Billie, said goodbye to her husband, Lance Cpl. Adam Rodgers.

That date already arrived for several hundred members of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which returned to a buoyant welcome at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in mid-San Diego hours earlier.

With a full-scale rotation of forces underway, contrasting scenes of solemn leave-taking and joyous homecoming occur daily in San Diego County, which has more active-duty military personnel than any other region in the country.

At Camp Pendleton, some of the several hundred Marines were almost jocular as they waited to board buses for the ride to March Reserve Air Force Base in Riverside and a flight to Iraq.

"Iraq?" said a corporal in mock surprise. "I thought we were going to Magic Mountain." A private first-class provided a decent imitation of the Austrian accent of a certain California governor. Another spoke in the growly tones of the Marines of his father's generation: "I was in 'Nam in '69, now that was real."

But amid the joking was the earnest business of getting prepared to enter a killing field. "Are the bayonets packed?" demanded a sergeant. "Get it done, Marines."

Many of the Marines served in last year's assault on Baghdad.

A few were part of another unit that was in Iraq only three months ago.

"There have been a lot of goodbyes this week," said Sarah Goodson, 22, wife of Cpl. Steven Goodson. "It's been tough."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-marines12sep12,1,1721411.story?coll=la-news-state


Ellie