Scars, experience tell tales

[thedrifter]

Scars, experience tell tales
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200491651943
Story by Cpl. Randy Bernard



AL QAIM, Iraq (Sept. 15, 2004) -- Getting hit by an Improvised Explosive Device or mine is a fear every Marine carries with him to the battlefield. Getting hit twice is almost unthinkable.

Cpl. James E. Hammock Jr., a driver with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, has faced these hidden dangers on two separate occasions and lived to talk about it.

Before heading to Iraq, Hammock was stationed in Rota, Spain as a Marine security guard. The 21-year-old native of Woodstock, Ga., provided ship security and augmented base security. Arriving in Iraq was an extreme change of surrounding for Hammock.

"It was a culture shock, I traveled all over Europe and then I came to Iraq. I went from the beautiful landscapes of Europe to the deserts of Iraq," said Hammock.

Hammock arrived in Iraq Feb 15, working with the Marines of Combined Anti-Armor Team Red. The Marines perform road security, vehicle checkpoints and patrols through the cities around Al Qaim. It was on one such patrol he earned his first battle scar.

"We were patrolling out to a city to go check out some broken pipes," said Hammock, recounting his first encounter with an IED. "We had slowed down to cross a bridge over the Euphrates and they set it off. When it went off, I couldn't feel my arm. The blast blew my arm back inside the vehicle. My arm was numb and it was swollen so I thought I had broken it."

Hammock said that once the smoke had settled, they saw a boat speeding off down the river, leading them to believe that the IED had been remotely detonated from the water. Once the corpsman began to work on his arm, thoughts began to race through Hammock's mind.

"I wasn't worried about losing my life at the time, I was more worried about losing my arm," Hammock said.

Once he was sufficiently bandaged, Hammock was sent back to a hospital in Germany for further treatment and given time to recuperate. From there, he was sent back to 29 Palms, Calif.

Hammock soon grew restless back in the rear.

"I volunteered to come back out here," Hammock said. "It was worse being home, I worried about the guys out here doing patrols."

Hammock was concerned about his friends more than his own personal safety.

"As far as coming back, I wasn't worried, I knew where I was going and who I was coming back to," Hammock added.

"We thought we wouldn't see him again, and five months later, he came stumbling in all sweaty and asked if someone could help him with his pack," said Lance Cpl. Seth E. Williams, a machine gunner with CAAT Red. "He is a good guy. If there was a mission, he would always be motivated and want to go."

Williams added that although Hammock was always willing to go, he now carried twice as much medical gear with him.

After coming back to Iraq for only a matter of weeks, Hammock was again the victim of an IED attack.

"We were patrolling through Ubaydi and we turned a corner when they set off a daisy chain of IED's," said Hammock. "The first and second blasts went off, and nobody was hurt. We turned around and the third went off. The blast peppered my face and my side."

Hammock received only small scratches and wounds from the blast but he didn't panic. He was more frustrated than anything about the incident.

"I knew I wasn't hurt bad, I could still talk and I was coherent. But I cussed up a storm because they blew me up again."

As soon as the dust had settled, Hammock re-manned his position on the gun, as the team resumed the mission.

Looking back on his experiences Hammock said that his time in Iraq was certainly unlike any other.

"It really wasn't that bad. We are doing more with our lives than any other civilian could," said Hammock. "It's a beautiful place out here, you just have to know where to look for it."

Although he now bears large scars across his right arm from his first injury, and the Purple Heart to go with it, Hammock is still glad he got a chance to serve in Iraq.

"The scars add character, shows you've been somewhere and done something," said Hammock. "I don't regret anything I've ever done, and I never will."
Hammock is scheduled to fly back to California by the end of September.


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200491652949/$file/Hammock2lr.jpg

Cpl. James E. Hammock Jr., a driver with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, shows off the scar on his arm caused by the first of his two incidents involving improvised explosive devices. The injury kept Hammock away from the fight from March until July, when Hammock volunteered to come back to Iraq. A few weeks after being back in Al Qaim, Hammock's patrol encountered another IED attack, which he sustained minor injuries to his face and side.
(Official USMC photo by Cpl. Randy L. Bernard) Photo by: Cpl. Randy Bernard

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E1DA3EACB714B37B85256F1100333E60?opendocument

Ellie

[thedrifter]

2 Americans Kidnapped In Iraq
Associated Press
September 16, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen kidnapped two Americans and a Briton from a house in the heart of the Iraqi capital Thursday, the Interior Ministry and witnesses said.

The three were seized from a two-story house surrounded by a wall in Baghdad's al-Mansour neighborhood at dawn, said Col. Adnan Abdel-Rahman, a ministry official. Rahman had initially said the three were all British nationals.

He said they were employed by Gulf Services Company, a Middle East-based construction firm.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman speaking on condition of anonymity could not immediately confirm the report but said officials were investigating. A British diplomat in Baghdad was also unable to confirm any details.

A police official who asked that his name not be used said a car was missing from the house where the hostages were believed to have been kidnapped. He said the three were apparently in the garden when the attack took place and that there was no sign of a fight.

Neighbors said they heard two vehicles drive up to the house around dawn and later noticed that the normally closed sliding iron gate was open, so they called the police. They declined to give their names and said they didn't know exactly who was living there.

Several foreign contracting companies and security firms are based in the relatively wealthy al-Mansour neighborhood.

Insurgents waging a 17-month insurgency in Iraq have kidnapped more than 100 foreigners in a bid to destabilize the interim authorities and drive coalition forces from the country. Many have been executed.

At least four Westerners are currently being held hostage in Iraq.

Two Italian women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, were abducted Sept. 7 by armed men from their offices in central Baghdad. They were working on school and water projects for the aid group "Un Ponte Per ..." ("A Bridge To..."). There is no word on their fate.

Two French reporters, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, were kidnapped last month by a militant group that demanded France rescind a ban on the wearing of headscarves in public schools. Paris refused and the law has already gone into effect.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

1/7 Marines ready to roll thanks to 3/7
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200491653332
Story by Cpl. Randy Bernard



AL QAIM, Iraq (Sept. 12, 2004) -- Stopping the flow of weapons and explosives is the first step in preventing crime and fighting in Iraq.

Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, have been doing just that for the past seven months. Now, the task lies in training the incoming Marines with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, to continue the task at hand, and ensure that these weapons and insurgents are found.

"I think the turnover we are doing is going to be helpful for them," said Cpl. Daniel Junco, a section leader for Combined Anti-Armor Team Red, Weapons Company, 3/7.

According to the 25-year-old native of Miami, the new Marines from 1/7 would have been better prepared if there was communication between the forward units and the rear. "The feedback from here should have been sent back to help better train them. It is sad that the ultimate lesson is experience itself."

Even without the feedback, the Marines from 3/7 are giving 1/7 detailed lessons in close air support and action on contact. Their goal is to give 1/7 a firm hold on the area.

"Our (area of operations) is very, very large," said Sgt. Ryan L. Hall, section leader with 1/7's CAAT Blue. "It's got a lot of activity, it has a lot of (improvised explosive devices), (rocket propelled grenades), and it has a lot of traffic."

With the knowledge of what they might encounter, 1/7 is ready to continue the mission 3/7 has left them.

According to Hall, 27, of Abilene, Texas, it is good to have the experienced Marines from 3/7 show them the ins and outs and what to expect.

"First, (The Marines with 3/7) were taking just the vehicle commanders out," said Lance Cpl. Jon D. Lewis, a vehicle commander with 1/7 weapons company, CAAT Blue. "Now, it is my vehicle going out with one of them."

CAAT Blue operates along the Syrian border, establishing a presence and security along its roads. One of the tools that the team uses to end the fighting in the area is a VCP, or vehicle check point.

According to Hall, a VCP is set up along roads, and vehicles are randomly screened and searched. The passengers must provide identification, while the vehicle is searched for weapons and explosives.

The goal behind catching these insurgents and weapons is to prevent them from massing and causing trouble in Iraq.

No matter what challenges 3/7 has faced and 1/7 is about to encounter, they both share an understanding of the role they play.

"I think that our job plays a crucial part in the whole big picture of Iraq," said Junco.

"We are helping the Iraqi people," said Hall. "We come through their towns on patrols trying to keep them safe. When we go to their houses, the Iraqi's say 'thank you'. As far as what we do here, it is a very important job."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200491654734/$file/TRAINING2lr.jpg

A sign reads "stop" in Arabic stands before a vehicle check point. Marines with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, set up these checkpoints to find weapons and anti-coalition fighters.
(Official USMC photo by Cpl. Randy Bernard) Photo by: Cpl. Randy Bernard

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/EFCF5275C5ED29D185256F1100348289?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines are back from duty
September 15,2004
Pat Coleman
Sun Journal Staff

CHERRY POINT -- Overcast skies that gave way to a steady rain did little to dampen the spirits of friends and family members who seemed oblivious to it as they waited for Marine Attack Squadron 542's six Harriers to taxi to a stop Tuesday afternoon.

"Some other Marines are going to have to pull me off him to break up the hug," Greg Wells said of his anticipated reunion with his son, Capt. Travis Wells. He said he was "frightened every moment," his son spent in Afghanistan with the 22ND Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The poor weather conditions prevented the traditional, low-altitude fly-by that signals the return of the Harriers, but family members didn't seem to mind. Wells, who traveled from Roanoke, Va. to celebrate his son's return, waited without complaint in the rain with his son's girlfriend, Heather Bickel, as the planes taxied to a stop and the long-anticipated reunions began.

The detachment, operating out of Kandahar Air Field, joined Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266 of MCAS New River and coalition forces on the ground in mid-February as the 22nd MEU's Aviation Combat Element.

The Harriers flew more than 1,000 combat hours supporting Marines and coalition forces on the ground, who battled Taliban insurgents attempting to disrupt Afghanistan's election process. Their tasks included close air support, armed reconnaissance, interdiction operations and strikes against enemy installations.

The Harriers and their pilots returned one day ahead of the main body of the composite squadron. Another 80 Marines from VMA-542, who provided support for the Harrier squadron, are expected to arrive this morning, along with 30 members of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14, and an equal number of Marines from Marine Air Control Group 28.

Pat Coleman can be reached at 638-8101 ext. 260 or pat_coleman@link.freedom.com.

http://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=17439&Section=Local

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Officials Have Bleak View For Iraq
Associated Press
September 16, 2004


WASHINGTON - The National Intelligence Council presented President Bush this summer with several pessimistic scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.

In a highly classified National Intelligence Estimate, the council looked at the political, economic and security situation in the war-torn country and determined that - at best - stability in Iraq would be tenuous, a U.S. official said late Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

At worst, the official said, were "trend lines that would point to a civil war." The official said it "would be fair" to call the document "pessimistic."

The intelligence estimate, which was prepared for Bush, considered the window of time between July and the end of 2005. But the official noted that the document draws on intelligence community assessments from January 2003, before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent deteriorating security situation there.

This latest assessment was performed by the National Intelligence Council, a group of senior intelligence officials that provides long-term strategic thinking for the entire U.S. intelligence community.

Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin and the leaders of the other intelligence agencies approved the intelligence document, which runs about 50 pages.

The estimate appears to differ from the public comments of Bush and his senior aides who speak more optimistically about the prospects for a peaceful and free Iraq. "We're making progress on the ground," Bush said at his Texas ranch late last month.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment Wednesday night.

The document was first reported by The New York Times on its Web site Wednesday night.

It is the first formal assessment of Iraq since the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on the threat posed by fallen Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

A scathing review of that estimate released this summer by the Senate Intelligence Committee found widespread intelligence failures that led to faulty assumptions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Disclosure of the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq came the same day that Senate Republicans and Democrats denounced the Bush administration's slow progress in rebuilding Iraq, saying the risks of failure are great if it doesn't act with greater urgency.

"It's beyond pitiful, it's beyond embarrassing, it's now in the zone of dangerous," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., referring to figures showing only about 6 percent of the reconstruction money approved by Congress last year has been spent.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee members vented their frustrations at a hearing during which State Department officials explained the administration's request to divert $3.46 billion in reconstruction funds to security and economic development. The money was part of the $18.4 billion approved by Congress last year, mostly for public works projects.

The request comes as heavy fighting continues between U.S.-led forces and Iraqi insurgents, endangering prospects for elections scheduled for January.

"We know that the provision of adequate security up front is requisite to rapid progress on all other fronts," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ron Schlicher said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said circumstances in Iraq have changed since last year. "It's important that you have some flexibility."

Hagel, Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and other committee members have long argued - even before the war - that administration plans for rebuilding Iraq were inadequate and based on overly optimistic assumptions that Americans would be greeted as liberators.

But the criticism from the panel's top Republicans had an extra sting coming less than seven weeks before the U.S. presidential election in which Bush's handling of the war is a top issue.

"Our committee heard blindly optimistic people from the administration prior to the war and people outside the administration - what I call the 'dancing in the street crowd' - that we just simply will be greeted with open arms," Lugar said. "The nonsense of all of that is apparent. The lack of planning is apparent."

He said the need to shift the reconstruction funds was clear in July, but the administration was slow to make the request.

State Department officials stressed areas of progress in Iraq since the United States turned over political control of Iraq to an interim government on June 28. They cited advances in generating electricity, producing oil and creating jobs.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine Killed in Iraq Loved the Corps, Serving His Country
Derek Gardner had one of the most dangerous jobs, but was glad to be there.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


Trained as a truck driver, Marine Lance Cpl. Derek Gardner was eager to be deployed to Iraq when his battalion left Camp Pendleton in February.

After arriving in the volatile Sunni Triangle, he was assigned to one of the most dangerous jobs possible: driving trucks loaded with Marines, ammunition and explosives through streets and highways vulnerable to attack by insurgents

"I'm ready to fight for my country," Gardner told The Times in April in a voice brimming in confidence.

In August, after months of dodging terrorist attacks, he turned 20 and now was looking forward to returning home with his battalion in October and marrying his fiancee.

But last week, a suicide car loaded with explosives swerved into Gardner's 7-ton truck on a busy highway outside the insurgent stronghold of Fallouja. Gardner and six other Marines were killed instantly in a thunderous explosion.

Tuesday, in a memorial service in San Clemente that mixed joy and sorrow, Gardner was remembered as a young man who loved being in the Marine Corps and brought joy and pride to his family.

"I love you, Bud," Ken Gardner said tearfully as he turned toward his son's flag-draped casket. "You'll always be my Bud."

An overflow crowd of several hundred people came to the Lesneski Mortuary to celebrate the life and mourn the death of a young man who enlisted just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America and was eager to go to Iraq.

Vickey De Lacour told the gathering that her son was following a family tradition: His father served with the Marines in Vietnam and his grandfather was in the Army and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for bravery in the Korean War.

Gardner kept a quote taped to his bedroom door from Marine Gen. Charles Krulak: "Excellence doesn't just happen. It must be forged, tested and used."

During the gut-busting part of boot camp called the Crucible, he carried a Vietnam veteran patch given to him by his father.

"Derek was a Marine," his mother said. "It was what he wanted to do with his life."

At a memorial service last week at the 1st Marine Division headquarters in Iraq, Gardner's commanding officer said his months in a war zone had been a maturing and exhausting experience for Gardner, who had been assigned to the division's headquarters battalion.

"He fit my picture of the typical tough young Marine," Capt. Terence M. Connelly, commanding officer of Truck Company, told a gathering in a makeshift chapel in what was once one of Saddam Hussein's palaces.

"He was dirty, he was tired…. ," Connelly said. "But I could tell he loved his buddies, he loved being a truck driver, and he loved being a Marine."

Gardner, a graduate of Laguna Hills High School, played football and enjoyed deep-sea fishing with his father. He liked Knott's Berry Farm, rap music, professional wrestling and baseball; a Dodgers cap was placed on his casket.

Gardner planned to marry April Ornelas when he returned from Iraq. They met a year ago at a mall and he proposed to her Christmas Eve.

"I knew from that day on, I knew I had found my soul mate, my one true love," Ornelas told the service here.

De Lacour, in an interview before the service, said she opposes the war in Iraq and will soon speak out against it.

But she said those comments will have to wait; her focus Tuesday was on the loss of her son.

"He was just doing his job, he was just doing his job," De Lacour said as her voice trailed off.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marine15sep15,1,2117857.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Ellie

[thedrifter]

'Too young to die,' says the mother of Marine
Utahn killed in Iraq: The state's latest casualty is recalled as a ''quiet, gentle soul'' who loved books and was kind to his younger siblings
By Mark Eddington
and Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune


SPANISH FORK - As friends offered condolences on the death of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Cesar F. Machado-Olmos in Iraq, his mother had a single request: Would it be possible, perhaps, to send over a few American flags to grace her front yard?
"I was so proud of him. He was a very good son," the Marine's mother, Patricia Acosta, said Tuesday. "He had lots of dreams, but they are all nothing now. He was too young to die."
Machado-Olmos, who would have been 21 next week, was killed Monday, the third Marine from Utah to die in the restive Iraqi province of Al Anbar in the past eight days.
All three of the Utah Marines took part in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, and all were serving their second tour of duty at the time of their deaths.
Machado-Olmos died when the Humvee in which he was riding hit sand and rolled. The Pentagon called his death a noncombat-related vehicle accident.
The Marine, however, was performing a combat-related task in a war zone, said Maj. Jennifer Butler, family support officer at Camp Williams.
Machado-Olmos is survived by his mother, stepfather Esau Acosta and stepsiblings Esau Acosta, 12, and Samantha Acosta, 8. He had promised to take the children to Disneyland on his next leave.
"He was so good in many, many ways," said his aunt Laura Orneles, of Colorado. "He was like a parent, always taking care of his little brother and sister."
Machado-Olmos was born in Mexico and moved to the United States when he was a toddler. He is described as loving, intelligent and responsible. He was a paper boy when the family lived in Provo. And during his senior year at Spanish Fork High School, he was an assistant librarian, surrounded by books he read and loved. His family had just sent him a box of books that was en route when he died.
"Cesar was an avid book reader," said Spanish Fork High librarian Debbi Gardner. "When he decided to join the Marines, it was a shock. He was a gentle man, [not] the



type you'd think would go into the Marines. He was a quiet, gentle soul."
Still, she remembers him looking up information on the Marines.
Machado-Olmos joined the Marine Corps in August 2001, shortly after his high school graduation and just weeks before the terrorist attacks on the United States.
Machado-Olmos was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was a hygiene equipment operator, installing, operating and maintaining pumps and water purification equipment, said Gunnery Sgt. Marcus McAlister, spokesman for Camp Lejeune.
The public information on his death was released Tuesday, hours before the body of Lance Cpl. Quinn Keith was flown into Salt Lake International Airport for a funeral and burial in Blanding scheduled for today.
Keith, 21, Lance Cpl. Michael J. Allred, 22, of Hyde Park, and five other Marines were killed Sept. 6 when a suicide bomber crashed into their convoy near the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Allred was buried Monday in the Hyde Park Cemetery.
The body of Machado-Olmos tentatively is scheduled to arrive in Utah today. Funeral arrangements are pending.
When his aunt heard of his death, she rushed to Utah to comfort his mother.
"I thought she was not too strong," said the sobbing Orneles. "But she is stronger than me."

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site297/20040915__UT_MARINEPLUG_0915_A1~1_200.JPG

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2413393

Ellie

[thedrifter]

No. 902-04
Sep 15, 2004
IMMEDIATE RELEASE




National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of September 15, 2004
This week, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps announced an increase in the number of reservists on active duty in support of the partial mobilization, while the Air Force and Coast Guard had a decrease. The net collective result is 2,403 more reservists mobilized than last week.

At any given time, services may mobilize some units and individuals while demobilizing others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. Total number currently on active duty in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 139,224; Naval Reserve, 3,930; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 11,168; Marine Corps Reserve, 11,519; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 1,515. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to 167,356 including both units and individual augmentees.

A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are currently mobilized can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2004/d20040915ngr2.pdf.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Troops end 7-month deployment
September 16,2004
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF

They began at first light Wednesday when huge air-cushioned landing craft scooted across the gray waters of Onslow Bay. There was a brief pause in the drizzle while Navy beach masters clad in green camouflage coveralls and orange vests waved flags to signal them ashore.

On the east side of Riseley Pier, anxious families watched, occasionally brushing away the biting insects.

The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit is home.

The group's seven-month deployment to Afghanistan ended Wednesday. For four of those months, troops were in the mountains fighting Taliban insurgents.

"They took the entire MEU 100 miles past Khandahar," said 22nd MEU spokesman Capt. Eric Dent. "There were 12 operations - everything from civil affairs to raids - at (altitudes) greater than 9,500 feet.

"They got to fire their guns just about every night (with) illumination rounds to light up the area so patrols could look around."

Dent also said the MEU was called upon to deal with an attempted assassination of an Afghan district chief.

"We inserted a (maritime special purpose force) to cover the Khas Oruzgan (area) and reinforced it with a platoon from (Battalion Landing Team) 1/6 and Golf (Battery) 2/10," he said.

The 22nd MEU includes reinforced versions of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266, a command element led by Col. Kenneth Frank McKenzie Jr. and MEU Service Support Group 22.

The silhouette of amphibious assault ship USS Wasp could barely be seen on the horizon as assault amphibious vehicles and utility landing craft emerged and started the long swim toward shore.

Seven-ton trucks could be seen pulling heavy howitzer artillery pieces off the beach as members of Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment trudged through the sand toward four waiting buses.

"I haven't seen him since November," said Julie Putney from Shelby, Ohio, who was waiting with her 8-year-old son, Christopher, for Sgt. Joseph Putney, a tank mechanic.

Nearby, Erin and Joe Corbett from Atlanta were waiting for Joe's brother, 1st Lt. Ryan Corbett, tank platoon commander.

"He was in Iraq last year," said Joe. "He was part of 2nd Tank Battalion's push to Iraq - came back and went with the 22nd MEU. The toughest part is on my mom. She's married to a Marine who did two tours in Vietnam. That probably makes it worse."

The USS Whidbey Island and the USS Shreveport were also unloading elements of the 22nd MEU on Wednesday as part of the three-day operation. About 300 people with HMM-266 are scheduled to fly into New River Air Station today.


Contact Eric Steinkopff at esteinkopff@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 236.

http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=25714&Section=News


Ellie

[thedrifter]

'The most noble thing you will do'
September 15,2004
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Though extensive deployments to Iraq from Camp Lejeune's 43,000-member II Marine Expeditionary Force are still months away, half of the base's tank crewmen shipped out Tuesday.

Alpha and Charlie companies from II MEF's 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division include about 160 people who can easily man 30 or more of the massive M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, which are already in country.

"The 70-ton beast can create a shock effect without even firing a weapon," said 31-year-old Capt. Robert Bodisch, Charlie Company commander. "The sound of a tank makes the ground shake. It's definitely an intimidating presence."

Preparations included time in Twentynine Palms, Calif., where troops took part in a combined arms exercise.

"We've been practicing gunnery, convoy security and (Improvised Explosive Device) recognition," Bodisch said. "We have also trained in basic infantry tasks in case the local commander retasks us to do non-tanker type missions."

U.S. tanks were credited with helping end a three-week standoff last month in Najaf.

"The commander can send tanks into an area of unrest and disperse a crowd without firing a shot," Bodisch said. "Having a lack of armor can put you in a tenuous situation."

The other half of the battalion is busy, too. Delta Company has platoons of four tanks assigned to each of the 2,200-member Marine expeditionary units, and Bravo Company will continue to train for a possible deployment.

"The training has been intense, knowing that combat is the end of the road," Bodisch said. "Fifty percent of my company are returning veterans from (Operation Iraqi Freedom I) last year, so they are going in with more experience this time."

Their orders are open-ended, so these troops could be in Iraq for a while by the time other elements of the II MEF join them early next year. Tasked with keeping Iraq stable, they'll be in place through the elections scheduled for January.

"We have orders until next spring, but we could be extended," Bodisch said.

"This is probably the most noble thing you will do in your lifetime," 2nd Tank Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Donald Morse told the troops Tuesday. "Extend a kind hand when it's warranted, but give them hell's fury when it's demanded. One thing the Iraqis respect is an M1A1 tank."

http://www.jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=25698&Section=News


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Issue Date: September 20, 2004

Navy seeks new ways to deploy Marines for war
Talk of Sea Swap, new ships dominates forum discussions

By Christopher Munsey
Times staff writer


Academics, policy-makers and top military officers had a lot to say about fighting terrorism at a one-day symposium Sept. 7 in Arlington, Va. Unfortunately for the Navy, however, much of what was said about the sea service centered on how best to get Marines into the fight.
Titled “How goes the war against terrorists, and where do we go from here?” the symposium was sponsored by the Marine Corps Association and the U.S. Naval Institute.

Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations, and Gen. Mike Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, discussed their plans to consider “Sea Swapping” Marine Expeditionary Units.

Sea Swap is the Navy’s two-year experiment of rotating crews onto forward deployed ships to keep those ships operating in a combat theater beyond the traditional six-month deployment.

The Marine Corps is studying whether an entire 2,200-man MEU could be swapped out aboard an at-sea expeditionary strike group.

The concept is daunting, Hagee admitted, citing the Corps’ current deployments of two MEUs to Iraq, and the logistical constraints of moving so many sailors and Marines.

“Just the thought of taking 2,000 Marines and 2,000 sailors, getting them to where you do the swap, at the right time, doing the swap and taking 4,000 Marines and sailors out, just in itself is a challenge,” Hagee said.

Besides changing the way MEUs deploy, new Navy ships and aircraft under development will improve Marine Corps capabilities, Clark said.

A new type of ship under design, the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future) vessel, will extend the Marines’ combat power further inland by exploiting the future capabilities of the V-22 Osprey and Joint Strike Fighter currently under development, he said.

Plans currently envision building MPF(F) ships as the centerpiece of the “sea basing” concept, in which commanders will equip a landing force from a huge floating arsenal, then keep pouring supplies ashore as needed. As part of the concept, the MPF(F) ship would most likely include a flight deck large enough for several tilt-rotor aircraft and Joint Strike Fighters.

“Mike Hagee can build a vision that exploits the investments we are making, significant investments in V-22 and JSF ... and make the Marines a lot more effective than they are today,” Clark said.

Clark, Hagee and Adm. Thomas Collins, commandant of the Coast Guard, also took questions from the floor.

An exchange officer from Indonesia asked all three panelists to comment on the effect of the Iraq war on the war on terrorism as a whole.

To appreciative laughter from the audience, only Clark chose to respond. He described how he sent a note to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003, reflecting on attacks made on aircraft flying Operation Southern Watch over Iraq.

“To some, this is about WMD. To others, this is about terrorism. To us, it’s about all that and more. This guy’s been shooting at us for the last eight years, and our people are ready to go deal with somebody who’s attacking us,” he said.

The Navy’s role in fighting terrorism was also discussed by Rear Adm. Joseph A. Sestak.

Sestak, the director of the Navy’s Assessment Division on the CNO’s staff, spoke as a member of one of two panels of experts discussing what changes can be made to win the war against terrorists, and how to structure U.S. forces to win the peace in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sestak said the Navy can use the “global commons” of the world’s oceans to perform the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission — with the goal of producing “actionable intelligence” on terrorist movements for the nation’s leaders.

In the future, that intelligence should be combined with a more robust forward presence of Marines, capable of striking deeper inland from expeditionary strike groups equipped with the V-22 and JSF.

“MEUs will be able to have a greater presence forward, that can more meaningfully respond suddenly, stealthily, potentially vertically, respond deeper inland,” Sestak said.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-346155.php

Ellie

[thedrifter]

September 14, 2004 <br />
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Marine, convicted of prisoner abuse, granted clemency <br />
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Associated Press <br />
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TOLEDO, Ohio — A Marine convicted of abusing an Iraqi prisoner was granted clemency last week and...