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thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:16 AM
Marines, Iraqi soldiers victims of IED <br />
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 200491553911 <br />
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen <br />
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<br />
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 13, 2004) -- The...

thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:17 AM
Marines and coal miners: Bush dishonors all veterans <br />
<br />
Author: Susan Webb <br />
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 09/16/04 10:49 <br />
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<br />
Vigils across the U.S. grieved the human cost of the Iraq war...

thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:17 AM
Two U.S. workers abducted in Iraq; three Marines killed

By Ashraf Khalil and Patrick J. McDonnell
Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi insurgents pressed their assault on U.S. forces and their allies yesterday as two Americans and a Briton were kidnapped from their Baghdad house and three Marines were slain, bringing the number of U.S. military deaths in the country this month to at least 52.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad identified the two abducted Americans as Jack Hensley and Eugene "Jack" Armstrong. Their ages and hometowns were not released. The British Embassy confirmed the third man taken was a British citizen, but it did not release his identity.

An Iraqi government official said the three men worked for Gulf Services, based in Bahrain, but it was unclear whether the men were security guards or held other positions.

After the abduction, police found north of Baghdad the corpse of a blond man believed to be a Westerner, news agencies reported, but the body was not immediately identified.

The brazen abduction continued a violent week that has left more than 200 Iraqis dead, and it follows a similar kidnapping of two Italian women from their office 10 days ago.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction, but almost all of the more than 120 kidnappings of foreigners in Iraq have been carried out by groups seeking to drive out U.S. forces, aid workers and foreign companies involved in supporting military and reconstruction efforts.

Most kidnappings have occurred on Iraq's lawless roads, but the spread of abductions to homes and offices sparked new fears within the international community. Some companies have pulled out of Iraq, despite the money to be made on reconstruction projects.

Eighteen months after U.S. forces invaded Iraq and ousted President Saddam Hussein, great swaths of the nation remain beyond the control of the U.S.-backed government of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

Sunni Muslim insurgents control vast areas west of Baghdad, while a largely Shiite rebel militia holds sway in areas of the capital and elsewhere. The nation's security forces are ill-equipped to impose order, despite a U.S.-led program to train and equip tens of thousands of soldiers, police officers and other forces.

One of the most troubled and contentious areas is Al Anbar province west of Baghdad, which includes the flash-point towns of Fallujah and Ramadi. The military said three Marines died yesterday in separate incidents as the result of enemy fire in the province. They were not immediately identified.

U.S. forces have stepped up offensive operations in the province. Yesterday and early today, they launched four assaults targeting the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant suspected in a wave of suicide bombings and hostage-takings in Iraq.




In what was dubbed Operation Hurricane, U.S. forces bombed suspected Zarqawi strongholds in Fallujah and near the town of Qaryat ar Rufish, southwest of Fallujah, U.S. authorities said.

The latter attack, on a "terrorist meeting site," killed approximately 60 "foreign fighters," a U.S. statement said. It was not possible to verify that figure independently.

U.S. forces also launched an offensive in Ramadi, the provincial capital of western Iraq and a place where Sunni insurgents hold great sway. The operation targeted the little-known Daham network, which U.S. officials said has ties to Zarqawi.

In addition to carrying out bombings and ambushes targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces, insurgents have been abducting foreign civilians, apparently believing the tactic would scare off foreign companies and workers and slow the U.S.-backed government's plans for reconstruction. But there are indications that criminal gangs seeking ransoms may also be involved.

Options are dwindling for foreign workers not already barricaded behind concrete blast walls in secure compounds, on U.S. bases or inside the Green Zone, the U.S.-guarded enclave in central Baghdad.

Yesterday's abduction in Baghdad is suspected of being an inside job, involving at least one of the security guards assigned to protect the house, sources said.

Sabah Kadhim, spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said the house was approached by "five masked men with weapons," who forced the three men who were abducted into a waiting minivan without firing a shot.

The kidnapping appears to be part of a new trend, in which the captors carefully plan their attacks, gather intelligence and conduct surveillance on their victims, rather than just seizing targets of opportunity.

On Sept. 7, Italian aid workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta were abducted by gunmen at the central Baghdad office of their charitable organization, Bridge to Baghdad. Two of their Iraqi colleagues also were abducted.

The captors, "knew who (the Italians) were and knew who they were targeting," said one foreign-embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "People seem to know exactly who they're going for rather than being opportunistic."

Kadhim, the Interior Ministry spokesman, hinted that Saddam's former intelligence officers might be helping criminal gangs coordinate information-gathering on prospective victims.

"If it's lucrative and you want information, there are people willing to supply it," he said. "We mustn't forget the complex intelligence service that was in place previously — all of whom are now out of a job." The Mansour neighborhood where the three men were abducted yesterday is an upscale area on the city's west side known for its concentration of government officials' homes, foreign embassies and companies. Much of the area is teeming with security guards, roadblocks and checkpoints.

Companies, aid groups and news organizations operating from houses in Baghdad often try to remain as low-key as possible. However, one Mansour resident said that someone at the Gulf Services home had hung a banner outside with the company's name and that neighbors knew the habits and routines of the residents.

Material from USA Today is included in this report.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002038142_iraq17.html


Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:19 AM
Falluja mess could spread, marines say
Anne Barnard The Boston Globe


See more of the world that matters - click here for home delivery of the International Herald Tribune.
< < Back to Start of Article FALLUJA, Iraq FALLUJA, Iraq :Six months after the U.S. Marines arrived with a promise to win over this rebel stronghold through intense outreach and focused military strikes, the city is a cancer that threatens to spread chaos around the country, marine commanders said this week.
.
Shootouts among rival gangs punctuate the nights. Insurgents also export violence to the rest of Iraq, and they impose religious restrictions on the population. The rebel-held city is risky to ignore, but a fight to bring it under control could blacken the image of the U.S.-backed government, and no Iraqi force is ready to maintain security there afterward.
.
That is the marines' view of Falluja, from their main base on the outskirts of the city. Even as they pledge to solve the problem before national elections set for January, top marine commanders in Iraq acknowledge that they are facing many of the same problems that they hoped to solve in April, yet the insurgents are more entrenched now and U.S. forces are even less popular.
.
The Iraqi government has pledged to seize control of trouble spots such as Falluja, but any attempt must take into account the lessons learned when the U.S. military and civilian occupation authority tried to impose order in April.
.
The biggest mistake that the marines cite is the stop-and-go assault on Falluja. They were ordered to take the city, then told to halt their advance three days later, abandoning their original plans for a softer, more diplomatic approach, yet stopping short of a decisive victory. Now, in sovereign Iraq, a major attack by U.S. forces would be even less palatable, but Marine commanders say Iraqi security forces are not ready to lead an all-out assault.
.
Lieutenant General John Sattler, after taking command on Sunday of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and its 42,000 troops in many of Iraq's toughest areas, from Falluja and Ramadi west of Baghdad to trouble spots south of the capital, declared, "The status quo in Falluja cannot stand."
.
Sattler said that marines were capable of taking over Falluja in a matter of days. "We could arm the 1,000-pound grizzly bear and take it into town," he said.
.
Instead, marine commanders said that their mission is to support Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government. They said that Allawi plans to issue an ultimatum to Falluja as soon as Iraqi security forces from other parts of the country are ready to lead an assault on the city and maintain security there once it is subdued.
.
Falluja's leaders must "either join the rest of Iraq in sharing the progress toward freedom and hopefully democracy, or‚ if they choose not to do so, they become a problem for the government and he will have to take dramatic action," Lieutenant General James Conway, the departing commander, said of Allawi. "It's a question for the prime minister of how long he wants the cancer that Falluja has become to potentially infect the rest of this region."
.
The only hope, Conway said, is to bring in police from Baghdad or units such as the new Iraqi Army's 36th Battalion, which U.S. commanders say has fought cohesively against rebels in Najaf and elsewhere. Conway said that military planners are likely to take the same "fire approach" around the country, bringing Iraqis from other regions to fight insurgents in places like Samarra and Baqubah.
.
The top U.S. operational commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, said on a visit to Camp Falluja that Falluja may soon see a campaign similar to one in Samarra, where troops from the Army's First Infantry Division entered the city last week for the first time after weeks of insurgent control.
.
"Everyone said Samarra was the next Falluja," Metz said. But right now the First Infantry Division moves in and out of Samarra, he said.
.
"There will be some more fights," he said. "Everyone reports there's chaos, but when the sun comes up in the morning the coalition has regained control."
.
Yet the marines' experience in Falluja offers a caution for the Iraqi government.
.
The U.S. Marines are by far the strongest fighting force in the region, yet politically they are unable to win over residents through force alone. And their attempts to set up Iraqi forces have been plagued by rampant attacks on those forces and widespread suspicion among marines on the front lines that they are not trustworthy. The marines blame the setbacks in part on political decisions made far up the chain of command. Senior marine officers also said that they underestimated the strength of the insurgency in Falluja and did not get the results they wanted when they tried to turn over control of the city to a group of former officers from there to end the April crisis.
.
"I'm not sure we understood the harshness of the city, the harshness of the elements operating within it," said Colonel John Coleman, second in command to Sattler.
.
He described a complex situation inside Falluja. The one benefit of pulling out, he said, has been to force rival gangs to turn on one another. The Boston Globe FALLUJA, Iraq FALLUJA, Iraq :Six months after the U.S. Marines arrived with a promise to win over this rebel stronghold through intense outreach and focused military strikes, the city is a cancer that threatens to spread chaos around the country, marine commanders said this week.
.
Shootouts among rival gangs punctuate the nights. Insurgents also export violence to the rest of Iraq, and they impose religious restrictions on the population. The rebel-held city is risky to ignore, but a fight to bring it under control could blacken the image of the U.S.-backed government, and no Iraqi force is ready to maintain security there afterward.
.
That is the marines' view of Falluja, from their main base on the outskirts of the city. Even as they pledge to solve the problem before national elections set for January, top marine commanders in Iraq acknowledge that they are facing many of the same problems that they hoped to solve in April, yet the insurgents are more entrenched now and U.S. forces are even less popular.
.
The Iraqi government has pledged to seize control of trouble spots such as Falluja, but any attempt must take into account the lessons learned when the U.S. military and civilian occupation authority tried to impose order in April.
.
The biggest mistake that the marines cite is the stop-and-go assault on Falluja. They were ordered to take the city, then told to halt their advance three days later, abandoning their original plans for a softer, more diplomatic approach, yet stopping short of a decisive victory. Now, in sovereign Iraq, a major attack by U.S. forces would be even less palatable, but Marine commanders say Iraqi security forces are not ready to lead an all-out assault.
.
Lieutenant General John Sattler, after taking command on Sunday of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and its 42,000 troops in many of Iraq's toughest areas, from Falluja and Ramadi west of Baghdad to trouble spots south of the capital, declared, "The status quo in Falluja cannot stand."
.
continued........

thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:19 AM
Sattler said that marines were capable of taking over Falluja in a matter of days. "We could arm the 1,000-pound grizzly bear and take it into town," he said.
.
Instead, marine commanders said that their mission is to support Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government. They said that Allawi plans to issue an ultimatum to Falluja as soon as Iraqi security forces from other parts of the country are ready to lead an assault on the city and maintain security there once it is subdued.
.
Falluja's leaders must "either join the rest of Iraq in sharing the progress toward freedom and hopefully democracy, or‚ if they choose not to do so, they become a problem for the government and he will have to take dramatic action," Lieutenant General James Conway, the departing commander, said of Allawi. "It's a question for the prime minister of how long he wants the cancer that Falluja has become to potentially infect the rest of this region."
.
The only hope, Conway said, is to bring in police from Baghdad or units such as the new Iraqi Army's 36th Battalion, which U.S. commanders say has fought cohesively against rebels in Najaf and elsewhere. Conway said that military planners are likely to take the same "fire approach" around the country, bringing Iraqis from other regions to fight insurgents in places like Samarra and Baqubah.
.
The top U.S. operational commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, said on a visit to Camp Falluja that Falluja may soon see a campaign similar to one in Samarra, where troops from the Army's First Infantry Division entered the city last week for the first time after weeks of insurgent control.
.
"Everyone said Samarra was the next Falluja," Metz said. But right now the First Infantry Division moves in and out of Samarra, he said.
.
"There will be some more fights," he said. "Everyone reports there's chaos, but when the sun comes up in the morning the coalition has regained control."
.
Yet the marines' experience in Falluja offers a caution for the Iraqi government.
.
The U.S. Marines are by far the strongest fighting force in the region, yet politically they are unable to win over residents through force alone. And their attempts to set up Iraqi forces have been plagued by rampant attacks on those forces and widespread suspicion among marines on the front lines that they are not trustworthy. The marines blame the setbacks in part on political decisions made far up the chain of command. Senior marine officers also said that they underestimated the strength of the insurgency in Falluja and did not get the results they wanted when they tried to turn over control of the city to a group of former officers from there to end the April crisis.
.
"I'm not sure we understood the harshness of the city, the harshness of the elements operating within it," said Colonel John Coleman, second in command to Sattler.
.
He described a complex situation inside Falluja. The one benefit of pulling out, he said, has been to force rival gangs to turn on one another. The Boston Globe FALLUJA, Iraq FALLUJA, Iraq :Six months after the U.S. Marines arrived with a promise to win over this rebel stronghold through intense outreach and focused military strikes, the city is a cancer that threatens to spread chaos around the country, marine commanders said this week.
.
Shootouts among rival gangs punctuate the nights. Insurgents also export violence to the rest of Iraq, and they impose religious restrictions on the population. The rebel-held city is risky to ignore, but a fight to bring it under control could blacken the image of the U.S.-backed government, and no Iraqi force is ready to maintain security there afterward.
.
That is the marines' view of Falluja, from their main base on the outskirts of the city. Even as they pledge to solve the problem before national elections set for January, top marine commanders in Iraq acknowledge that they are facing many of the same problems that they hoped to solve in April, yet the insurgents are more entrenched now and U.S. forces are even less popular.
.
The Iraqi government has pledged to seize control of trouble spots such as Falluja, but any attempt must take into account the lessons learned when the U.S. military and civilian occupation authority tried to impose order in April.
.
The biggest mistake that the marines cite is the stop-and-go assault on Falluja. They were ordered to take the city, then told to halt their advance three days later, abandoning their original plans for a softer, more diplomatic approach, yet stopping short of a decisive victory. Now, in sovereign Iraq, a major attack by U.S. forces would be even less palatable, but Marine commanders say Iraqi security forces are not ready to lead an all-out assault.
.
Lieutenant General John Sattler, after taking command on Sunday of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and its 42,000 troops in many of Iraq's toughest areas, from Falluja and Ramadi west of Baghdad to trouble spots south of the capital, declared, "The status quo in Falluja cannot stand."
.
Sattler said that marines were capable of taking over Falluja in a matter of days. "We could arm the 1,000-pound grizzly bear and take it into town," he said.
.
Instead, marine commanders said that their mission is to support Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government. They said that Allawi plans to issue an ultimatum to Falluja as soon as Iraqi security forces from other parts of the country are ready to lead an assault on the city and maintain security there once it is subdued.
.
Falluja's leaders must "either join the rest of Iraq in sharing the progress toward freedom and hopefully democracy, or‚ if they choose not to do so, they become a problem for the government and he will have to take dramatic action," Lieutenant General James Conway, the departing commander, said of Allawi. "It's a question for the prime minister of how long he wants the cancer that Falluja has become to potentially infect the rest of this region."
.
The only hope, Conway said, is to bring in police from Baghdad or units such as the new Iraqi Army's 36th Battalion, which U.S. commanders say has fought cohesively against rebels in Najaf and elsewhere. Conway said that military planners are likely to take the same "fire approach" around the country, bringing Iraqis from other regions to fight insurgents in places like Samarra and Baqubah.
.
The top U.S. operational commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, said on a visit to Camp Falluja that Falluja may soon see a campaign similar to one in Samarra, where troops from the Army's First Infantry Division entered the city last week for the first time after weeks of insurgent control.
.
"Everyone said Samarra was the next Falluja," Metz said. But right now the First Infantry Division moves in and out of Samarra, he said.
.
"There will be some more fights," he said. "Everyone reports there's chaos, but when the sun comes up in the morning the coalition has regained control."
.
Yet the marines' experience in Falluja offers a caution for the Iraqi government.
.
The U.S. Marines are by far the strongest fighting force in the region, yet politically they are unable to win over residents through force alone. And their attempts to set up Iraqi forces have been plagued by rampant attacks on those forces and widespread suspicion among marines on the front lines that they are not trustworthy. The marines blame the setbacks in part on political decisions made far up the chain of command. Senior marine officers also said that they underestimated the strength of the insurgency in Falluja and did not get the results they wanted when they tried to turn over control of the city to a group of former officers from there to end the April crisis.
.
"I'm not sure we understood the harshness of the city, the harshness of the elements operating within it," said Colonel John Coleman, second in command to Sattler.
.
He described a complex situation inside Falluja. The one benefit of pulling out, he said, has been to force rival gangs to turn on one another. The Boston Globe


http://www.iht.com/articles/539164.html


Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:20 AM
Issue Date: September 20, 2004

Corps tests new chem-bio CamelBak system

By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer


The thought of plunging into battle through a fog of sarin or mustard gas is enough to make anyone’s mouth go dry.
Add to that 5 to 7 pounds of chemical-warfare gear and a gas mask, and you’re going to have one thirsty Marine.

But now, some Marines are getting a new hydration system intended to work in just such a toxic environment.

The new CamelBak Chem-Bio Reservoir 4.0 fits in the standard CamelBak carrier systems most Marines already wear into battle.

The difference is, the new reservoir is impervious to chemical and biological agents such as anthrax, mustard gas and sarin gas. It also features an array of chemical and biological agent-resistant valves that attach to a variety of gas masks.

The Petaluma, Calif.-based company developed and fielded a similar system for the U.S. military, including the Marine Corps, nearly four years ago. But the Chem-Bio Reservoir 2.0 was more expensive at nearly $60 per unit and carried only two liters of water.

The new CamelBak holds three liters of water, comes in at $35 and incorporates an inner coating that resists bacteria so the water tastes fresher for a longer period of time, said Chuck Hunter, senior vice president and general manager for government and military products.

Use of the reservoir isn’t restricted to chemically contaminated environments alone, he said. Marines can use the same one for all missions.

The Corps has contracted with CamelBak to purchase 1,300 of the new reservoirs for more than $45,000. The Corps also will buy 8,800 three-liter carrier systems to hold the new chemical-resistant bladder.

Hunter said several of the new hydration systems have been fielded, though he would not say which Marine units have them. He also said he fully expects the Corps’ Chemical Biological Incident Response Force to replace their older CamelBaks with the new 4.0 system soon.

A spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command, while acknowledging that the new CamelBak will be fielded to Marines as it is tested and “validated” by command engineers, declined to identify the units that will receive it.

“We have purchased the [CamelBak] hydration system to validate performance and because we know it offers a level of protection currently not available on basic hydration systems,” SysCom spokesman Maj. Robert Crum said in a written response to questions.

According to Hunter, earlier systems were used by Army Special Forces troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“They’ve been pretty well proven,” Hunter said of the CamelBak’s combat record.

The system also was fielded to Secret Service, FBI and New York City Police units for use during the Republican National Convention in early September.


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-345679.php


Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 06:23 AM
11th MEU (SOC) helps rebuild Najaf
Submitted by: 11th MEU
Story Identification #: 2004915114538
Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards



FORWARD OPERATING BASE BAKER, Iraq (Sept. 15, 2004) -- The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) and local Iraqi citizens are working industriously in An Najaf, Iraq, during the reconstruction effort continued after fighting in the city ceased Aug. 28.

The MEU has a 4.8 million dollar budget this quarter under the Commander's Emergency Response Program and is using it to rebuild short-term goals. The Project Contractor's Office, an immense, nationwide organization, also plans to rebuild and construct major projects such as hospitals, schools and major infrastructure.

"Right now we're looking for the low hanging fruit," said Maj. Amber M. Lehning, civil affairs officer, Command Element, 11th MEU (SOC). "We're funding the reconstruction on the places that can be finished quickly, inexpensively and have the biggest impact."

The focus of effort right now are hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, local Iraqi police stations and many other critical institutions. Some of the places, crucial to providing vital services to the citizens of Najaf were frequently used by Sadr's Muqtada Militia as bases of operations during the fighting. Many of them now need to be rebuilt.

One of the more immediate impacts on the community is having the schools ready for the children.

"The school year starts the first week of October, and if we get it fixed now they will be open in time for school," Lehning said.

These buildings would not have been left out of the long-term national plan, but using the CERP they can be mended quickly for the citizens' use.

"We take a look at the framework of where (PCO) plans to spend their money, and we look for gaps that can be filled now for impact on the community," Lehning said.

The MEU's goal is to bring life back to normal for the citizens of Najaf now that the fighting is over.

"I want the citizens of this historic city to return to a peaceful life now that the conflict is resolved, and I intend to help them feel pride in their city," said Col. Anthony M. Haslam, commanding officer, 11th MEU (SOC).

Funding goes to local contractors who will be the ones to rebuild their own city. They are grateful for the chance to earn money and provide for their families.

"This is very good for us," said a local Iraqi contracted to work on a school in Najaf. "It will help us to better the city all around."

The reconstruction plan encompasses more than just revamping the appearance and workings of the city, it also provides jobs and experience to the local community.

"It would be easy to get (a non local company) to go out and do the work, but this employs the Iraqis," Lehning said. "As more contractors get experience they will get more jobs and it will help their economy."

Although the bulk of the work is being done now, it was an ongoing project even during the battle in Najaf. In one instance, Company A, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th MEU (SOC), raided a schoolhouse Sadr's militia was fortifying. Soldiers of Company B, 425th Civil Affairs Battalion, currently attached to the 11th MEU (SOC), were out there just a couple days later evaluating the damage caused during the raid, and how the MEU could help with repairs.

"These guys were just a couple blocks away from the fighting trying to assess the damages, and they've been doing a great job," Lehning said.

After all the efforts by coalition forces, the MEU is looking forward to the final goal when the city is rebuilt and the Iraqis walk the streets in peace.

"We want to help rebuild the lives and homes of the citizens of Najaf," Haslam said. "It's very important that we give back to them what was taken by Anti-Iraqi Forces."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004915115150/$file/040909-M-4358-003lowres.jpg

A Marine with Battery R, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), stands guard as Iraqi workers work to rebuild a school in downtown An Najaf, Iraq, Sept. 9. The 11th MEU and local Iraqi citizens are working industriously in An Najaf during the reconstruction effort continued after fighting in the city ceased Aug. 28. Photo by: Cpl. Matthew S. Richards

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A001DE14012A470A85256F100056939B?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 07:24 AM
3/3 Marines learn to install armor kits on MTVs
Submitted by: MCLB Albany
Story by: Computed Name: Mr. Colie Young
Story Identification #: 200491395657




MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga(Sept. 9, 2004) -- Six Marines attached to Headquarters Company, Motor Transportation, Third Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, came here for on-hands protective armor kit installation training before a potential deployment the week of Aug. 31.

Once Maintenance Center Albany began producing armor kits for Marine Corps vehicles in Afghanistan and abroad, it became important for Marines in-country to learn how to install the kits. To help their fellow Marines, MCA has often deployed Marines and civilian-Marines in-country to provide technical assistance to that end. But getting the training at MCA may offer extra benefits.

Motor transport operator, Sgt. Clayton McDonald, of Pittsburgh, Pa., liked what he saw during his three-day visit, and said the armor represents a huge improvement for the Corps' mission.

"The practical application we had installing the armor kits was outstanding," McDonald said.

"Providing this additional armor is a clear indication that the Marine Corps wants to keep us (Marines) alive. I won't say there won't be any casualties if a vehicle gets hit by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), but the added protection will certainly improve the casualty rate," he added.

During the week of training, the Marines assembled and installed armor kits and undercarriages and learned all they could about the new gunner shields on Humvees and 7-ton trucks.

"This training was what I expected and a little more," said Cpl. Joshua Harrell, a native of Lookout, W.Va.

"The added armor is much better than the old Humvees with canvas doors. Receiving pre-training gives us a chance to install the equipment and enables us to help our fellow Marines, if need be," Harrell added.

According to Chief Warrant Officer-2 Eric Gilmer, armor installation team leader at MCA's Production Management Department, these Marines are being trained for the job he usually deploys from Albany to do.

"If these Marines go to Afghanistan or somewhere else where vehicles need the added armor, they will already be trained to do the job," Gilmer said.

"That is something that I've been doing ever since this project began. And with the way things are picking up around here at the depot, having Marines pre-trained to install armor helps us get more done in other areas here," he added.

Other 3/3 Marines who trained at MCA are Cpls. Octavio Aguilar, Grant Brinda, Cullen Wood and Robert Zill.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200491310041/$file/DSC_0005lowres.jpg

One of the Marines from 3/3 checks the gunner shield that was installed on a Medium Tactical Vehicle. Photo by: Colie Young

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/801A7726522A65DE85256F0E004CA056?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 08:03 AM
Glendale Marine dies repaying debt of honor

1 of 2 Valley losses this week

Brent Whiting
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 16, 2004 12:00 AM


He earned a GED after dropping out of high school, and the Marines gave him the chance to earn a true high school diploma.

But when it came time to serve, Michael J. Halal couldn't hold up his end of the bargain. He went absent after completing boot camp.

Then came the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Glendale man turned himself in and rejoined the Marines, eager for atonement, his family said Wednesday.

He took orders and his punishment in stride for the unauthorized absence, then had no qualms about proving his mettle in Iraq.

On Monday, Lance Cpl. Halal, 22, became one of two more Arizonans to die in the Iraq war, authorities announced Wednesday.

Valley marine killed in the line of duty
• Conflict in Iraq: Arizona casualties of war >>
• Gunmen kidnap 2 Americans in Baghdad

The Defense Department reported that Army Sgt. Carl Thomas, 29, of Phoenix, also died when an improvised explosive device detonated near his observation post in Baghdad. The blast killed other soldiers, the Pentagon said without specifying the death toll.

Thomas, an eight-year Army veteran, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Calvary Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, home-based in Fort Hood, Texas, where his wife and their three children, ages 5 to 9, now reside. His father lives in Glendale.

Thomas and his wife, Lanae, 27, were 1995 graduates of Maryvale High School in west Phoenix.

"He was very outgoing, quietly spoken, very much a peacemaker," Lanae said when reached in Texas. "He was a very good leader . . . and a really good father. Everything he did, he did it for his kids."

Halal, a machine gunner, and Thomas, a member of a mortar squad, were the 30th and 31st Arizonans to die during the conflict in Iraq.

Halal, a 3 1/2-year Marine veteran, perished in a non-combat vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, officials said.

His mother, Jacque Mikkelson, said Wednesday that Marine officials told her that he died in a vehicle rollover.

Mikkelson, 42, a hospital security guard who lives in northwest Phoenix, said her son had expected to return home in less than four months.

"That young man was so determined," she said. "I am so proud of him because he was willing to make every sacrifice to serve his country."

Mikkelson said Halal, who attended Centennial High School in Peoria, took the medicine without complaint for going absent, so long as he had the chance to return to duty.

"He went into the brig. He took a cut in pay. He took everything they had to throw at him," Mikkelson said.

Halal was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, home-based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Halal's father, Ken Halal, 44, a computer-software engineer who lives in northwest Phoenix, said his son had looked forward to rejoining his wife, Christine, 22, and finding a job with a Valley police agency.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 marked a big turning point in Michael's life, his father said.

"He had a lot of pride, and he was a very determined type of person," Ken said. "He didn't mind going and fighting."

Mikkelson said her son would often write home to report the Iraq tour of duty as a scary, dangerous experience.

Michael Halal received several Marine commendations, including a combat action ribbon, said Gunnery Sgt. Marcus McAllister, a Marine spokesman based at Camp Lejeune. There will an investigation into the crash that claimed Halal's life, McAllister said.

Mikkelson said that when her son enlisted in the Marines, she feared he could go to war. She said her son was just 19 at the time.

"They think they're invincible at that age," she said.

A tearful Christine Halal, who was to celebrate her second wedding anniversary in November, said it is difficult to cope with her husband's death.

Funeral arrangements remain pending.



Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/gifs/breaking/0915halal.jpg

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0916deadmarine16.html


Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 01:17 PM
Friday, September 17, 2004


Drill targets 31st MEU’s battle skills


Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, September 15, 2004


CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — During a three-week trek to the northern Arabian Gulf, members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit sharpened their battle skills.

Some of the busiest Marines, in the Deep Reconnaissance Platoon, fired their weapons day and night during “close quarters battle training,” according to combat correspondent Lance Cpl. Willard J. Lathrop.

“Recon Marines tucked elbows and gripped weapons as they worked through a progressive series of shooting drills to hone their ability to react quickly and accurately with their weapons,” Lathrop stated in a release from the Essex Amphibious Ready Group.

The 31st MEU deployed with the USS Essex, USS Harpers Ferry and USS Juneau in mid-August for action in the northern Arabian Gulf, providing a “Strike from the Sea” capability, Lathrop stated.

“Nobody else in the Marine Corps gets to shoot as much as we do,” stated Cpl. Christopher R. Rodriquez, from El Paso, Texas. “We learn so much about shooting that will save your life in combat, which is why we are constantly training.”

Rodriquez was quoted as saying he especially liked speed-reloading drills “because it turns into a sort of competition to see who can reload faster.”

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=24389


Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 03:21 PM
Isle Marines
arrive in Gulf

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com
Nearly 1,000 Kaneohe Marines have arrived in the Persian Gulf for a seven-month deployment, but roughly another 200 may soon be on their way home after serving in Iraq since February.

Marine Corps officials on Okinawa reported that the 2,000-member 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the Northern Persian Gulf aboard ships from the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group last weekend. They are expected to be in the Middle East for at least seven months in support of the war in Iraq.

One of the units assigned to the 31st MEU, which left Okinawa Aug. 23, is the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, from Kaneohe Bay, with more than 900 Marines. They left Hawaii July 3 on a scheduled seven-month deployment.

Also assigned to the 31st MEU are the 70 Marines and six CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters from Kaneohe's Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463. The unit left Kaneohe Bay in April and is assigned to Okinawa's Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265, the aviation element of the 31st MEU.

A Camp Smith spokesman last night said that there has been no official word when Marines from the 3rd Radio Battalion, who have been in Iraq for about seven months ago, will be home.

Some 260 Marines left in February for what was supposed to be a seven-month deployment. An unspecified number of the Marines returned to Kaneohe Bay earlier this summer with little fanfare.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced on Monday that 5,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to Afghanistan to replace soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks next year. The airborne soldiers from North Carolina will leave next spring for a year's tour as part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade from Italy.

Besides the more than 5,500 Schofield Barracks soldiers in Afghanistan, there are another than 60 Hawaii Army National Guard who belong to Bravo Company, 193rd Aviation.

In Iraq, there are more than 4,500 Schofield Barracks from the 25th Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team; 300 Army reservists from the Hawaii-based 411th Combat Engineer Battalion; and 200 Hawaii Army National Guard aviators and air crew members from Charlie Company, 193rd Aviation, which is now with the 1st Infantry Division.

Preparing for a year of combat duty in Iraq are more than 2,000 soldiers from Hawaii's 29th Infantry Brigade. They were placed on active duty on Aug. 16 and will undergo predeployment training on the mainland before leaving for Iraq in late January or early February.

http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/15/news/story11.html

Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 04:40 PM
IRAQ IN TRANSITION: IN RAMADI



Marines grow wary of even friendly faces
Ordered early on to wave at civilians and win them over, GIs intent on goodwill in a roiled Sunni city now are having second thoughts

By Mike Dorning
Tribune correspondent
Published September 16, 2004

RAMADI, Iraq -- Marine Cpl. Travis Friedrichsen, a sandy-haired 21-year-old from Denison, Iowa, used to take Tootsie Rolls and lollipops out of care packages from home and give them to Iraqi children. Not anymore.

"My whole opinion of the people here has changed. There aren't any good people," said Friedrichsen, who says his first instinct now is to scan even youngsters' hands for weapons.

Subtle hostility extends to Iraqi adults, and evidence of betrayal among some of the country's officials is causing some American troops to have second thoughts.

"We're out here giving our lives for these people," said Sgt. Jesse Jordan, 25, of Grove Hill, Ala. "You'd think they'd show some gratitude. Instead, they don't seem to care."

When new troops rotated into Iraq early in the spring, the military portrayed the second stage of the occupation as a peacekeeping operation focused at least as much on reconstruction as on mopping up rebel resistance.

Even in strongholds of the Sunni insurgency such as Ramadi, a restive provincial capital west of Baghdad, the Marine Corps sent in its units with a mission to win over the people as well as smite the enemy. Commanders worked to instill sympathy for the local population through sensitivity training and exhortations from higher officers.

Marines were ordered to show friendliness through "wave tactics," including waving at people on the street. Few spend much time waving these days.

But the hard reality of frequent hit-and-run attacks, roadside bombs showering military vehicles with shrapnel and mortars exploding on their base has left plenty of Marines, particularly grunts on the ground, disillusioned and bitter.

Deployment in the spring

Since the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, deployed in the area six months ago, 34 Marines have died and more than a quarter of the 1,000-member unit has been wounded. Now, as the battalion nears the end of its deployment, virtually every Marine in Ramadi has been shot at or seen a bomb or rocket-propelled grenade explode, and many have had several such brushes with death, commanders said.

Along with the heavy toll of attacks by insurgents, the Marines cite other sources of frustration. High among them is the scarcity of tips from Iraqis on the locations of the roadside bombs that kill and maim Marines, even though the explosives frequently are placed in well-trafficked areas where bomb teams probably would be observed.

Then there are the hostile glares that adults in the community give to passing American military patrols, and treachery from high-profile allies, such as the provincial police chief who was arrested last month amid strong suspicions that he was working with the insurgency.

Some Marines say the sense that their presence is unappreciated calls into question the entire project in Iraq, which they consider a liberation that should be welcomed. But other Marines said their support for the intervention is undiminished, as direct contact with the enemy strengthens their conviction that the U.S. faces threats that require decisive action.

Commanders acknowledge a shift in attitude toward Iraqis among troops but insist it makes little difference in accomplishing their mission. The Marines are a disciplined fighting force and under orders to treat Iraqis "with dignity," said Maj. Mike Wylie, the battalion executive officer.

But Iraqis clearly can pick up on the feelings of ground troops they encounter--one of the reasons that Marine commanders were originally so eager to promote a friendly attitude. Commanders have long emphasized that even casual interactions can produce valuable intelligence and win trust.

In a place where American soldiers are at constant risk of surprise attack, ill will shortens fuses even further.

"We're not taking any chances: Shoot first and ask questions later," said Lance Cpl. David Goward, 26, a machine gunner from Cloquet, Minn. "We're a lot more dangerous now. I'm not going home in a body bag, and neither is the person next to me."

Extended military engagement against an insurgency rarely breeds cozy relations among soldiers and civilians. But the American military's strict rules of engagement about when soldiers can shoot and when they can't are designed to limit the impact that passions can have on actions on the battlefield, said retired Brig. Gen. David Grange, a former Special Forces commander.

The acts of friendship that Marines undertook when they arrived in Ramadi now in some cases heighten their resentment toward the city's residents.

After a series of ambushes one April day that killed a dozen Marines, Cpl. Jason Rodgers saw a familiar face among a group of slain attackers. The dead Iraqi, who was lying inches from a grenade, was a shopkeeper Rodgers had called on several times during foot patrols, he said.

`I felt like I'd been betrayed'

"I felt like I'd been betrayed, personally," said Rodgers, 22, of Susanville, Calif. "I'd stood there, talking to him, shaking his hand, giving his kid candy. And he'd been studying our moves the whole time."

Capt. Rob Weiler, commander of the battalion's mobile assault company, arrived in Iraq toting a copy of the Federalist Papers and an American government textbook along with his M-16 and body armor, expecting to spend as much time advising local leaders new to democracy as he did fighting off insurgents.

Even as Weiler and his company fought attacks by insurgents around the city, he threw himself into the task of assisting with reconstruction works. He met with leaders to assess needs and hired local contractors to complete several projects, including renovation of a school.

But as a convoy of Marines pulled up to the school one day in late May to check on the contractors' progress, he said, a roadside bomb exploded in front of the building, wounding two Marines.

"It was extremely difficult for me to believe that none of the people that I was employing to do things to improve their lives and the lives of their children knew anything about it," Weiler said.

Likewise, Sgt. Curtis Neill cites a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his platoon as it passed some shops one hot August day. When the Marines responded, the attacker fled, but they found that he had established a comfortable and obvious position to lie in wait.

There, in an alleyway beside the shops was a seat and ammunition for the grenade launcher--along with a pitcher of water and a half-eaten bowl of grapes, said Neill, who was so amazed that he took photos of the setup.

`That's why I'm bitter'

"You could tell the guy had been hanging out all day. It was out in the open. Every single one of the guys in the shops could tell the guy was set up to attack us," said Neill, 34, of Colrain, Mass. "That's the problem. That's why I'm bitter toward the people."

Navy Lt. Kenneth Son, the battalion surgeon, said he has seen a complete 180-degree turn in the attitudes of Marines toward the Iraqi people.

"When they first came, I was able to discern . . . some glimmer of hopefulness that we would be able to make a difference in the lives of Iraqis," Son said. "I do see that glimmer of hope has dimmed. What some say is maybe there is a reason that the previous regime controlled the country in such a heavy-handed way."


Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0409160231sep16,1,474802.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-04, 07:57 PM
Marine Returns Home, Meets Baby Daughter For First Time
22-Year-Old Shares His Experience In Iraq

POSTED: 10:46 pm PDT September 16, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A South Bay family welcomed their son home Thursday from a seven-month assignment in Iraq.

After two tours of duty in Iraq, 22-year-old Richard Vega, Jr. is finally home for good.

The U.S. Marine got the chance to hold his 2-month-old baby girl for the first time, and he made it home to celebrate his father's birthday.

"I'm proud of him and the contributions he made for this country and for freedom," Vega's father said.

While his family is thrilled with his safe return, the dangers of Vega's job are still fresh in his mind.

"The insurgencies there, they just don't know when to quit," he said. "Marines are still getting hurt -- one of officers didn't make it."

Vega's work involved radio operations in Fallujah. His focus was to help fight off insurgents. He remembers explosions going off around the clock.

"Whenever you hear the mortar tubes, you just take cover really quick," he said.

Despite the volatile situation, Vega says he would do it all over again.

"I feel that what we're doing over there has to be done," he said. "For years, it's been getting carried away over there. But we got rid of Saddam Hussein, now we've just got to get rid of the insurgencies there and keep doing what we're doing."

Meanwhile, Vega's wife is just glad to have him back.

"I can't even explain it," Reina Vega said. "We've been waiting for so long for him to come home."

Vega will complete his four-year service with the Marines in December.

His goal is to become a police officer in a civilian force.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/3738307/detail.html


Ellie