New wave of Marines provide logistical support for I MEF

[thedrifter]

New wave of Marines provide logistical support for I MEF
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 2004923101131
Story by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 23, 2004) -- Nearly 5,000 Marines and sailors here are smiling, ready to return to their loved ones, thanks to a new wave of 1st Force Service Support Group personnel who arrived over the last month.

The 1st FSSG provides logistical support for the I Marine Expeditionary Force, which is currently commanding all Marine forces operating in Iraq.

The rotation keeps within the guidance set forth by Gen. Michael W. Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, to stay on track with seven-month deployments. Pentagon officials previously suggested 12-to-14 month deployments. He confirmed the seven-month rotation cycle to 1st FSSG during a visit here earlier this year.

Headquarters Marine Corps representatives have previously stated that seven-month rotations allow for greater flexibility throughout the Marine Corps.

The 1st FSSG faces daily threats from ambushes and improvised explosive devices to provide a continuous supply line for I MEF. This daunting task has kept the critical supplies, like food and ammunition, as well medical and engineering services, to maintain the fight.

The two largest units in the 1st FSSG, Combat Service Support Groups 11 and 15, have received their new group of Marines. Serving in a direct support role, CSSG-11 has two battalions, Combat Service Support Battalions 1 and 7, which support the infantrymen with the 1st Marine Division’s 1st and 7th Regimental Combat Teams. CSSG-15 serves as the general support group for all I MEF units, and acquires and distributes food, water, ammunition and medical supplies.

Since returning to Iraq in February 2004, 1st FSSG and supporting units have spent more than 11 million dollars in construction, water restoration, medical supplies and cleanup projects for local Iraqi villages, destroyed numerous weapons stockpiles, captured more than 14,000 tons of captured ammunition and assisted in the transition of power from the Coalition Forces Administration to the interim Iraqi government.

While some units have simply switched out Marines, others have been replaced by entirely different units.

Larger units, such as Headquarters and Support Battalion, Combat Service Support Groups 11 and 15, and the command element, are permanent standing units, which can rotate Marines in and out of Iraq without affecting mission capability, said Lt. Col. David M. Kluegel, the1st FSSG G-3 operations officer.

Supporting companies and platoons, including combat service support, engineer and military police companies, are deployed as a whole, in order to maintain the unit’s cohesion, added Kluegel, 45, a St. Louis, Mo., native.

Despite the difference in rotations among units, 1st FSSG has not experienced any change in manpower or mission capability.

“The Marine Corps is able to do this sort of thing with ease due to all the cross training and efficient turnovers that Marines receive prior to deployment,” said Sgt. Jason Dube, 1st FSSG’s future operations chief.

Second Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, an artillery unit from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., replaced 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, a reserve infantry battalion headquartered out of St. Louis, Mo. With the demand for infantry battalions increasing, Marines from other specialized fields, such as artillery and military police, are filling roles traditionally held by riflemen. The provisional infantry battalion provides security for 1st FSSG’s principal logistics base and conducts civil affairs missions to improve community relations with local Iraqis.

Marines have hit a few snags during the transition. Vehicles used by 1st FSSG units have logged thousands of miles since early spring through treacherous convoys, and most are being kept in western Iraq for another seven months, causing concern regarding vehicle life expectancy, said Capt. Paul A. Zacharzuk, 40, Repairable Management Company’s commander.

“Maintenance is going to be the big issue. It always is with any long deployment,” said Dube, a 25-year-old Minor Hill, Tenn., native.

To keep the 1st FSSG units and their gear mission ready, several maintenance and supply units are on hand to repair, refurbish and purchase parts for many different types of gear and vehicles, from alternators to night vision goggle accessories.

The transition between rotating forces allows an exchange of information and experience between unit’s leaders and Marines.

During their civil affairs missions, Maj. Luke W. Kratky and Chief Warrant Officer Dwight Torres, unit information officers for 3/24 and 2/10, respectively, have shared ideas on how to improve relations with local Iraqi villagers.

“I’ve been showing him how we’ve dealt with the local sheiks and villagers and the differences among them, and he has some ideas of his own, too,” said Kratky, a 33-year-old Fenton, Mo., native.

As the departing team returns to open arms back home, the new crew here will pick up where they left off – supporting Marines and sailors fighting terror throughout Iraq.

Combat service support operations throughout Iraq will continue past the seven-month deployment, when the II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., takes over in spring 2005.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004923101723/$file/CombatStressNoble040917_LOW.jpg

Lance Cpl. Martin C. Noble, far left, and several other Marines from Lima Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, wait for transportation to their observation posts Sept. 17, 2004. Noble is part of a new wave of troops who arrived over the last month in support of 1st Force Service Support Group. Marines providing security for support units in Iraq, such as the 1st Force Service Support Group, put their lives on the line daily to ensure supplies, such as food and water, as well as medical and engineering services, make it to troops throughout Iraq. Noble is a 21-year-old Baltimore native. Photo by: Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/92871C51E5DC0C1485256F18004DF5A7?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Strikes Al-Zarqawi Network
Associated Press
September 26, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. warplanes, tanks and artillery repeatedly hit at Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah on Saturday, while two British Muslim leaders came to Baghdad to try to convince his followers to release a British hostage.

The strikes in Fallujah targeted two buildings where militants were allegedly meeting and a cluster of rebel-built fortifications used to mount attacks on nearby Marine positions, the U.S. military said. Doctors said 16 people were killed and 37 wounded.

In other violence, an American soldier was reported killed by a bomb Saturday, and the U.S. military said four Marines died in separate incidents Friday. A statement said the Marines were involved in a security operation in Anbar province, which includes Fallujah, Ramadi and other places that see frequent clashes between U.S. forces and insurgents. No further details were disclosed.

In Baghdad, gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying Iraqi National Guard applicants, killing six people, police said. It was the latest attack in a militant campaign that targets Iraqi security units and recruits in hopes of undermining U.S.-backed efforts to build an Iraqi force capable of taking over security from American troops.

The National Guard also clashed with unidentified gunmen in Haswa, south of the capital, injuring four people, hospital officials said. The shooting lasted about a half hour, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, five mortar shells struck the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad, shattering windows and causing minor damage to the building, ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Several explosions rocked the Iraqi capital late Saturday, but it was not immediately clear what caused the blasts. The military had no immediate comment.

In Fallujah, explosions lit up the night sky for hours before dawn Saturday and at least two buildings in the city center were wrecked, witnesses said. The Fallujah mosque switched on its loudspeakers and clerics chanted prayers to rally the city's residents. Doctors said eight people were killed and 15 wounded.

Explosions rocked the city again after dark Saturday. Eight people were killed and 22 injured in the blasts, said Dr. Ahmed Khalil at Fallujah General Hospital. The U.S. military could not immediately be reached for comment on the blasts.

American troops have not entered Fallujah since ending a three-week siege of the city in April that killed hundreds but have staged repeated attacks on sites the U.S. military described as being used by al-Zarqawi's followers.

In a statement released on the Internet, al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group said the death of its spiritual leader in a U.S. missile strike earlier this month had only increased its determination to fight the United States and its allies in Iraq.

The statement said the beheading of two American hostages last week was proof that the group's campaign was not affected by the killing of Sheik Abu Anas al-Shami, apparently when a U.S. missile hit his car in a western Baghdad suburb Sept. 17.

"The beheading of the two Americans was our first signal that we will continue and will not be deterred," said the statement, which was posted on a Web site known for carrying communiques from Islamic militants.

Two senior officials of the Muslim Council of Britain arrived in Iraq's capital on Saturday to try to win the freedom of Kenneth Bigley, a British civil engineer who was kidnapped Sept. 16 with the two Americans who were slain.

Al-Zarqawi's group claimed responsibility for the abduction and demanded the release of female Iraqi prisoners at American-controlled prisons - a move U.S. officials have ruled out.

"We will do everything to contact them (the captors) while we are here," Daud Abdullah, assistant secretary-general of the British council, told reporters after talks at the British Embassy.

He conceded, however, that his delegation had not arranged any meetings with Iraqi religious or political leaders and did not know whether they would be able to reach the kidnappers.

"The message is simple, it's a humanitarian one ... he (Bigley) was a noncombatant, Islam does not endorse the capture of noncombatants, let alone the killing of them," Abdullah said.

A posting on an Islamic Internet site Saturday claimed al-Zarqawi's followers had killed Bigley, but the Foreign Office in London said the claim was not credible.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday that the British were doing "whatever we can" to seek Bigley's freedom, but he indicated there would be no shift in the government's refusal to negotiate.

"We have been in touch with the Bigley family," Blair said. "We will continue to do whatever we can."

The little-known site tends to pick up claims from other sites and was among the many to carry video footage of the beheadings of the two American civil engineers - Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley - taken hostage with Bigley. It also carried two shaky claims that militants had killed two Italian women aid workers being held hostage.

In Cairo, Eygpt, a spokesman for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the government was working through religious and tribal contacts in hopes of winning the release of six Egyptian telecommunications workers abducted with four Iraqis in two incidents.

Relatives pleaded Saturday for the release of their loved ones. Neither they nor Orascom, the telecommunications giant in Cairo with ties to all 10 workers seized, had received any demands.

"We want to know at least what they want or what their conditions are," Asmaa Abu al-Seoud, wife of captive Mahmoud Mustafa, told The Associated Press. "Our daughters, Aya, who is 3, and Iman, who is only 1 1/2 months old, are waiting to see their father."

More than 140 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq - some by anti-U.S. insurgents and some by criminals seeking ransoms. At least 26 of them have been killed. Many Iraqis have also been seized.

Insurgents released the dean of Iraq's Anbar University on Saturday, more than a month after he was taken hostage, witnesses said. Abdulhadi Rajab al-Heeti was released in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi.

Also, Iraqi police in Basra said Saturday that they had arrested three kidnapping suspects and freed an Iraqi hostage who had been selling mobile phones. Police said the suspects were part of a kidnapping gang but did not provide other details.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine rests in home that he adopted and that adopted him
By Rhina Guidos
The Salt Lake Tribune

SPANISH FORK - She stared at the ground where her son is now buried. Other than a simple "thank you" to the hundreds who offered condolences, Patricia Olmos couldn't say much.
People used the word "inseparable" to describe the relationship between Patricia and her son, Lance Cpl. Csar Fabr'cio Machado-Olmos, who died last week in Iraq.
Even as the young Marine's casket was lowered into the ground at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery on Wednesday, Patricia didn't want to leave her son behind. She threw a bouquet of fresh flowers on top of his casket and at the end of the funeral, she asked what time the cemetery closed

Hundreds of people who knew the young man, and even those who didn't, joined his family at the cemetery and for services at the Palmyra Stake Center. Spanish Fork is one of two places Machado-Olmos called home. The other was Los Mochis, in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico.
Machado-Olmos is the second Mexican national with roots in Utah to die in Iraq this year. Officials say they are working on getting his citizenship awarded posthumously. Cpl. Juan Carlos Cabral, of Washington Terrace, was awarded U.S. citizenship on the day he was buried.
"It doesn't seem fair," said Norma Ornelas of Provo, who attended the funeral with her husband, Alberto. "They should have given him citizenship when he signed up."
"When they are dead, what good does it do?" she asked.
"But he must have loved this country to give his life," Alberto Ornelas said. "Deep down, he knew this country had taken him in. That's why he gave his life for it."
Machado-Olmos, who would have turned 21 last Monday, died Sept. 13 when his Humvee rolled while on patrol. In spirit, he was a citizen of two countries. He loved the United States, especially the




mountains in his adopted state of Utah, where he went hiking on his final visit two months ago, said his uncle Ernesto Castaeda.
But like many immigrants, he never forgot Mexico and would visit family members there.
In Utah, he was part of the immigrant LDS community that belongs to what some refer to as "Barrio Spanish Fork."
Mar'a Mej'a remembered him as a devout member of the LDS Church. Like Mej'a, many spoke of him as if he had been their own son and cried with the family for their collective loss.
"I try to pray for all the soldiers," Mej"a said. "But I especially prayed for him because I knew he found himself in that land. I know in my heart that he was a hero."
His family in Mexico is Roman Catholic and they paid tribute to him with a Mass in Los Mochis, Castaeda said.
"Everything that can be said about him has been said in the last few days," he said.
And all the worlds that he lived in and out of, that of a soldier, of an immigrant, a veteran, a son, gathered at once to mourn.
About 60 members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars saluted the hearse as it went into the cemetery.
"It is not a loss," said Alberto Ornelas as he watched Machado-Olmos' mother, his stepfather, Esau Acosta, and his siblings. ''He gave his life for his family, for his friends, and that's very important.''

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2418831

Ellie

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site297/20040923__UT_MARINEPLUG_0923_A1~2_200.JPG

Marine honor guard. The funeral of Cesar Machado-Olmos, a marine who was killed in Iraq in a vehicle accident, and was laid to rest in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery Wednesday afternoon. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

the cemetery closed.

[thedrifter]

U.S. soldiers celebrate Native American heritage in Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 2004924672
Story by Sgt. Enrique S. Diaz



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2004) -- The Army's 120th Engineer Combat Battalion held a Native American pow wow here, Sept. 17-18, 2004.

The Okmulgee, Okla.,-based unit held the pow wow to promote cultural understanding of their heritage with other servicemembers here, while bringing a piece of home to many of the Native Americans serving in Iraq.

The unit's yearlong deployment to Iraq means many of the soldiers will miss out on their families' pow wows.

Historically, a pow wow was a ceremony performed before hunts and battles. Today, pow wows are held to celebrate special occasions and to share songs and customs.

Highlights of the festivities included storytelling, dancing, music, a class on pow wow etiquette, and the chance to sample traditional food.

The ceremonies were accompanied by traditional Native American games, such as the tomahawk throw and stickball, a game resembling field hockey where opponents use sticks to move a ball, usually made of hide, down a field to the opposing team's goal.

Nearly 20 percent of the 120th's soldiers are of Native American decent, said Army Capt. Shareen S. Fischer, the battalion's chaplain and Shinnecock Indian.

''I was brought up in a home where the native culture, the native spirit is very, very alive,'' said Spc. George D. Macdonald, a supply specialist and a Chickasaw Indian. ''So being away from it for a long time brings you down when you think about the pow wows back home.''

The pow wow here brought soldiers, sailors, and Marines together and helped increase awareness of the Native American culture, said Fischer.

Among the Native Americans who won't be home this year for their family's pow wow is Army Sgt. Debra K. Mooney, a Choctaw Indian and Idabel, Okla., native.

''We're brought up with them (pow wows). The beat of the drum is a part of the heartbeat of a Native American'' said Mooney.

Realizing the majority of the Native Americans would miss their pow wows back home, Mooney proposed an intertribal pow wow in Iraq to Fischer.

''I thought it was crazy at first,'' said Fischer, a 32-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native.

With her battalion commander's approval, Fischer had just five weeks to plan out the pow wow, an event that usually takes months to coordinate.

To make the event happen by deadline, Fisher and Mooney appointed soldiers to subcommittees to speed up the process. Native dress, jewelry, and other essential regalia had to be sent from families back home; and dances and events had to be organized and rehearsed.

Although some of the items mailed to the soldiers did not make the deadline, the pow wow was still successful.

Many of the soldiers felt proud that they had participated in this historical event, the first pow wow ever held in Iraq.

''Being involved with it makes you feel really good about yourself,'' said Macdonald, a 19-year-old native of Sasakwa, Okla., and head dancer for the pow wow.

''We all joined together, it was just like being at home,'' added Mooney. ''It was just as important for them (other soldiers in the battalion), for the pride of 120th, and the state of Oklahoma as it was for us.''

Following the dancing, singing, and other performances, the event did not conclude with a Native American tradition, but rather a military one – the retirement of the colors.

Throughout the event, Native Americans shared a significant part of their culture with fellow soldiers, sailors, and Marines. As the Indians made their stay in Iraq feel a little more like home, the other servicemembers learned about a culture they are helping to defend.


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200492471439/$file/Dance040918Low.jpg

Dressed in traditional Native American Indian clothing, soldiers from the U.S. Army's 120th Engineer Combat Battalion perform a Native American dance during a pow wow at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 18, 2004. The battalion, a Okmulgee, Okla.,-based reserve unit currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, held the event to promote cultural understanding of Native American heritage with other servicemembers here, and to bring a piece of home to many of the Native Americans serving in Iraq. Nearly 20 percent of the 120th's soldiers are of Native American decent. Highlights of the festivities included storytelling, dancing, music, a class on pow wow etiquette, and the chance to sample traditional food. Historically, a pow wow was a ceremony performed before hunts and battles. Today, pow wows are held to celebrate special occasions, such as the birth of a child, and to share songs and customs. Photo by: Sgt. Enrique S. Diaz

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/CC91AA1BF1E4EFDA85256F190037937B?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines scheduled to return from Iraq


September 23, 2004

CAMP PENDLETON – About 300 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment are scheduled to return to Camp Pendleton tomorrow after serving in Iraq for seven months.

The infantry unit was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and was engaged in combat and security operations in and around Ramadi.

The battalion suffered some of the highest casualties of any 1st Marine Expeditionary Force unit in Anbar Province. Thirty-two Marines assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment died during the deployment.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20040923-9999-1mi23briefs.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

War-weary Marines return to Pendleton

CAMP PENDLETON ---- They have lost friends and seen the worst of war, but all that faded away for a moment Friday when 300 Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment returned home from Iraq to the open arms and cheers of family and friends.

"Finally, I'm back. I'm alive!" Lance Cpl. Jaime Rochas shouted as he embraced his parents and gazed around the Camp Pendleton parking lot where dozens of wives and girlfriends, moms and dads mobbed their Marines with hugs and kisses.

"Now he's home and my worries are gone," said 19-year old Noemy Bernardino, who held onto her husband, Lance Cpl. Jose Bernardino, as if she were afraid he would escape.

Amid piles of camouflage rucksacks, tears flowed freely and embraces lingered as the families reunited with the troops who were returning from a seven-month stint in and around the volatile city of Ramadi, the capital of the Al Anbar Province west of Baghdad.

The battalion ---- whose members call themselves the "Magnificent Bastards" and who are known around the base as the "2/4" ---- lost many of its Marines to the fighting at Ramadi, which has emerged as a rebel bastion even more lethal to Americans than Fallujah.

First Sgt. Curtis Winfree said 35 members of 2/4 were killed and as many as 180 were wounded since they deployed to Iraq in February.

Echo Company ---- one of the 150-man companies that returned Friday ---- lost at least 22 men in combat.

As the top noncommissioned officer of Echo Company, Winfree was responsible for looking after the troops' morale and welfare. As did many of the other Marines, he did not want to talk about the men who did not return.

"I just told them to forget about it for now ---- enjoy the moment," he said after taking a moment to hug his 15-month-old son, Miles, and wife, Lori. "Go home and enjoy what you can."

"These are men of character," he said.

Before the Marines arrived on base about 6 a.m. Friday, family members had already started gathering with signs and coolers full of snacks.

Throughout the morning, as they waited for the men to turn in weapons, they mingled and shared.

One woman passed out Hawaiian leis made of candies tied end to end.

Others donned T-shirts with portraits of their Marines emblazoned on the front.

They all chatted anxiously as the sun burned off the morning chill.

"It's been an emotional roller coaster," said Shelly Smith, who waited for her husband, Sgt. Eric Smith.

Nearby, Roseanne Birmelin said she drove all the way from Big Spring, Texas, to be there when her son, Lance. Cpl. Jason Birmelin, arrived.

"It's going to be so wonderful just to see his face," she said, adding that Jason would probably be looking for the simple comforts of his Texas hometown. "He'll probably want barbecue and beer and to sleep in a bed."

The big moment came at 7:45 a.m. when Weapons Company marched in formation up the final hill to the buzzing crowd. With stiff lips and set jaws, the men stopped and turned.

"Dismissed!" yelled their first sergeant, as the Marines were overwhelmed by the superior-sized force of family members and friends.

"You're here! My baby's home!" screamed Jaine Rochas as she enveloped her son, Lance Cpl. Jaime Rochas.

Tears welling up in his big green eyes, Rochas looked stunned as his father joined in the embrace.

Holding onto his son's arm as if amazed, Johnny Rochas, 51, just shook his head.

"I always told myself I'm not going to believe it until I touch him," he said. "And now, here he is. I'm touching him."

That the war had taken a personal toll and created unspeakable bonds between the men was apparent as troops who had been sent home early with wounds embraced their returned comrades.

One of the wounded Marines was Lance Cpl. Jason Rosman, a 19-year-old native of Anaheim, who was shot three times through the back and arm in June.

Rosman said he was indebted to those who had to stay the full tour and he worked Friday to make their homecoming a success.

That was the code in Iraq, too, the troops said.

"We just took care of each other," said Navy Corpsman Miguel Escalera, 32, who held a red rose sprinkled in silver glitter given to him by his wife, Gina.

As a medic in the field, Escalera said he was first on the scene to treat many of the wounded and dying men in pitched battles against insurgents in and around Ramadi.

"It was about being in the right place at the right time," he said, downplaying his heroics. "I was doing my job. But it feels good to know I saved peoples' lives."

In the tense hour before her husband returned Friday, Gina Escalera said she was aware that he and many of the other men might need help dealing with what they saw and did in Iraq. She said she would let him open up in his own time.

Family members said that military representatives have briefed them on how to adjust now that their loved ones have returned home, and made a small army of counselors available for the coming months.

For Wildomar resident Barbara Lundy, Friday's homecoming was a mixed blessing.

She said she joined the celebration to greet a Marine she had never met.

Her son, Cpl. Kenneth Lundy, had asked her to be there to greet the sergeant who showed him how to stay safe in Ramadi, where his battalion recently replaced the 2/4. His unit has already suffered the loss of one Marine.

Although her son had been deployed to Iraq before, Barbara Lundy said this deployment worries her more.

"It was different this time," said. "This time there are no illusions."

Contact staff writer Darrin Mortenson at (760) 740-5442 or dmortenson@nctimes.com.



http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/09/25/news/top_stories/21_04_289_24_04.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Mt. Juliet Marine killed in Iraq remembered for his smile, loyalty

By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer

Lance Cpl. Tyler Cates wrote his stepfather in an e-mail message Sunday night that he was preparing for a mission but couldn't discuss the details.

That was the last time the two communicated. Cates, 22, who had been stationed in Iraq for about a month, died in combat the next day.

''He was a true Boy Scout,'' said Phillip Shaw, Cates' stepfather. ''He was trustworthy; he'd go an extra mile for his friends. I will remember his upbeat attitude, his smile and his laughter.''

Cpl. Cates graduated from Mt. Juliet High School in 2001, and joined the Marine Corps eight days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, according to a statement from Lt. Christy Kercheval with the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California.

This June, Cates, whose full name was Steven Charles Tyler Cates, joined the 1st Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment as a machine gunner.

He was deployed to Iraq in late August to participate in the second phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the Marine Corps' statement. Cpl. Cates died in Al-Anbar province in western Iraq, a territory that includes Fallujah, a city close to Baghdad known for violence orchestrated by radical insurgents.

As of yesterday, 1,037 members of the U.S. military had died supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

Kercheval wouldn't elaborate on the circumstances of Cates' death. She said he was in Iraq to help support local Iraqi government in its daily operations. He received the National Defense Service Medal, a ribbon automatically awarded to those who have served in Iraq and other past wars, Kercheval said.

Cpl Cates' mother, Patricia Shaw, said that when her son enlisted she was worried but supportive.

''I'm his mom. He said, 'I need to do this, Mom.' That boy brought such patriotism (into) my life like no one else. He touched everybody he came in contact with because of his charisma. He had a good heart.''

Cpl. Cates' father, Steve Cates, said he never will forget the times he and his son went camping, fishing and hunting.

''He was the light of my life. He was my son, my pal, my friend. He loved America. He wanted to defend his country and wanted to go over there and give them what we have.''

Steve Cates said he talked with his son on the phone last week for the first time since his deployment.

''He said that they had come under fire the first day or two. But they were taking care of business — that's what he told me.''

During his high school years, Cpl. Cates was an Eagle Scout and worked summers at Camp Boxwell, a Wilson County Boy Scout reservation. He also played baritone horn in the Mt. Juliet High School band.

''He was one of those kids that, from the very beginning, (would say) 'yes, sir, no sir,' '' band director Tony Cox said.

''He was very dedicated and kind. He was unique in that he'd come back and visit. He'd check in and let me know what was going on.''

Cpl. Cates is survived by his wife, Lisa, of Madison; father, Steve Cates, of Lebanon; mother, Patricia Shaw, Mt. Juliet; three siblings; grandparents and a great-grandmother.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/09/58214207.jpg

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/09/58213624.shtml?Element_ID=58213624

Ellie

[thedrifter]

ORANGE COUNTY
Marines Receive a Warm Welcome
Battalion with the highest casualty rate in Iraq comes home. The parents of those killed also greet troops.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


CAMP PENDLETON — Unified by their grief, the four parents of dead sons felt compelled to be at this Marine base early Friday morning.

Sheila Cobb came from Tampa, Fla.; Sandra Aceves from Chula Vista; Mark Crowley from San Ramon in Northern California; and Diane Layfield from Fremont, also in Northern California.

All had sons killed in the Marines' months-long fight against insurgents in the Sunni Triangle city of Ramadi.

Tearful and determined, they wanted to be here when their sons' battalion returned home. Their sons were part of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, which has suffered more casualties than any Marine battalion in Iraq: 35 dead, 180 wounded and scores injured.

Layfield knew it would be difficult to watch her son's buddies return safely to their loved ones. But she said the idea of staying away was unthinkable.

"I needed to be here to support the other families," she said between sobs. "These were my son's brothers, so they're my sons too. Travis would want me here."

Layfield and other members of her family wore T-shirts adorned with a picture of Lance Cpl. Travis Layfield, 19. On the shirt's back was the notation: "KIA, April 6, 2004, Al Anbar Province."

Crowley, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of his son, Lance Cpl. Kyle Crowley, embraced Maj. John Harrill, operations officer for the battalion known as the Magnificent Bastards.

"He was only 18 years old, just 10 months out of high school," said Crowley, haltingly. "I really hadn't finished raising him yet. There was so much that he and I were going to do."

Crowley, a sheet-metal worker, told Harrill that he would like to take him fishing. "Whenever you want," said Harrill.

Cobb carried a poster with pictures of her son, Pfc. Christopher Cobb, 23, and several other Marines.

The death of their sons had brought Cobb and Layfield together.

"Our sons were in the same Humvee," Cobb said. "My boy is dead, but I'm here to tell all the boys how much I love them."

After the buses brought the Marines here from March Reserve Air Force Base in Riverside, they unloaded quickly. Marines sought out Cobb, Layfield, Crowley and Aceves to embrace them, offer condolences and whisper private thoughts to them.

"I'm Doc Mendez's mother. That's how I want to be remembered forever," Aceves said. Her son, Fernando Mendez-Aceves, 27, a Navy medic, was killed while trying to save the life of a wounded Marine.

"I'm so proud of my son, I'm proud of all of them," she said. "I wanted to come and be sure these boys got home safely."

It was a morning of tears — mostly tears of gladness that a seven-month ordeal was finally over, seven months when family members were terrified that every phone call and every knock on the door might bring the dreaded news.

"You're always on edge. It never leaves you, never," said Bruce Groves, a warehouse employee in Ridgecrest and father of Lance Cpl. Bill Groves, 20.

"You live day-by-day, prayer-by-prayer," said Pam Arneson of Janesville, Wis., whose son is Lance Cpl. Gregg Arneson, 19.

"It was hell," said Paula West, whose husband is Sgt. Dustin West, 33.

As the casualties mounted, family members began to exist in a perpetual twilight.

"It's like your son has a terminal illness and you're just waiting each day to see if this is the day he's going to die," said Connie Moore of Waxahachie, Texas, mother of Sgt. Eric Smith, 22.

For the Groves, Arneson, West and Moore-Smith families, the news was good, and there was talk of reunions, steak dinners and trips back home where more family members, in some cases entire communities, await the Marines' return.

The presence of family members of the dead Marines may have added to the sense of relief among other families who gathered in the parking lot near regimental headquarters.

"My son's injuries weren't all that bad," said Kathy Moudy of Hayward, Calif., mother of Lance Cpl. Vincent Moudy, 19. "He was shot in the arm and fingers."

When the homecoming began to wind down, Layfield, who works for a children's book publisher, said she was glad she made the trip.

"After Travis was killed, I stayed away from people, I became a basket-case," she said quietly. "Today was good for me: to see they're all home. I just wish my son was with them."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-marines25sep25,1,6733218.story?coll=la-editions-orange


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Navy nurse bids farewell to Marine son in Iraq, for now
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 200492394357
Story by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 23, 2004) -- The last person Navy Lt. Cdr. John M. Hernandez wanted to see was his son.

The senior Hernandez, 45, who was an operating room nurse for 1st Force Service Support Group's Surgical/Shock Trauma Platoon here, saw more young Marines come and go through his operating room than he would have liked.

Yet, the possibility of his son's admission into his operating room haunted him, especially considering that his boy is not the only Cpl. Hernandez in the Marine Corps now serving in Iraq.

A registered nurse from San Antonio's University of Texas Health Science Center, he has assisted in countless operations on land and sea, including more than 300 severely injured patients from some of the fiercest months of fighting during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"There was this one time that we had admitted a Cpl. Hernandez here, and nobody, including me, knew if it was my son or not," said Hernandez. "Luckily it wasn't him, and the injuries weren't too bad, but I was still worried. I'm proud that he's a Marine and serving his country, yet I worry about his well-being and that of all the troops."

At Camp Blue Diamond, Iraq, the junior Hernandez, 23, a member of the 1st Marine Division security team, dodges mortar rounds and surveys his boss's location for any sign of anti-Iraqi forces, slightly different from his regular job as a light armored vehicle crewman from 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at 29 Palms, Calif.

Four years after Cpl. Hernandez graduated boot camp, both men find themselves intersecting each other in western Iraq. One is on his way out. The other just arrived.

The 16-year Navy veteran officer departed Iraq Sept. 19, 2004. He returned to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he serves as an operating room nurse at the Naval Hospital there. Martha, his wife of 27 years, and his 13-year-old son, Moses, waited patiently for his return.

Meanwhile, Cpl. Hernandez, 23, kissed his wife, Natalie, and two toddlers, Alyza, 3, and Isiah, 2, goodbye just more than a month ago to deploy to Iraq.

Following a proud Mexican-American family heritage of U.S. military service that includes three Marines, two sailors and a soldier, the life of a military man was not always the clear path for the junior Hernandez.

At age 18, Joshua, then a groom and father-to-be, was unclear of his future and in need of direction, his father said.

"He lacked direction and had a family to raise. I suggested he joined the service. I was looking into pushing him into the Coast Guard. He came back and said, 'Dad, I want to join the Marine Corps,'" said Hernandez.

As a military man with a family of his own, Cpl. Hernandez appreciates the years of sacrifice his parents made during his childhood.

"I believe it is a bit easier to help my wife cope with the stress and heartache because I have been through it as well," said the junior Hernandez.

Unable to resist the urge to look after his son, Hernandez, a San Antonio, Texas, native, has made it a frequent habit to offer his boy survival tips.

"I told him before he came out here that I wanted him to understand the importance of the body armor, because I've seen the plates stop bullets," said Lt. Cdr. Hernandez. "I also told him about some of the tactics that the insurgents use, such as placing improvised explosive devices on trees and light posts."

For the Hernandez family, faith is equally as important as wearing bullet-proof vests and Kevlar helmets. All three of Hernandez's sons were named after biblical characters - John, Joshua and Moses.

"Just like he puts on his body armor, he needs to armor himself with the lord and learn Psalm 91 from the New Testament," said Lt. Cdr. Hernandez, referring to the Psalm which describes the Lord's protection from the enemy.

Joshua provided his father with inspiration as well. Before Lt. Cdr. Hernandez departed for his four-month deployment to Iraq, Cpl. Hernandez, a certified black belt Marine Corps martial arts instructor, handed his prized belt over to his father, vowing to reclaim it when he got to Iraq. Dad had other plans.

"I'm going to wait until he comes home to give it back," said Lt. Cdr. Hernandez.

Lt. Cdr. Hernandez has plans for his family at Camp Pendleton. A camping and fishing trip seems ideal for him. He's also made a few promises to Joshua, to be fulfilled upon his son's return next spring.

For starters, he promised to give his son his 2002 Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle.

"Before he came out here I told him, 'it's yours, you can have it. You just have to make it back.' I'll just buy another one so we can both go riding," he said.

Both avid guitarists, a makeshift garage band is in the blueprint stages as well.

"He's a more accomplished guitarist than I am," the father admitted.

Lt. Cdr. Hernandez attempted to convoy north toward 1st Marine Division's headquarters, where his son was acclimatizing to the 100-degree plus dry heat of Iraq. Due to the risks involved of traveling to and from the U.S. military camps in Iraq, as well as his approaching departure date, Lt. Cdr. Hernandez was not able to see his son before he left.

"Maybe it was better off that way," Hernandez conceded, on the evening of his flight.

"I'm very happy that my father made it out of here safely," said Cpl. Hernandez. "I just hope that when my time comes, I can leave here safe and sound as well."

If the Marine Corps stays on track with its planned seven-month rotations, both men can look forward to guitar jamming and "Hog" riding in southern California next spring.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20049231084/$file/FatherSonPortrait040919_low.jpg

Navy Lt. Cdr. John M. Hernandez, an operating room nurse for 1st Force Service Support Group's Surgical/Shock Trauma Platoon, holds up a photo of his son, Cpl. Joshua Hernandez. Lt. Cdr. Hernandez, 45, departed Iraq Sept. 17, 2004, after nearly five months of service, while his son, 23, a member of the 1st Marine Division security team, arrived nearly one month ago. Both men are natives of San Antonio, Texas. Photo by: Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7ECAC9263AE499E885256F18004B6F66?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Lejeune Marines say goodbye to Mahmudiyah Community
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200492091010
Story by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes



CAMP MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq (Sept. 17, 2004) -- Morning in Mahmudiyah brings an interesting sight for seven-year-old Ali when he steps outside his front door to find 20 camouflaged Marines on patrol dressed in protective vests and toting rifles, machine guns and even a rocket-launcher.

Ali does something even a grown man wouldn't have done seven months ago. He smiles, waves and runs to greet his neighborhood guardian angels.

"When we arrived in Mahmudiyah seven months ago, there was shooting every day in the city. You couldn't drive through the market without hearing shots fired," said Cpl. Michael S. Edwards, 23, supply clerk and native of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Edwards works with the Civil Affairs Group for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and is on the streets every day.

"Now Ali, one of the kids we see on our patrols, can go to the market and shop for his family without worrying about being shot or robbed," he added. "There's been a world of change."

It hasn't been an easy road for the Camp Lejeune, N.C., based-battalion to walk - four Marines from the battalion died on the dusty streets here during their deployment - but it's impossible not to notice a change in the community.

"It used to be people wouldn't even come out of their houses to talk to us," Edwards said. "There are still a few people who give us dirty looks but for the most part everyone is smiles and waves when we go by on patrol."

More than $1.5 million has been spent inside the battalion's area of operations on public works projects. Many attribute the battalion's success to their initiative in improving the future of Iraq, to include the local schools.

"When you affect the children you affect the future of Iraq. The children here aren't afraid of us anymore. They know we're here to help them," said Sgt. Jacob Villarreal, 29, a combat engineer and native of Fresno, Calif. "When we got here, the communities were in terrible shape with trash and prehistoric sewer systems emptying on the street. Now it looks respectable."

Many of the Marines here carry with them one moment that crystallized the fact that the community they were working to rebuild was taking matters into their own hands.

"I remember seeing a group of men carrying shovels to clean the trash off the streets, that blew my mind," said Villarreal. "It meant they wanted to improve their communities too."

The fall off the Ba'ath Regime opened up many parts of Iraq to the world through something many Americans take for granted, satellite TV. Owning one just three years ago would be a death sentence. Today, Iraqis are learning about a new quality of life and a higher standard of living.

People used to always wear raggedy clothes, and were dirty, according to Villarreal. Over the months we've seen things change. Now they can see what the outside world is like and they can begin to join it.

Efforts made from the families of the Marines in the battalion have also helped the local community. An organization founded by the Key Wives Club called '2+2 = Forever' sent school supplies donated from companies in the U.S. In addition, 36,000 pounds of medical supplies and equipment were donated from several hospital supply companies to be given to the Mahmudiyah Hospital.

From the world outside Iraq to their own communities, the Iraqis here are eager for change. Both the police departments and the Iraqi National Guard have seen a jump in recruitment over the last months.

"You'd never see a truck full of Iraqi police patrolling through the ghetto, now you see it all the time," said Edwards. When asked if people were nervous at seeing the police around so often, he replied, "The people who want to see change in their communities love it."

Iraqi people dedicated to making a change are more willing to aid the coalition forces in their fight then they were when the unit arrived in March.

"Once, we were attacked by a roadside bomb. When we were interviewing locals about it, one man was willing to help us in the future whenever he found out anything," Edwards said.

Seeing the fight brought to their doorstep makes Iraqis realize that their families' safety is at stake, Edwards added.

"Every time we roll up an insurgent or a crooked cop, take weapons off the street and give kids a place to play, we're making a difference," said Edwards.
Although many of the battalion's and surrounding community's expectations were met, there is still progress to be made.

"I'd hoped to create more long-term employment for the Iraqis here. Working for the coalition is dangerous work, and (risking their lives) for a short term job isn't worth it to them," said Lt. Col. Giles Kyser, commanding officer of the battalion.

Seeing the quality of life improve through their efforts is something many Marines will take home with them to their own communities.

"I've learned more about myself and my abilities in these months than I have from my whole enlistment. I'm going to take the lessons I've learned here back to my own community," Edwards said. "When something is messed up I don't need to write the mayor or the congressman. I can go out and fix it myself. I have the ability and confidence to do that from serving the community here."

"I could not be more proud of what the Marines here have accomplished," said Kyser. "We delivered freedom to this country, now we deliver compassion to rebuild it and we will deal death to those who challenge us."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200492091345/$file/Outsidethewire1lr.jpg

Navy Lt. Charles F. Youngblood, 34, battalion surgeon for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, examines a newborn baby in a rural village recently. The Omaha, Neb. surgeon and his staff of Corpsmen treated more than 50 patients during a recent humanitarian aid project.
(Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes) Photo by: Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/3955C40619C39DFD85256F15004857BB?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

IRAQ IN TRANSITION <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Iraqi unit takes field--with assist <br />
With Marines' help, U.S.-trained SWAT team goes after rebels <br />
<br />
By Rick Jervis <br />
Tribune staff reporter <br />
Published September 23, 2004

[thedrifter]

"Stop Loss" Continues
Chicago Tribune
September 27, 2004

LOS ANGELES - Luis Prosper has spent more than half his life in the Army and was looking forward the prospect of a new life starting at middle age.

But that all changed when the Defense Department issued a "stop loss" order forcing some members of the country's volunteer armed forces to remain in service beyond their contractually agreed-upon term.

Like thousands of other men and women in the military, Prosper, 41, has had to rethink his future, at least for the time being.

"I was ready to retire, but I'm a soldier," said Prosper, a 25-year veteran who has reached the rank of sergeant major. "Before we give these soldiers bad leadership, I'd rather stay in uniform and do the job."

The ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are severely stretching the armed forces, a situation that some experts suggest may grow far worse within the next two years.

"In a year and a half or two years, there are going to be huge [personnel] shortages," said Andrew Exum, a retired Army captain who served in Afghanistan. "You can't keep these guys in for good."

Exum and others are worried that the stop-loss orders could dissuade current service members from re-enlisting and reduce new enlistments.

"The biggest effect will be on those who might have re-enlisted," Exum said. "The senior non-coms and majors and colonels are not going anywhere, but they are not the ones fighting this war," he said of the enlisted volunteers who make up the bulk of the fighting force.

The Pentagon issued its latest stop-loss order in June, forcing thousands of men and women to stay in the military and requiring many to return to combat duty well beyond their agreed-upon period of active service. The effect of the order has been that thousands of members of the all-volunteer armed forces no longer are serving voluntarily.

Both Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and Arizona's Republican Sen. John McCain have condemned the administration's policy as a kind of backdoor draft.

Last month a member of the California National Guard filed suit in federal court in San Francisco challenging the Bush administration's stop-loss policy on the premise that such orders can be issued only during a war officially declared by Congress.

"We challenged the authority the government is doing this on," said Joshua Sondheimer, one of the attorneys representing the guardsman, who is identified only as John Doe in the suit in an effort to protect his privacy.

Sondheimer said his client, a former Marine who served in the current Iraq conflict, has had to postpone plans to attend college.

"His life is a bit in limbo right now," he said.

In the all-volunteer armed forces, service is agreed to on a contractual basis. Active-duty periods are specified, as is a period of reserve status. Exum, for example, served actively for four years but is contractually bound to another four years in the reserves.

Military service has been voluntary since 1973, when the draft came to an end as the Vietnam war drew to a close. And then, tours in theaters of operations were limited to one year for the most part.

"The stop-loss is having a tremendous impact on morale," said Charles Moskos, a sociology professor at Northwestern University who specializes in the military.

Moskos, who recently met with U.S. troops in Baghdad, said the demographics of the U.S. armed forces have changed dramatically since service became voluntary more than 30 years ago.

"The [National] Guard and the reserves are involved this time," he said. "It is a much more married force with families involved."

Before the invasion of Iraq, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki said in congressional hearings that several hundred thousand troops would be required to maintain stability in the country after full combat ended.

Shinseki's suggestion quickly was dismissed by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, a view later echoed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Currently there are more than 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The latest stop-loss order was bolstered by a separate decision to recall 5,600 members of the 111,000-strong Individual Ready Reserve, soldiers who, like Exum, have completed their specified period of active duty but remain on reserve status until their contractual commitment is completed.

It was the first large-scale call-up from the Individual Ready Reserve since the 1991 Persian Gulf war.

The underlying problem the Army faces grows from decisions made in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Foreseeing a changed world in which a smaller force would be adequate, the Army was trimmed by500,000 active-duty troops, about 300,000 fewer than in 1989.

Then came the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the start of the war on terrorism. The subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq presented the armed forces with unexpected demands.

Exum, who was not affected by the stop-loss orders, has been in contact with members of his former unit, the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division based in Ft. Drum, N.Y.

He says his friends and colleagues are doing their duty and returning to combat, but he remained concerned about the effect the new policy is having on them and their families.

Exum says that if he had been ordered back to service, he would have served. But he still feels that the stop-loss orders, while probably legal, are fundamentally unfair and are done as a less objectionable way to maintain force numbers than returning to a draft.

"These are one of those things we do for political interests," he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

300 Marines return after bloody seven months in Iraq

SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
6:02 a.m. September 24, 2004

CAMP PENDLETON – About 300 Marines from a unit that suffered unusually high casualties are expected to return to Camp Pendleton today from service in Iraq, base officials said.

The Marines are from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

The battalion, which took part in operations in and around Ramadi, suffered some of the highest casualties of any 1st Marine Expeditionary Force unit serving in the al Anbar province, base officials said.

Thirty-two Marines from the contingent died during the seven-month deployment.

FALLEN
Lance Cpl. Nickalous N. Aldrich Pfc. Moises A. Langhorst
Pfc. Eric A. Ayon Lance Cpl. Travis J. Layfield
Lance Cpl. Todd J. Bolding Cpl. Bum R. Lee
Pfc. Cody S. Calavan Lance Cpl. Juan Lopez
Pfc. Benjamin R. Carman Pfc. Christopher D. Mabry
Lance Cpl. Marcus M. Cherry Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark
Pfc. Christopher R. Cobb Pfc. Geoffrey S. Morris
Lance Cpl. Jonathan W. Collins Lance Cpl. Deshon E. Otey
Sgt. Kenneth Conde Cpl. Tommy L. Parker
Lance Cpl. Pedro Contreras Lance Cpl. Rafael Reynosa
Lance Cpl. Kyle D. Crowley Lance Cpl. Anthony P. Roberts
Lance Cpl. Benjamin R. Gonzalez Lance Cpl. Jeremiah E. Savage
Cpl. Jeffrey G. Green Cpl. Dustin H. Schrage
Pfc. Deryk L. Hallal Lance Cpl. John T. Sims
Pfc. Ryan M. Jerabek Staff Sgt. Allan K. Walker
2nd Lt. John T. Wroblewski

Not forgotten: Memorial page
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/memorial/index.html

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040924-0602-marine-return.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines celebrate bitter-sweet return




By: KRISTIN SMITH , For The Times Herald 09/22/2004




RIDLEY TOWNSHIP - Captain Samuel Bakion wept as he looked into the eyes of his one-month old daughter for the first time Tuesday afternoon.



"When you're not here for the pregnancy, it's like it's not that real. Now that I hold her in my arms, it's real. I can't believe it, I just can't believe it," he said of his first-born daughter, Olivia Simone, who turned a month old the day before Bakion returned with the Folsom-based Bridge Company Bravo Marine Corps Reserve Unit.
Leaving around 2 a.m. in the morning from Camp Lejeune, N.C, 119 Marines returned home early Tuesday afternoon after a seven-month tour in Iraq.
And while the day was one for celebration for the Marines, their family and friends, the shadow of the three Marines killed in action June 28 will forever be in the minds of the tightly knit unit.
Marine Cpl. John Todd III, 24, of Bridgeport, Montgomery County, Lance Cpl. Patrick Adle, 21, of Bel Air, Md., and Sgt. Alan Sherman of Asbury Park, N.J., were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated inside an empty fruit stand along a Baghdad roadway their unit was patrolling.
The three men, who were riding in the lead Humvee in the convoy, were the first American servicemen killed just hours after the U.S. transfer of power to an Iraqi provisional government.
Lance Cpl. Adle's parents attended Tuesday's homecoming on behalf of their son.
Also injured in the blast were Upper Darby native, 24-year-old Matthew Crawford, who attended the celebration with his family and 26-year-old Cpl. Matthew Erszkowicz of Passaic, N.J.
"When everything happened, I got separated from my company, so I wasn't able to talk to them. It's definitely good to know everybody's back," said Erszkowicz, who still has imbedded shrapnel in his left shoulder and left foot from the blast. "I'm doing well and the foot is healing, so I can't complain. I still have a follow-up to see if they're going to remove the shrapnel in my foot."
Over 400 friends and family, many wearing homemade T-shirts or carrying "welcome home" signs and American flags, waited for several hours on a balmy September day for their first glimpse of the troops.
Stationed at Camp Anaconda, north of Baghdad, the Marine unit repaired bridges and other critical infrastructure in the war-torn region. For many of the men, it was their second tour of duty in Iraq.
Erica Bakion, who had to stuff cotton balls in her newborn daughter's booties to fill the extra space, has lived through her last birthday, her fourth wedding anniversary and her daughter's birth without her husband.
"I was able to send him pictures over the digital camera, but I'm so excited he gets to see her for the first time," Bakion, 33, of Folsom, said.
Tuesday marked Megan Eckman's 18th birthday, but the only celebration she wanted was the safe return of her brother, 24-year old Cpl. Steve Eckman of Havertown.
"I had a feeling when he said they'd be home between the 19th and the 21st, that it would be the 21st," the Upper Darby High School senior said. "This is like the ultimate present, I couldn't ask for anything better."
Four-year old Steven Eckman would ask about his father every day, Karen Eckman, Cpl. Eckman's wife said.
"He knows his dad's away getting the bad guys and putting them in 'Time Out,'" the 25-year-old substitute teacher said. "That's what (Steve) tells him, that he's putting them in 'Time Out.'"
As news of the impending arrival of the troops began to spread, 1st Sgt. David Armbruster warned the gathered family and friends to be patient and not let emotions take over.
"Don't rush the buses," he told those waiting. "Wait for your Marine, he'll come to you."
As an anxious crowd began to line the driveway to get the first glimpse of the returning soldiers, a police escort and some 30 motorcyclists from the Leathernecks and Vietnam Vets motorcycle clubs marked the arrival of the first bus bearing the troops.
Cheers erupted as the chartered buses drove past, while many of the Marines inside waved and took pictures of the crowd as they drove to a restricted area in the back of the base to assemble.
Upon exiting the buses, many with their rifles slung over their back or a pistol holstered to their thigh, the Marines lined up for one final formation and last-minute instructions.
Anxious family members clutched the chain link fence separating the two areas, waiting to welcome their loved ones home as the Interboro High School band played, 'My Country 'Tis of Thee' in the background.
Staff Sgt. James Toland of Norwood, who was part of a small detachment from the unit that guarded a bridge along the Syrian border, celebrated his 30th birthday while on duty overseas.
He also got to see his three-month-old nephew, Dominic DiLuzio, who was born on the Fourth of July, for the first time. But it was his 6-year-old daughter, Corinne, who was foremost in his thoughts.
"The first thing I want to do is spend time with my daughter, get something to eat and sleep in my bed," he said, then adding upon further reflection, "Oh, and to take a shower."
While family members were grateful to see their loved ones home safe, the stress of separation can take its toll.
"It's sort of like getting married again," said Kathy Knapp, wife of Sgt. Tom Knapp of Woodbury Heights, N.J. "You don't really know how much they've grown and they don't know how much you've grown. It's almost like you're strangers at first."




©The Times Herald 2004

http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12974651&BRD=1672&PAG=461&dept_id=33380&rfi=6

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Two Americans Die in Iraq
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2004 -- Two Americans were killed in Iraq today, one day after Secretary of State Colin Powell said the insurrection in the country "is getting worse."

Two 1st Infantry Division soldiers died in two separate incidents near Balad, officials said. The first was the result of a traffic accident. A patrol vehicle swerved to miss a truck. It overturned, and two soldiers were injured. They were evacuated, and one died later.

The second soldier was killed when anti-Iraqi forces attacked his patrol as it was returning from the scene of the accident.

Powell said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" Sept. 26 that insurrection is getting worse. "And the reason it's getting worse is that they are determined to disrupt the election," he said. "They do not want the Iraqi people to vote for their own leaders in a free, democratic election."

Elections are scheduled in Iraq for January 2005. Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said the elections would happen on schedule. He said the vast majority of the Iraqi people want to see the elections take place and want a free and democratic Iraq.

Powell said the Iraqi security forces and the coalition must confront the increase in violence. "Because it's getting worse, we will have to increase our efforts to defeat it, not walk away and pray and hope for something else to happen," he said. "These are individuals who are trying to take Iraq back to the past. And they must not be allowed to."

Anti-Iraqi forces demonstrated their complete disregard for the safety of the Iraqi people in two other incidents. In one, insurgents fired several mortar rounds into a Ramadi neighborhood Sept. 26.

"U.S. Marine radar tracked two rounds from the point of origin to the point of impact in the neighborhood, and returned artillery battery fire at the point of origin four kilometers north of the city," according to a news release from military officials in Iraq. "No Marine artillery rounds fell within the city limits of ar Ramadi."

In another case, anti-Iraqi forces fired four mortar rounds at a coalition forward-operating base in eastern Baghdad. Three of the rounds landed outside the camp perimeter, with one falling inside the camp. There were no coalition casualties, and it is not known if civilians were hurt.

"Since April, anti-Iraqi forces have fired nearly 3,000 mortar rounds in Baghdad alone," said Army Lt. Col. James Hutton, 1st Cavalry Division spokesman. "In that same timeframe, multinational forces have fired none."

Early this morning, coalition aircraft launched precision strikes on several positively identified targets, according to a news release. The attacks killed four insurgents and destroyed several enemy positions.

In Mosul, anti-Iraqi forces exploded a car bomb as a National Guard patrol passed by, killing at least four guardsmen and wounding three others, Iraqi police said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

1st FSSG's gear maintenance, repair unit eases transition between rotating MEF units
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 200492414729
Story by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2004) -- After more than seven months of wear and tear, many of the vehicles and equipment used by Marines in Iraq are screaming for new parts.

With more than 7,700 parts serviced since Marines returned to Iraq in March 2004, the 1st Force Service Support Group's Reparable Maintenance Company has experienced a spike in business during the rotation of I Marine Expeditionary Force Marines and Sailors over the past month.

Logging thousands of miles and dozens of firefights under their hoods, Humvees need everything, from engines to starters. Night vision goggles need maintenance in order for the Marine in a Fallujah firefight to see the enemy in a pitch-black environment.

Negligence is not to blame. The Marines headed back to their stateside bases have performed final preventive maintenance measures before turning the equipment over to their replacements and have annotated equipment in need of repair. Anything that cannot be fixed by the equipment operator is referred to RMC.

Headquartered here, RMC, a subordinate command of Combat Service Support Group-15 here, handles high-level maintenance on major warfighting products, and serves as an all-purpose repair shop for Marine forces in Iraq.

Traditionally, Marine Corps support units had separate sections handling electronics, optics and vehicle maintenance, said Capt. Paul Zacharzuk, RMC's commander. Now, one command handles all maintenance and repair concerns.

The following actions are taken when gear breaks down in Iraq:

- A unit contacts its satellite RMC section, called a "sub-float," attached to the combat service support battalion in that area. Most of the time, the sub-float will have the requested item on stock and re-supply the unit.

- The item in need of repair then gets sent on a re-supply convoy to the RMC, where Marines specializing in repair of the particular piece refurbish it.

- The fixed part is then stocked at the Repairable Issue Point, ready for reissue.

If the CSSB cannot supply a unit with what they need on the spot, RMC is contacted, which will draw the gear from the RIP and convoy the equipment back to the unit.

For example, if a Humvee broke down in Al Asad, Iraq, one of CSSB-7's sub-floats would try and fix the problem on site. If they could fix it or supply the unit with a new part, they would send the damaged part to RMC, who would refurbish it and stock it at the RIP. If not, they would send a request for a new part. The RMC would then convoy the new part to Al Asad.

During the heavy fighting in Fallujah this past spring, RMC made an emergency run to replenish equipment.

"That was the 9-1-1 block that went out. They took high-moving items that were repaired here in our shops and did a swap-out on site," said Zacharzuk.

During the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, separate electronics, supply and maintenance battalions supported the swift-moving units as they invaded Baghdad, leaving little time to establish a permanent facility to service their Corps customers.

"Last year they fixed it as they went. Now we have a set base where we have the opportunity to conduct in-depth repair," said Zacharzuk.

Experts in the supply field realized the need to consolidate maintenance and supply assets based on OIF's early history, and designed more compact units to streamline service to and from units throughout Iraq.

Since RMC-type maintenance and repair is new, new procedures have forced Marines to adapt to the new ways of doing business.

"The guys here have to get used to it and understand that the focus is on the customer," he said.

With a personnel rotation of their own, the maintenance unit has had its own share of issues to deal with, while keeping customer satisfaction up, such as teaching the unit's new arrivals how to perform certain repairs and maintenance.

But Zacharzuk ensures that quality and service will not decline.

"There's not really a drop-off in service, but more with our procedures among ourselves, and how things are done out here," said Zacharzuk.

"Many Marines joining RMC will be repairing and rebuilding their first engine," he said.

Fortunately, RMC has 20 experienced Marines who have volunteered to stay with the unit seven more months and to assist the new crew.

Corporal Erwin E. Kanins, an equipment calibrator with RMC, extended his enlistment contract to support his unit for another seven months. He believes that Marines with prior experience in Iraq develop a sixth sense, which helps Marines new to the unit.

"We've been on convoys, we know how to use the equipment here and how to do things out here," said Kanins, a 23-year-old Lawton, Okla., native.

One thing that will ease the turnover is help from the units requesting maintenance and repair. Marines need to address their concerns to get the service they need, said Zacharzuk.

"One of the things we got from our outgoing commander is 'help me help you.' Launch your requirements to us and we will take care of you, regardless of where you are" he said.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20049242117/$file/RMCDixon040908_low.jpg

Lance Cpl. Aaron G. Dixon, a radio repairman with 1st Force Service Support Group's Reparable Maintenance Company electronics maintenance section, repairs a frequency radio at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 8, 2004. Headquartered here, RMC, a subordinate command of Combat Service Support Group-15 here, handles high-level maintenance on major warfighting products, and serves as an all-purpose repair shop for Marine forces in Iraq. With more than 7,700 parts serviced since Marines returned to Iraq in March 2004, the RMC has experienced a spike in business during the rotation of I Marine Expeditionary Force Marines and Sailors over the past month. Dixon is a 21-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native. Photo by: Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7AE301BCD125CECF85256F19001FD04A?opendocument


Ellie