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thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:52 AM
MARCENT Commander visits 31st MEU
Submitted by: 31st MEU
Story Identification #: 2004928152655
Story by Lance Cpl. Willard J. Lathrop



CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (Sept. 17, 2004) -- The Marine Forces Central commander spoke to Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in preparation for acclimatization and sustainment training Sep. 15.

Members of the MEU endured the Kuwaiti sun and sand as Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson encouraged the Marines to take advantage of the training they were preparing to undertake.

Gregson greeted the troops in an official formation, but invited the Marines to come closer and make themselves a little more comfortable while he talked.

During his time on the microphone, Gregson told the Marines what an asset they were and that they were a unit that had the capability to deploy to any number of theatres.

Gregson reminded the "Devil Dogs" of the MEU how they were a force many admired and wanted to have at their side, whether it be in Iraq or Afghanistan.

He kept his comments brief, but did not fail to remind the Marines to stay hydrated during exercises in the Kuwaiti desert.

The 31st MEU is currently embarked in Kuwait for acclimatization training in preparation for contingencies in support of coalition forces in the U.S. Central Command area of operations during the Global War on Terrorism.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004928154527/$file/Gregson_Low.jpg

LtGen. Wallace C. Gregson, Marine Forces Central Commander, speaks to the Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit about the acclimatization and sustainment training they will undergo on Camp Buehring. The 31st MEU is currently preparing for possible contingencies in the U.S. Central Command area of operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Photo by: Staff Sgt. J. D. Cress

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/81B0570FCD4AB8FF85256F1D006AD5B6?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:53 AM
4th LAAD reservists take over security on Al Asad
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200492924413
Story by Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri



AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2004) -- Recently, reservists from 4th Low-Altitude Air Defense Battalion were activated to be part of the Security Battalion, Marine Wing Support Group 37, for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing here.

Made up of two detachments from Pasadena, Calif., and Marietta, Ga., this is the first time 4th LAAD Bn. has ever been deployed with both elements combined into a single unit.

Normally assigned to protect ground troops from aerial attacks, performing security duty isn’t normally the primary mission of a LAAD battalion, so preparing for the responsibility was taken extremely seriously.

“We went from working with missiles to doing infantry type training,” said Lt. Col. Michael S. Perkins, executive officer, Security Battalion. “The Marine Corps needed the man-power and we just stepped up where required.”

Going through intensive training at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., the battalion focused on training involving desert maneuvers and advanced weaponry.



Perkins, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., said that even though his unit specializes in air defense, there were many in the battalion who had qualifications that applied to security.

“We have people who are police officers at their civilian jobs,” said the 42-year-old. “We try to task each Marine with a job that they’re familiar with.”

With most of the responsibility for installation security on their shoulders, 4th LAAD Bn. has many different jobs that require their attention.

“We provide security for the entire air base,” said Perkins. “Escorts, patrols, guard towers, convoys, entry control points, and the quick reaction force all fall under the Security Battalion.”

According to the Marines, intensive training prior to their deployment provided the skills and the conditioning they needed.

“It’s been pretty challenging doing security duty,” remarked Austell, Ga., native Sgt. Clayton V. Fambro, telecommunications technician, Security Battalion. “All of the practice we had before coming out here has really paid off.”

Also part of the security team is the quick reaction force. They respond to all emergency calls that correspond to base security.

“The QRF has the ability to be on the road ready to go within minutes,” said Perkins. “With all the different threats to our base, they’re a significant addition to our team.”
Also part of the QRF is the Avenger platoon. Usually escorting the QRF at night, the Avenger HMMWVs have the ability to see in the dark with forward-looking infrared sensors and have advanced targeting with a mounted heavy-duty machine gun.

“It has the capacity to hold stinger missiles because its original use was with air defense,” said 22-year-old Marietta, Ga., native Cpl. James E. Godfrey, LAAD gunner, Avenger Platoon, QRF, Security Battalion, “but with no air threat out here we’re able to use it for it’s night vision capabilities and heavy firepower.”

With the quantity and variety of weapons and equipment needed to perform their job, Perkins feels that the Marines of 4th LAAD Bn. have been sufficiently prepared and have integrated well into their current position as security force.

“We are well equipped out here,” said Perkins, “and I’ve been really impressed at how fast the Marines have adapted.”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200492925455/$file/040916-M-2789C-001-4thLAADLR.jpg

At the entry control point to Al Asad, Iraq, 25-year-old Fayetteville, Ga., native Sgt. Mason D. Mercure, LAAD gunner, 4th Low-Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Security Battalion, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, searches a local national before allowing him to board the air base Sept. 16. Controlling the ECP is one of the many security missions 4th LAAD Bn. has assumed since taking over responsibility of installation security from 3rd LAAD Bn. in August. Photo by: Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/76A10F4103D5339385256F1E00250237?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:56 AM
22nd MEU (SOC) returns home after seven-month deployment <br />
Submitted by: 22nd MEU <br />
Story Identification #: 2004927155420 <br />
Story by Capt. Eric R. Dent <br />
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Sept. 19, 2004) --...

thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:57 AM
3rd MAW employs preventative medicine in Iraq
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200492913459
Story by Cpl. Paul Leicht



AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2004) -- While Marines in Iraq are fighting a battle for freedom, they wage another battle with the environment every minute of every day.

Field insects and pests, such as mosquitoes, biting flies, fleas and ticks, can often carry diseases that are very dangerous to humans. For Marines, prevention techniques used before an insect bite is part of safe operations in the field.

In a foreign environment such as Iraq, treatment for clothing is taking on a new role in prevention techniques.

"We are spraying (camouflage utilities) with permethrin spray as part of our preventative medicine program," said Lt. j. g. Johnfritz E. Antoine, environmental health officer, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. "Permethrin clothing applications were developed in cooperation with government agencies and for use by the military.
The spray is designed to protect humans from insect-borne diseases spread by bug bites," he explained.

Permethrin, an odorless repellent, was originally developed from natural-occurring pyrethrin in flowers, said Antoine, a native of New York, who before joining the Navy worked as a health inspector for the New York City's Office of Environmental Health.

"In southern Iraq we are concerned with mosquitoes and malaria and sand flies carrying leishmaniasis," said Cmdr. Cynthia L. Heins, wing surgeon, MWHS-3.

Aboard the air base here, Heins said she is particularly concerned with the sand flies because two percent of them carry the disease. It takes about four months after a bite-long after you have forgotten about it-for any symptoms to appear.

"Some symptoms people should look out for include nausea, bloated stomach, skin lesions or blistering sores," she mentioned. "Leishmaniasis is a disease of concern for (3rd MAW personnel) because it has the potential to spread and then we would have a real health problem on our hands that would adversely affect our operations.

"In addition to treating clothing and gear, we have trucks that spray every night to help kill the sand flies carrying leishmaniasis," added Heins.

With the permethrin spray, the threat posed by insects is greatly reduced with no affect to clothing.

"The sprays are specially formulated to not stain or damage clothing or gear," said Antoine. "After a few hours of drying time, one application lasts about six weeks or so because the Permethrin chemically bonds with the fabric fibers as part of the drying process. It keeps working to protect you even after the clothes have been washed."

After spraying all exterior clothing surfaces and gear, and a few hours of drying time, the application is complete.

In addition to permethrin spray, Antoine said there are other measures one can take to help protect against these insects and their diseases.

"A combination of permethrin spray and wearing uniforms with long sleeves gives you the best total protection," explained Antoine. "We are also conducting other measures to combat the spread of disease out here, like making sure we reduce the amount of standing water even out here in the desert.
"When troops get sick, combat readiness suffers and goes down so we have to do whatever we can to make sure Marines and Sailors stay in the fight," he concluded.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004929175253/$file/040925-M-0484L-002PermethrinLR.jpg

Lt. j.g. Johnfritz E. Antoine, environmental health officer, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, applies Permethrin spray onto camouflage utilities at Al Asad, Iraq, Sept. 25, to help prevent the spread of diseases transmitted by insects and pests such as mosquitoes, biting flies, sand fleas and ticks in the field. Permethrin is harmless to humans, but affects insects by shutting down their nervous system. Permethrin is being used by Marines and Sailors in the field as a part of preventative medicine measures in Iraq. Photo by: Cpl. Paul Leicht

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A78453D801A7644785256F1E005DD71E?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:58 AM
Marines of 2/5 search for the enemy
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20049295340
Story by Lance Cpl. Graham Paulsgrove



AR RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2004) -- They were armed, armored and ready when they showed up at a local pool hall in downtown Ar Ramadi. The man at the door happily let them in to look around. He understood what the Marines were after.

The Marines from 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, went into the heart of Ar Ramadi Sept. 24 to search door to door for Anti-Iraqi Forces, illegal weapons caches and equipment. Their intent was to disrupt insurgent activity in the area.

"The purpose of the mission was to disrupt the ability of the Anti-Iraqi Forces by seizing their material, interrupting their command and control and interrupting their operations over all," said Lt. Col. Randy Newman, 41, commanding officer, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

The battalion did just that. Materials for the construction and detonation of improvised explosive devices, anti-coalition propaganda, weapons and various communication devices were seized during the raid.

"While no significant insurgent leaders were found during this operation, we interrupted the AIF's abilities to fight in Ramadi," said Newman, a native of Economy, Ind. "We have impaired their command and control, and interrupted their communication."

The mission also showed the people of Ramadi that the Marine Corps is in full force, working towards a common goal of decreasing the terrorist threat.

"This mission showed our presence," said Gunnery Sgt. Patrick M. Tracey, 37, a Pittston, Pa., native and company gunnery sergeant for Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. "The Iraqis are good people and they are pushing for the same goals we are. We want them to know that if they tell us where the bad guys are, 2/5 will do something about it."

Some Marines feel that media reports coming out of Ramadi do not accurately portray the level of commitment the Marines have toward protecting the citizens of the city.

"Some newspapers are saying that we have surrendered Ramadi to the insurgents, but that is false," said Newman. "So if nothing else, we showed the people of Ramadi that we are willing to go into the heart of the city whenever we want. We are not going to let the insurgents terrorize Ramadi's citizens."

The Marines of 2/5 completed the mission but not without coming across hostile insurgents.

"It is important that the citizens of Ramadi know that we are out there in an attempt to separate the good men from the bad men," said Newman. "(The bad men) will not find safe haven in downtown Ramadi."

As the Marines of Company F fought to separate the good from the bad, one of their brother's in arms lost his life.

"We had a road locked down and as we were driving away I heard 'Tap-tap-tap' behind me. A transformer went down and then all hell broke loose," said Sgt. Daniel I. Lebron, 24, a native of Long Island, N.Y., and a rifleman with Company F, 2/5. "I jumped out of my vehicle and engaged a target downrange."

The Marines managed to repel the enemy's attack and continue on, but the loss of a fellow warrior would not go unnoticed.

"Our Doc, dodging rounds, got to him in less than a minute but he was already dead," said Tracey. "It is hard to say it was a successful mission when you lose a Marine."

With their mission complete, the Marines and Sailors headed back to camp, dismounted their vehicles and removed the heavy flak jackets they had worn for the past eight hours. The AIF activity had been thwarted for the time being.

"If they come back, we are committed to fighting them and providing a safe city for the people of Iraq," said Tracey.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200492954348/$file/Search1lr.jpg

1stSgt. Daniel E. Blanchard, first sergeant for Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, has is M-16A2 service rifle at the ready while checking inside a garage Sept. 24 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Marines from 2/5 conducted searches through the city looking for Anti-Iraqi Forces and material.
(Photo by SSgt. Nathaniel Garcia)
Photo by: SSgt. Nathaniel Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/36B4EFBBC47BD1CD85256F1E00348D5C?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:59 AM
IRAQ IN TRANSITION: CASUALTIES



Marine's death tears hole in circle

By Imran Vittachi, Tribune staff reporter. Freelance reporter Maria Kantzavelos and the Associated Press contributed to this report
Published September 24, 2004

Sgt. Benjamin Smith belonged to a tight circle of seven friends who signed up with the armed forces right out of high school.

Smith joined the Marines. Kent Manning, Jaraod Boguard, Lance and Luke Chapman and Rob Houston, Smith's cousin, went into the Navy. Billy Jarvis became a National Guardsman.

Six of the seven friends would ship out to Iraq or Afghanistan. Five of those six made it back home alive.

But Smith, a tank commander who wanted to make the Marines a career, was killed in an explosion in Iraq two weeks before he was due for a visit home to Carterville, Ill.

"We wish he came home with us," Lance Chapman said.

Smith, 24, who died Wednesday, was killed in Al Anbar province, near the Iraq-Syria border. Smith belonged to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, based in Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.

"We all know these people," said Steve Chapman, father of the Chapman brothers. "It's really devastated our town."

Smith's friends described him as a quiet man who loved his job and was proud to serve his country. He was a place-kicker on a varsity football team at Carterville High School that won the Class 3-A state championship in 1996.

"He had the best leg this side of the Mason-Dixon Line," Lance Chapman said.

Indiana native: Pfc. Nathan E. Stahl, an Army Ranger from Highland, Ind., was killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, the Defense Department said.

Stahl, 20, was with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, which is based in Ft. Lewis, Wash.

A military spokeswoman said no additional information was available on Stahl's death, including where in Iraq he died. His death remains under investigation.

Stahl's relatives and friends could not be reached Thursday.

Finding his rhythm: As a high school teenager with hair below his shoulders, Jeremy R. Horton marched to the beat of his own drum, figuratively and literally.

Despite having no background in music, Horton joined his high school marching band as a drummer during his sophomore year.

After enlisting in 1997, Horton carved out his path in the military.

Staff Sgt. Horton, 24, of Erie, Penn., was in Iraq more than a year when he was killed May 21 near Al Iskandariyah by a roadside bomb. He was serving with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, from Baumholder, Germany.


Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0409240166sep24,1,2703031.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed


Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 09:10 AM
Explosive Device Wounds Four Americans in Iraq
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2004 – Four American troops were wounded today near Riyadh, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device.

The soldiers were taken to a coalition medical facility for treatment. All were reported to be in stable condition.

In other news, a car crash near Camp Delta, Iraq, today killed a Ukrainian military officer and injured two others. The accident is being investigated.

Elsewhere, coalition troops shot at and killed one Iraqi civilian and wounded another today when they failed to stop their truck at a traffic checkpoint near Ghalibiyah. Iraqi police took custody of the body of the slain Iraqi, while the injured person was taken to a medical facility for treatment.

On Sept. 28 a coalition air strike in Baghdad's Thawra section destroyed an insurgent-driven vehicle that apparently was carrying rockets. The vehicle blew up, causing several secondary explosions.

Later on Sept. 28, Iraqi police manning a checkpoint outside Baghdad seized a vehicle fitted with an improvised explosive device. The Iraqis defused the bomb and the car was removed for further inspection.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marines patrolling with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit on Sept. 28 found a weapons cache located near Musayyib, Iraq. The Marines also detained three men suspected of knowing about the ordnance stash.

Weapons seized in the operation included three 60 mm mortar systems, seven 82 mm rounds, four 80 mm high-explosive rockets, 147 37 mm rounds, seven rocket- propelled grenades, 10 100 mm high-explosive rounds and 59 fuses.

During the past two months the Marines and Iraqi forces have found 34 weapons caches and nearly 150 improvised explosive devices. More than 35,000 pounds of enemy ordnance has been destroyed in the same period.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)


Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 11:44 AM
Kerry beats Bush ... in U.S. Marine latrines <br />
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AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq (AFP) - The U.S. military, which traditionally...

thedrifter
09-30-04, 12:03 PM
On the Euphrates, Marines try to retake upper hand
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By Thnassis Cambanis
The Boston Globe
Thursday, September 30, 2004

ON THE EUPHRATES RIVER, Iraq ~ The three flat-bottomed boats ease onto the river under a full moon.

It is 11 p.m., and First Lieutenant Andrew Thomas is hoping that on this night he will catch some of the insurgents who have fired mortars with impunity at U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces around Iskandariya. Some rocketed his base earlier in the day.

"There's a lot of mortar firing from the banks of the river, and we can get to that a lot faster than a vehicle can," Thomas said.

The U.S. Marines just started patrols on the Euphrates from near Karbala to just south of Falluja, about 100 kilometers away. Insurgents, they believe, have used the river effectively to their advantage, staging ambushes from across the water or using it as an escape route after planting roadside bombs.

With the riverboat patrols, the marines are adding yet another facet to the counterinsurgency effort in Iraq, which faces persistent attacks that are ever more sophisticated.

With a top speed of about 70 kilometers an hour, or 45 miles an hour, the Marines' Riverine Assault Craft can move in just 23 centimeters of water, or nine inches. Like the Swift boats used in Vietnam, the boats are used to draw attacks as much as to surprise insurgents. Already, Thomas' crews have been attacked twice on the river, with machine guns as well as mortars. Other crews have surprised attackers on islands near Falluja.

This night they will patrol a 20-mile stretch, marked in the south by a major bridge over which pilgrims are marching to Karbala, home to a *****e shrine, and in the north by a hairpin turn in the river, where Thomas's patrol was attacked two days earlier.

In that attack, the boats drew machine-gun fire. Within seconds, a mortar was fired into the river, missing the craft by less than 100 meters.

"That's organized insurgency," said Sergeant Andrew Vasey. "They probably had a forward observer, who fired the machine gun as a signal for the mortar."

Turning to the gunners, he shouts, "Keep your fingers off the trigger unless you're shot at!"

The boats' engines roar, belching diesel fumes, and the crew is off to comb the riverbank for insurgents who plant dozens of land mines on the highways and lanes that crisscross the heavily trafficked region south of Baghdad.

The moon's glow illuminates riverfront villas and farmhouses, lighting the wakes of the boats. When a road appears alongside the river, the patrol boats slow down and hug the riverbank.

Thomas leans over the edge, peering intently through his night-vision scope. Private First Class Richard Rupert, knees bent, squares his shoulder and aims his machine gun at the date palm groves, prepared to fire.

After half an hour, two helicopter gunships call to say they are joining the patrol. They are barely visible overhead but stay in constant radio contact.

At the northern limit of their patrol, the boats stop and move in formation toward the riverbank. Above, the helicopters arc in wide circles. "This is where we got hit the other day," Thomas explains. "We want to make sure there's nobody here now."

Satisfied after five minutes, Thomas orders the boats back downriver.

At midnight, the three boats circle the bridge to Karbala. "I don't want to see anybody near the bridge," Thomas radios to the other crews.

A family of five walks across the bridge overhead, appearing not to notice any of the boats quietly watching them. Half an hour later, the boats return to their mooring. "Nothing happened tonight, and that's a good thing," Thomas said.

A crew member, Lance Corporal Jackson Wilson, disagreed; the two helicopters, a Huey and a Cobra, carry a lot of firepower. "That would have been nice if we had gotten in a firefight," he said.

Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 02:17 PM
1st LAR rolls out of Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20049274143
Story by Cpl. Randy Bernard



AL ASAD, Iraq (Sep. 23, 2004) -- The Marines of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion have served their time in Iraq. After a grueling seven months in the deserts of the Al Anbar province they are waiting to return home to Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The crews of these light armored vehicles endured improvised explosive devices, mines, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. Now, 3rd LAR will pick up where 1st LAR leaves off.

"It's a good feeling to let (3rd LAR) get in and do the job," said Sgt. Rodney W. Skelton, 34, native of Detroit and chief scout with Company A, 1st LAR. "They get to start from scratch, but we passed the knowledge that we had gained on to them so that they can pick up the tempo."

The 3rd LAR can look forward to many weeks out in the field running vehicle check points, patrolling through towns and along roads and conducting fire missions.

"It was like hell sometimes," said Lance Cpl. Darren M. D'Ambrogi, a mortar man with Company A, 1st LAR. "Sometimes there would be days when you just sat out in the sun soaking in your own sweat."

During their time in Iraq, 3rd LAR will face many challenges, to include boredom. However, the Marines will find the excitement of raids and patrols will get their heart pumping.

"There are days where it can be boring, and there are days when you are on patrols," said Lance Cpl. Mikel C. Herbert, a mortar man with Company A, 1st LAR. "It's fun when we get to do a fire mission."

However, every challenge 1st LAR Marines faced helped build a better future for Iraq.

"I think we did a lot of good for these people," said Herbert, 21, of New Oxford, Pa.

Aside from running missions and helping the Iraqi people, the time spent in the desert allowed the Marines to bond and do some self-discovery.

"The best times out here were being around the Marines and the people in your crew," said Herbert. "You get real close with the people that you work with when you're out in the field for three to four weeks at a time."

"You get a lot of time to reflect. Especially being in the desert, it gives you lots of time to think about what you are made of and who you are," said Lance Cpl. Richard P. Zappella, a driver with Company A, 1st LAR.

"At times, it was kind of weird. We moved around a lot, it was like we didn't really have a home," said D'Ambrogi.

The feeling of homelessness will soon fade for these Marines as they head home.

"I can't wait to go home, it's been too long," said D'Ambrogi, 22, from Santa Rosa, Calif.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20049274220/$file/1LAR2lr.jpg

Lance Cpl. Justin M. Imbeau, a scout with Company A, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, prepares a tire to be repaired for their final miles before the battalion heads back to Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Photo by Cpl. Randy L. Bernard Photo by: Cpl. Randy Bernard

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/CD2847E52F7E01D085256F1C002D3B53?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 02:41 PM
U.S. eyes all-out offensive to subdue Fallujah rebels


By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


The U.S. military is on a course to try to subdue terrorist-infested Fallujah by force before the first national election in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq in January, according to U.S. officials.
One official said efforts to solve the persistent problem of Fallujah diplomatically were a failure, and the question now is "when, not if" to mount what promises to be bloody, street-to-street fighting.
"They are shaping the battlefield right now," said the official, referring to the regular, precision air strikes on identified insurgent safe houses inside the city of 300,000. "Those attacks are a prelude to much bigger military action."







The official said there is hope the air strikes will show city residents that the insurgents are losing and not to give up hope. Insurgents, including followers of international terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi, have controlled sections of Fallujah since Baghdad fell in April last year. U.S. forces have not patrolled inside the city since the spring.
Officials said Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had been cool toward a big military offensive, but has realized in recent days that it likely is the only option. The United States, however, needs more time to build up the Iraqi national guard so it can play a significant role in liberating the city, officials said.
The city has come to represent failures by the Bush administration to anticipate the postwar insurgency and the coalition's inability to control all Iraqi provinces after the fall of Baghdad.
"We have killed a lot of them," said the U.S. official, referring to the air strikes. The source, who asked not to be named, said an assault on Fallujah is a certainty. The source said there are 500 to 1,500 foreign and Iraqi insurgents in the city.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Buster Glosson, who planned the 1991 air war against Iraq, said the country cannot move to full democracy until Fallujah is tamed.
"You need to quarantine Fallujah with Iraqi national guard, U.S. special forces and United States Marines," Gen. Glosson said. "This quarantine needs to be announced by the Iraqi government, and it needs to be put into effect immediately, not 24 or 48 or 72 hours later. Those violating the quarantine will be treated like terrorists."
Eventually, Gen Glosson said, "They should systematically rid the city of terrorists. I mean totally. There is no other way to ensure the stability necessary for that country to have any success at democracy."
Cleaning out Fallujah will be good not only for Iraq, but also for the United States, he said.
"The spectacle of Zarqawi beheading and killing Americans must not be tolerated anywhere in the world," Gen. Glosson said. "If you don't make them pay a penalty for it, more idiots will try it."
Gen. Glosson said the U.S. military made three mistakes: not destroying the elite Republican Guard, some of whose officers now lead the insurgency; disbanding the regular Iraqi army, pushing its soldiers toward the insurgency; and stopping U.S. Marines in April as they were clearing Fallujah of terrorists.
Bush administration officials say the April cease-fire was necessary because the battle was preventing U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer III from getting all sides to agree on the makeup of an interim government.
Gen. John Abizaid said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that, "I assume that there will be certain areas of the country that will have to be fought over in order to have the elections take place."
Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, the author of books on military strategy, said that to attack Fallujah, the command first must identify where the insurgents concentrate, then seal them off. He said the coalition will need about 7,000 combat troops and 130 tanks. Planners should divide the insurgent areas into sectors and allow civilians to leave.
"Then get it done," Col. Macgregor said. "It should be over in 96 hours if we go in with decisive force ... Blood is all these thugs understand. In places like Fallujah, the time for softness and compassion is over."
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said on Friday that a situation like in Fallujah can be handled either diplomatically or militarily. He signaled that the diplomacy route has failed.
"It's worked already in a number of places," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "In some places, we've used force; in some places, we've used diplomacy. Has it worked everywhere? Did it work in Fallujah? No, obviously not. It didn't work in Fallujah."



http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040929-111524-6582r.htm


Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 04:08 PM
Marine describes serving in Iraq to students

By DAVE WOODSON, Staff Writer

SPRING CREEK - Spring Creek Elementary second-grade students received an up close and personal lesson about the conflict in Iraq from a Marine fresh from the front lines.

Sgt. Clifton A. Hargus, who returned to the United States a week ago Monday, told an assembly at the school on Friday morning about his experiences during a seven-month tour with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764.

"I served in Iraq at an assault base about 100 miles west of Baghdad," he reported.

Despite their youth, the students listened raptly and peppered him with questions.

"They wanted to know what goes on in war," Hargus said about his student audience. "What did you see? What did you do? Did you shoot anybody?"

"That is pretty normal for little kids," he added. "They were great."

Hargus was in Spring Creek visiting his wife Shelly's family.

Her maiden name was Saddoris and she grew up in Spring Creek.

Hargus was asked if he knew anybody that had gotten killed and answered that sadly he did know some other Marines who had died in the anti-terrorist actions.

"At the beginning of Operation Freedom in 2003 I knew people that were in a helicopter crew, like myself, that died in a crash that were pretty good friends of mine," he said. "It is tragic to see people die like that but you know they did it for a good cause. It is tough but it is a fact of war."

Hargus, who had been briefly deployed to Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, served eight years in the regular Marines before joining the reserves and then being called back to active duty with orders for Iraq.

"When I first went over there, I wondered what it would be like," he recalled. "Having somewhat 'combat' experience it didn't really startle me that much. Actually, on a day-to-day basis, it was not so hectic as you might think it would be."

However, he said, often the unknown was unsettling.

"Flying into some places can seem a little unnerving because you don't know what is going to pop up - the paranoid comes on: 'What is going to happen? What is going to go wrong? Are people going to shoot at us?"

Hargus said the biggest concern was flying into "hot zones."

"They were widely known for people getting shot at," he said. "Things could go wrong all the time so we had to have extra caution about what is going to happen and what might go on."

"When we first got out there was a little more nervousness about it but as time passed you got a little more comfortable with your surroundings," Hargus said. "You weren't going to be a nervous twitch all the time waiting to pull the trigger."

He said one of the things that the students did not bring up during the assembly was the rationale for the war in Iraq.

"They really didn't ask about that," he said. "I hope they just know it is for a good cause."

Hargus said while there is talk that the United States should abandon its military involvement in Iraq, he does not agree with that school of thought.

"I personally feel we are doing the best thing," he said.

Hargus said it is possible that his reserve unit might be sent back to Iraq sometime next year.

His unit is based out of Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Home for Hargus is Dallas, Texas, and he met his wife while doing reserve work in Utah.

His plan for the immediate future is to attend college on the G.I. Bill.

http://www.elkodaily.com/articles/2004/09/28/news/local/news2.txt


Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 07:42 PM
Marine's Parents Grateful for Medical Care, Help Received
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2004 -- The parents of a Marine seriously injured in an Afghanistan vehicle accident are thankful their son is alive, and especially thankful for the medical care he has received.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Daniel Hamberg, 21, was injured June 5, and was flown to the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., two days later. Doctors at Bethesda quickly determined his injuries were too severe to treat there or at nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

His parents, John and Janice Hamberg, expressed gratitude for the military doctors' assessment of their son's injuries and their quick decision to send him outside their system for treatment.

"The military doctors put their egos aside and did the best they could for our son, and spared no expense," the Marine's father said. "They sent him to the best place possible to treat his wounds."

The lance corporal was suffering from multiple injuries, including an open fracture of his pelvis, which his father was told was the worst the doctors had ever seen. He also had internal bleeding, nerve damage to his right leg and foot and other injuries. He was treated at the shock trauma center for about a month, and then recuperated at Walter Reed until Sept. 23, when he was able to go to his parents' home in Cincinnati.

"We got to Bethesda about three hours after he arrived," said John, who served five years in the Army and Army National Guard and 10 years of active duty in the Air Force. When their son arrived back in the states, Janice said, the only things he had with him were "whatever was in his uniform when they cut it off of him after he was wounded." That amounted to some notebooks, his dog tags and his wallet.

Visiting their son was expensive for the couple, but they say they're pleased with the help they received.

John, a logistics coordinator for Proctor and Gamble, said the government paid for the first week for him and his wife to visit their wounded son. "But after that, it was on us," he said.

"We were incredibly lucky, because our employers were both very generous on paying us and not making us take vacation time for a few weeks," said Janice, a payroll manager for a facilities-maintenance company. "I honestly don't know how people do it who can't leave their jobs."

She said the parents of a young man injured with her son have been driving back and forth from Philadelphia to be with their son. "His dad's a fireman," Janice said of the other Marine's family. "So he can't take off (work)."

John said he and his wife are pleased with the medical care his son received, but the military needs to take a look at the assistance provided to parents of wounded servicemembers. "Even though they want the families there for the patient's well-being and to help in the rehabilitation and recovery, they only pay for the first week's expenses for families," John Hamberg said. "For families like ours, that stayed there three months, that gets pretty expensive."

John said he and his wife have received financial help from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, both nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping servicemembers and their families.

Susan Brewer, president and founder of America's Heroes of Freedom, also offered to help whenever the couple wants to visit their son. Brewer and her organization teamed with Washington's Willard Intercontinental Hotel to provide a five-star luncheon earlier this month for wounded servicemembers and their families.

"I'd love to help them so they can keep coming back and forth to see their son," Brewer said. "We're prepared to fly them and lodge them every time they come back and forth. These are immediate needs when a family needs money to come in. As nonprofits, we shouldn't sleep at night until we get it. I call everyone I know and say, 'Do we have any airline miles?' and we get them. So far, we've never had to say no."

Hamberg is on the mend at his parents' home. "He started physical therapy (Sept. 28) at the University of Cincinnati, and will be doing that three times a week," his father said via telephone. "He'll be re-evaluated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in November or December, and will have to return to Bethesda next March for an evaluation."

The young Marine said he never thought he wouldn't make it, but he's surprised to have improved as much as he has. "I'm not sure how we got into the actual wreck because I was asleep in the back of the truck," said the former high school football cornerback. "I was an infantryman rifleman with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. I'd been in Afghanistan for two and a half months before I got in the accident."

Hamberg said he's been called "the million-dollar man" because he's received so much sophisticated medical care. "I think I got the best treatment in America," he said. "I'm lucky to be alive today."

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2004/2004093001a_72.jpg

Susan Brewer, center, president and founder of America's Heroes of Freedom, has a good-natured laugh with John and Janice Hamberg, whose son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Daniel Hamberg, was being treated for wounds at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Brewer offered her organization's help with the couple's expenses during visits to Washington to see their son. Photo by Rudi Williams

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2004/n09302004_2004093006.html


Ellie

thedrifter
09-30-04, 07:44 PM
Baghdad Bombings Kill One U.S. Soldier, Wound 13
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2004 -- A series of car bombings in Baghdad today killed one American soldier and wounded 13 others. The bombings also killed at least two Iraqi policemen and reportedly injured scores of other Iraqis.

A rocket attack at a logistics support area outside Baghdad killed one soldier assigned to Multinational Force Iraq and wounded another seven. No further details were available on this incident.

The first car-bomb attack occurred mid-morning near a checkpoint in western Baghdad. A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated, killing one U.S. soldier and wounding three others. This attack killed two Iraqi police officers and wounded 10 other Iraqis. A U.S. Army Bradley fighting vehicle was damaged in the attack.

Later in the day, between 1 and 1:30 p.m., three car bombs exploded near a U.S. convoy traveling through western Baghdad. Ten U.S. soldiers were injured in that attack. Eight of the wounded servicemembers received medical treatment and were released, and two other more seriously wounded soldiers were evacuated to a medical facility.

Numerous Iraqi casualties were also reported. Civilian media reports have put the total at around 45, most of them children.

The multiple-bomb assault on the U.S. convoy reportedly occurred near a group of Iraqis observing the opening of a new neighborhood sewage system.

"The attacks today are clearly those of a desperate enemy," U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division spokesman Lt. Col. James Hutton noted in a news release. "There is no conceivable justification for attacking innocent Iraqi citizens who were celebrating the opening of a water-pump station."

The series of attacks "puts on display the fact that the enemy is dedicated only to destroying the future of the Iraqi people," he said.

In other news from Iraq, multinational forces conducted a successful precision air strike early this morning on a suspected terrorist "safe house" in northeast Fallujah. Intelligence reports identified the building as a gathering place for members of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network.

Military officials in Baghdad disputed a CNN International report from Sept. 29 that said aircraft from Multinational Force Iraq dropped bombs on a civilian building in Baghdad. U.S. officials said no coalition planes have dropped ordnance within Ramadi's city limits for more than a month, and that anti-Iraqi forces are responsible for the attack.

Such forces are making a "concerted effort to place blame on MNF personnel for their recent string of attacks aimed at intimidating innocent civilians," officials said in a statement.


Ellie