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thedrifter
10-06-04, 05:33 AM
11th MEU Recon out in open in Iraq
Submitted by: 11th MEU
Story Identification #: 200410564454
Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards



FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq (Oct. 5, 2004) -- Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), isn’t hiding in the bushes reporting back intelligence.

In fact, they've only done limited reconnaissance since they’ve been here.

Rather, they’re riding out in the open, and looking for the Iraqis. Not for a fight, however, but to help them rebuild and renew An Najaf, Iraq. It’s something many units inside the MEU are learning to do now that fighting in the city ceased Aug. 28.

“There are a lot of requirements out in town for extraordinary jobs-- jobs that we don't train for but are asked to do by the command and the locals," said Capt. Stephen A. Kintzley, platoon commander, Recon Platoon. “It's a good thing because I've got a platoon of creative thinkers who come up with ways to accomplish any mission. It's a challenge, it keeps us busy, and it's rewarding to see the outcome of our work.”

During the battle, Recon served as a provisional rifle platoon attached to the different infantry companies of the MEU as an extra asset to help in the three-week fight. They fought in the holy Shia cemetery, conducted raids and dismounted attacks, and fought building to building in the Old City district of Najaf. The closest job they did to doing reconnaissance was when the MEU first arrived in the city at the end of July. For a few days, they set up observation posts to monitor the Muqtada Militia's movement of illegal weapons into the city and conducted route recons.

“We’d go out and confirm routes. We did daily patrols just to get out and learn the routes,” said Cpl. Josh S. Jarvis, reconnaissance Marine, Recon Platoon. “That was the closest thing we did to recon at the time.”

Now, they’re out pumping local civilians for information on what needs to be rebuilt. They’re assessing for everything from work on playgrounds and school supplies for children to how much medical supplies local hospitals need.

“We’re checking the condition of schools and different healthcare centers,” Kintzley said. “And we’re also driving around trying to check the overall reception of U.S. troops.”

With the MEU’s help pouring in, the Marines think, by and large, the locals are always happy to see them.

They visited one medical clinic that was in a small town outside Najaf. It was in dire need of basic medical supplies. In addition to just reporting it up the chain to be helped eventually, the platoon’s corpsman took it upon himself to give the doctor some of his extra medical supplies.

“I just gave him some extra antibiotics, IVs, IV supplies, ointments, creams and over the counter stuff for colds. I remember the guy was real happy, he said ‘God bless you,’” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Doug Debrauwere, corpsman, Recon Platoon.

Even amid the kindness, the Marines keep an ever-watchful eye for trouble.

“We’re always keeping our eyes open,” Jarvis said. “There’s always one or two who give you dirty looks even around all the happy ones.”

"We have to continue to be a hard target along with being the hand-shakers and kid-players," said Gunnery Sgt. Brian R. Yarolem, platoon sergeant, Recon Platoon.

The shift from fighting to helping has provided the full gamut of perspective in Operation Iraqi Freedom II for the Recon Marines.

“After being here these guys have seen the full spectrum of the battlefield,” said Yarolem. “They’ve done everything from taking lives to helping with compassion.”

Since the platoon is stacked with plenty of senior Marines, the ever-altering battlefield might not faze them as much as it might others.

“We have a platoon full of (non-commissioned officers) that are mature enough to handle this kind of mission,” Kintzley said.

The switch from recon to civil affairs work still left them with hurdles they had to master on the fly.

“We learned how to do it everyday while out there,” Jarvis said. “We were blind when we first started.”

The challenges are welcomed by Jarvis, and he tries to learn from them daily.

“I try to make the best of it out there,” he said. “Even if it’s to just learn a new (Arabic) word a day.”

According to Yarolem, some of the challenges they face daily include having no standardized form or way to figure out what is damaged as well as dealing with people who expect something to be done every time they go out.

"These were some of the hardest things we had to do along with going straight from offensive operations right to civil affairs," Yarolem explained.

Recon Marines also have a distinct advantage when it comes to identifying civil affairs projects that many other Marines may not have.

"Some of the things that make us uniquely qualified for this mission are our observation techniques," said Yarolem. "We're trained to pick up on a lot of details and that helps us when it comes to figuring out what needs to be done."

The Marines are starting to feel good about helping the Iraqis.

“Even if it’s just stopping by to see what work needs to be done, you can see it’s huge for them,” Jarvis said.

The recognition doesn’t go unnoticed.

“The Marines feel it’s rewarding to see their hard work is paying off,” Kintzley said.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004105132955/$file/040923-M-4358R-094low.jpg

AN NAJAF, Iraq - Petty Officer 2nd Class Doug Debrauwere, corpsman with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Recon Platoon, talks with a doctor at a medical clinic in a small town outside An Najaf. Recon Platoon is helping in efforts to rebuild and renew the city and its outlying towns after fighting in August and after many years of neglect from Saddam Hussein and his regime.
Photo by: Cpl. Matthew S. Richards

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/32F67ECF7F82A22885256F24003B0AE7?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 05:34 AM
Mortarmen 'shoot from the hip' during training
Submitted by: 31st MEU
Story Identification #: 2004105134028
Story by Lance Cpl. Willard J. Lathrop



CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (Sept. 21, 2004) -- Mortarmen with 81mm Mortar Platoon, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 3rd Marines rehearsed immediate action drills from convoy to provide immediate fire suppression Sep. 21.


Marines kicked up clouds of dust while running from invisible convoys to gun positions during “hip shoots” and fired a hasty salvo before remounting the vehicles.


The “convoy” would receive a “call” for immediate fire support, at which point the mortarmen hustled to form a gunline with their tubes as the small unit leaders took a precise compass bearing and pointed the mortars in the right direction.


“The gun is heavy, but the adrenaline makes it feel like your baby,” said Pfc. Jason M. Jewett, gunner with the platoon.


After firing four simulated rounds per weapon, the guns were quickly broken down and swiftly returned to the “convoy” for rapid departure to avoid enemy detection.


“It’s a rush getting my gun up first,” 19-year-old Jewett said, from Santa Rosa, Calif. “And it’s incredible working without saying anything because everybody knows what to do.”


The gun crews endured the 108-degree heat for follow on drills, working quickly and silently to enhance their skill.


“The best part about being a mortarman is knowing that you have destruction in your hands,” Lance Cpl. Jonathan Croshaw said, gunner with the platoon, who is doing exactly what he enlisted to do, traveling and blowing stuff up.


The day before, the Marines practiced live-fire convoy drills including casualty evacuation drills.


“The live-fire drills were awesome, definitely one of the top-five best times I’ve had in the Marine Corps,” Lance Cpl. Jimmy Tighe said, assistant gunner and driver for the platoon.


The hip shoots and convoy drills were part of the acclimatization and sustainment training the BLT is conducting while currently deployed with the 31st MEU in Kuwait in preparation for possible contingencies in support of the Global War on Terrorism in the U.S. Central Command area of operations.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004105141744/$file/040921-M-2061L-014lowres.jpg

Lance Cpl. Tony Hernandez looks through the sights of his 81mm mortar during "hip shoots" Sep. 21. Hernandez, a 19-year-old Fillmore, Calif. native, is an assistant gunner with the BLT. The 31st MEU is currently deployed in Kuwait for acclimitization and sustainment training in preparation for possible contingencies within the U.S. Central Command area of operations during the Global War on Terrorism. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Willard J. Lathrop

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200410514361/$file/040921-M-2061L-003lowres.jpg

Lance Cpl. Joshua Lens gives a period of instruction on immediate action drills for 81mm mortars. Lens, a 22-year-old West Portsmouth native, is a gunner with the 81mm Mortar Platoon, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 3rd Marines. The BLT is currently deployed with the 31st MEU for acclimitization and sustainment training in preparation for possible contingencies within the U.S. Central Command area of operations during the Global War on Terrorism. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Willard J. Lathrop

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FE9171CB5779750D85256F24006116D8?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 05:35 AM
MALS-16 provides critical support during Operation Iraqi Freedom <br />
Submitted by: MCAS Miramar <br />
Story Identification #: 2004104181859 <br />
Story by Sgt. Cecilia Sequeira <br />
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<br />
<br />
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION...

thedrifter
10-06-04, 05:37 AM
Issue Date: October 11, 2004

Combined Action Platoons needed in Iraq

By Marcus Corbin


The war in Iraq is not going well. With more than 50 Americans killed in September alone, it was one of the bloodiest months since the war began.
Interestingly, there is widespread agreement on the solution among U.S. officials and observers: Iraqi security forces must be strengthened to the point at which they can provide security themselves, so that the often unwelcome foreign forces can leave as soon as possible.

Why, despite this consensus, is the United States losing this key race against time to train Iraqi forces?

The problem is that the Bush administration is not emulating one of the few success stories of the Vietnam counterinsurgency effort, the Marine Corps’ Combined Action Platoon program, in building effective local security forces.

Leathernecks have taken the initiative to set up a few similar programs in Iraq, such as one within 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, and with the Iraqi “Shahwanis” unit. But the model should be applied on a widespread basis in Iraq’s hot zones if the insurgency situation is to be turned around.

Before the Vietnam War, U.S. Army leadership resisted President Kennedy’s directive to improve counterinsurgency capabilities, preferring to focus on the traditional concept of applying overwhelming firepower against an enemy that would stand up and fight — a concept that worked during World War II and the Korean War.

In contrast, the Marine Corps had plentiful experience fighting insurgencies and conducting interventions, particularly in Latin America between the World Wars. So the CAP program, begun in 1966, found a receptive institutional and leadership climate in the Corps.

The CAP program put squads of about a dozen Marines in villages to support, train and fight with Vietnamese militia platoons defending their own homes. The heavy artillery and air support used by most U.S. forces was not as readily available for the CAPs — a fact that put Marines at greater risk, but helped avoid the destruction that lost local hearts and minds.

The early CAP program yielded extraordinary results. Vietnamese units that had refused to patrol or conduct operations began doing so in conjunction with U.S. units. Desertion rates dropped. The turnaround time of local units could be measured in weeks and months, not years.

Beyond the training they received, probably most important to the local units’ new military effectiveness was the morale benefit of working alongside Marines who were stationed with them for the long haul. The local forces knew the Marines were committed to them, and trust developed as the Marines and Vietnamese lived and died together.

What’s more, living near the people in the villages gained Marines the locals’ trust. That trust yielded the most important ingredient of fighting a guerrilla war — intelligence. Soon, the much-vaunted Viet Cong simply abandoned the struggle in some CAP areas.

The program endured its share of difficulties and setbacks, of course, including challenges such as finding suitable personnel, shortage of language training, lack of integration with U.S. aid and economic development teams, too scattered implementation and little focus on underlying political issues. But its successes were remarkable given how the top military commander in Vietnam, Army Gen. William Westmoreland, and other institutional players opposed and undercut the program, since it was in direct competition with their conventional war strategy.

Could lessons learned from the successes and failures of the CAP program be applied in Iraq?

American casualties conceivably could rise, but it is interesting that often the volunteers in the Vietnam CAPs thought the program was doing so much good that they extended their tours, despite the dangers.

Iraq’s main difference from Vietnam — its urban setting — does not affect the underlying concepts of the program. Local security forces’ increased morale, improved training, successful engagements, greater intelligence-gathering and improved trust from the local population should combine to get tactical trends moving in the right direction again.

It is not enough to have a large crash-training program for local forces and to deploy U.S. troops as backups. Without improved morale, the Iraqi recruits will run away just as fast — or worse, take their newly developed military skills to the other side. It is not enough to conduct joint U.S.-Iraqi patrols. What is needed are true combined units that work together over time.

The writer is a senior analyst with the Center for Defense Information, an independent think tank in Washington, D.C.


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-377278.php


Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 05:38 AM
Marine unit finally home from Fallujah fight







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By: North County Times -

After months of bloody fighting in and around the rebel stronghold of Fallujah, Marines from Camp Pendleton's 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment are expected to return tonight from the war in Iraq.

About 300 members of the Headquarters and Golf companies are expected to arrive at the infantry training center of Camp Horno, in the northwest part of the base, at about 9 p.m., according to Camp Pendleton officials. The remaining 700 some troops are expected home Wednesday and Thursday.

Second Battalion ---- or "2/1" as it is known ---- was the battalion most directly involved in the fight for Fallujah over the last seven months.

After four American civilian contractors were slain in the streets there on March 31, the battalion spearheaded a three-day assault on the city along the Euphrates River.

For more than three weeks they held their ground on the city's northern edge against relentless rebel attacks before they were ordered back to positions in surrounding villages.

For the past few months the Marines of 2/1 have been operating on the margins of arguably the most violent city in Iraq, laboring to create allies in the surrounding communities while coordinating air strikes and raids on rebels inside.

Numerous Marines have been cited for valor for their actions during the brutal fighting.

At least 20 of the battalion's Marines were killed in action.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/10/05/military/20_31_1110_4_04.txt

Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 07:38 AM
Motor T bids farewell to their fallen
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20041055437
Story by Cpl. Randy Bernard



CAMP RIPPER, Iraq (Sept. 29, 2004) -- Marines from Motor Transportation Company, Regimental Combat Team 7, gathered in a memorial ceremony Sept. 29 to remember two of their fallen comrades and friends.

The fallen were Lance Cpl. Ramone Mateo, 21, a mechanic, and Lance Cpl. Aaron Boyles, 25, a motor transportation operator.

The two Marines were killed Sept. 24, while returning in a convoy from Fallujah. Both of the Marines were victims of improvised explosive devices hidden at different locations along the route.

"How did the Marine Corps earn the confidence of the American people when a problem arose, and the cry 'send in the Marines' was heard?" asked Capt. Daniel D. Brechwald, a motor transportation officer for RCT-7. "It was earned by Marines much like the ones we say goodbye to today. They possessed the fiber and character that define what the average citizen believes honor, courage and commitment are meant to be."

"These are two men that you would be proud to call your friends," said Lance Cpl. Jacob D. Mullins, 21, a native of Maize, Kan., and a mechanic with the company. "They will be dearly missed, and they will always be remembered."

Mateo had just recently returned to Iraq after a short vacation back to the United States. Three days after his arrival, his vehicle was struck by a lethal IED blast.

"I couldn't believe it," said Lance Cpl. David Bryant, a motor transportation operator, and close friend to Mateo. "When I heard what had happened, I couldn't believe it, and I didn't want to believe it."

Bryant added that Mateo was friends with everyone. Even if he didn't like someone, he would still try and be friendly with them.

"He was the humorous type," said Bryant, 22, from San Diego. "He made the days go by quickly and everybody enjoyed his presence."

Boyles was in the same convoy as Mateo but was the victim of separate IED. The second device exploded much further down the route.

"He was quite a character, he made me laugh a lot of the time," said Pfc. Jason R. Criss, 27, a native of San Bernadino, Calif., and a motor transportation gunner with the company. "He was also a hard worker. He got work done with no questions asked. If you needed a favor, he would help you out. He's someone you could count on to accomplish anything."

The close-knit bond formed between Marines in Iraq intensifies the feelings of loss.

"Losing them affected us big time," said Criss. "We've lost two brothers in our family and it's hard. I would take Boyles' place any day in a heartbeat so that he could go home to see his child born."

Boyles was scheduled to return home later this month in order to be with his wife, who is due to give birth soon.

"We miss (Boyle and Mateo)," said Criss. "I just wish that wherever they are they would look over us and protect us. They are our guardian angels on our upcoming missions."


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/53EC3A5EB002632E85256F24003562EF?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 09:44 AM
Iraqi Children Get a Kick Out of Donation
By Pfc. Brian Schroeder
Special to American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 4, 2004 - Troops from the 425th Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, visited children in a local community recently to drop off new soccer balls.

Thirty Iraqi children were outfitted with brand new soccer equipment, donated by a group of 50 residents in the Tulsa, Okla., area. Holly Nester, an employee of WilTel Communications, organized a fund drive to purchase the equipment for the kids. She gathered more than $1,500 in donations to purchase soccer balls, socks, shin guards, cleats and water bottles, and to cover shipping costs for the equipment.

Nester was born in Kuwait and was raised in Iran until the late 1970s. She approached Sgt. Richard Porter, 425th battalion sergeant, and an employee of WilTel at their Los Angles office, with the idea of donating soccer equipment to Iraqi children.

"Holly said she has many fond memories of growing up and playing soccer with the local kids in her neighborhood," Porter said. "She said that she wanted to do something soccer related for a few Iraqi children.

"Holly approached me for help because of where I am stationed and the nature of my job," Porter continued. "We gave her contact information of a local Iraqi, who could receive the donation. The gear was then shipped directly to our contact in the village, who then delivered everything to the team's coach for distribution to the players."

Most of the projects civil affairs soldiers undertake are funded through the Commander's Emergency Response Program funds. These projects include providing water pumps and generators or refurbishing schools in local Iraqi communities. Other items given to Iraqi citizens, such as shoes, clothes or soccer equipment, are paid for through individual or group donations.

Maj. Robert Misajon, the battalion's team leader, said that soldiers cannot ask for donations directly.

"The more direct the donors can be with the locals is better, because we can't ask solders to solicit donations," he said. "In this case they asked us where they could send the equipment and we put them in touch with a local national who they shipped the equipment to directly. Holly said she wants to keep sending more stuff, and with the connection she made with the local national, she will be able to."

Civil affairs soldiers' mission in Iraq is to provide a liaison between the host country and the military, and to make immediate improvement in the quality of life for local citizens. Porter said that by shipping directly to a local community leader, the Iraqi citizens feel involved in helping their own village.

"With this project, we were not the ones handing out the stuff," Porter said. "We basically put it into the hands of the Iraqis."

(Army Pfc. Brian Schroeder is assigned to 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs Office.)

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2004/n10042004_2004100404.html


Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 09:56 AM
October 06, 2004

Recon unit returns to Pendleton

By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Nearly 200 men with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion returned home Oct. 5 after seven months in Iraq, where the battalion did 600 combat patrols. Recon Marines, met with a low-key homecoming at Camp Margarita, weren’t alone in their celebrations at Camp Pendleton.
Later that night at the base’s Camp Horno, a company with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, which fought pitched battles in Fallujah’s populated Julon district, returned.

For 1st Recon, which deployed in late February, this year’s combat tour brought the unit back to its roots of “swift, silent and deadly.” Unlike last year’s invasion of Iraq, when 1st Recon operated mostly as a maneuver battalion for 1st Marine Division, the battalion’s platoons this time focused on hunting anti-coalition forces with Regimental Combat Team 1 in the Fallujah region. They collected weapons, money and drugs during raids, uncovered weapons caches, ran reconnaissance and surveillance missions and nabbed two “high value” targets near Karmah.

“We hit hard. We could come and go as we please,” said Col. Rory E. Talkington, the battalion’s commander who recently pinned on the rank of colonel. “Reconnaissance should be the force of choice today,” said Talkington, who was welcomed home by his wife, two young sons and their newest family member, a two-day-old daughter.

In the coming days, his men will catch up on their sleep, relax with family and friends and, as senior leaders hope, steer themselves and others from potential trouble at home. Senior leaders hope the men continue the practice in Iraq of “combat buddies” to reinforce the importance of safety and survival, even after the deployment’s over.

An oft-repeated message to the junior Marines, said Gunnery Sgt. Dean Doolittle, is to “take it slow.”

“The biggest thing you want to [curb] is excess alcohol, excess eating, excess speeding,” said Doolittle, the battalion’s assistant jumpmaster with Headquarters and Service Company. His advice? “Don’t overdo it.”

Gidget Fuentes is the San Diego bureau chief and can be reached at gidgetf@earthlink.net or at (760) 677-6145.


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-390574.php

Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 10:58 AM
Issue Date: October 11, 2004

Panel suggests career field for nuke threat

By Jason Sherman
Times staff writer


Novelist Tom Clancy called the threat of a clandestine nuclear strike against the United States “The Sum of All Fears.”
In that thriller, which was also made into a movie, terrorists use a shipping container to smuggle a nuclear weapon into Baltimore and nearly assassinate the president.

A high-level advisory panel to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said such threats are not just the stuff of fiction. In fact, the panel suggests creating a new military career field devoted to finding and seizing clandestine nukes.

Specifically, the panel said Rumsfeld should direct the Joint Staff and combatant commanders to develop new organizational structures; plan to train and equip military personnel to stop nuclear weapons directed at the United States; and wage counter-clandestine nuclear operations of their own.

Rumsfeld was briefed on the findings of the 50-page report by a Defense Science Board task force shortly after its completion in June. The report was made publicly available Sept. 15.

Pentagon officials said none of the recommendations to date has been implemented.

A task force member said many senior Pentagon officials recognize the threat. But he said he does not expect drastic changes in budget priorities or organizational shake-ups as a result of the recommendations any time soon.

Revamping a portion of the force to deal with this threat will be “difficult and [take] longer than you would think,” said the task force member, who asked not to be named.

Indeed, the changes proposed in the report would be far-reaching, starting with the idea of creating “a military discipline with career potential” to focus on the threat.

“In future military operations in which nuclear weapons are involved that might be used for clandestine attack against U.S. forces or against the U.S. itself, the combatant commander should have at hand a general/flag officer whose career path would have prepared him or her to advise the commander on the nuclear aspects of the situation,” the report states. “In some circumstances, this officer might also control the forces that work the nuclear problem.”

The task force suggests the Army’s Chemical Corps could be a template for the new organization, although with 20,000 personnel, that outfit is larger than what is needed to counter the clandestine nuclear threat.

The panel also suggests the Pentagon, together with other government elements, should fashion a new layered defense network — similar in scope to the global missile defense system — to snag nuclear weapons directed at the United States through covert means.

Clandestine nuclear attack and defense against it “should be treated as an emerging aspect of strategic warfare and should warrant national and Defense Department attention,” the report said.

The effort would be kick-started through the end of the decade with $1 billion in government investment, $400 million of which would come from the Pentagon.

Many parts of the U.S. defense establishment — the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the office of the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, the U.S. Special Operations Command — keep an eye on the issue. The task force report suggests weaving these efforts together.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-377611.php


Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 11:15 AM
Issue Date: October 11, 2004

A bird in the sand
Osprey squadron trains in the Nevada desert



Is the Osprey ready for Baghdad? There’s only one good way to find out.Four MV-22 Ospreys have been kicking up the Iraq-like sand outside Las Vegas, while the leathernecks of Marine Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 are developing tactics, techniques and procedures they will need before an actual deployment.
“This deployment is a chance for our squadron to prepare for our [operational evaluation], where we will have twice the amount of aircraft and spend up to five months testing in every clime and place,” said Lt. Col. Christopher C. Seymour, chief operational test director for VMX-22. “Over the next two weeks, our pilots will train and become competent in flying the Osprey in an austere environment, which is nothing but goodness.”

The squadron, from Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., is conducting the training out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. — an austere, Iraq-like environment — working alongside airmen who will be assigned to the Air Force version of the tilt-rotor aircraft, the CV-22.

The Osprey, which can take off and land like a helicopter and fly like a fixed-wing aircraft, was grounded for nearly 18 months after crashes in 2000 that claimed the lives of 23 Marines.

The Corps plans to buy 360 Ospreys to replace its aging fleet of CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters. Full operational evaluation of the Osprey is to begin in January.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-380884.php

Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 02:24 PM
VA makes unusual outreach effort

Afghanistan, Iraq vets urged to seek psychological help
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 5, 2004


More than 4,000 San Diego County veterans are being offered free medical care by the Department of Veterans Affairs under an unprecedented outreach effort to help them handle the psychological aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The VA has sent letters to 10,860 veterans – including National Guardsmen and reservists – in Southern California alone urging them to seek medical services, including screenings for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and adjustment disorder, two conditions prevalent in combat vets.

Michael Kilmer, a case worker for the VA in San Diego, said the goal is to reach every combat veteran in the nation.

"This is the first time ... the VA came out and told combat veterans that you have two years of health care," Kilmer said. "This has really never been done before on this scale."

The effort is a departure for the VA, which after the Gulf War of 1991 dismissed veterans' ailments as psychosomatic before acknowledging Gulf War syndrome as a physical ailment.

Yet veterans organizations are split over the new outreach program, which is free to this category of veterans.

Veterans of Foreign Wars spokesman Jerry Newberry welcomed it as long overdue and much appreciated.

"The VA has taken lessons of past wars to heart," he said. "They've come a long way.

"We are (supposed to) believe the VA is doing all it can with the resources available," Newberry said from the VFW headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. "They've been proactive on this."

However, Rick Weidman from the Vietnam Veterans of America said the effort looks good on paper but lacks funding and staffing.

"What they are trying to do is terrific," he said. "What what they are actually doing fails the men and women who served. There (are) simply not enough resources. People who tell you there is enough money are wrong."

Kilmer, of the San Diego VA office, said staffing the outreach effort comes from existing funds and that he is one of the few hires in the VA system for the program. His position is scheduled to last two years but could become permanent.

Weidman said veterans returning home might need the most psychological counseling since Vietnam because "a much higher percent of U.S. troops know that they killed people during this war than any other because of their firepower.

"What is going to happen is that people are either going to work that out in a positive way if they get good clinical help or they will work it out in a negative way through self-medication."

He said psychological services for both active-duty members and veterans are lacking. Currently, about 21,000 Marines and sailors from San Diego are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A troop rotation has begun and will last into early next year.

"No Marine who returns to Camp Pendleton is going to say that they are having nightmares because that would be the end of their career," Weidman said.

"There are guys on active duty now with PTSD who when they come home will drink themselves to sleep instead of seek help," he continued. "There shouldn't be shame in having PTSD, but there is."

The pillar of the VA effort is two years of free health care for Afghanistan and Iraq combat veterans – whether or not their condition is combat-related – as long as they served in either place after Nov. 11, 1998, said Cindy Butler, a spokeswoman for VA San Diego Health Care System.

Benefits start upon separation from the service. Veterans who spent as little as one day in either country are eligible, Kilmer said.

He said letters were sent Sept. 10 and that 100 veterans have enrolled since, boosting to 875 the number already in the program.

So far, Kilmer said, most of the veterans have needed only "minor assistance," and that some are coming in because their jobs don't offer health insurance.

He said the VA and the Defense Department are setting the foundation "in case there is a greater influx" once troops start coming home from the current deployment.

Veterans interested in participating in the program should call Bill Keating at (858) 552-8585, Ext. 6782.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20041005-9999-1m5outreach.html


Ellie

thedrifter
10-06-04, 04:55 PM
After three years apart, Marine siblings cross paths -- in the middle of Iraq
By Kelly Kazek, kelly@athensnews-courier.com







It was an unlikely meeting place, the middle of a war. But a brother and sister who hadn't seen each other in three years crossed paths -- she on a helicopter crew, he a passenger-- in Fallujah last month.

And that's how Brad Gordon, 32, and his little sister, Melissa "Missy" Gordon, 30, reunited an ocean away.

"She ran over to the helo (helicopter) I was on while they were loading the rest of our gear," Brad said via e-mail from Iraq. "I looked up to see this Marine in a flight suit and helmet jump in the door and was stunned to see my sister's bright white teeth glaring at me. I told my parents that it was the best brother-sister hug anyone could ask for."

Brad was a passenger on another helicopter in the squadron and did not ride with her, but he saw her again upon landing.

"I went to tell the crew chief on my helo to 'take care of the lieutenant on the other bird. That's my little sister,'" he wrote.

A Limestone County history


Brad and Missy, who were deployed to Iraq about a week apart last month, left behind proud but worried family members in Athens. Although Brad's wife and three sons remain in Okinawa, Japan, where he was stationed at the time of his deployment, much of Brad's and Missy's extended family is from Limestone County. Brad says he considers Athens home.

"My sister and I spent many summers in Athens," he said. "We swam for the local swim team several summers and I worked as a lifeguard at the city pool. I also attended Calhoun Community College during the summer of 1991. No matter what my sister and I do or where we go, we will still call Athens home. Growing up, we lived all over the country because of my father's service with the Navy...We still look forward to coming back to Athens and enjoy the warm reception we get from everybody."

Brad and Missy's parents are Vernon Gordon of Maryland and Janice Lentz Boster, who now lives in Jamaica with her new husband. Vernon's parents are Ruth Gordon of Athens and the late Curtis Gordon, and Janice's parents are Pat Lentz of Athens and the late Tonis Lentz.

Brad's and Missy's aunt, Jo Lynne Abernathy, said she worries about her niece and nephew.

"I'm proud of what they do but we would like to have them back in the U.S.," said Abernathy, who works at Athens Intermediate School. She is Janice's sister.

Jo Lynne said she understands that siblings sometimes are in harm's way at the same time. "This is not the first time that's ever happened in any conflict situation," she said. "I don't think anybody likes it."

This marks the first deployment for Missy, but Brad has previously served in Afghanistan. "She really wanted to be over there; she really wants to be doing what she's doing," Jo Lynne said. "We're very proud of them."

The family has a long military history. Curtis Gordon, a farmer, was a World War II veteran. He died last year. Tonis Lentz, who died in 1990, served in WWII with the Army Air Corps. Brad's and Missy's great-uncle Mac Inman, who owned and operated a local service station with his wife Irene, was awarded a Purple Heart for his service. Vernon Gordon, who was quarterback at Tanner High School, is a retired commander in the Navy who flew EA-6B Prowlers in Vietnam.

Tough enough

Missy, in an e-mail from Iraq, said despite family history, she didn't plan on becoming a Marine.

"When I was growing up, I told myself and my family that I would never join the military," she said. After becoming a physical education teacher, Missy called Brad one day to ask what he would think of having a Marine for a sister.

"Next thing I know, I had an officer selection officer calling me and getting the ball rolling," Missy wrote. "My Dad thought it would be better if I joined the Air Force or the Coast Guard because he thought the opportunities were better for women in those organizations. I told him that I wanted to be a Marine because they were the best. I wanted to see if I was tough enough to hack the likes of the Marine Corps."

She was tough enough. Missy is an aircraft maintenance operator for Marine Medium Helicopter 365, overseeing helicopter maintenance personnel and assisting with maintenance of the 12CH-46E aircraft.

"We fly anywhere from six to eight missions a day, transporting Marine mail and cargo to various cities and military bases in Iraq," she said.

"In addition, I am flying as an aerial observer. We are the Marines who man the two .50-cals (automatic guns) on the aircraft and are constantly on the lookout for the bad guys while our pilots are flying from one city to another here in Iraq."

Brad works as a public affairs officer for the First Marine Expeditionary Force. "Currently, I work in the Command Operations Center watching every move the Marines in Iraq make," he said. "I also watch media reaction. My biggest job is to advise the commanding general on the media's potential actions and reactions to our operations and actions. I also get to work with the media and take them out to all of the subordinate units in Iraq and help them get out to the Marines who make the heroic efforts every day for our Corps and country."

He said his decision to serve came after college and work as a civilian, where he felt "something was missing."

"Then I ran into a Marine Corps officer selection officer," Brad said. "After talking to him, a light bulb kind of went off and I realized that what I was chasing was service to the nation. It is all about giving to something bigger than yourself."

On the home front

Grandmother Ruth Gordon said she was not pleased to hear her grandchildren had both gone to war.

"I thought it was terrible," she said. "But I was so pleased to find out they had gotten together. Hopefully, they will both make it OK."

She said she doesn't get to see Brad or Missy very often because she doesn't like to fly and both have been stationed far away.

Brad has been stationed in Okinawa with his wife, Mikki, and their three sons, Barrett, 7, Tate, 3, and Tonis Alec, 7 months.

After completing their rotations in Iraq, however, his family will head back to the States, as will Missy, who is stationed in New River, N.C.

"We would like to end up in Athens at the same time so my boys can see their aunt as well," Brad said. "They haven't seen her in four years, so only Barrett has met her."

The two may return to the States in the spring, he said.

"My family has been anchored to Athens as long as many families there have," Brad wrote. "My sister and I have been very fortunate in our lives to have jobs that allow us to see the world and be part of protecting our freedoms, but it is when we are at home in Athens that we truly get to enjoy the endeavors of our work."


http://www.enewscourier.com/articles/2004/10/05/news/lifestyles/035siblings.txt

Ellie