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thedrifter
10-09-04, 08:07 AM
Border Police Academy graduates return to border forts ready to protect
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20041075351
Story by Cpl. Matthew R. Jones



AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 3, 2004) -- Sixty-one newly trained Iraqi Border Police graduated from the Al Asad Border Police Academy here Oct. 3 and returned to their border forts to secure the borders of their homeland.

The Marines of Company C, 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 1st Marine Division, trained the graduates for 15 days to be a more effective border force.

"The Marines have taught us a lot of things, from vehicle checkpoints to defending our forts," said 1st Lt. Kareem Kanosh, student at the academy from 3rd Battalion, Iraqi Border Police. "They have taught us how to do our job. We want to show them the fruits of their labor."

Company C took over the responsibility of training border recruits from Company B, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 1st Marine Division. This was their first class.

"We have trained over 400 (border police) students through the academy," said Col. Brain Tucker, commanding officer of the Civil Affairs Group, Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division. "They are motivated and capable of providing increased security and protecting the territorial integrity of Iraq."

The Iraqis have been taught basic first aid, weapons safety, suspect handling, handcuffing and elements of the Marine Corps Marital Arts Program.

Due to the increased number of attacks on Iraqi border forts, the 12-day course was extended three days in order to teach the students how to defend their positions, said Sgt. Heath A. Fernald, senior instructor.

The students were put in defensive positions at a mock police station and the instructors attempted to infiltrate their lines.

"The students did just as they were taught," said Fernald, 23, a native of Erie, Pa. "We tried to break their lines just before dawn and they took us captive."

Once the Marines were apprehended, the students took them into a holding cell as they were instructed to do during the classroom portion of the course.

"We got a lot of information from the Marines. They do a great job," said Capt. Mosadek Abed al Majeed, a student with 3rd Battalion, Iraqi Border Police.

The students not only learned how to establish a defense, they were taught how to move on the offense with fire and maneuver drills. The students put this knowledge into practical application on the firing range.

The Iraqi officers quickly took to leadership roles, taking the instruction from the Marines and leading their fellow students, according to Master Sgt. William D. Freeman, chief instructor. The Marines instructed the class on the proper techniques required to safely move through the drills.

The Iraqi officers followed the enlisted border policemen down the range directing fire and movement. Marines shadowed the officers, providing advice on how to run the course.

"They speak the language and it is easier for them to instruct the enlisted Iraqis," said Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Spaulding, 21, a native of Milwaukee.

The students also critiqued each other and gave each other advice on how to improve, said Staff Sgt. George A Frick, 34, a native of Hemphill, Texas.

The course is constantly being revised, enabling the students to learn more efficiently. The course will be lengthened to 28 days before the next cycle to include further instruction on defending posts and preventing terrorist attacks.
The added days will also enable the Marines to get more hands-on time with the students, said Freeman, 42, a native of Birmingham, Ala.

The interaction has given the Marines a better understanding of Iraqi culture and customs.

"It is nice to be able to do something positive for the future of Iraq," said Fernald. "They have really changed my outlook on the future of this country."

Seeing the students graduate has given the Marines a sense of pride and accomplishment.

"I really enjoy coming to work knowing that what I am doing is making a difference and is helping the Iraqis take control of their own country," said Spaulding. "Once they do that we will get to go home."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200410751527/$file/bpacademy2lr.jpg

Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Spaulding, 21, a native of Milwaukee, instructs students at the Al Asad Iraqi Border Police Academy on the fire and maneuver course. The students were instructed on how to close on an enemy and how to utilize gun teams to continually fire down range. The course is being extended to enable further instruction on proper defense of the outpost and forts. Photo by: Cpl. Matthew R. Jones

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/D83506DCBB53BC7285256F260031CA84?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 08:08 AM
Military Police train Iraqi officers <br />
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 20041095257 <br />
Story by Cpl. Matthew R. Jones <br />
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CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 27, 2004) -- Marines...

thedrifter
10-09-04, 08:09 AM
Marine surgical companies counter terrorist brutality with medical care
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 200410783242
Story by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 7, 2004) -- Since the beginning of the war on terror, the world has witnessed terrorists employ a number of ruthless tactics on hostages, including torture, executions and beheadings.

Receiving less attention is the unwavering moral compass of their counterparts -- the Navy surgeons, nurses and corpsmen who treat captured anti-Iraqi forces.

First Force Service Support Group’s two surgical companies, designated Alpha and Bravo, and the Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon save lives daily, both friendly and enemy. The 1st FSSG, headquartered here, provides all logistical support, including supply, transportation and medical services, for the all Marine forces in Iraq.

Since April 2004, Marine surgical units throughout Iraq have operated on 53 anti-Iraqi forces injured in hostilities against U.S. and Iraqi forces.

“We treat them like anyone else,” said Navy Chief Petty Officer David M. Ruhlman, 41.

Ruhlman, Alpha Surgical Co.’s leading chief petty officer, has seen four anti-Iraqi forces admitted to the company’s surgical room in the last month.

Treating friendly and enemy forces presents a unique challenge to the providers and staff, said Navy Capt. Eric R. Lovell, assistant chief of professional services and senior emergency medicine physician for Bravo Surgical Co.

“At first, it’s upsetting to know you are helping the enemy live after they just tried to kill us,” said Navy Lt. Cdr. Patricia C. Hasen, a critical care nurse with Alpha Surgical Co. “But when we’re taking care of someone, they are just another patient we are trying to save.”

Emotions can run strong when doctors treat enemy patients. But the status of an admitted patient is insignificant when the crew is trying to save a life.

“We’re just trying to save lives first,” said Ruhlman, a native of Boonville, Mo. “We have to put our emotions to the side and just treat them like a patient.”

Surgical units throughout Iraq, such as Alpha and Bravo Co., train their personnel to keep up with the fast-paced environment of these medical facilities through mass casualty exercises.

A mass casualty is defined as treating multiple shock trauma patients who require multiple medical resources, such as resuscitation and surgery.

The exercises incorporate simulated, and sometimes real, captured insurgents. During training scenarios, injured insurgents are ‘assigned’ the worst wounds, testing the medical team’s prioritizing skills.

The training helps with the decision making process, and keeps the companies’ staff prepared for any situation, said Ruhlman.

“We fight a different enemy than the Marines do,” said Navy Chief Petty Officer Mark W. Goldschmidt, leading chief petty officer for 1st FSSG’s Surgical/Shock Trauma Platoon. “Our enemy is time, regardless of who comes through our tents, and our training helps prepare us for when it really happens.”

“It’s our responsibility to ensure we give the best care we can for anyone that comes through the company,” said Hasen, a 36-year-old Rochester, N.Y., native.

Like any seriously wounded patients, enemy casualties are sent to a higher echelon medical facility to recover following surgery.

Hasen often accompanies them on the flights, when compared to a stateside medical evacuation, would cost nearly $115,000.

“It’s a sobering feeling to fly them, knowing we can get shot down while in the process of saving one of their own,” said Hasen, who, since her arrival in mid-August, has accompanied anti-Iraqi forces on three flights to a higher echelon medical facility.

In addition to fighting against the clock when trying to save critically wounded patients, the doctors are also faced with a language barrier when treating anti-Iraqi forces. When a captured insurgent is admitted to a surgical unit, an Arabic translator is brought in to gather lifesaving information.

“There’s certain things we need to know, like ‘what happened,’ and ‘where does it hurt,’” said Goldschmidt. “That’s where the translator comes into play, and when the Iraqi patient sees the translator, he becomes very eager to tell someone what happened in his own language.”

On any given day, surgical units can use about $1,000 worth of medical supplies to treat an individual patient, not to mention the amount of time and number of staff members needed in more serious cases.

For example, if an enemy casualty was brought into a surgical unit for a shotgun wound, it would take at least two corpsmen, a nurse and a doctor during the initial stages of treatment in the emergency room.

If the captured insurgent required surgery, he would get sent to the operating room, where an anesthesiologist, a surgeon, an operating room nurse, a recovery nurse, a ward, a scrub specialist and a ward corpsman would handle the surgery.

If a Marine and an enemy casualty were admitted at the same time, the medical staff, based on established guidelines, would have to determine which patient requires the most immediate attention.

Since all patients are treated equally, the wounded enemy possibly may be prioritized over the Marine, said Goldschmidt, a 37-year-old Pueblo, Colo., native.

If the wounds are minor, enemy casualties are detained following their medical treatment for further processing.

Marines are often upset with medical personnel at first because they are treating those who may have just killed their fellow Marine, said Seaman Anthony B. Arthur, a corpsman with the 1st Medical Battalion, 1st FSSG, and 22-year-old El Paso, Texas, native.

Marines later understand the importance of providing humane medical treatment to anti-Iraqi forces, Arthur said.

Bravo Surgical Co., which supports Combat Service Support Battalion 1 in Fallujah, recently saved the lives of two insurgents setting up an improvised explosive device on a road. The intent was to disrupt any passing U.S. convoys. While setting up the explosive, the two insurgents were severely wounded by their own blast, sustaining severe burns and internal injuries.

Rescued from the side of the road by patrolling Marines, the insurgents were evacuated to Bravo Surgical Co., where they were treated for their wounds.

“Doctors and nurses must look beyond the fog of war and compassionately treat all victims involved,” said Lovell.

Both casualties suffered severe wounds – a severed artery in the arm of one, a ruptured bowel, metal shrapnel and skin burns in the other.

Due to the severity of the injuries, the patients required blood transfusions. Blood used in the treatment of casualties are provided through donations by U.S. servicemembers – the same people the two patients may have been targeting in the first place.

The operation took two surgical teams working simultaneously four hours to complete.
All together, the casualties underwent 12 hours of intensive resuscitation and life-saving surgery.

After upgraded to stable condition, the insurgents were sent to a higher echelon for intensive care and reconstructive procedures.

As anti-Iraqi forces continue to attack U.S. servicemembers operating in Iraq – through terrorist acts, hostage taking, or conventional warfare – the men and women who treat the wounded will continue to do so, no matter who is placed on their operating table.

The surgeons, nurses, and corpsmen understand they’re held to standards higher, and more personal, than any treaty or international agreement can dictate.

“Understanding that our purpose is just, and that all humans deserve treatment with dignity and respect, are the guidelines we… choose to pursue,” said Lovell.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200410785918/$file/SSTPECU040909_low.jpg

Medical staff with 1st Force Service Support Group's Surgical/Shock Trauma Platoon check for dexterity on the hand of an injured Iraqi during a mass casualty exercise at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 9, 2004. Since April 2004, Marine surgical units throughout Iraq have operated on 53 anti-Iraqi forces. The 1st FSSG’s two surgical companies, designated Alpha and Bravo, save lives daily, both friendly and enemy. The 1st FSSG, headquartered at Camp Taqaddum, provides all logistical support, including supply, transportation and medical services, for all Marine forces in Iraq. Photo by: Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/AED19F2F3B5A5BDE85256F260044E993?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 08:10 AM
By Carol Ann Alaimo
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Lance Cpl. Nathan Henderson is still visited in his dreams by the suicide bomber who nearly killed him in Iraq.

Lying in bed at night in Tucson, the 20-year-old Marine can see the Middle Eastern man darting out of traffic and heading straight at him, behind the wheel of a beat-up sedan.

Henderson barely had time to shout a warning to his buddies before everything went dark.

"When I woke up, I thought I was dead," he said this week, describing the surreal feeling that he had left his body.

"I could feel all this wet stuff on my face," Henderson said. Groggily, he realized it was blood.

He could barely hear his Marine buddies as they screamed at him to get up and get inside a nearby bunker. His eardrum had been shattered by the blast, and they sounded far away.

Still thinking himself dead, Henderson, a 2001 Amphitheater High School graduate, got up and staggered toward them. "It felt like my body didn't fit, like it was something I had to drag around," he recalled.

It wasn't until he reached the bunker and a fellow Marine started wrapping him in bandages that Henderson realized he was still alive.

"It was a miracle I wasn't killed," he said.

The Sept. 14 incident was the second time he was wounded in action in 18 months. Now home on a 30-day convalescent leave, he'll soon receive another Purple Heart.

Henderson is one of more than 8,100 U.S. service members - about 250 from Arizona - injured in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan since the war on terrorism began in September 2001.

About 1,200 U.S. troops have died so far in the two campaigns. While the death toll has been widely reported, less is said about the wounded - likely because the Pentagon releases few details about them, citing medical privacy laws.

Troops who are shot, mortared or hit by homemade bombs can have a hard time recovering, experts say.

Col. James A. Polo, an Army psychiatrist who has worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and is now the head of behavioral health at Fort Carson, Colo., said he's seen wounded troops respond to the experience in a variety of ways.

Some are eager to get back to their units even before their bandages are off. Others dread the thought of returning to combat.

Those reactions are normal, Polo said.

"In general, any reaction they have is normal," he said. "You can't tell someone how they 'should' feel. People respond to very stressful situations in a broad variety of ways."

The Army decides on a case-by-case basis whether a wounded soldier is physically and emotionally healthy enough to return to combat, he said. Of the 8,117 troops listed as injured by the Department of Defense through Thursday morning, 3,670 returned to duty - and 4,447 did not.

When soldiers are so hurt or traumatized "that sending them back to combat is not good for them, we're not going to do that," Polo said.

Lt. Cmdr. Gary Hoyt, a Navy psychologist at Camp Pendleton, Calif., who has traveled with Marines in Iraq for the last seven months, said most of the wounded troops he's worked with have ended up returning to action.

"The majority who went back had to get over tremendous hurdles," Hoyt said, because being injured "really shatters your sense of control."

Combat troops often psych themselves up by convincing themselves that they're invincible - an illusion that can evaporate when they are injured, he said.

Hoyt said he helps wounded Marines deal with feelings of vulnerability by helping them relive the incident in a supportive environment. Even afterward, returning to combat can require some mental gymnastics, he said.

Troops who face fire together can develop intense loyalty that may be hard for a civilian to understand, he said. That also can be a strong motivator for returning to action.

Henderson, a radio operator with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said he faced a kaleidoscope of emotions both times he was wounded. Besides his injured eardrum, he lost about a 2-inch chunk of his left arm in the latest incident. His forehead and scalp required stitches and one finger was broken in the attack south of Baghdad that also wounded several fellow Marines.

He was first injured in March 2003 a few days into the war, when he was hit by flying pieces of jagged metal that lodged in his head, back and knee.

It was tough to go back to the front lines after the first time, he said.

"A lot of guys feel like they're bulletproof. We're kind of taught to feel that way," he said.

"After you see how easily your flesh can be torn apart, it does make it harder."

He isn't complaining, though. Some of the wounded he's met in military hospitals have it much worse, he said, such as a soldier he roomed with who was having both feet amputated after stepping on an explosive.

Henderson isn't sure if he'll be sent back to Iraq a third time.

His mother is hoping he isn't.

"When I saw him in the hospital the second time, I just lost it," said Becky Henderson, 42, a Northwest Side resident.

"I've tried to be a supportive military mom, but I don't know if I can take this anymore."

It angers her, she said, that so many service members are paying with their health and their lives when she doesn't see things improving in Iraq. "All these children are being asked to risk their lives for a cause, and I don't see that it's making a difference."

Nathan Henderson said he doesn't regret his military service. Unlike his mother, he does see some signs of progress.

He'd noticed more Iraqi women in the workplace, wearing street clothes instead of black cloaks. Some villagers he met befriended U.S. troops and apologized for the behavior of terrorists.

He said he isn't bothered by the thought that he will carry the scars of war on his body for the rest of his life.

"If anything, it's a mark of honor," he said.

"I've shed my blood for my country. There aren't that many people who can say that."

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/42474.php


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 08:11 AM
Iraqi and U.S. Forces continue push
Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 200410785024
Story by - 24th MEU Public Affairs Office



FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (Oct. 6, 2004) -- Iraqi security forces, backed by elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, captured 13 suspected militants in the central Iraqi town of Haswah Oct. 6 as the joint force continued to aggressively target anti-Iraqi forces throughout Northern Babil province.

The Iraqi SWAT team, an emerging elite force within the ISF, led the afternoon raid in a town where Iraqi and Marine authorities believe AIF have been festering by intimidating the local, largely peaceful citizenry.

Raids conducted by ISF and Marines assigned to Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines – the MEU’s ground combat element- early in the week drove insurgents east of the Euphrates River to Haswah. AIF forces retaliated with small attacks on MEU forces from the town, which lies about 30 miles south of Baghdad.

ISF and Marine commanders were poised to strike, and the Iraqi SWAT team was given the mission to round up a number of individuals suspected of engaging directly in or abetting anti-Iraqi and anti-coalition activity.

The Iraqis were backed on the ground by the MEU’s Force Reconnaissance platoon. Helicopters from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 provided close air support.

Earlier in the day, members of a second Iraqi special forces unit captured four suspected AIF during two cordon-and-knock searches west of the Euphrates River near Iskandariyah. The BLT’s Bravo Company provided reinforcement.

The successful raids came on the second day of this joint Iraqi-U.S. endeavor to step up the pressure on insurgents operating in Northern Babil province.

ISF and 24th MEU Marines - augmented by the Army’s 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Stryker Brigade Combat Team - rounded up 30 suspected insurgents during multiple raids across the province Tuesday.

During the past two days of operations, forces also uncovered 3 weapons caches that yielded (18) 500-pound bombs, four of which were active, (197) RPG rounds, (47) 133 mm mortar rounds, (14) 125 mm mortar rounds, machine gun parts and blasting caps.

So far, four Marines, three Iraqi National Guardsmen and three civilians were injured. No enemy casualties can be verified at this time.

More than 1300 U.S. Marines and Army soldiers as well as 800 Iraqi military and police personnel are jointly operating in the province.

The operation is part of a continuing campaign to rid the area of criminals and terrorists who are attempting to thwart Iraq’s path to a peaceful, prosperous future.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20041078587/$file/041005-M-5901F-001lores.jpg

Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to conduct a cordon and knock search west of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, Iraq, Oct. 5.
The Marines are with Bravo Co., Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines.
The 24th MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in Northern Babil Province.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Zachary R. Frank

Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 08:13 AM
Posted on Fri, Oct. 08, 2004





Marine tells family about Iraq war experience

LEE HILL KAVANAUGH

Associated Press


INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - Marine Cpl. Benjamin Musser saw a lot in his corner of Iraq.

Images that his family knows have changed him forever. Memories that his family hopes he will keep in the context of war.

Musser not only survived seven months in Ramadi, he thrived. Seven months living in a combat outpost renowned for its bleak amenities: few showers, trucked-in water, meals prepared 30 miles down the road and shipped in twice a day, sporadic Internet connections and exactly two satellite phones for 400-plus Marines.

A member of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Musser was there the day 10 of his fellow Marines, his buddies, some good friends, were killed in ambushes by insurgents. The bullets and shrapnel and rockets whizzed near him but not through him. One piece of metal even pinged against his weapon.

"I didn't get a Purple Heart," the Independence man says.

"I'm glad you didn't," his mother, Bethe Beem, shoots back. She tells him that after one of his phone calls from Iraq, she wrapped herself in the Marine flag and curled into a ball on the kitchen floor, sobbing with fear for her youngest.

Her youngest, a war hero. In his white Marine hat, his starched khaki uniform shirt and a pair of blue pants with a blood-red, inch-wide stripe down each side, he looks every bit the war hero.

And he is. This 21-year-old Truman High School graduate, who flew into Kansas City on Wednesday, was awarded a medal in August for his bravery during that week of battles: the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Valor device, for distinction in combat.

"It's the valor part that makes it special," Musser says.

His account of just one of his days under fire is what makes his mother weep with joy and pain.

"I'm just so grateful he came home again," she says, wiping away tears.

At a restaurant, Musser tells his mother and stepfather, Phillip Beem, about the day he shot at human beings, the day that people he didn't know wanted nothing more than to see him dead.

He uses props to tell his story. With one tattooed wrist, he pulls a salt shaker toward him. "This is a bad guy," he says. A steak knife becomes a sewage canal. A napkin, a house he and his fellow Marines stormed for cover and where he found dozens of women and children huddling in a back room.

Musser tells his parents about the rain of bullets streaming at him and his buddies from a nearby house. He tells how the Marines shot back at that house, round after round. About lugging an M-16 with an attached 40mm grenade launcher. Bullets. Bombs. Bad guys.

His mother's eyes tear up again.

He tells his parents about steadying himself, breathing deeply and aiming "the proper way I was taught to shoot." He tells about picking up an AT-4 anti-tank shoulder-fired rocket, a weapon he had never used before. He tells how he asked permission to run into the yard to get a shot. How he ran as fast as he dared, dropped to one knee and fired.

And how the rocket destroyed the house where the insurgents were. The spray of bullets stopped.

Bethe Beem tries not to think about the other mothers who will never have their sons with them.

"All that matters," she says, "is that he's here telling it."

This is the third time she has heard the story. And the third time she cries in the telling. But for her it sums up everything.

"Before he left for Iraq, I asked him aside from being a Marine and ordered to go - for my mother's heart - I needed to know why he was going," she remembers.

"His response was, `I'm going to fight for the children and people of Iraq who can't fight for themselves. Freedom has to be fought for and defended.'"

Beem says her son told her "that he was willing to put his life on the line for that. When times were too hard, I'd think about that."

His words comforted her during those seven months. And they comfort her now, too.

Still, watching her son, her war hero, she's relieved: Her son is here to tell her his stories.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/9864989.htm


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 10:51 AM
U.S. Jets Target Terrorists In Fallujah
Associated Press
October 9, 2004


BAGHDAD, Iraq - American warplanes struck a building in rebel held Fallujah where the U.S. command said leaders of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network were meeting early Friday. A doctor said the attack killed 13 people, including a groom on his wedding night, and wounded 17 others.

Late Thursday, rockets struck a Baghdad hotel crowded with foreign contractors and journalists, seen as a symbol of continued U.S. and Western dominance since the formal handover of power to an interim Iraqi government June 28.

The latest attacks came as an aide to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr offered on Thursday to disarm his Mahdi Army militia in a move that could bring an end to weeks of fighting in Baghdad's Shiite district Sadr City. The government cautiously welcomed the offer and suggested other militant groups also lay down their arms.

In Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, Dr. Ahmed Saeed said his hospital received 13 dead, including the groom, and 17 wounded, including the bride. He said most of the injured were female relatives of the groom who were staying at the house after the wedding celebration.

Mohammed Jawad, who lives next door, said he had just moved into the central neighborhood to escape repeated shelling on Fallujah's outskirts. His brother and six nephews were killed in the strike, which damaged their house.

"This attack shows that there is no safe place in Fallujah, and the Americans are not differentiating between civilians and armed men," Jawad said in tears, as he was treated for shrapnel wounds to his face and hand.

The U.S. command, however, said "credible intelligence sources" reported terrorist leaders were meeting at the targeted house.

The attack was among a dozen "precision strikes" launched since last month against al-Zarqawi's dreaded Tawhid and Jihad network, which has claimed responsibility for kidnapping and beheading several foreign hostages. The group is also believed behind mortar attacks, suicide bombings and shooting sprees that have killed scores in recent months.

According to the U.S. statement, those strikes have dealt a "significant blow" to al-Zarqawi's movement, killing several key figures including his chief lieutenant Mohammed al-Lubnani and spiritual adviser Abu Anas al-Shami.

American and Iraqi authorities are trying to curb the growing insurgency in Baghdad and elsewhere so national elections can take place by the end of January. Some U.S. military officials have expressed doubt that balloting will be possible in all parts of the country.

Three rockets slammed into Baghdad's Sheraton hotel, the Interior Ministry said, triggering thunderous explosions, shattering windows and setting off small fires. Dazed guests, including Western journalists, contractors and a bride and groom on their wedding night stumbled to safety through the smoke and debris.

There were no deaths or serious injuries, Iraqi officials said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said the rockets were fired from the back of a truck parked near Firdous Square, where jubilant crowds hauled down a statue of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003, marking the fall of the capital to American forces.

A fourth rocket blew up inside the vehicle, he said, as security guards responded with volleys of automatic weapons and machine gun fire.

"It was a shattering explosion, a crack and then a massive, massive thud," said John Cookson of Fox News, which maintains an office in the Sheraton. "The whole room shook."

Earlier Thursday, a mortar shell exploded in the U.S.-controlled Green Zone across the Tigris River from the hotel compound. There was no report of damage or casualties.

Acting on a tip, Task Force Baghdad soldiers stopped a truck carrying more than 1,500 155-mm artillery rounds Thursday one of the largest seizures to date, U.S. command said. The driver and passengers were detained.

In an effort to restore order, the government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has been talking with representatives from insurgency hotspots, including the radical Shiite stronghold Sadr City in the northeast of the capital.

Late Thursday, a spokesman for al-Sadr, the militant Shiite leader, offered to hand over medium and heavy weapons and cooperate with Iraqi security forces if the government will stop pursuing militia members and release the cleric's detained followers.

The offer by Ali Smeisem on Al-Arabiya television contained no explicit promise to disband the militia, as demanded by U.S. and Iraqi authorities. However, a senior security official, Qassim Dawoud, cautiously welcomed the proposal and urged other armed groups to lay down their arms.

As part of the new security push, more than 3,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces are trying to clear an insurgent stronghold in towns and villages just south of Baghdad notorious for kidnappings and ambushes.

The U.S. command said 11 suspected insurgents were captured Thursday, bringing the total number apprehended in the operation this week to 59. Four U.S. Marines, three Iraqi National Guard members and three civilians have been wounded.

Meanwhile, about 240 detainees were released from U.S. and Iraqi custody Thursday in a continuing effort to reduce the inmate population and free those not deemed a security threat. Such releases were accelerated after a wave of public outrage swept the world following publication last April of pictures showing Americans abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

Some 2,000 "security detainees" remain at in U.S. custody at Abu Ghraib, near Baghdad, and 3,000 at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman.


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 11:26 AM
Why I Serve: Full-Circle Duty
By Spc. Leah R. Burton
Special to American Forces Press Service

BALAD, Iraq, Oct. 8, 2004 – "I feel I've come full circle. I've gotten to finish what I started," said Indiana Army National Guardsman Spc. Teresa L. Morris, said of her service that started nearly 31 years ago.

She has firsthand knowledge of the growth the Army has undergone in the past 30 years, as she answered the call of duty and enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on Nov. 30, 1973. Back then, women were not allowed in the U.S. Army. WAC and the Army were two separate entities, and the woman's role was purely in a support capacity.

Morris attended six weeks of basic training at Fort McClellan, Ala., then the Army's women's training base. Then, she went through eight weeks of advanced individual training at Fort Jackson, S.C., to be a clerk-typist.

"Back then the women trained separate from the men. The only men you might see on post were maybe a cook or a [military police officer], because even your command was all female," Morris said. "We had our own esprit d'corps." Morris' AIT class was one of the first classes to train on the new electric typewriter.

"We didn't even have computers. We had just switched over from manual typewriters to electric typewriters, and we were very excited," Morris said.

During her first assignment at Headquarters Brigade Combat Team Committee Group, Fort Dix, N.J., the Army absorbed the WAC and for the first time men and women trained at the same installations.

"The transition was smooth, except that now we worked with men," Morris said.

In December 1977, the Army opened 14 new career management fields to women. Women could now be crewmembers for long-range missile and rocket sites, smoke and flame specialists, field artillery surveyors and others. In addition, women could be assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, a previously all-male unit.

In 1974, Morris got married. She was on orders to move to Germany when she found out she was expecting their first child. When Morris gave birth to her first son in 1975, she got out of the Army.

She spent her time earning her associate's degree and raising her children.

In 1992, Morris joined the Indiana National Guard. Because of her previous service, she didn't have to attend basic or advanced training again.

"I was 36 when I came back in. I felt like since it was for the state, it was pretty safe. My kids were still in school, and it was a way to get my [bachelor's degree in religious studies]," Morris said.

Since enlisting in the National Guard, Morris has been assigned to Company A, 38th Infantry Division, Headquarters State Area Command-Indiana and Headquarters, 138th Personnel Services Battalion, where she was for only 30 days prior to deployment.

She calls her deployment in Iraq "exciting."

"It was a once in a lifetime experience," Morris said about deploying here. "I felt compelled."

In her spare time, Morris enjoys going to Bible study and her gospel women's group and working out at the gym.

(Army Pfc. Burton is a member of the 28th Public Affairs Detachment from Fort Lewis, Wash. She is currently deployed to Iraq in support of the 13th Corps Support Command at Logistics Support Area Anaconda.)

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2004/n10082004_2004100801.html


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 11:54 AM
October 11, 2004

24th MEU aims to ready Iraqis for security lead

By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer

A year and a half after fighting to destroy the Iraqi army, a group of Camp Lejuene, N.C., Marines is back in Iraq trying to build it up again.
Members of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, fought Iraqi forces during the U.S. push to Baghdad in 2003, and some saw the war’s bloodiest combat at Nasiriyah. Now, they are again in Iraq, this time training Iraqi forces with the intent of having local units assume the lead role in operations before the end of the year.

Since the Army transferred regional authority to the unit in late July, the MEU has been busily working with new Iraqi security forces, conducting patrols, raids and search operations.

But besides hunting down terrorists and insurgents, the Marines have had to deal with a large criminal element in the region, said Capt. David Nevers, a spokesman for the MEU.

“The biggest problem has been the criminal element looking to make a quick buck,” Nevers said. “They’re doing their best to exploit the instability.”

Of the 160 people the MEU has detained, about 40 percent are “street criminals,” he said.

“There’s the guy who kidnaps an Iraqi and holds him until the family pays a ransom. Then, there’s the guy who kidnaps a Westerner and auctions him off to the highest, perhaps more ideologically motivated, bidder. Or how about the guy who decides to accept a quick $200 to toss a few mortars at us or drop an [improvised explosive]? Common denominator is the desire to make a quick buck,” he said.

Nevers said the Marines would be focusing on capturing more of the apolitical criminals if they didn’t have bigger fish to fry. Instead, the members of the MEU are going after “high-value” individuals directly engaged in terrorist activity.

“We’ll provide support to the Iraqi police and security forces in rounding up the petty criminals whenever and wherever we find them, but these low-level punks are not our priority at the moment,” he said.

The Marines have trained between 1,400 and 1,500 Iraqi forces, most of whom have been Iraqi National Guard members. Marines and Iraqis have been working closely together, and the Iraqi security forces will be ready to take the lead on security operations from Marines before the end of the year, Johnson said.

“Probably in the next three months they will have the predominance of leading operations, and we’ll follow their lead,” Col. Ronald Johnson, 24th MEU commander, said in a telephone interview. Almost all of the security operations conducted by the MEU are half-Iraqi and half-Marine. Johnson said some of the patrols and security operations in the province have been under total Iraqi control.

“They’re performing tasks as good as what we have our Marines on,” he said. “They’ve developed into a fine battalion,” he said.

Johnson said the biggest challenge with the training has been language differences.

Iraqi trainees are quick to pick up on technical issues, such as learning weapons systems, but language barriers have slowed the training, he said.

Johnson said lessons take longer because interpreters must always be used and Marine jargon and acronyms often get lost in translation. Just trying to get through meetings can be a challenge, he said.

Johnson said the use of Iraqi forces often makes it easier to collect information from the local population more comfortable with their own countrymen.

“Having an Iraqi face there to lead and demonstrate to people that ‘we’re here’ has done a lot to reduce stress on the individual citizens of Iraq,” Johnson said.

“They like to see Iraqi security forces because that gives them hope that stability is returning and things are returning to normal,” he said.

Unlike the Camp Pendleton, Calif.,-based 11th MEU that fought insurgent uprisings in Najaf throughout August, the 24th MEU has yet to see any major firefights in the Northern Babil province where they’re stationed, Johnson said.

Most of the casualties, including three combat deaths and 97 wounded, have been caused by roadside bombs and indirect fire.

Johnson said many of the wounds were not serious, and 63 of the Marines have returned to duty.


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-380988.php

Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 02:12 PM
Draft rumor-mill <br />
October 09,2004 <br />
OUR OPINION <br />
<br />
<br />
The House is engaged in an interesting experiment. It is trying to legislate a rumor - that the Bush administration is planning to revive the...

thedrifter
10-09-04, 02:46 PM
More Troops May Be Asked For
Associated Press
October 9, 2004

MANAMA, Bahrain - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld indicated on Saturday that U.S. commanders in Iraq may yet decide they need more U.S. troops to ensure a viable national election in January.

"To the extent that's appropriate or needed, obviously that makes sense," Rumsfeld told reporters flying with him from Washington to this Persian Gulf island that is headquarters for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. He said he preferred that any troop additions be provided by other countries.

The United States now has about 135,000 troops in Iraq.

As the election draws near, the fear is that insurgents, hoping to disrupt progress toward democracy and create more chaos, will attack polling places.

Rumsfeld arrived at Bahrain International Airport on an overnight flight from Washington and was greeted by Bahraini officials.

Later Saturday Rumsfeld planned to fly aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy, in the Gulf to meet with his counterparts from about 18 countries considered allies in the war on terrorism. They include Albania, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Mongolia, Qatar and Ukraine.

The minister of defense in Iraq's interim government, Hazim al Shalaan, also was scheduled to attend the rare, if not unprecedented, gathering at sea to talk about political and military developments in Iraq.

While aboard the carrier, Rumsfeld and his counterparts were to observe flight operations and receive a briefing on the Iraq situation in a secure video teleconference with Gen. George Casey in Baghdad. Casey is commander of Multinational Force-Iraq, the top military command in the country.

Rumsfeld flew to Bahrain aboard an Air Force E4-B, a Boeing 747 modified to serve as an airborne command post from which the secretary of defense could communicate with U.S. forces in a nuclear war. On long overseas flights the National Airborne Operations Center saves time because it can be refueled in the air.

In an interview aboard the plane, Rumsfeld was asked whether Casey and his boss, Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, had asked for more troops. Rumsfeld did not reply directly. He alluded to the continuing and largely fruitless effort to find countries that would send forces to provide security for an expanded United Nations presence in Baghdad.

He noted that the United States also had sought foreign contributions of troops to support Saturday's election in Afghanistan. "In the case of Afghanistan we went ahead and put in some extra forces ourselves," he added, referring to the recent decision to send in troops of the 82nd Airborne Division.

He noted that the NATO alliance is helping U.S. and Afghan troops provide security for the Afghan elections, and he forecast that the extra forces would be needed for at least three weeks to ensure that ballots get to central locations for counting.

In Iraq, he said, the first choice for getting extra security is to persuade other countries to contribute rather than sending more American troops.

"To the extent other countries come in and take some of that responsibility, then it might not be necessary. The thing we've got going in Iraq that is very good is the fact that we've got a steady, growing number of security forces because the Iraqi security forces have been growing at a good clip."

He said it was possible that there would be 40,000 more Iraqi security forces trained and equipped to join the counterinsurgency by January. There currently are an estimated 100,000, many of whom are operating alongside American troops. Besdies the 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, other coalition partners - mainly Britain, Poland and South Korea - have another 25,000.

Rumsfeld declined to comment on a New York Times report Friday that the Pentagon had identified 20 to 30 Iraqi insurgent-dominated towns that must be returned to Iraqi government control before the election in January.

"The goal is to assess the situation on the ground - it's not static, it changes," he said, "and to recognize the reality that it's different in different parts of the country at different times, and continue to fashion plans that address the real world. The enemy is not without a brain."

He described the leaders of the insurgency as adaptive.

"They react to whatever is happening and they try to take advantage of it. They look for opportunities, they look for weaknesses, and so do we," he said.

On a later leg of his trip Rumsfeld is scheduled to visit Romania to attend a NATO defense ministers meeting.


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 03:48 PM
Iraqi translator helps Marines break language barrier
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200410991346
Story by Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri



AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 2, 2004) -- Communicating in a foreign country can be a challenge for those who don't know the native language.

Marines here are frequently coming into contact with native Arabic speakers and because it is not always possible to have a translator nearby, it is imperative that they are able to converse with them without assistance.

That's why a local Iraqi translator made the decision to host Arabic classes for military personnel based here.

Responsible for creating and instructing the language classes is Bushra R. Khaliel, affectionately known as "Miss Emma" to many around the air base.

Possessing a degree in English literature from Al Mustanserra University in her hometown of Baghdad, Iraq, the language instructor has worked here as a translator for more than a year.

"I would translate all over base whenever anyone needed it," said the 36-year-old. "Not everyone knows the (Arabic) language and they needed help."

According to Khaliel, a lot of the troops here had a desire to learn Arabic and would ask her to learn new words.

"The soldiers would ask me how to say something and I would tell them," she said. "I saw the need for a class and decided to start giving them."

Many of the military personnel who attend her class have been impressed with her natural ability to teach the subject.

"Miss Emma is a great teacher," said 33-year-old Ardmore, Okla., native Maj. Braden Hisey, intelligence officer, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. "She can take a difficult subject and turn it into something easy to learn."

Having studied many languages, Hisey believes that it's extremely important one learn the language of their surroundings.

"It can give you a much better understanding of what's going on around you," said Hisey. "It also keeps you from being the "dumb American."

Taking place four nights a week, the class is separated into sections for beginner and advanced students.

"I've really enjoyed being able to take theses classes," said Millville, N.J., native Staff Sgt. Michael D. Schenck, logistics chief, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. "Even though it's only a few nights a week, I've still learned a lot."

A reservist, Schenck teaches high school history and as a Marine, specializes in field artillery.

"When I got out here I was put in the civil affairs field," said the 27-year-old. "I work with Arabic-speaking people all the time and learning the language makes my job a whole lot easier."

Being able to speak to the local nationals on base brings about a whole new level of respect between the two cultures that may not be gained otherwise.

"It really smoothes relationships with the Iraqis," said Schenck. "They really appreciate that we're trying to learn their language and it helps us forge strong bonds."

"I can tell that the people are happy when (the troops) can speak to them in Arabic," added Khaliel. "I'm glad that the students have been so eager to learn."

Although teaching the classes has become a big job for her, it is one Khaliel loves to do.

"I enjoy teaching theses classes so much," she expressed. "I really hope that I've helped (my students) a lot."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200410995246/$file/041002-M-2789C-004-ArabicLR.jpg

Pointing to an Arabic textbook, 36-year-old, Baghdad, Iraq, native Bushra R. Khaliel gives instruction to 27-year-old Millville, N.J., native Staff Sgt. Michael D. Schenck, logistics chief, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, on the proper pronunciation of an Arabic word during language classes at Al Asad, Iraq, Oct. 02. The weekly classes are available for all government personnel aboard the desert air base. Photo by: Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0E65EAD470B9C05385256F280048AC45?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 04:27 PM
TWO LOCAL MARINES COMING HOME

BY CHRISTI MATHIS
FOR THE SOUTHERN
[Sat Oct 09 2004]

PINCKNEYVILLE -- It's been a long and fearful wait, but it's almost over. The families and friends of two Pinckneyville Marines are anxiously waiting to welcome home Lance Cpl. William "Dustin" Patterson and Lance Cpl. Nick Bebout as the two return today from serving about seven months in Iraq.

Sometime around 9 or 10 p.m., a caravan will form at the Oak Grove Baptist Church north of Pinckneyville, with police and fire escort leading the local heroes back to their hometown.

Friends and family will join the parade. The homes of their loved ones and the town itself have been festooned with ribbons, flags and signs. Both men spent their stints in heavily embattled regions of the war-torn country.

"It's been hard," said Dustin's mom, Sharon, recalling the months of uncertainly as she readied her home and community for her son's return. In fact, she laughed as she revealed that she only recently learned how to use e-mail so she could stay in touch with her baby.

"I don't even know how I made it through," she said. "With him being attached to the first expeditionary force and also on the backup recon team, it was real scary. It's the worst thing I've ever been through. When he called last week and he was in Kuwait, I thought 'Thank God.' I was really excited."

Patterson said she and her family became even more frightened and nervous when they heard other Southern Illinois men had lost their lives fighting for their country in Iraq.

"We were just about devastated to hear of the two local Marines that got killed," Patterson said. "We were so sorry for their families. My heart goes out to them. At that time, Dustin lacked just a couple weeks of coming home. It's been so scary. Thankfully, I've had so much support from my friends and family."

Bebout's family is quite anxious to have him back in their arms as well. Bebout, 23, is the son of Lewis and Brenda Bebout of Pinckneyville. Lewis Bebout said the family "absolutely" can't wait. Nick's return is also much anticipated by his wife, Shanna, and daughters Kayla, 6, and Laynee, 3.

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Lewis Bebout said it's been a nerve-wracking time for the family with their loved one in such a volatile place.

"When you hear of people getting killed every other day, it's hard," he said. "You hear something and you wait for the phone call. Then when you hear it's someone else you feel so bad for them and yet so relieved. Nick is an excellent man. He's served his country and we're very proud of him."

Signs all around the homes of Patterson and Bebout family and friends, as well as many other places throughout Pinckneyville, tell the local Marines "Welcome Home" and "We Missed You." The Pattersons have lined the fence of their home at the north edge of Pinckneyville with giant yellow ribbons and big flags.

Patterson's fiance, Lauren Hottes, said her personal greeting card says it all. "We Love Our Marine," the 12-foot-long sign shouts.

Being apart was "not easy by any means," said Hottes, 22. "Dustin is not only my fiance but he's been my best friend for 10 years. I've been pretty lost."

Hottes, a Pinckneyville native now living in Union, Mo., said there's no wedding date set yet "because of the Marine Corps" but imagines it won't be too far away. She said she never goes anywhere without her yellow ribbon and her lapel pin with the American flag and Marine Corps logo.

Hottes said she's been thrilled and amazed at the support she's gotten from the public as she travels around the country with her job. Frequently people question her about the pin and when she explains its significance, they say things like "Tell your fiance thanks."

Patterson said they and their son also have seen that public support. In fact, she said when her son's plane touched down on U.S. soil for refueling in Maine, a group from the area VFW made the trek to the airport to welcome the Marines home at 5:30 a.m. Dustin told his mother the scene so touched the men, it's something they'll never forget.

Hottes said initially when Dustin was shipped overseas she stayed glued to the television. But, one day when there was bad news from Fallujah, where Dustin was stationed throughout his stay in Iraq, she "couldn't quit crying" and even missed work.

"After that, I would just pray Dustin would be all right," she said. "This is what he's about. This is Dustin's dream. He loves the Marine Corps Dustin will tell you the Marines is his destiny."

"This was what he was going to do all his life; he was going to be a Marine," Sharon Patterson agreed. She said she has a picture of her son at about age 5 wearing military apparel and said he planned to join as soon as he could. She managed to talk him into postponing his dream until he got an associate degree in criminal justice after graduating from Pinckneyville Community High School. That's when he told his mother he'd done what she'd asked and now was going to join the Marines as he'd always wanted. He's considering a military career and even sniper school but hasn't made a firm decision as yet, his family said.

Patterson joined the Marine reserves in the spring 2001, while Bebout has served four years in the Marine reserves. Both are with the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, based in Bridgeton, Mo. They were attached to the I Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton, Calif., while overseas. Patterson was stationed in the Sunni Triangle just west of Fallujah while Bebout was between Baghdad and Fallujah, his father said.

The families of Patterson and Bebout say this week they are grateful and proud of their young Marines and also of the many other service personnel.

"They all know there's a chance that something can happen when they sign up," Hottes said. "Every time a Marine came on television that had been killed, it touched my heart. I feel every Marine is there for a purpose. The service people are all there for a purpose and that's to defend their country and protect us."

This weekend, a grateful community says "Thanks!"

mathis5@hcis.net 618-357-8391


http://www.southernillinoisan.com/rednews/2004/10/09/build/top/TOP003.html


Ellie

thedrifter
10-09-04, 10:54 PM
One U.S. Soldier Killed, One Wounded
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2004 -- A U.S. soldier was killed today and another wounded by an improvised explosive device, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported.

Anti-Iraqi forces attacked a Task Force Danger patrol near Tuz about 11:43 a.m. The soldiers were evacuated to a coalition medical facility, where the wounded soldier is in stable condition. The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

Elsewhere, officials reported that coalition forces launched an early morning strike today on another safe house operated by terrorist leader Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.

Credible intelligence confirmed Zarqawi leaders were at the safe house, located in northwest Fallujah. The strike occurred at about 1:15 a.m. local time. The release gave no details if any of the leaders were killed or captured in the strike.

Military officials said the coalition continues to make progress in its effort to rid Fallujah of foreign terrorists. Coalition strikes on Zarqawi targets in the last month have killed several of his key leaders and delivered a significant blow to the terrorist leader's network.

As evidence, key Zarqawi lieutenants Mohammed al-Lubnani, and spiritual advisor Abu Anas al-Shami, the No. 2 man in the network, were killed during military strikes in September.

Multinational forces have conducted more than a dozen precision strikes against Zarqawi operational sites inside Fallujah and in nearby locations over the past month.

In other developments, Task Force Baghdad soldiers, working off a tip, detained a truck carrying more than 1,500 155 mm artillery rounds Oct. 7. The driver and a passenger in the vehicle were detained. Military officials there report the seizure is one of the largest by the task force to date.

Also in Iraq, a ceremony Oct. 7 at Camp Delta near Al Kut City, marked the transfer of authority for the Multinational Division Central South 2nd Brigade Combat Team, comprised of Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Serhiy Popko assumed authority from Maj. Gen. Serhiy Ostrovsky. This is third rotation of Ukrainian Forces to the area.

Ellie