Returning Pinckneyville Marine: 'We're Doing A Lot Of Good There'

[thedrifter]

Returning Pinckneyville Marine: 'We're Doing A Lot Of Good There'

By Craig Shrum, Du Quoin Evening Call
"Just being home," said Lance Corporal Dustin Patterson of the best part of his recent return from duty in Iraq. "Just being home and seeing all the support that we had."

Patterson and Lance Corporal Nick Bebout, both of Pinckneyville, came home Sunday from service in the Middle East. Patterson served seven months in Iraq and one month in Kuwait as part of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines.

Bebout has been in Iraq since the first of the year, serving in the same unit as Patterson but with a different company. His assignment kept him in an area between Baghdad and Fallujah.

"We're happy that he's home," said Bebout's mother Brenda. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the men and women that didn't make it home."

Patterson says that the news media may not always be painting an accurate picture of the situation in Iraq. "A lot of it isn't as bad as what they show in the media," he said. "We're doing a lot of good over there. The media likes to show a lot of the bad."

The Iraqi people are more supportive of U.S. efforts in their country than many Americans may believe. "The media pretty much give the aspect that the Iraqi people don't want us there. The experience I had is that they do want us there."

Some Iraqi citizens may be reluctant to openly show their support for the U.S., but Patterson believes that much of that reluctance is because of the presence of insurgents and terrorists still at large in the country.

Patterson served near Fallujah, a hot spot at different times during the conflict in Iraq. His main duties involved guarding forces, providing security, and escorting convoys. Regarding the question recently raised about troop shortages, Patterson said, "Anything we had to do, there was plenty of people."

"From what I've gotten, it seems like the majority of the Iraqi people were happy to see them and appreciated what they were trying to do for them," said Brenda Bebout.

Being far from home caused Patterson to miss the everyday things in life, including home-cooked food and running water. "Just being able to get in a vehicle and drive up and get some McDonald's, being able to sit back and watch the TV."

With two and a half years still committed to the Marine, Patterson will continue his service to the military, but he has not received word that he would return to Iraq any time soon. For now, his family and his community are just glad to have Patterson, Bebout, and all their fellow soldiers back safely.

Returning Pinckneyville Marine: 'We're Doing A Lot Of Good There'

"Just being home," said Lance Corporal Dustin Patterson of the best part of his recent return from duty in Iraq. "Just being home and seeing all the support that we had."

http://www.duquoin.com/articles/2004/10/12/news/10:2f11:2f04/news1.txt

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Combat injuries bring Marine home
750 yellow ribbons welcome Laurel Springs resident

10/11/2004
Email to Friend


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

By LESLIE McGUINNESS
news@forsythherald.com

"Daddy’s back!” Capt. John Lewis heard his two-year old daughter Eleanor exclaim when he returned home from Iraq. It had seven months since he last saw her.
A Marine reservist, Lewis was deployed to Iraq in January after spending more than two years training soldiers in the 24th Marine regiment in Nashville, Tenn.
When Lewis returned home last month, he and his wife pulled into their neighborhood and were welcomed with 750 yellow ribbons – one on every mailbox in the Laurel Springs subdivision.
Jane Harper, who is president of the neighborhood women’s club, helped run the yellow ribbon campaign for Lewis.
"A friend of the Lewis’ who lives in the neighborhood e-mailed everyone a prayer request for John,” Harper said. "When people found out that he had lost his left eye and had head injuries, they started asking what they could do. That planted the seed for the yellow ribbons. The women’s club had the money to do the ribbons and once we found out he was coming home, we got on a web site, ordered the ribbons – one for each mailbox – and we divided up and delivered them.”
Harper said it only took eight hours to post the 750 ribbons on all the mailboxes. Included with each ribbon was a note that explained to homeowners why the ribbons had been placed on their mailboxes. The timing fit well with Lewis’ return Sept. 10 and the three-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I appreciate the ribbon campaign on several levels. The most important thing is that everyone keep what happened in front of them, maybe not as the very first thing, but somewhere in front of them, so that they’ll remember what’s going on,” Lewis said.
A little more than two months ago, Lewis was on combat patrol visiting villages and sheiks to discuss turning over security duties to the Iraqi people.
On the way back to camp, near the city of Fallujah, the HUM-V Lewis was riding in struck a land mine. The captain was severely wounded by shrapnel, which claimed his left eye and ripped apart the left side of his face. He was lucky to survive.
One of his men was killed, another lost an arm, and all the others sustained ruptured eardrums.
"Land mines are common weapons they [insurgents] use,” Lewis said. "We were in an area that I was responsible for – a farming community. The insurgents put the landmine there. They’ll put them anywhere regardless if you’re a civilian or not. Any child or any type of private vehicle or tractor could have hit it. They have little regard for anybody – not just us.”
In 1987, after graduating from high school, Lewis enlisted in the Marines. In 1990, he served in the Persian Gulf War for six months. He was commissioned in 1994 as an officer. A few years later while based in North Carolina, he was invited by friends to travel to Atlanta for a weekend trip. That’s when he met his wife, Gerri.
The following weekend, he drove more than 600 miles to see her again. They were married Oct. 24, 1998.
Lewis eventually took a desk job in Virginia, which lasted three years until Sept. 1, 2001. That’s the day he retired from active duty from the Marines. He and his wife moved to the Suwanee area of Forsyth County to build a home, start a family and launch a consulting firm named Lewis LLP that would serve the defense industry.
On Sept. 11, 2001 just 10 days after retiring from active duty, terrorists hijacked the airplanes used to strike the World Trade Center and Pentagon and ultimately engaged in the worst attack on U.S. soil in the nation’s history.
"Right after that, I went into the reserves,” Lewis said. "About a month after Sept.11, we were in Afghanistan. I knew there was no telling where we could end up. It could be Syria or Iran. I understood the gravity of the situation even though there was no global war on terrorism at the time. I felt obligated to my family and to those Marines out there who needed leaders.”
Lewis is currently working on regaining the vision he lost in his right eye as a result of the landmine attack. He’s undergone reconstructive surgery on all the bones in his face. He’s had brain surgery and he’ll soon get a prosthetic eye.
If it had not been for the Army and Navy surgeons in Baghdad, he might have lost more than an eye.
"Within one hour after being hit, I was in a helicopter to Baghdad. And 30 minutes after that, I had brain and eye surgery. To have brain trauma surgeons and eye surgeons ready to treat me is incredible,” Lewis said. "I went from a ditch on the side of the road to the hands of doctors like that in two hours.”
After several days in Baghdad, Lewis was flown to Germany where he underwent more surgery. His wife was able to fly there to join him.
"When I got the call, I had no idea what the extent of the injuries were,” she said. "All I was told was, ‘your husband is alive.’”
In order to be with him, Gerri began making arrangements with her sister and parents to watch their daughters, Eleanor, and six-month old Virginia.
Lewis said people look at him and think he’s been through a lot. But he said he’s been through nothing compared to the young men he met at Walter Reed Army Medical Center near northwest Washington, D.C. Some of them have lost arms, legs, both, or in some instances even more.
"They have a positive attitude that’s so contagious and wonderful,” Lewis said. "I don’t see how I can feel sorry for myself when I see a 19-year controlling his wheel chair with his mouth and he comes up to you and says, ‘I’m having a great day today.’ It puts it all in prospective. I saw 14 or 15 guys like that and they have no animosity or self pity and they don’t question what we’re doing in Iraq.”
Lewis is proud of the work he and his unit accomplished. They built a primary school that will serve 250 children every year for many, many years. They also built a medical clinic. In spite of what has been reported on television, Lewis says the people are grateful for the help.
"It’s really a small number of awful, evil, bad people there,” said Lewis. "Those are the barbarous people who do not have normal human behavior. They’re sadistic. These are the same people who are intimidating the local people. When these terrorists tell locals if they have anything to do with the Americans that they’ll kill their sons, they’re caught between a rock and a hard place. It’s like gang activity in a big city.”
One of the hardest things about the war, he said, is not knowing who the enemies are. "It’s not like we’re wearing white and they’re wearing black. The very same people who you’re having lunch with and shaking hands with one day are your friends, then the next day they’re not, then the next day they are again. That’s Arab culture.”
As of press time, Lewis was leaving for Walter Reed Medical Center to undergo additional surgery. This time, doctors will operate on his ruptured eardrums. Otherwise, Lewis said he’s looking forward to having his "boys” come home to Nashville some time the week of Oct.11.


http://www.northfulton.com/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=%7B68B2A0C3-9D40-4477-89E9-37F70C10809C%7D


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines begin raids on Fallujah


By Nadia Abou El-Magd and Alexandra Zavis
ASSOCIATED PRESS


BAGHDAD — U.S. Marines launched air and ground attacks yesterday on the rebel bastion Fallujah after city representatives suspended peace talks with the government over Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's demand to hand over terror mastermind Abu Musab Zarqawi.
The raids began hours after terrorists struck deep inside Baghdad's heavily fortified green zone, setting off bombs at a market and a popular cafe that killed at least 10 persons — including four Americans — and wounded 20 others in the compound housing foreign embassies and Iraqi government offices.







It was the deadliest attack inside the 4-square-mile compound since the U.S. occupation began in May 2003.
Zarqawi's terror group, Tawhid and Jihad, claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks, according to a statement posted on an Islamist Web site.
Late yesterday, residents of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, reported shuddering American bombardments using planes and armored vehicles in what they said was the most intensive shelling since U.S. forces began weeks of "precision strikes" aimed at Zarqawi's network.
In Washington, however, a senior military official, speaking on operational matters on the condition of anonymity, described the latest fighting as strikes against specific targets and of the same scope as previous attacks in Fallujah.
Warplanes and artillery pounded the city as two U.S. Marine battalions attacked rebel positions to "restore security and stability," 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told CNN.
"It is going to be a long night," he said.
Maj. Francis Piccoli, spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said two Marine battalions were engaged in the fight backed up by aircraft.
He would not indicate the attack was the start of a major campaign to recapture the city, saying he did not want to jeopardize any future operations.
Maj. Piccoli said the goal of the operation was to "disrupt the capabilities of the anti-Iraqi forces."
U.S. officials believe Zarqawi's terrorist group is based in Fallujah. The military said its targets were linked to the network, including a building being used to store weapons, two safe houses used to plan attacks, several illegal checkpoints and a weapons cache.
At least five persons were killed and 16 wounded in the raids, according to Fallujah General Hospital.
Residents said the Americans were attacking several areas with rockets, artillery and tanks. One resident said U.S. forces were using loudspeakers in the west of the city to urge Fallujah fighters to lay down their arms "because we are going to push into Fallujah."
Mr. Allawi warned Wednesday that Fallujah must surrender Zarqawi and other foreign fighters or face military attack.
Abu Asaad, spokesman for the religious council of Fallujah, said that "handing over Zarqawi" was an "impossible condition" since even the Americans were unable to catch him.
"Since we exhausted all peaceful solutions, the city is now ready to bear arms and defend its religion and honor and it's not afraid of Allawi's statements," Mr. Asaad said in an interview with Al Jazeera television.
The suicide bombings in Baghdad's green zone took place about 12:40 p.m. on the eve of the Islamic holy month, Ramadan.
The U.S.-guarded enclave — home to about 10,000 Iraqis, government officials, foreign diplomats and military personnel — spreads along the banks of the Tigris River in the heart of the capital. The area's trees and other greenery present a sharp contrast to the rest of dusty and arid Baghdad. The zone is centered on Saddam Hussein's mammoth Republican Palace, and there are dozens of smaller palatial buildings.
A waiter and restaurant patrons saw two men enter the Green Zone Cafe clutching large bags. One appeared nervous while the other seemed to be trying to reassure him, they said.
The two men ordered tea and talked for about 20 minutes — a waiter thought they spoke with Jordanian accents. The more confident of the two then walked out and hailed a taxi, the witnesses said. Minutes later a loud explosion rocked the compound.
The blast left a gaping crater in the pavement where the canopied restaurant once stood. Splatters of blood and pieces of flesh were scattered among the twisted metal, shards of glass and upended plastic chairs littering the scene. Thick, black smoke billowed from the compound.
"People were screaming ... stampeding, trying to get out," said Mohammed al-Obeidi, the owner of a nearby restaurant who was wounded by flying glass from the blast.
Two Iraqis were killed at the cafe and several U.S. Embassy employees suffered minor injuries there, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.
Four American employees of DynCorp security company were killed and two State Department employees were wounded in the blast in a vendor's alley near the U.S. Embassy annex. The outdoor bazaar caters to Westerners, selling everything from mobile phone accessories to pornographic DVDs.
The DynCorp employees who were killed include John Pinsonneault, 39, of North Branch, Minn.; Steve Osborne, 40, of Kennesaw, Ga.; and Eric Miner, 44, of South Windham, Conn. Ferdinand Ibaboa, 36, of Mesa, Ariz., was missing and presumed dead.
The green zone is a regular target of terrorists. Mortar rounds are frequently fired at the compound, and there have also been a number of deadly car bombings at its gates. Last week, a bomb was found in front of the Green Zone Cafe but did not explode.
Mr. al-Obeidi said security in the zone has weakened since Iraqi police took a greater role with the June transfer of power.
"Before it was really safe. They [the Americans] passed it over to the Iraqis ... the Iraqi Police. When they see someone they know, it's just, 'Go on in.' They don't understand it's for our safety," he said.
Following yesterday's attack, the U.S. military said intelligence reports indicated terrorists were planning more strikes to "gain media attention."
Security measures in the capital and surrounding areas would be "significantly increased for an undetermined period," a military statement said. They include more armed patrols, intensified security at Baghdad airport and elsewhere, and air patrols.
U.S. Embassy personnel were instructed to remain inside the embassy complex until further notice, Mr. Boucher said.
Across the Tigris River, two U.S. soldiers were killed yesterday in eastern Baghdad — one when his patrol came under small arms fire, the other in a roadside bombing — the U.S. command said. Two more American soldiers were killed when their Humvee was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade and caught fire during a raid in Ramadi, 70 miles west of the capital, the military said.


http://washingtontimes.com/world/20041014-113907-1902r.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Marines continue air and ground assault against Fallujah
The Associated Press Friday, October 15, 2004
FALLUJAH U.S. forces continued a wave of air and ground assaults against the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah Friday after peace talks were suspended when city representatives rejected Prime Minister Ayad AllawiÂ’s demand to turn over terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
.
Early Friday morning, two more air strikes were launched against sites the U.S. military said were being used by senior al-Zarqawi associates as planning centers for terrorist operations.
.
Overnight, warplanes and artillery hammered at the city, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, as two U.S. Marine battalions attacked rebel positions to ‘‘restore security and stability,’’ 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told CNN.
.
Three people were killed and seven others injured during the night, according to Dr.RafiÂ’a Hiyad of Fallujah General Hospital. On Thursday, the hospital said at least five people were killed and 16 wounded.
.
Operations against Sunni insurgent areas have been stepped up in recent weeks in the runup to the Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Friday, in an attempt to forestall the wave of violence that accompanied last yearÂ’s holy month.
.
‘‘The operations were designed to target the large terrorist element operating in the area of Fallujah.This element has been planning to use the holy month of Ramadan for attacks,’’ the U.S. command said.
.
Starting Thursday afternoon, the operation began with precision air strikes and continued with a barrage of ground assaults by U.S. Marines, soldiers and Iraqi forces.
.
Targets hit included several key planning centers, a weapons transload and storage facility, two safehouses, a terrorist meeting site and several illegal checkpoints used by the Zarqawi network, the U.S. military said.
.
Late Thursday, residents reported massive American bombardments using planes and armored vehicles in what they said was the most intensive shelling since U.S. forces began attacks aimed at al-ZarqawiÂ’s network.
.
One resident said U.S. forces were using loudspeakers in the west of the city to urge Fallujah fighters to lay down their arms ‘‘because we are going to push into Fallujah.’’
.
The Jordanian terrorist’s Tawhid and Jihad group, which the U.S. believes is based in Fallujah, has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s twin bombings inside Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone — home to U.S. officials and the Iraqi leadership — which killed at least six people.
.
The claim, which cannot be verified, was posted on a Web site known for its Islamic contents.
.
Allawi warned Wednesday that Fallujah must surrender al-Zarqawi and other foreign fighters or face military attack.
.
Negotiations had been aimed at restoring government control to Fallujah, which fell under the domination of clerics and their armed mujahedeen followers after the end of the three-week Marine siege last April.
.
Talks on Thursday broke down after city representatives said ‘‘handing over al-Zarqawi’’ was an ‘‘impossible condition’’ since even the Americans were unable to catch him, said Abu Asaad, spokesman for the mujahedeen council of Fallujah.
.
‘‘Since we exhausted all peaceful solutions, the city is now ready to bear arms and defend its religion and honor and it’s not afraid of Allawi’s statements,’’ Asaad said in a live interview with Al-Jazeera television.
.
However, he used the Arabic word for ‘‘suspend,’’ implying that the talks could resume later.
.
‘‘Military operations didn’t even stop when the negotiating delegation was in Baghdad,’’ Asaad said. ‘‘Dozens are killed every day. Entire families have been eliminated.’’
.
The government made no comment about the breakdown of the Fallujah talks. However, national security adviser Qassem Dawoud said military operations against Fallujah ‘‘will continue’’ until the city ‘‘has been cleansed’’ of ‘‘terrorists.’’
.
Dawoud said he is hopeful the delegation will succeed in ridding the city of insurgents.
.
‘‘I hope they can succeed and can take them away from Fallujah as soon as possible, or otherwise, we’re preparing ourselves to smash them ... by military means,’’ he said.
.



See more of the world that matters - click here for home delivery of the International Herald Tribune.
< < Back to Start of Article FALLUJAH U.S. forces continued a wave of air and ground assaults against the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah Friday after peace talks were suspended when city representatives rejected Prime Minister Ayad AllawiÂ’s demand to turn over terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
.
Early Friday morning, two more air strikes were launched against sites the U.S. military said were being used by senior al-Zarqawi associates as planning centers for terrorist operations.
.
Overnight, warplanes and artillery hammered at the city, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, as two U.S. Marine battalions attacked rebel positions to ‘‘restore security and stability,’’ 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told CNN.
.
Three people were killed and seven others injured during the night, according to Dr.RafiÂ’a Hiyad of Fallujah General Hospital. On Thursday, the hospital said at least five people were killed and 16 wounded.
.
Operations against Sunni insurgent areas have been stepped up in recent weeks in the runup to the Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Friday, in an attempt to forestall the wave of violence that accompanied last yearÂ’s holy month.
.
‘‘The operations were designed to target the large terrorist element operating in the area of Fallujah.This element has been planning to use the holy month of Ramadan for attacks,’’ the U.S. command said.
.
Starting Thursday afternoon, the operation began with precision air strikes and continued with a barrage of ground assaults by U.S. Marines, soldiers and Iraqi forces.
.
Targets hit included several key planning centers, a weapons transload and storage facility, two safehouses, a terrorist meeting site and several illegal checkpoints used by the Zarqawi network, the U.S. military said.
.
Late Thursday, residents reported massive American bombardments using planes and armored vehicles in what they said was the most intensive shelling since U.S. forces began attacks aimed at al-ZarqawiÂ’s network.
.
One resident said U.S. forces were using loudspeakers in the west of the city to urge Fallujah fighters to lay down their arms ‘‘because we are going to push into Fallujah.’’
.
The Jordanian terrorist’s Tawhid and Jihad group, which the U.S. believes is based in Fallujah, has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s twin bombings inside Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone — home to U.S. officials and the Iraqi leadership — which killed at least six people.
.
continued............

[thedrifter]

The claim, which cannot be verified, was posted on a Web site known for its Islamic contents.
.
Allawi warned Wednesday that Fallujah must surrender al-Zarqawi and other foreign fighters or face military attack.
.
Negotiations had been aimed at restoring government control to Fallujah, which fell under the domination of clerics and their armed mujahedeen followers after the end of the three-week Marine siege last April.
.
Talks on Thursday broke down after city representatives said ‘‘handing over al-Zarqawi’’ was an ‘‘impossible condition’’ since even the Americans were unable to catch him, said Abu Asaad, spokesman for the mujahedeen council of Fallujah.
.
‘‘Since we exhausted all peaceful solutions, the city is now ready to bear arms and defend its religion and honor and it’s not afraid of Allawi’s statements,’’ Asaad said in a live interview with Al-Jazeera television.
.
However, he used the Arabic word for ‘‘suspend,’’ implying that the talks could resume later.
.
‘‘Military operations didn’t even stop when the negotiating delegation was in Baghdad,’’ Asaad said. ‘‘Dozens are killed every day. Entire families have been eliminated.’’
.
The government made no comment about the breakdown of the Fallujah talks. However, national security adviser Qassem Dawoud said military operations against Fallujah ‘‘will continue’’ until the city ‘‘has been cleansed’’ of ‘‘terrorists.’’
.
Dawoud said he is hopeful the delegation will succeed in ridding the city of insurgents.
.
‘‘I hope they can succeed and can take them away from Fallujah as soon as possible, or otherwise, we’re preparing ourselves to smash them ... by military means,’’ he said.
.FALLUJAH U.S. forces continued a wave of air and ground assaults against the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah Friday after peace talks were suspended when city representatives rejected Prime Minister Ayad AllawiÂ’s demand to turn over terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
.
Early Friday morning, two more air strikes were launched against sites the U.S. military said were being used by senior al-Zarqawi associates as planning centers for terrorist operations.
.
Overnight, warplanes and artillery hammered at the city, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, as two U.S. Marine battalions attacked rebel positions to ‘‘restore security and stability,’’ 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told CNN.
.
Three people were killed and seven others injured during the night, according to Dr.RafiÂ’a Hiyad of Fallujah General Hospital. On Thursday, the hospital said at least five people were killed and 16 wounded.
.
Operations against Sunni insurgent areas have been stepped up in recent weeks in the runup to the Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Friday, in an attempt to forestall the wave of violence that accompanied last yearÂ’s holy month.
.
‘‘The operations were designed to target the large terrorist element operating in the area of Fallujah.This element has been planning to use the holy month of Ramadan for attacks,’’ the U.S. command said.
.
Starting Thursday afternoon, the operation began with precision air strikes and continued with a barrage of ground assaults by U.S. Marines, soldiers and Iraqi forces.
.
Targets hit included several key planning centers, a weapons transload and storage facility, two safehouses, a terrorist meeting site and several illegal checkpoints used by the Zarqawi network, the U.S. military said.
.
Late Thursday, residents reported massive American bombardments using planes and armored vehicles in what they said was the most intensive shelling since U.S. forces began attacks aimed at al-ZarqawiÂ’s network.
.
One resident said U.S. forces were using loudspeakers in the west of the city to urge Fallujah fighters to lay down their arms ‘‘because we are going to push into Fallujah.’’
.
The Jordanian terrorist’s Tawhid and Jihad group, which the U.S. believes is based in Fallujah, has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s twin bombings inside Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone — home to U.S. officials and the Iraqi leadership — which killed at least six people.
.
The claim, which cannot be verified, was posted on a Web site known for its Islamic contents.
.
Allawi warned Wednesday that Fallujah must surrender al-Zarqawi and other foreign fighters or face military attack.
.
Negotiations had been aimed at restoring government control to Fallujah, which fell under the domination of clerics and their armed mujahedeen followers after the end of the three-week Marine siege last April.
.
Talks on Thursday broke down after city representatives said ‘‘handing over al-Zarqawi’’ was an ‘‘impossible condition’’ since even the Americans were unable to catch him, said Abu Asaad, spokesman for the mujahedeen council of Fallujah.
.
‘‘Since we exhausted all peaceful solutions, the city is now ready to bear arms and defend its religion and honor and it’s not afraid of Allawi’s statements,’’ Asaad said in a live interview with Al-Jazeera television.
.
However, he used the Arabic word for ‘‘suspend,’’ implying that the talks could resume later.
.
‘‘Military operations didn’t even stop when the negotiating delegation was in Baghdad,’’ Asaad said. ‘‘Dozens are killed every day. Entire families have been eliminated.’’
.
The government made no comment about the breakdown of the Fallujah talks. However, national security adviser Qassem Dawoud said military operations against Fallujah ‘‘will continue’’ until the city ‘‘has been cleansed’’ of ‘‘terrorists.’’
.
Dawoud said he is hopeful the delegation will succeed in ridding the city of insurgents.
.
‘‘I hope they can succeed and can take them away from Fallujah as soon as possible, or otherwise, we’re preparing ourselves to smash them ... by military means,’’ he said.
.FALLUJAH U.S. forces continued a wave of air and ground assaults against the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah Friday after peace talks were suspended when city representatives rejected Prime Minister Ayad AllawiÂ’s demand to turn over terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
.
Early Friday morning, two more air strikes were launched against sites the U.S. military said were being used by senior al-Zarqawi associates as planning centers for terrorist operations.
.
Overnight, warplanes and artillery hammered at the city, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, as two U.S. Marine battalions attacked rebel positions to ‘‘restore security and stability,’’ 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told CNN.
.
Three people were killed and seven others injured during the night, according to Dr.RafiÂ’a Hiyad of Fallujah General Hospital. On Thursday, the hospital said at least five people were killed and 16 wounded.
.
Operations against Sunni insurgent areas have been stepped up in recent weeks in the runup to the Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Friday, in an attempt to forestall the wave of violence that accompanied last yearÂ’s holy month.
.
‘‘The operations were designed to target the large terrorist element operating in the area of Fallujah.This element has been planning to use the holy month of Ramadan for attacks,’’ the U.S. command said.
.
Starting Thursday afternoon, the operation began with precision air strikes and continued with a barrage of ground assaults by U.S. Marines, soldiers and Iraqi forces.
.
Targets hit included several key planning centers, a weapons transload and storage facility, two safehouses, a terrorist meeting site and several illegal checkpoints used by the Zarqawi network, the U.S. military said.
.
Late Thursday, residents reported massive American bombardments using planes and armored vehicles in what they said was the most intensive shelling since U.S. forces began attacks aimed at al-ZarqawiÂ’s network.
.
One resident said U.S. forces were using loudspeakers in the west of the city to urge Fallujah fighters to lay down their arms ‘‘because we are going to push into Fallujah.’’
.
The Jordanian terrorist’s Tawhid and Jihad group, which the U.S. believes is based in Fallujah, has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s twin bombings inside Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone — home to U.S. officials and the Iraqi leadership — which killed at least six people.
.
The claim, which cannot be verified, was posted on a Web site known for its Islamic contents.
.
Allawi warned Wednesday that Fallujah must surrender al-Zarqawi and other foreign fighters or face military attack.
.
Negotiations had been aimed at restoring government control to Fallujah, which fell under the domination of clerics and their armed mujahedeen followers after the end of the three-week Marine siege last April.
.
Talks on Thursday broke down after city representatives said ‘‘handing over al-Zarqawi’’ was an ‘‘impossible condition’’ since even the Americans were unable to catch him, said Abu Asaad, spokesman for the mujahedeen council of Fallujah.
.
‘‘Since we exhausted all peaceful solutions, the city is now ready to bear arms and defend its religion and honor and it’s not afraid of Allawi’s statements,’’ Asaad said in a live interview with Al-Jazeera television.
.
However, he used the Arabic word for ‘‘suspend,’’ implying that the talks could resume later.
.
‘‘Military operations didn’t even stop when the negotiating delegation was in Baghdad,’’ Asaad said. ‘‘Dozens are killed every day. Entire families have been eliminated.’’
.
The government made no comment about the breakdown of the Fallujah talks. However, national security adviser Qassem Dawoud said military operations against Fallujah ‘‘will continue’’ until the city ‘‘has been cleansed’’ of ‘‘terrorists.’’
.
Dawoud said he is hopeful the delegation will succeed in ridding the city of insurgents.
.
‘‘I hope they can succeed and can take them away from Fallujah as soon as possible, or otherwise, we’re preparing ourselves to smash them ... by military means,’’ he said.
.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/15/africa/iraq.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines return to Yemassee
Published Thu, Oct 14, 2004
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By OMAR FORD
Gazette staff writer
The year was 1954. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against segregated schools; Vietnam gained its independence from France, planting the seeds for the Vietnam War; and West Germany won the World Cup of soccer.
It was then that 17-year-old Joe Pannasch nervously waited at Yemassee's train station to be transported to Parris Island Marine Recruit Depot.

"It shaped my mind and my attitude," the now-66-year-old Pannasch said Wednesday from his home in Grays Hill. "It was the end of my world as I knew it."

Pannasch and hundreds of his fellow Marines will return to Yemassee this weekend to take part in the town's second annual Marine Reunion.

From 1924 to 1964 Yemassee was a hotbed for military activity with aspiring Marine recruits living in the small barracks near the downtown area. Recruits were then taken to Parris Island where they began training to become Marines.

The previous celebration was held at the very same train station these Marines departed from, but because of inadequate shelter from the sun organizers decided to change its location.

The reunion will instead take place at Harold's Country Club and Fennell Elementary School, where there will be a social gathering and a free dinner, said Roy Hughes, an event organizer.

Hughes got the idea to have the reunion after years of seeing retired Marines stop by his grocery store and ask him if the train station across the street was where as young men they caught the train to Parris Island.

After nearly four months of planning, Hughes and a seven-member committee successfully launched the celebration on Sept. 19, which drew hundreds of retired Marines to the area.

"We're looking forward to having a good turnout and all of the (participants) to enjoy it," he said. "Maybe they can see an old friend or two."

Pannasch said he relishes in the opportunity to return to the area that changed his life. The retired gunnery sergeant said there's not a day that goes by he doesn't think about the small town and his experience as a Marine.

"Yemassee is the only place I've been to in the last 50 years that hasn't changed a bit," he said. "I look forward to going back."

Contact Omar Ford at 986-5538 or oford@beaufortgazette.com.

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/4112465p-3878737c.html


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Penn State helps improve logistics support to Marines in Iraq, Afghanistan
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State researchers helped analyze wireless technologies and diagnostic systems for ground equipment for imminent use by the U.S. Marines in current operations, and made recommendations to enhance their use for future operations.

Supported by the Marine Corps Research University (MCRU), Penn State researchers recently completed two mutually supporting technical studies. The first $554,000 award supported a 13-month study to recommend an integrated diagnostic system that could be applied to Marine Corps' ground equipment. Utilizing lessons learned from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Penn State team provided a number of recommendations that support integrated diagnostics into the conditioned based maintenance of all Marine Corps ground equipment.

The ability to analytically determine when a piece of equipment needs to be maintained without waiting for it to fail in the field, increases equipment availability and reliability to Marines conducting combat operations overseas and training in the United States.

This project focused varying technical expertise from the College of Engineering; the School of Information, Science and Technology; the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory; the MCRU; and Marine Corps Logistics Fellows from the Smeal College of Business.

The second $510,000 award dealt with how portable wireless technology could be used to support the Marine Corps' Logistics Transformation Program. The Logistics Transformation Program is adapting 21st century technology to enhance logistic support to the Marines in the field.

The Penn State study evaluated all present and future wireless technologies and provided recommendations on how best to implement them. Faculty and graduate students from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering of the College of Engineering, The School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), The Pennsylvania Transportation Institute and Marine Corps Logistics Fellows from Smeal College of Business.

David Hall, associate dean of IST, and Dr. Soundar Kumara, distinguished professor of industrial engineering, were the co-principal investigators on the integrated diagnostics project and also on the second logistics project, joined by Zoltan Rado, research associate, Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. Col. Barney A. Grimes III, USMC (retired) of the MCRU was the overall project coordinator of both studies.

The MCRU is a research and academic resource of the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps designated Penn State as its research university in May 1999. To date, more than 139 projects have been funded, engaging the talents of over 60 faculty members and 75 graduate students.

http://live.psu.edu/story/8508


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Some Marines in iraq question how and why war is being waged

By Steve Fainaru
The Washington Post

October 10, 2004


ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq -- Scrawled on the helmet of Lance Cpl. Carlos Perez are the letters FDNY. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York, the Pentagon and western Pennsylvania, Perez quit school, left his job as a firefighter in Long Island, N.Y., and joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
"To be honest, I just wanted to take revenge," said Perez, 20.

Now, two months into a seven-month combat tour in Iraq, Perez said he sees little connection between the events of Sept. 11 and the war he is fighting. Instead, he said, he is increasingly disillusioned by a conflict whose origins remain unclear and frustrated by the timidity of U.S. forces against a mostly faceless enemy.

"Sometimes I see no reason why we're here," Perez said. "First of all, you cannot engage as many times as we want to. Second of all, we're looking for an enemy that's not there. The only way to do it is go house to house until we get out of here."

Perez is hardly alone. In a dozen interviews, Marines from a platoon known as the "81s" expressed in blunt terms their frustrations with the way the war is being conducted and, in some cases, doubts about why it is being waged. The platoon, named for the size in millimeters of its mortar rounds, is part of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment based in Iskandariyah, 30 miles southwest of Baghdad.

The Marines offered their opinions openly to a reporter traveling with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines during operations last week in Babil province, then expanded upon them during interviews over three days in their barracks at Camp Iskandariyah, their forward operating base.

The Marines' opinions have been shaped by their participation in hundreds of hours of operations over the past two months. Their assessments differ sharply from those of the interim Iraqi government and the Bush administration, which have said that Iraq is on a certain -- if bumpy -- course toward peaceful democracy.

"I feel we're going to be here for years and years and years," said Lance Cpl. Edward Elston, 22, of Hackettstown, N.J. "I don't think anything is going to get better; I think it's going to get a lot worse. It's going to be like a Palestinian-type deal. We're going to stop being a policing presence and then start being an occupying presence. ... We're always going to be here. We're never going to leave."

The views of the mortar platoon of some 50 young Marines, several of whom fought during the first phase of the war last year, are not necessarily reflective of all or even most U.S troops fighting in Iraq. Rather, they offer a snapshot of the frustrations engendered by a grinding conflict that has killed 1,064 Americans, wounded 7,730 and spread to many areas of the country.

Although not as highly publicized as attacks in such hot spots as Fallujah, Samarra and Baghdad's Sadr City, the violence in Babil province, south of the capital, is also intense. Since July 28, when the Marines took over operational responsibility for the region, 102 of the unit's 1,100 troops have been wounded, 85 in combat, according to battalion records. Four have been killed, two in combat.

Senior officers attribute the vast difference between the number of killed and wounded to the effectiveness of armor -- bullet-proof vests, helmets and reinforced armored vehicles, primarily Humvees -- in the face of persistent attacks. As of last week, the Marines had come upon 61 roadside bombs, nearly one a day. Forty-nine had detonated. Camp Iskandariyah was hit by mortar shells or rockets on 12 occasions; 21 other times, insurgents tried to hit the base and missed.


Several members of the platoon said they were struck by the difference between the way the war was being portrayed in the United States and the reality of their daily lives.

"Every day you read the articles in the States where it's like, 'Oh, it's getting better and better,' " said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Snyder, 22, of Gettysburg, Pa. "But when you're here, you know it's worse every day."

Pfc. Kyle Maio, 19, of Bucks County, Pa., said he thought government officials were reticent to speak candidly because of the upcoming U.S. elections. "Stuff's going on here but they won't flat-out say it," he said. "They can't get into it."

Maio said that when he arrived in Iraq, "I didn't think I was going to live this long, in all honesty." He added, "it ain't that bad. It's just part of the job, I guess."

As a reporter began to ask Maio another question, the interview was interrupted by the scream of an incoming rocket and then a deafening explosion outside the platoon's barracks. Pandemonium ensued.

"Get down! Get down!" yelled the platoon's radio operator, Cpl. Brandon Autin, 21, of New Iberia, La., his orders laced with profanity. "Get in the bunker! Get in the bunker now!"

Members of the platoon raced out of their rooms to a 5-by-15-foot bunker, located outside at the end of the one-story building. The dirt-floor room was protected by a low ceiling and walls built out of four-foot-thick sandbags. Once in the bunker, several Marines lit cigarettes, filling the already-congested room with smoke.

"The reality right now is that the most dangerous opinion in the world is the opinion of a U.S. serviceman," said Lance Cpl. Devin Kelly, 20, of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Lance Cpl. Alexander Jones, 20, of Ball Ground, Ga., agreed: "We're basically proving out that the government is wrong," he said. "We're catching them in a lie."

Senior officers said they shared many of the platoon's frustrations but added that it was difficult for low-level Marines to see the larger progress being made across Iraq. Maj. Douglas Bell, the battalion's executive officer, said "one of the most difficult things about the insurgency is identifying the enemy."

Bell said it was frustrating for "every Marine in the battalion" to search for insurgents on a daily basis, only to be attacked repeatedly with bombs and mortars detonated or launched by an invisible enemy. "You want to get your hand around his frigging collar and kick his ass," Bell said. "But they slip away."

Bell said Marines offering dire predictions for Iraq were not taking into account the training of the new Iraqi security forces. He said the installation of the new Iraqi army, Iraqi National Guard and police across the country would lay the foundation for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"That's how we're going to get out of Iraq," Bell said. "That's how America is going to get out of Iraq."

The Marines acknowledged that the elusiveness of the insurgents was frustrating. "You don't really know who you're fighting. You're more or less fighting objects," said Elston, the lance corporal from New Jersey. "You see something on the side of the road. It blows up."

But the Marines said their frustrations run deeper. Several said the Iraqi security forces who are supposed to ultimately replace them were nowhere near ready and may never be.

"They can't take care of themselves," said Lance Cpl. Matthew Combs, 19, of Cincinnati, who added that he didn't think the National Guardsmen "can do anything. They just do what we tell them to do."


The Marines also expressed frustration that they were unable to fight more aggressively because of restraints in the rules of engagement imposed by senior commanders.

The rules, which require Marines to positively identify their target as hostile before shooting, are cumbersome in the face of urban guerrilla warfare, several of them said.

"When we get called out, we'll sit there staging there for an hour," Maio said. "By the time we're ready to move, they're up and gone. A few weeks ago, the Iskandariyah police station was under attack. We staged for damn near an hour before we went out. It's stupid. You have to wait to get approval and all this other stuff."

Kelly, the lance corporal from Alaska, said he understood the need to protect civilians but that the restraints were jeopardizing American lives. "It seems as if they place more value on obeying the letter of the law and sacrificing our lives than following the spirit of the law and getting the job done," he said of his commanders.

Bell said the Marines' frustration was understandable but that it was extremely difficult to make a determination of hostile intent following a roadside bombing that might have been detonated by anything from a remote-controlled toy car to a cell phone. "That's a pretty difficult decision to make for a 19-year-old kid," he said.

Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kyrk, 21, of Chicago, said the insurgents took advantage of the limitations imposed on U.S. troops. "They don't give us any leeway, they don't give us any quarter," he said. "They catch people and cut their heads off. They know our limits, but they have no limits. We can't compete with that."


Perez said the frustrations inherent in the war became apparent almost immediately after he arrived in Iraq in late July. A Colombian immigrant, he said he decided to join the Marine Corps after attending the funeral of a friend who had died in the Sept. 11 attacks. The friend, Thomas Hetzel, was a volunteer firefighter at the Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department on Long Island, where Perez also volunteered.

continued.........

[thedrifter]

At the time, Perez was studying criminal justice at Nassau Community College. "While I was at the funeral I was looking at his little daughter cry," he said. "He had a pregnant wife and two kids. I just said, 'All right, this is what I want to do.' "

But Perez said he came to think that war in Iraq was unrelated to his anger. "How do I put this?" he said. "First of all, this is a whole different thing. We're supposed to be looking for al-Qaida. They're the ones who are supposedly responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. This has no connection at all to Sept. 11 because this war started just by telling us about all the nuclear warheads over here."

Snyder, who was listening, added: "Pretty much I think they just diverted the war on terrorism. I agree with the Afghanistan war and all the Sept. 11 stuff, but it feels like they left the bigger war over there to come here. And now, while we're on the ground over here, it seems like we're not even close to catching frigging bin Laden."

Perez said he thought that in some ways he was still fighting terrorists "and I can see how they might attack the United States in the future. It's a link, but it's not really based in the same thing."

Perez added that he now believes the primary reason for the U.S. presence is to help the Iraqis. "But they don't seem like they want to be helped," he said. "I've only been here two months, but every time you go out, people give you bad looks and it just seems like everybody wants to shoot you."


The frustration of the Marines was evident one afternoon last week as members of the platoon traveled from Forward Operating Base Kalsu back to Camp Iskandariyah. An attack had reportedly taken place in the area, and members of the platoon were asked to leave their Humvees and walk up a road to look for suspicious activity.

Traffic quickly began to pile up: cars packed with families, trucks loaded with animals and vegetables. The line of vehicles would have taken hours to search. An order was suddenly passed for the Marines to search all buses for insurgents or weapons.

"This is what we call a dog-and-pony show," said Kelly, the heavyset, sharp-tongued lance corporal from Fairbanks. He said the operation was essentially a performance for American reporters who were traveling with the Marines. "This is so you can write in your paper how great our response is," he said.

Combs and another Marine boarded a small bus packed mostly with women and children. He walked up the center aisle carrying his M-16 assault rifle, then got off, disgusted.

"We just scared the living (expletive) out of a bunch of people," he said. "That's all we did."

When the Marines returned to their truck, Autin and Kelly began to debate the merits of the American presence in Iraq.

"And, by the way, why are we here?" Autin said.

"I'll tell you why we're here," Kelly replied. "We're here to help these people."

Autin agreed and said he supported the mission.

He added later that it was difficult to wage the battle when American commanders were holding them back.

"We feel they care more about Iraqi civilians than they do American soldiers," he said.

Asked if he was concerned that the Marines would be punished for speaking out, Autin responded: "We don't give a crap. What are they going to do, send us to Iraq?"

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-womarines1010,0,3450761.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines


Ellie

[thedrifter]

DoD Allowing More Wounded Troops to Remain on Duty <br />
By Donna Miles <br />
American Forces Press Service <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2004 -- The Defense Department has long been a leader in providing...

[thedrifter]

Wounded Marine feels cuts; Rep. fights for full pay for injured troops <br />
By Jill Casey <br />
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 <br />
<br />
SAUGUS -- When Marine Lance Cpl. James Crosby was struck by enemy fire in Iraq last...

[thedrifter]

Lima Company Marines Speak
Elissa Burnell
News Channel 11
Oct 14, 8:51 PM EDT

Sergeant Patrick Johnson was in the first group of Lima Company Marines who arrived home Saturday evening. He says things are only starting to return back to normal now. He's had to become reacquainted with his 2 year old daughter...

"She was a little stand-offish at first, but things are starting to come together, get to know each other again. I've had a lot of fun every day."

It was a familiar refrain, echoed by other Marines in the company...family was what they longed for during their 7 months overseas.

Says Sergeant Tate Kile, "I looked at my wife and I didn't recognize her. And I turned away to look for her. And she had to jump in my face and say, 'are you looking for somebody?'"

For Sergeant Kile the whole deployment was like nothing he'd known before, but he said he felt perfectly safe.

"This time we were doing the real, you know, people were out there trying to, trying to hurt us. And we were out there trying to find people and keep our base insured."

The Marines of Lima Company began the year leaving family and friends behind -- right here in front of this building. Now they've come full circle -- returning here to Gray's Military Reserve Center.

And they don't have to dream of home any longer.

"I woke up one time, thinking I heard her crying and then I woke up and saw where I was so that sort of ruined the moment for me."

Nowadays though, Johnson's hearing the real thing.

It wasn't all homecomings at the Gray Military Reserve Center though -- a number of their Army Reservists will be leaving early next week.

http://www.bristolnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=TRI/MGArticle/TRI_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031778543474&path=Variables.path


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Orders Freeze on Zarqawi Network Assets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday ordered a freeze on assets of the militant group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq (news - web sites).


The Treasury Department (news - web sites)'s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group to its list of suspected terrorists and terrorism financiers.


The move, which came a day after Britain ordered banks to seek out and freeze any assets of the group, blocks any accounts, funds and assets of Tawhid and Jihad in the United States.


Zarqawi's network has emerged as the United States' top enemy in Iraq, and has claimed responsibility for a long list of attacks including two suicide bombings in Baghdad on Thursday which killed at least five people including three Americans.


The group also beheaded British hostage Kenneth Bigley last week and Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley last month.


The United States suspects Zarqawi and his group of links to al Qaeda and of conducting some of the deadliest attacks of the Iraqi insurgency.


Officials acknowledge that it was unlikely Tawhid and Jihad would hold bank accounts in its own name. But the designation could be seen as a first step that would allow the freezing of funds of anyone who could be shown to have ties to it.


"By designating this group, if U.S. officials can now prove a link between that organization and other people or offshore accounts held by others, it could facilitate freezing those funds as well," said Dennis Lormel, the former head of the FBI (news - web sites)'s terrorist financing section.


Banks conduct continuous automated searches for transactions by militants on international sanctions lists, and say their systems generate thousands of "hits" a day, often so-called false positives involving innocent parties who happen to have similar names.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=3&u=/nm/20041015/ts_nm/security_treasury_zarqawi_dc

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Drill instructor awarded for valor in Iraq
Submitted by: MCRD Parris Island
Story Identification #: 2004101412752
Story by Lance Cpl. Brian Kester



MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (Oct. 15, 2004) -- When Sgt. Jonathon Novak completed drill instructor school and took on his first platoon of recruits, he knew what was important to stress to them during the training cycle - discipline. He had seen first hand in combat what can happen when discipline slips even for a moment.

Distinguishing himself in combat, Novak, a drill instructor with Platoon 1085, Charlie Co., 1st RTBn., recently received the Navy Commendation Medal with a "V" for valor at the Drill Instructor Monument.

After his award was bestowed upon him, the humble Novak reflected on his experiences and what the award means to him.

While serving as the section leader for an obstacle clearing detachment with Mobility/Counter-Mobility Platoon, 2nd Assault Amphibian Bn., Regimental Combat Team-1, 1st Marine Division, during numerous engagements in Iraq from March 20 - April 20, Novak and his Marines could be found in many serious scrapes. So much so that some of his fellow Marines nicknamed his Assault Amphibious Vehicle, "The Bullet Magnet."

On April 7, 2003, his sections responsibility was to provide security for a bridge layer south of the Saddam Canal, approximately 13 kilometers east of Baghdad, Iraq.

He was involved with several missions under extreme duress, and though the actual skirmish lasted about 45 minutes to an hour, those events stood out in his mind.

"It just happened, like that," he exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

When Novak and his section arrived at the canal, he deployed his engineers and established security. The engineers then began their breach of the fence on the near side of the canal. During this action, they began to receive small arms fire from the far side of the canal.

Recalling a mental picture and using his hands to convey the positions along the canal, Novak described the situation.

"I was looking over [the far side of the canal] and I saw some pillboxes and a couple of bunkers and I told my driver, 'that doesn't look right,'" he said. "My driver was looking at me and I thought to myself, that just doesn't look safe."Then, some of the engineers got out and they began to take on fire so we opened up on the bunkers, he added.

Employing his weapons and suppressing the enemy on the far side of the canal allowed the engineers to breach the fence. The bridge layer moved into position and the far side erupted with direct and indirect fire.

"You are stunned for a second because they [rounds] are whizzing right past your head," said Novak, "but then you start laying down fire."

After silencing one machine gun position, Novak noticed the engineers that conducted the breach were now pinned down. Acting independently, he maneuvered his AAV to their position and provided suppressing fire allowing them to escape harm. He then turned his guns on the second gun position aiding in the bridge layer to complete its mission. Though his AAV was hit numerous times by direct fire, Novak never decreased the amount of suppression fire, thus having a direct effect on the canal being bridged and the 1st Marine Regiment crossing the canal.

According to the citation, in the face of stiff resistance, Novak remained calm and poised and set an example that brought assurance to his Marines during moments of chaos, while ensuring the destruction of numerous enemy positions. This directly affected the successful bridging of the Saddam Canal that would facilitate Regimental Combat Team- 1's movement into Baghdad.

Always the Marine, a self-effacing Novak proclaimed, "If it were up to me, this should be given to everybody because I didn't do anything that they didn't do."

Though he is modest about his accomplishment as most Marines are, he will still look to instill some of those qualities in his recruits.

"It is invaluable for us to have a Marine of his caliber and experience, having first hand exposure to guiding, mentoring and training recruits to become United States Marines," said Captain Charlie Fretwell, Charlie Co. commander. "There are plenty of times where the drill instructors have the opportunity to do what we call 'hip-pocket' classes with recruits. In those 'hip-pocket' classes he can talk directly to them regarding his experiences in Iraq or in the Fleet Marine Force."

Though he is in his first cycle as a drill instructor, he has already found ways to integrate the lessons he learned in Iraq into his everyday life as a drill instructor.

"It all comes back to discipline," said the war veteran. "Everyday when the bullets are coming at you, you have to run at them, where most people would run away from them."
Novak tries to stress discipline in his job so that mistakes that he saw in the field will not happen to the recruits that he has trained.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20041014121744/$file/Novak(L).jpg

Sergeant Jonathon Novak, drill instructor for Platoon 1085, Charlie Co., 1st RTBn., instills discipline in one of his recruits Sept. 22. Novak was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with a 'V' for valor for his actions in Iraq.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Brian Kester

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FF1F0D5273AF839285256F2D00589C81?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Platoon defies orders in Iraq; cites safety concerns <br />
Fri Oct 15 2004 13:25:51 ET <br />
<br />
The CLARION LEDGER reported in Friday editions: <br />
<br />
A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and...

[thedrifter]

Posted on Mon, Oct. 11, 2004




NOTEBOOK


Troop levels may fall in '05


AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - The United States may be able to reduce its troop levels in Iraq after the January elections if security improves and Iraqi government forces continue to expand and improve, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday.

In a question-and-answer session with hundreds of Marines assembled at this desert air base in western Iraq, Rumsfeld was asked what the future holds for the length and frequency of troop deployments in the country.

Rumsfeld, on his first visit to Iraq since its interim government was installed in June, said the insurgent violence is likely to get worse in the weeks ahead, so troop reductions are almost out of the question.

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

"Our hope is that as we build up Iraqi forces, we will be able to relieve the stress on our forces and see a reduction in coalition forces over some period of time, probably post-Iraqi elections," the Pentagon chief said.

"But again, it will depend entirely on the security situation here in this country." -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Roadside bomb kills N.C. soldier

The Department of Defense announced Sunday the death of a soldier from North Carolina in Iraq.Staff Sgt. Michael S. Voss, 35, of Carthage, died Friday near Tikrit, when a roadside bomb and small weapons fire struck his convoy.

Voss was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, Wilmington. -- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Bigley's beheading shown on Web

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A videotape of the beheading of British hostage Kenneth Bigley appeared Sunday on an Islamist Web site, showing the civil engineer pleading that he wanted "to live a simple life" moments before he was decapitated.

The nearly five-minute tape appeared two days after Bigley's family said it had proof that the 62-year-old civil engineer from Liverpool was dead. The body has not been found.

The tape showed Bigley, dressed in an orange jump suit and seated in front of seven armed, hooded men. Behind them was a banner of the Monotheism and Jihad group, the extremist organization that has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide attacks and beheadings of Westerners.

Bigley said: "I am not a difficult person. I am a simple man who wants to live a simple life." Addressing British Prime Minister Tony Blair, he then said: "More than ever I need your help."

The Sunday Times newspaper of London reported that Bigley was killed after briefly escaping by car after British intelligence helped bribe two of the captors. Bigley was recaptured, and the two captors who helped him were killed, the newspaper said. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Major attacks off till after election

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration will delay major assaults on rebel-held cities in Iraq until after U.S. elections in November, say administration officials, mindful that large-scale military offensives could affect the U.S. presidential race.

Although American commanders in Iraq have been buoyed by recent successes in insurgent-held towns such as Samarra and Tall Afar, administration and Pentagon officials say they will not try to retake cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi -- where U.S. casualties could be the greatest -- until after Americans vote. -- LOS ANGELES TIMES

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9888706.htm


Ellie

[thedrifter]

October 14, 2004

Leave protected for Marines who deploy

By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer


If long deployments prevented you from using up all of your hard-earned leave this year, rest assured you’ll be able to carry that leave into next year and beyond. Use-it-or-lose-it leave policies will not apply to active-duty Marines who deployed for or supported the war on terrorism for extended periods of time, according to a Sept. 30 Corpswide message, MarAdmin 438/04.
Instead, Marines will be able to accumulate annual leave in excess of 60 days, but can’t go over 120 days of total leave, the message states.

In order to qualify for this special leave accrual, Marines in fiscal 2004 must have spent 120 continuous days in a hostile fire area or imminent danger pay area. Marines who deployed 60 continuous days on a ship or mobile unit also qualify.

Marines will be allowed to bank that leave until the end of fiscal 2007, but leave they expend will be subtracted from carried-over days first, said Maj. Lawrence Bauer, a policy analyst for Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va.

Commanders will decide how much leave their individual Marines qualify to carry over.

Also, leathernecks who supported contingency operations from the rear and couldn’t take leave will qualify for up to 30 days of special leave accrual, for a total of up to 90 days of leave for 2005. That leave must be used within fiscal 2005.

All special leave accrual must be tied to contingency operations, Bauer said.

“Increased workload [alone] is not a qualifier … For example, if I just don’t manage my leave properly, it doesn’t qualify me for SLA,” he said.


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-451810.php

Ellie