11th MEU 'brothers' separated but 'not for long'

[thedrifter]

11th MEU 'brothers' separated but 'not for long'
Submitted by: 11th MEU
Story Identification #: 2004101763731
Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards



FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq (Oct. 17, 2004) -- They jokingly called themselves brothers separated at birth. Corporals Robert Abad, and Jose M. Cueva, both squad leaders with 81mm Mortar Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), were inseparable ever since they attended the School of Infantry together at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in January, 2001.

Abad died while fighting in the Wadi Al Salam cemetery during combat operations in An Najaf, Iraq, on Aug. 6.

The two met while standing the first night of fire watch for their class at the School of Infantry nearly four years ago. While all the other Marines went out for their first weekend of liberty they were picked to stand the graveyard shift from 12 to 6 a.m.

"We started just with the usual small talk like 'where're you from?' Stuff like that," Cueva recollected. "That's how we hit it off."

From that moment on they were joined at the hip, even when they went back to the hometown they turned out to share. They happened to live fifteen minutes away from each other in Los Angeles and never knew one another before the Marine Corps.

"From there on, if I didn't have a ride he would take me home to L.A.," Cueva said. "We always did things together."

The two even became close enough to bring each other into their families. They were just good friends that were "close that way," Cueva said.

Years later, Cueva was the first person Abad spoke to when he found out he was going to be a father. His fiancée, who is being taken care of by his family now, broke the happy news to him while the MEU was aboard ship.

"He was nervous and excited at the same time," Cueva said.

After they left school, they came to the same unit and stayed there together through the years. Through thick and thin -- this was their third deployment together.

"We drank a few beers and went to the clubs," Cueva said nostalgically. "He'd even bring his girlfriend and I'd bring mine when we went to movies together."

They weren't only close in their off time. The two also pushed each other to make themselves better Marines.

"We would always work together to look good in uniform, and PT together," Cueva said. "We would take care of each other."
They were battle hardened and ever ready for any action required of them.

"I wish (Abad) was still with us," Cueva said when he returned from the drill. "We miss him."

Cueva flashed some hand signal to another Marine in the tent and bellowed "Game over! You're done!" The two laughed softly, remembering one of the phrases Abad was known for.

"He would always say that," Cueva said. "He even gave me the nickname 'two cent,' because he said I always have to put my two cents in a conversation."

The other Marine across the tent laughed and continued the reminiscence.

"He had his own sense humor. He wouldn't laugh at our jokes, just his own special kind," said Sgt. Blake J. Lemoine, fire direction chief, 81mm Plt., about Abad.

Another Marine, directing his attention away from a movie many Marines were watching, added to the thoughts of Abad.
"He would always be listening to Spanish music in his headphones and singing," said Cpl. Chad B. Estle, squad leader, 81mm Plt. "He was a horrible singer."

Several of the Marines laughed and then they all turned back to their movie.

"One time, we were on a (tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel) mission during workups on our first float before (Operation Iraqi Freedom). We were both (private first classes) at the time," Cueva laughed.

Abad was the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon gunner then and Cueva was the assistant.

"Our squad leader told us to post security to the right and he told us to stay there until he told us to move," he said. "We thought he had forgotten us and that everybody left without us."

They were picked up a few minutes later, but he laughed again as he talked about the thought of Abad and him being stuck out in Barstow, Calif. Cueva turned serious again when he thought of Abad's family.

"I talked to his dad right after he passed away. He was proud that he died while serving his country," Cueva said, pleased that Abad's father was taking his death well.

The platoon is far from forgetting Abad. They remember him with everything from T-shirts that have a design he drew and tattoos they plan to get that mention him. Cueva has one he plans to get that says: "Best friend and brother. May God be with you. R.I.P. Corporal Abad."

They do miss him. Cueva thinks they'll be together again someday.

"I find myself talking to him saying 'I wish you were here to see this' whenever something funny happens," Cueva said. "I think he hears me. My dad says 'even though he's gone, warriors watch over warriors.' If he can hear me I'd say 'we all miss you and we'll meet up again soon.'"

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004101764736/$file/041014-M-4358R-10lowres.jpg

Corporals Robert Abad, left, and Jose M. Cueva, both mortarmen, 81mm Mortar Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), in their barracks room on Camp Pendleton, Calif. Abad died during combat operations in the Wadi Salam Cemetery in An Najaf, Iraq, on Aug. 6. Cueva and Abad called themselves “brothers separated at birth” since they became friends at the School of Infantry, at Camp Pendleton, in January 2001. Photo by: Cpl. Jose M. Cueva

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/C89A6EFBC94038D685256F30003A5DDA?opendocument

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Military Flashes More Steel In Iraq <br />
Christian Science Monitor <br />
October 20, 2004 <br />
<br />
For the first time in the Iraq war, according to military officials, U.S. aircraft last week directly bombed a...

[thedrifter]

Army Still Stretched By Iraq
United Press International
October 20, 2004

WASHINGTON - More than 27 percent of the military's active duty troops are overseas, and more than half of them are in combat zones, numbers not seen since the Vietnam War, a new study shows.

The study from a consortium of security policy think tanks and advocacy groups warns that the stress the Iraq war is placing on the military's personnel and equipment could reach a breaking point in as little as two years.

"We haven't seen a split like that since Vietnam," said Carl Conetta, co-director of the Project on Defense Alternatives.

U.S. forces are probably going to continue to be in Iraq in those numbers for the long haul, which raises concerns about readiness, morale and retention, according to defense analysts involved in the Security Policy Working Group.

A much greater percentage of the force is deployed overseas than it was for the last decade, from 1992 to 2002, the study shows. It also questions whether adequate preparations were made to support such a deployment.

"The fact that we are doing it doesn't mean we can do it," Conetta said. "What was the preparation that allows for this? There hasn't been the preparation. It doesn't mean people are revolting in the field (leaving the military). You're not going to see a problem right away. ... My concern is that it might be soon."

The Pentagon may regard these numbers less pessimistically. While the data reflects similarities to the Vietnam era, there are important differences in the quality of the force. Vietnam was a war fought by conscript, rather than by a volunteer military.

The re-enlistment rate among active-duty forces deployed to combat is historically the highest of any group in the military -- a trend that is apparently continuing.

Furthermore, the Pentagon's stated intention is not to deploy troops less but to deploy them more, a necessary adjunct to its plan to bring back to the United States more than 70,000 troops permanently based overseas.

The study points to other indicators of possible trouble to come in the Army, which it argues is going to be stretched to the breaking point by an extended Iraq deployment.




More than 20 percent of the Army has already been deployed more than 120 days so far this year. In 2003, the total was 25 percent, according to estimates from the Project on Defense Alternatives.

Those numbers represent half of all deployable forces. It is a stark increase over the number of soldiers who were deployed more than 120 days a year for the previous eight years, according to Defense Department statistics cited by the study. Between 1994 and 2002, less than 5 percent of the Army was deployed for more than 120 days in any one year.

In fact, most of the Army soldiers deployed to Iraq spend more than a year deployed. Facing a long effort in Iraq and a force of about 500,000 -- only about 65 percent of which is eligible to be deployed -- the Army mandated year-long deployments for active-duty soldiers to ease the rotation schedule.

Reservists who were activated face the possibility of even more time in Iraq. Because they are pulled onto the active force for two years at a time, reservists with special skills who are individually activated are spending the better part of that time deployed, according to military officials. One Army colonel, who is a civil affairs specialist, deployed in Fallujah told United Press International he would spend 21 of 24 months in Iraq.

"Soldiers can deploy occasionally for 120 days oversees without missing out on important yearly routines at their home base, such as training, special assignments and leave. Deployment of much more than 120 days in a year results in deficits accumulating in the other aspects of a soldiers career and personal life," the study says.

The Marine Corps has kept its Iraq rotation to seven months in deference to its standard six-month sea tour schedules.

Lawrence Korb, an assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan and now with the liberal Center for American Progress, said the only way to forestall a mass exodus of mid-career soldiers strained by Iraq was to change the deployment length to six months, and to promise only one year out of every three would be spent overseas.

"You've got to do for active duty no more than one year out of three or you are going to lose people who have not made a life-time commitment," Korb said Tuesday. "This is ruining marriages and families."

Roughly 60 percent of the active duty force is married.

The Army is apparently considering making the switch to six-month deployments, according to an internal memo, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Number Of Wounded In Iraq Tops 8,000
Associated Press
October 20, 2004

WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. troops wounded in Iraq since military operations began in March 2003 has topped the 8,000 mark, according to figures released by the Pentagon on Tuesday.

The total of 8,016 is more than double what it was six months ago when the insurgency suddenly accelerated. On April 5 the number wounded in action stood at 2,988; by April 26 it had grown to 3,864.

The U.S. military death toll almost doubled in that same period, standing at 1,102 as of Tuesday, by the Pentagon's count. On April 2 it stood at 598.

The wounded toll has grown by several hundred a month since April. It surpassed the 5,000 mark in early June and crossed the 7,000 mark in early September.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraqi Children take the 24th MEU
Back to School
Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 2004101855951
Story by Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers



FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (Oct. 16, 2004) -- Laughter and smiles filled a local school playground as Marines and sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit presented children with various educational provisions during a visit to an elementary school in south-central Iraq. The visit was the latest in the MEU's ongoing Back to School Campaign.

The event provided the children with water, stickers, balloons, sports equipment, and backpacks filled with school supplies, such as notebooks and crayons.

The 24th MEU is working with some 40 schools in Northern Babil Province. The MEU's Marines and sailors are making basic repairs and providing thousands of students with equipment and supplies that will facilitate a prosperous new year of learning.

While major reconstruction efforts in Iraq are planned, the MEU is looking to make a more immediate impact within the community and the lives of the Iraqi children.


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004101861723/$file/041016-M-1250B-001low.jpg

1st Lt. Vanessa Engel of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit plays pat-a-cake with an Iraqi schoolgirl during an Oct. 16th visit to an elementary school in south-central Iraq. The visit was the latest in the MEU’s ongoing Back to School campaign, a key feature of which provides local Iraqi schoolchildren with water, stickers, balloons, sports equipment, and backpacks full of educational supplies.
Engel, 27, is a Mount Prospect, Ill., native and adjutant with the headquarters detachment of MEU Service Support Group 24.
The 24th MEU is currently conducting security and stability operations in the Northern Babil province.
(Official USMC photo by Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers. This photo is cleared for release.)
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/2E444D952F546BA585256F310036EB57?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Combat vet: 'I didn't want to let anyone down' <br />
Submitted by: MCRD San Diego <br />
Story Identification #: 20041015121434 <br />
Story by Sgt. Len Langston <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif....

[thedrifter]

H. Thomas Hayden: Failure Is Not an Option <br />
<br />
We are now only days away from a national election that will decide the future place in the world for U.S. foreign policy, and our national security...

[thedrifter]

Car Bomb Explodes in Central Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb shook Baghdad at sunset Wednesday, and a large plume of smoke could be seen rising from the western bank of the Tigris river.


There were no reports of casualties among U.S. troops or damage to their equipment in the blast, which occurred at 5:45 p.m., said Cpt. Mitchell Zornes of the First Cavalry Division. He did not know what was the target of the attack.


Bursts of gunfire erupted following the blast, witnesses said.


The smoke could be seen rising north of the Jumhuria bridge and behind the Mansour Hotel.


Journalists at the Mansour said the blast appeared to have occurred on Haifa Street, which runs from the Green Zone northward on the west bank of the Tigris and has been the scene of sharp fighting between U.S. troops and insurgents.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20041020/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_blast

Ellie

[hrscowboy]

Turn the devildogs loose...

[thedrifter]

Release No. 10-13-04
Oct 19, 2004

New law sinks 'check floating' practice

Capt. Charles Warren
12th Flying Training Wing Legal

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The practice of "floating" a check until payday will become a thing of the past Oct. 28 when the new federal Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, also known as Check 21, goes into effect.

"Check floating" occurs when people write checks a few days before payday, figuring that by the time their checks hit the bank, there will be money in the accounts to cover them.

With Check 21, money will be withdrawn immediately from a person's account when he or she writes a check.

The new federal law is designed to help banks efficiently process more checks electronically. This means that debits to a person's checking account will occur in minutes, not days.

Paper checks as record-keeping devices will also become a thing of the past. Instead, banks will replace canceled checks with substitute checks -- paper copies of electronic images of a person's original check. Consumers must have a substitute check to exercise all of their rights under Check 21 for the recrediting of their account in the event of a transactional error.

The potential effect on consumers is simple. Unwary consumers will be more likely to bounce checks because of the enhanced speed and efficiency of check processing.

Consumers probably will not be able to access funds from checks deposited in their accounts any sooner because the new law does not shorten check hold times for banks. This means people may not be able to withdraw money from their accounts the same day a deposit is made.

Here are a few tips to help people adjust their banking habits in response to Check 21:

-- Check your balance. Ensure you have sufficient funds in the checking account to cover any purchases made by check.

-- Request substitute checks. Although banks are not required by law to issue them, be persistent in requesting that substitute checks accompany bank statements.

-- Ask for a re-credit in writing. If a loss is related to a substitute check received, notify the bank in writing within 40 days of the bank statement and request a re-credit to the account. Do not forget to include the substitute check.

For more information about Check 21, visit the Consumers Union or the Federal Reserve Web sites. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Clashes in Iraq's Samarra Kill at Least Six

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least six civilians were killed and 11 U.S. soldiers wounded in clashes in Samarra Wednesday, a northern Iraqi town the U.S. military said it had pacified following an offensive earlier this month.


Two car bombs killed a child and also wounded a civilian translator in the center of the town, the U.S. military said. Hospital officials said six civilians had been killed and 17 wounded in several clashes.


Residents said U.S. troops in vehicles with loudspeakers told Samarra residents to stay off the streets between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.


Witnesses said clashes that began in the afternoon were continuing at night on the edges of the city and the nearby town of Duluiya.


The interim Iraqi government, backed by U.S. troops, has vowed to take control of rebel-held areas of Iraq (news - web sites) before elections scheduled for January.


They had expressed hope that the Samarra offensive would help secure other towns and cities.




http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=3&u=/nm/20041020/ts_nm/iraq_samarra_dc


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Raids Kill Family of 6 in Rebel-Held Iraqi City

By Yasser Faisal

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes killed a family of six in raids against rebels led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, while an international aid agency suspended Iraq (news - web sites) operations on Wednesday after its manager was kidnapped.


A Reuters witness saw a man and a woman and four children, two boys and two girls, being pulled out of the rubble of a razed home in Falluja.


The U.S. military denied a family of six was killed, saying it launched four strikes against safehouses used by Zarqawi's fighters in the city of Falluja west of Baghdad.


"Intelligence sources indicate a known Zarqawi propagandist is passing false reports to the media," the military said in a statement.


Reuters television footage showed men chanting "There is no God but Allah!" as they carried the body of the father of the family of six.


"Is this the gift that (interim Iraqi Prime Minister) Iyad Allawi is giving to the people of Falluja?" asked one man, pointing to the small bodies of two of the children lying in the trunk of a car. "Every day they strike Falluja."


SAMARRA CLASHES


At least eight civilians were killed and 11 U.S. soldiers wounded in clashes in Samarra, a northern Iraqi town the U.S. military said it had pacified following an offensive earlier this month.


Two car bombs killed a child and also wounded a civilian translator in the center of the town, the U.S. military said. A police official said eight civilians had been killed and 12 wounded in clashes.


Care International, an aid agency working in Iraq on health and water projects, suspended operations after its British-Iraqi manager in Iraq, Margaret Hassan, was abducted and said it might pull out of the country altogether.


Hours after she was abducted on Tuesday, Hassan, who has lived in Iraq for 30 years, was shown sitting alone and anxious in a video aired on Al Jazeera television, which said an unnamed group claimed to be holding her.


"At the moment we have suspended operations, and we will continue to pull out of the country unless we can resolve this issue," Care International chief Geoffrey Dennis told BBC radio.


Scores of foreigners have been kidnapped since April and at least 35 have been killed, several of them beheaded.


The U.S. military says its almost nightly strikes on Falluja are carefully targeted at fighters led by Jordanian militant Zarqawi, who it says is holed up in the town, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad.


But residents say they know nothing of Zarqawi -- some even doubt his existence -- and that the U.S. raids kill civilians and destroy homes.


ALLAWI WARNING


Allawi has warned Falluja's residents to hand over Zarqawi's followers or face military action. He has said he remains open to talks, but Western diplomats in Baghdad say an offensive against the town of 300,000 is becoming increasingly likely.





In other violence, an adviser to Allawi's political party was killed in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

In Baquba, gunmen killed an Iraqi building contractor working for U.S. forces, the man's father said.

Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government is struggling to restore order to allow reconstruction of a country ravaged by years of war and U.N. sanctions and to allow the first democratic elections in decades to go ahead on time in January.

But the bloody insurgency in the country has cast doubt over the timing of the poll.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) told parliament he expected an upsurge of violence in Iraq before the elections.

"We are about to enter a period of increased activity. This has nothing to do with American (presidential) elections. It has everything to do, however, with the Iraqi elections," he said.

Blair said he had not yet decided on a U.S. request to shift British troops to more dangerous parts of the country to free up U.S. forces for other action.

Some accuse him of having already agreed to do so to help President Bush (news - web sites) before the Nov. 2 U.S. presidential election, in which Iraq has been a major campaign issue.

The third U.S. soldier to face court martial over mistreatment of prisoners in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, a scandal that sparked worldwide outrage, pleaded guilty to abusing prisoners, including forcing three to masturbate.

Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick is expected to be sentenced on Thursday in the court martial at a military base in Baghdad.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=3&u=/nm/20041020/ts_nm/iraq_dc_572


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fallujah the key to a safer Iraq


By James Phillips


Fallujah's days as a breeding ground for terrorists may be about to end — and not a moment too soon.
Iraq Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has warned Fallujah's leaders he would order an attack if they do not turn over foreign terrorists led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant tied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group.
This hardening of policy on Fallujah is long overdue. Home to roughly 300,000 predominantly Sunni Arabs, the city has become a sanctuary for a motley collection of foreign terrorists, homegrown Islamic militants, diehard Ba'athists and tribally based insurgent groups.







An earlier offensive spearheaded by U.S. Marines was called off last April when members of the former Iraqi Governing Council objected to the prospect of a prolonged American siege.
Instead, the Governing Council proposed a stillborn agreement with Fallujah's leaders that included establishing a local militia ostensibly to restore the rule of law. The militia, led by former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party, soon melted away after the threat of an American offensive was removed. Many members defected to antigovernment insurgents. Fallujah became a strategic base and staging area for terrorist attacks in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
The insurgents, emboldened by their success in Fallujah, have escalated a campaign of intimidation, kidnappings and assassinations to undermine and demoralize the embryonic Iraqi government. In recent months, they beheaded several government officials and released videotapes of these acts. The governor of Anbar Province was humiliated and forced to resign after three of his sons were kidnapped and threatened with death. Other government officials succumbed to intimidation and defected to the rebels, including the Ramadi police chief, who had survived three assassination attempts.
A Talibanlike regime has seized control of Fallujah and imposed a harsh brand of sharia (Islamic law) on the people there. A radical Iraqi Sunni cleric, Abdallah al-Janabi, has declared himself to be the "emir" (prince or leader) of the "Islamic Republic of Fallujah." Much like Mullah Omar, who declared himself emir of Afghanistan, Janabi works closely with foreign terrorists. He has allied with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (Unity and Holy War), which has close links to al Qaeda.
Al-Zarqawi's Tawhid group has carried out dozens of terrorist bombings in Iraq and assassinated scores of government officials. Tawhid also is responsible for many American deaths.
Zarqawi has recruited an unknown number (perhaps several hundred) of foreign Arabs to fight in Iraq and remains one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world. If allowed to operate freely from Fallujah, al-Zarqawi's group will pose a mounting threat not only to Iraqis, Americans, coalition forces and foreign civilians inside Iraq, but also to targets outside Iraq.
Fallujah has become a symbol of resistance to transforming Iraq into a stable democracy. As long as it remains a sanctuary for foreign terrorists and Iraqi insurgents, it will be impossible to secure and stabilize the rest of Iraq.
After backing away from a full-fledged assault last April, the United States has maintained pressure on insurgents in Fallujah through air strikes on their bases and safe houses. This apparently has led to growing friction between foreign militants and local residents angry at the risks they are forced to bear due to the provocations of the foreign Arabs.
Prime Minister Allawi realizes this — hence his ultimatum. And after the successful Oct. 1 offensive in Samarra by U.S. and government forces, Mr. Allawi has more leverage to apply. Government forces must stay on the offensive to tilt the psychological field against the insurgents, keep them off balance, and disrupt their plans for future attacks.
We're also at the beginning of Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic calendar in which Islamic extremists have in the past often chosen to launch attacks. There is a good chance Iraqi insurgents may seek to launch a Tet-like offensive to undermine the Iraqi government and coalition forces inside Iraq.
The United States should strongly back Mr. Allawi's efforts to rout the insurgency in Fallujah. This time the Marines, backed by the Iraqi army and National Guard, should complete their mission and relentlessly root out the insurgents as rapidly as possible. We need to avoid another halfhearted encirclement and a pullback that leaves hostile forces in control. Otherwise, the Fallujah insurgency is likely to metastasize into a cancer that will kill any hope for a stable Iraq.

James Phillips is a research fellow in Middle Eastern affairs at the Heritage Foundation.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20041019-083923-4691r.htm

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's
ON COMBAT

Reviewed By Sgt. Charles E. Humes, Jr.
http://hometown.aol.com/nodonuts

Every decade, there are probably hundreds of different tactical books produced for the warriors of modern society (law enforcement & military). Some are worthless, many are good, but only a handful will stand the test of time that ruthlessly crushes the mediocre and spotlights the significant. Even fewer make the list as a must-have, for optimum performance oriented warriors.

STREET SURVIVAL, THE TACTICAL EDGE, ON KILLING, SHARPENING THE WARRIOR'S EDGE, EMOTIONAL SURVIVAL FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, HANDGUN COMBATIVES, TACTICS FOR CRIMINAL PATROL, THE GIFT OF FEAR & DEADLY FORCE ENCOUNTERS are all in my opinion, both timeless works and must-haves to achieve your individual level of ultimate performance. However, I recently had the opportunity to read a book that will not only join the timeless works and must-have lists, it's likely to dominate both lists for many years to come.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, the Pulitzer Prize nominated author of ON KILLING and the highly acclaimed audio series THE BULLET-PROOF MIND, has just released his latest, and in my opinion, most significant work. ON COMBAT is the most comprehensive, well articulated and universally applicable warrior training manual available today. Lt. Col. Grossman doesn't pull any punches explaining the realities of combat in no uncertain terms. Combat induced physiological and psychological stress response complexities are explained in meticulous detail.
While this subject has been "covered" in other publications, none that I have seen have gone to the depths of detail that ON COMBAT does.

In a nutshell, ON COMBAT is currently THE manual on mental training and preparation for the gravest of circumstances. "All things are ready, if our minds be so," wrote Shakespeare. While not a warrior, he was absolutely correct. Without the proper mental preparation, all the physical training in the world is absolutely worthless.

ON COMBAT pulls much of its strength from an incredible amount of research of warriors and combat from the beginning of time right up to 2004. While most of the weapons and tactics have changed, some of the strategies and concepts have not. (Remember the test of time I talked about in the introduction of this review?) At times, ON COMBAT steers the reader into a guided discovery path of what works and what doesn't in combat situations, and most importantly, why.



While it's not a manual of self-defense techniques, it will give you some specific universal tactics, plus vital concepts to help you choose the right techniques to fill your tactical tool chest. The book ends with a section on the emotional price that warriors pay for their profession. And methods to help you avoid or alleviate many of the "secret" emotional pitfalls the warrior may fall into.

While the detail level throughout the book is outstanding, the information is always articulated in a manner that is easy to understand, and not in a fashion that the reader feels he's being talked down to. While Lt. Col. Grossman is probably the ultimate academia in the warrior field; his writings show that he has not lost the "grunt" perspective, or his respect for those who put their lives on the line.

While an absolute must-have for law enforcement and military personnel, ON COMBAT would be an incredible advantage for anyone involved in interpersonal combat sports such as Karate, Wrestling, or Mixed Martial Arts competition. Even if you are not an active warrior, but work in a position that you must investigate the actions of those who are, you need to read this book. Overall, I think this book is going to help save a lot of warriors; physically, mentally, and spiritually across their career and beyond. I give it my highest possible recommendation for all warriors to add it to their collection of must-have training manuals.


ON COMBAT is available at:

http://www.killology.com/on_combat.htm

This information is provided by PURE PURSUIT as a service to members of the Military and Air Defense Community with the purpose of offering relevant and timely information on (open source) defense, aviation, emergency, law enforcement and terrorism issues. Posts may be forwarded to other individuals, organizations and lists for non-commercial purposes. For new subscriptions please go to www.purepursuitintelnetwork.com


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Ex-Marines see a chance for big payday with job in Iraq

By Rick Rogers
STAFF WRITER

October 20, 2004

OCEANSIDE – San Diego Marines serving in Iraq is an old story. But now former Marines are traveling to Iraq as part of another volunteer army, this one under the banner of the defense contractor Halliburton.

Recruiters from the Houston-based company recently visited Camp Pendleton looking for a few good men and women willing to brave Iraq for a big payday.

Peter Howatt pulled no punches. The barrel-chested recruiter told Marines looking for a job that they could expect to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week under potentially deadly conditions.

On the upside, they'd be paid white-collar money – $80,000 to $100,000 a year – for blue-collar work, and most of their pay would be tax-free.

Halliburton's visit to the base is part of a military blitz across the country. Before Camp Pendleton, Howatt was at an Air Force base in San Antonio and was next off to an Army base in Georgia. Job fairs that include government contractors are routinely held on bases.

Camp Pendleton sponsors a career fair twice a year where potential employers can meet Marines, their spouses and base civil service employees looking for work.

Though soldiers have been barred from leaving the service once their enlistment is over because they hold critical jobs, the Marines Corps has had no such program in place.

The money Halliburton offered – and the chance to help rebuild Iraq – was just too much for Jack Rivas to pass up, though it meant leaving his wife, a Marine based in San Diego, and working in northern Iraq.

Rivas, a 27-year-old former Marine from upstate New York, has been with Halliburton for nearly a year and said he plans to stay for another year.

"Every since the war started, I felt like I wanted to be part of the operations. The opportunity opened up and I just decided to do it," said Rivas during a telephone interview that Halliburton set up with him from Iraq last week.

Rivas works on a flight line moving cargo.

"My training in the Marine Corps has helped me adjust to the situation," he said. "This is still a high-risk area. On a daily basis, we receive attacks. The company takes precautionary measures to take care of you, but you are still in high-risk area and anything can happen."

Howatt does not shy away from talking about the potential danger. "The first thing out of our mouth is: 'Although you have accepted this offer, you should think about it over the weekend,' " Howatt said. Halliburton provides free death and injury coverage that employees often supplement. "We don't want anyone who does not want to be over there. That would be bad for us and bad for the person."

There's reason to pause. As of last week, 51 employees affiliated with KBR – the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton – have died in Iraq, two are missing and more then 100 have been wounded.

Regardless, it was not a hard sell. Howatt said he talked to more than 150 interested Marines at Pendleton in late September and has hired about a dozen former, or soon-to-be-former, Marines as part of the 30,000 employees and subcontractors working for the company in Iraq.

Several others, Howatt said, will probably be hired.

KBR hires about 300 people a week to work overseas and has 100,000 resumes on file. The recruits from Pendleton, like all the rest, will have their backgrounds checked and will receive some training – how to don a gas mask, for example – before heading overseas.

Besides Iraq, KBR employees work in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Djibouti and Jordan. They can be assigned to any of those places, but most will probably end up in Iraq, Howatt said.

According to press reports, Halliburton might sell its KBR unit, which supports – with such things as transportation, cooks, laundry and billeting – the military and oil field operations in Iraq. Cathy Gist, a spokeswoman for Halliburton, said that possibility would not affect hiring.

"We are going to continue recruiting for as long as the government tells us to go forward," Gist said.

The Defense Department awarded Halliburton a competitively bid contract worth about $8.3 billion in December 2001 for operations support anywhere in the world.

Marines are attractive hires because of their training and familiarity with Iraq, Howatt said. Rivas had never been to Iraq before he went as a Halliburton hire, but thousands of Camp Pendleton Marines have been to Iraq once, if not twice, and are familiar with KBR services, which are often on Marine bases.

"At Pendleton, we have a lot of people who have real good understanding of what is going on over there (Iraq) and what we are doing there," Howatt said. "They want to serve, but not in the military. The money issue is always important."

Halliburton had alerted The San Diego Union-Tribune of the job fair at Camp Pendleton, but base officials declined to let the newspaper cover the event.

In the next month, Halliburton recruiters will be at several bases and public job fairs across the nation looking for "plumbers, logistics people, electricians, administrative folks, just about any position that supports our troops in Iraq," Howatt said. Security and general labor are also being hired.

Howatt said it's not just the high salaries and other perks that have led more than 100,000 people to apply for work in Iraq.

Under tax law, Howatt said, the first $80,000 is tax-free if employees stay out of the United States for 330 or more days.

Every four months, workers get 10 days off with pay and $860 for a ticket to wherever they want. They sign a 12-month contract but can walk away from the job at any time without penalty. Only 2 percent have left early, Gist said.

"The response at Camp Pendleton has been very positive," Howatt said. "We are going to suggest that we do more hiring here."

Halliburton will be one of the employers at a job fair today, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center at 1895 Camino Del Rio S. in Mission Valley. For more information, call (619) 297-0397.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Bush? Kerry? It Makes No Difference to Iraqis

By Michael Georgy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Some see U.S. presidential challenger Senator John Kerry (news - web sites) as an articulate war hero with credentials to lead a superpower, others are grateful President Bush (news - web sites) toppled Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).


But even if Iraqis could vote in the U.S. presidential elections, few believe either man will save their country from daily carnage.


"Bush should just retire. He has given me nothing but headaches. He removed Saddam and gave us many other big problems. America needs a new leader," said Abbas Muhammad.


"Now Iraq (news - web sites) has huge problems. I like Kerry but I really don't think much will change here even if Iraqis could vote in America."


Iraqis have watched Bush and Kerry in fierce debates over the U.S-led war in Iraq and its bloody aftermath.


But neither candidate managed to convince Iraqis they had a plan to end the almost daily suicide car bombings, shootings, kidnappings and chaos.


Iraqi sentiments toward the United States are divided along complex and volatile ethnic and sectarian lines.


The Kurds in the north, who were shielded from Saddam's troops by a U.S. and British no-fly zone, tend to be pro-American. Many Shi'ites in the south who welcomed the U.S. invasion are now deeply resentful of the Americans.


And many Sunnis in central Iraq are fiercely anti-American.


Whether Iraqis appreciate Bush's decision to topple Saddam or hope he loses the election, most people interviewed say they will remain suspicious of American policy in Iraq even if there is a new face in the White House.


"Bush? Kerry? It really makes no difference. American policies in the Middle East and Iraq will not change because everyone knows they are controlled by Israel," said Hamid Majeed, 40, a factory manager in Baghdad.


"They just want to control Iraq and keep it unstable because that will be an excuse to stay here."


U.S. troops backing Iraq's interim government are trying to retake rebel strongholds ahead of elections due in January. But Iraqis still don't know who their own candidates are.


Air strikes on the fiercest rebel-held city of Falluja are fueling anti-American sentiment and hurting the credibility of the government that many Iraqis complain is heavily influenced by Washington.


Some Iraqis hope Kerry would make a fresh start in Iraq by pulling out U.S. troops.


WAR HERO VS LIBERATOR


"I wait for Kerry's victory over Bush. He may pull American forces from Iraq and rid the Iraqis of the killing and destruction and put an end to the mess from the occupation," Abdullah al-Abaichee, 15, a student in rebel-held Falluja.





"If Bush wins it will be the biggest brutal aggression in Iraq. The reaction from the resistance will be fierce. It will be an arena of conflict and Iraqis and US troops will pay the price."

Other Iraqis were terrified at the thought of U.S. troops leaving as violence rages.

"Bush gave us the biggest present when he removed Saddam. Today we are scared a Kerry victory would lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq," said Zansit Othman, a 23 year-old student in the Kurdish city of Arbil.

Even though Iraqis have a grim view of their future, both Kerry and Bush have some appeal in a country where people were happy to see Saddam's fall but want a strong leader to end the turmoil.

"Kerry is better than Bush because he had experience fighting in Vietnam. Only someone with military experience can run a country," said Baghdad businessman Ouf Abdel Rahman, 56.

Some Iraqis nostalgic for the old days are not paying much attention to the Nov. 2 U.S. elections.

"Let me ask you something. Who would you vote for Saddam or Bush? Saddam is my choice," said Alla al-Turfi, 25, as he washed his car. "He is the only person I want to vote for."


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1963&e=18&u=/nm/20041019/pl_nm/campaign_iraqis_dc_3


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Soldier Pleads Guilty in Iraq Abuse Case <br />
<br />
By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer <br />
<br />
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The highest-ranking soldier charged with abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison pleaded...

[thedrifter]

October 25, 2004

Help springs eternal
Marines save officer after ambush, while others aid family back home

By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A rocket-propelled grenade took a chunk out of 1st Lt. Christopher Ayres’ right leg, knocking him down and nearly killing him during a fiery ambush in Fallujah last spring.
His group of two Amphibious Assault Vehicles was trying to resupply grunts with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, when it was hit by insurgents.

As Ayres’ men fled the vehicle, two of the lieutenant’s “angels” — biblically named Staff Sgt. Ismael Sagredo and Lance Cpl. Abraham McCarver — carried him to safety in a nearby house. There, the Marines fought a pitched battle before Humvees raced the wounded to safety.

It wouldn’t be the first time Ayres, or the rest of his family, would get much-needed help.

Not long after he and his wife, Renee, returned to their hometown of San Antonio, Renee went into premature labor. For weeks, the mother of two shuttled between a hotel and the two hospitals that held her husband and her newborn daughter, Faith. Money was getting tight.

“It was hard,” she said. “Looking back, I’m not sure how I made it.”

What she didn’t know was that help, from their Marine Corps family, was again on its way.

Ambush!

The timing of the assault on Ayres’ vehicle couldn’t have been worse.

The two amtracs were trying to resupply the Bravo Company Marines on April 13 when they were hit with a barrage of small-arms fire and RPGs. Ayres’ amtrac was hit, and constant enemy fire kept nearby Bravo Company Marines from rescuing the leathernecks in the burning vehicle.

As one amtrac split off, Ayres decided to close on the enemy and get out of the kill zone. But the route took them deep into the city seething with black-clad insurgents ready for a fight. Smoke from the burning amtrac signaled to the insurgents that the Americans were in trouble, and more enemy fighters poured into the streets.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Sergio Villegas watched Ayres fall into the turret. “I saw another explosion,” said Villegas, 21. “I just remember putting my hands to my face and then thinking, I’ve got to get the lieutenant out of here.”

The men fled the vehicle with Ayres and ran into a nearby house, the amtrac gunner dead in the vehicle.

The Marines fought approaching fighters while corpsmen handled battle dressings, tourniquets and morphine to keep Ayres and several injured men alive.

Nearly 90 minutes later, with the men low on ammunition, a rescue force led by four tanks arrived. Two Humvees raced the wounded to the battalion aid station.

Ayres died three times that day when his heart went into cardiac arrest, but he was resuscitated each time. At Camp Fallujah, two Marines donated blood to save him, and eventually doctors managed to save his torn leg.

Help comes from afar

Three days after he was wounded, Chris Ayres was brought to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Not long after that, Renee Ayres went into premature labor.

But help was coming.

Fisher House provided free space for Renee and their older daughter, 5-year-old Lauren, who suffers from Down syndrome. A group of wives, now organized as the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, gave the family child-care money. Friends assisted her with the newborn.

Renee’s brother flew in from Holland and “took care of me and let me sleep,” she said. Marines with 4th Reconnaissance Battalion in San Antonio visited Chris Ayres, boosting his spirits and plastering his hospital room with leatherneck paraphernalia — posters, stickers, shirts, hats and a “Welcome to the 4th Recon Family” blanket.

Stories in local newspapers drew cards and donations of money and gifts. Their family’s church donated $200 worth of baby supplies. A large box of donations from the “Sgt. Grit” Web site (www.grunt .com) “made me cry,” Renee added.

Even today, their mail brings a note wishing them well and sometimes, she said, “someone does something nice for us.”

‘Because of what they did’

By mid-July, Chris, who spent 74 days in the hospital, was back at Pendleton working at 1/5, still grappling with muscle loss and pain from burns and skin grafts. But he’s relishing his circle of friends and family.

“I’m definitely blessed,” he said.

The lieutenant moves around his house with a slight limp, looking lean and mostly healthy. He lifts his shorts to show the grafted skin and scars covering where his hamstring, the muscle that contracts to raise the leg, once was. He can walk, though his leg often tingles, and he’s able to ride a stationary bike for several minutes.

He has scattered memories of the ambush and knows he felt a “sense of dread” that day.

Sitting in his home office, he glances at his computer screen and a photo of his mangled leg. “I don’t know how anybody can walk after that,” he said.

“He died a couple of times, but through everyone’s actions, he’s here with me,” Renee said. “And he may be disabled or whatever for the rest of his life, but I don’t care. He’s home with me and his two little girls, and the important thing for those guys to remember is it’s because of them that he’s here, because of what they did.”

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-391730.php


Ellie