Marines Prepare for the Battlefield in the Tri-Cities

[thedrifter]

Marines Prepare for the Battlefield in the Tri-Cities
Mike Giordano
News Channel 11
Dec 15, 4:42 PM EST

The sights and sounds of the battlefield...sort of.

This is the first time the Marines have let us videotape this high-tech simulated training exercise.

Marines say this big-screen video game is extremely realistic and practical...used to train for several missions under various conditions.

On this day, they're practicing urban combat...similar to what they'd see in cities throughout Iraq.

“You never know where they're going to be. You always have to stay on your toes and keep your guard up," said Lance Corporal Keith Thomas.

A lesson I learned first hand...although not very well.

This M16 rifle, while difficult for me to use, marines say is very accurate and able to hit targets more than 5 football fields away.

But, I found precise equipment is useless without adequate training.

After all, marines say, I would have been dead long before I shot a single insurgent.

Equally critical is clear communication.

That was never more evident than when a Marine's gun malfunctioned... leaving him repairing his weapon and unarmed.

"It’s like being a kid and you're standing in mud and they're throwing rocks at you and you have no rocks around," said Lance Corporal Joshua Morris.

Only on the battlefield rocks are replaced by lethal bullets and grenades.

Such situations force marines to rely entirely on the rest of their fire team.

"If we don't have communication, we're basically worthless. We have to know what each other's doing because we can't always look at each other and tell what they're doing," Thomas said.

Knowledge that could be the difference between living and dying.

"The Marine Corps, it's the tightest band of brothers I know," said Morris.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Pendleton Marines listed among detainee abusers <br />
<br />
By Rick Rogers <br />
STAFF WRITER <br />
<br />
December 16, 2004 <br />
<br />
At least four Camp Pendleton Marines have been convicted of abusing prisoners in Iraq for...

[thedrifter]

Toby Keith wows ’em at wounded veterans’ convention <br />
<br />
By Gina Cavallaro <br />
Times staff writer <br />
<br />
ORLANDO, Fla. — Wearing the sort of grin someone wears when he knows the gift he’s about to give will...

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As skirmishes continue, Marines seek delay in civilians’ return to Fallujah

By Gordon Trowbridge
Times staff writer


CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marines continue to battle pockets of insurgents in Fallujah at the start of what could be a crucial week for American policy in the rebellious city.
Officers here had hoped to begin as early as this week to allow the return of more than 200,000 residents forced out in November by fighting between coalition and rebel forces. But as Marines inside the city fought small groups of insurgents again on Sunday, senior officers from the I Marine Expeditionary Force said security, not the calendar, would drive their decisions.

“I wouldn’t pay attention to any particular date,” said Maj. Jeff Lipson, a Marine civil affairs officer. “There may be dates that are thrown around, but there are other criteria. We are trying to convince the [interim Iraqi government} of why a later date would be better.”

Officers have cited threats ranging from insurgent attacks to weapons caches to the absence of power and clean water as obstacles to civilians return.

One Marine died Saturday and one Sunday in clashes with insurgents inside the city. In one engagement on Saturday, troops reported killing 15 rebels, but Lt. Col. Dan Wilson, a Marine operations planner, said most incidents involved small teams of insurgents.

Maj. Jim West, a Marine intelligence officer, said it was unclear if the insurgents who are still fighting had been hiding in tunnels and basements since coalition forces retook the city, or had managed to re-enter afterward despite a cordon of U.S. and Iraqi troops.

As long as there is information that points to continued security dangers, West said, Marine intelligence officers will continue to recommend that at least some portions of the city remain off-limits to civilians.

In interviews conducted during the past week, I MEF staff officers have insisted they are under no pressure to return citizens to Fallujah before the city is safe. But officials here and across Iraq are operating under a demanding timeframe that calls for national elections less than two months from now.

The Marines control the area that is the biggest challenge to that plan: Anbar Province, which includes Fallujah and Ramadi, another center of insurgent activity.

The province is a power center for Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority, which has resisted efforts to prepare for January’s voting. If U.S. and Iraqi officials cannot encourage at least some political participation by Anbar’s Sunnis, the voting is likely to be seen as lacking legitimacy both in Iraq and internationally.

Although challenges remain in Fallujah, officers here have voiced increasing optimism that militarily, the November assault on the city has had the desired effect.

Wilson said insurgent attacks have fallen by more than half in the Marines’ area of operations, which includes Anbar and portions of several other provinces west and south of Baghdad.

Wilson said residents who had been reluctant to cooperate with U.S. forces have begun doing so. In the western desert, he said, a group of locals had staked out locations of roadside bombs planted by insurgents. In Ramadi, he added, a group of businessmen had chased rebels away from their neighborhood, burning two of the insurgents’ vehicles. Those reports could not be independently verified.

Marine officials also said they hoped to tighten security along the Syrian border, which is believed to be a conduit for foreign fighters as well as supplies and financing for the insurgency.

Additional Iraq border patrol units are scheduled to arrive this week. The Washington Post reported last week that some Bush administration officials have become convinced that Syria is aiding the insurgency. But West, the intelligence officer, said there is too little information to decide whether Syria is backing the insurgents or is just a convenient entry point.



Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Expands Cargo Flights Over Iraq
Associated Press
December 15, 2004

WASHINGTON - The Air Force is making more cargo flights over Iraq to keep Army transport trucks off the country's dangerous roads, accepting the increased risk to planes and added cost to reduce the threat on the ground, officials said Tuesday.

During the last month, the Air Force reorganized the operations of its cargo lifters and is now flying about 450 tons of cargo around Iraq daily, said Lt. Col. Mike Caldwell, an Air Force spokesman. That's an increase of about 100 tons a day over its previous average, he said.

Most of the missions are flown by propeller-driven C-130 Hercules transports; the Air Force has 64 available in and around the Iraq theater, officials said. The larger C-17 Globemaster and commercial aircraft also are used for some flights.

The cargo consists primarily of repair parts and ammunition. They flights also carry armored Humvees from Kuwait to Baghdad, eliminating for the vehicles the risks of a four-day drive.

While they carry only a small portion of the 25,000 tons hauled daily around Iraq in support of the U.S.-led military effort there, Air Force officials say the cargo flights keep about 180 people off the roughest roads in a 24-hour period.




The flights "give the ground forces the opportunity to reduce the traffic on the most dangerous routes," said Gen. John Jumper, the Air Force's chief of staff, according to a transcript of comments he made Tuesday.

On a given day in Iraq, 3,000 vehicles in 215 convoys are moving around, according to Air Force figures. They face ambush by insurgents and attacks from roadside bombs. Scores of soldiers and drivers have been killed or wounded while on convoy duty.

Many of the heavy trucks in these convoys are without armor and are protected only by troops in escorting Humvees. An Army Reserve unit refused to go on a convoy mission in October because they believed it was too dangerous. The military acknowledged some of their concerns were valid but punished some of the soldiers for refusing orders.

Still, increased flights by cargo aircraft subject them to greater risk. Insurgents have shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that are capable of taking down low-flying aircraft, although C-130s and other military planes have defenses against them.

"There will be increased SAMs," Jumper said. "But we've also got 100 casualties a month in convoys. We're not sending C-130s in there undefended, so they have the right kind of equipment to go in there and defend themselves."

Last year, a civilian cargo jet was hit with a shoulder-launched missile after takeoff from Baghdad, and earlier this year a burst of automatic gunfire killed a passenger aboard an Australian C-130.

In addition, the increased flights probably will mean greater fuel and maintenance costs and stress on aircrews. Flying a C-130 costs $3,400 an hour, Air Force officials said.

"I am totally disinterested in the cost," Jumper said. "It will be paid for. We will do what it takes."

Some Air Force officials ultimately hope to haul as much as 1,600 tons a day around Iraq, officials said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Local Benefits Raise Money For Marines, Families
Woman Ships Thousands Of Items To Iraq

POSTED: 7:22 pm PST December 13, 2004

SAN DIEGO -- Local benefits are raising money for the families of Marines in Iraq and providing bags of goods for those serving.

In Fallbrook, a Marine's wife has rallied her coworkers to ship hundreds of thousands of items to one Marine platoon in Iraq. She decided to take up the cause after her husband told her how much he missed everyday items like Chapstick, cookies and gum.

"We are going to be sending items every other week so they always get continuous packages," said Tina Retana. "It's not like a one-time holiday deal."

"I'm very fortunate to have my brother back now -- he's home for the holidays -- but I know a lot of other families are not so fortunate," said Summer Frost, a volunteer. "So it is very personal."

One Monday at Humphreys, an event called The Red, White and Blues Benefit raised cash and collected food donations for the families of local Marines serving in Iraq. The goal was to ensure more than 600 families were able to eat a holiday meal.

Four bands donated their time to the event. It was organized by the Marine Family Food Pantry.

Individuals interested in joining the Tina Retana's group of volunteers in Fallbrook can contact her at the Pala Mesa Resort.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Navy SEALs Expanding Iraq Photos Probe
Associated Press
December 16, 2004

SAN DIEGO - The Navy SEALs are expanding their investigation into recently published photographs that show freshly captured prisoners and grinning commandos sitting or lying on hooded and handcuffed detainees in Iraq, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Following a preliminary inquiry, senior SEAL officials have decided to take a more thorough look at the circumstances surrounding some of the photos, Navy Cmdr. Jeff Bender said. Some of the images also show the bloodied faces of detainees.

Such an investigation, which will take up to a month, could result in disciplinary proceedings.

The preliminary inquiry by a single Navy investigator found that the majority of the 15 photographs published Dec. 3 by The Associated Press were taken for legitimate intelligence-gathering purposes and showed commandos using approved procedures, Bender said. He cited as an example a photo in which a weapon with a flashlight attached is pointed at a detainee's head to illuminate his face as another commando snapped a photo.

But other photos appear to show Navy SEALs posing for photos on top of hooded and handcuffed detainees in the back of a pickup truck. Bender declined to comment on the pickup truck photos, citing the ongoing investigation.




Bender said some SEALs have been called in for questioning during the preliminary inquiry, which was launched after the AP brought the photos to the Navy seeking comment.

An AP reporter found 40 photos of detainees on a commercial photo-sharing Web site. They were among hundreds posted by a woman who said her husband brought them back from Iraq.

Taking photos of prisoners for administrative or intelligence purposes is an exception to Navy regulations that generally forbid photos of prisoners of war.

Naval Special Warfare Group One, which oversees four SEAL teams based in Coronado, will take over the investigation. A new investigating officer will be assigned to handle the case.

Bender declined to say which of the SEAL teams was involved. However, some other photos show the insignia and patches of Seal Team Five, which is based in Coronado.

Date stamps on some of the photos suggest they were taken in May 2003. That would make them the earliest evidence of possible abuse or questionable handling of prisoners in Iraq.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

DoD May Restart Anthrax Shots
United Press International
December 16, 2004

WASHINGTON - Several months after a federal court ruled against the Department of Defense's mandatory anthrax vaccination program, the DOD has requested an emergency ruling so it can continue to give the controversial vaccine to soldiers.

The authorization request was made in a letter from Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

"I have determined there is a significant potential for a military emergency involving a heightened risk to the United States military forces of an attack with anthrax," said Wolfowitz in the letter, which was written Dec. 10.

"In making this determination, I have considered a classified November 2004 Intelligence Community assessment of the anthrax threat. This heightened risk has been and continues to be the basis for the DOD program of vaccinating personnel serving in the areas of Central Command and Korea," Wolfowitz wrote.

Powdered anthrax, a dried substance specifically intended to be inhaled, killed two postal workers and three other people in the fall of 2001. Weaponized anthrax frequently is cited as a potential bioterror weapon.





"It is certainly a concern within the Department of Defense that our troops might be exposed to anthrax," Col. Joseph Palma, medical director in the Chemical and Biological Defense Program with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told United Press International.

"We are concerned for the health and safety of our service members, particularly in worldwide operations involving the war on terrorism. Intelligence indicates an ongoing threat of anthrax against our military forces," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Under the Project Bioshield Act of 2004, signed into law last summer by President Bush, Thompson can allow the use of a vaccine for an otherwise-unapproved application if there is an emergency or potential emergency. The law gives Thompson that power in both domestic and military situations.

Whether there is a military emergency, however, is left by law for the secretary of defense to decide. It is unclear if Wolfowitz also has the authority to make the determination as indicated in the letter.

The letter is seen by critics as an attempt to circumvent a U.S. District Court ruling last October that the vaccine, originally approved many years ago to prevent anthrax-caused skin infections, not be used on soldiers to prevent illness from inhaled anthrax without their informed consent.

"They are using the statute to try to end-run the court ruling," said John Michels, an attorney with the firm McGuire Woods in Chicago and one of the lawyers who won the injunction.

Critics also claim the vaccine, manufactured by Bioport of Lansing, Mich., has sickened hundreds. Three lawsuits have been filed to stop the mandatory military vaccinations and Congress held hearings on the controversy in 2000.

DOD steadfastly has stood by the vaccine, however, working through manufacturing issues with Bioport and resuming the program at the end of last year, after an initial injunction on the same issue.

"America's best scientists say the Anthrax vaccine is safe and effective," Winkenwerder asserted.

The controversy, however, has had an impact on the fine workings of the military machine -- now overheating under the strain of the war in Iraq. As of October 2000, according to Department of Defense testimony before the House committee on Government Reform, some 442 service members had refused to be vaccinated. As of October of this year more than 100 service personnel had been court-martialed as a result of those refusals,according to Mark Zaid, managing partner at Krieger and Zaid. Zaid also was an attorney in the injunction case.

A lot is at stake. Even so, should the emergency authorization be granted, it is not clear what, if any, practical difference it will make. Though Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld halted the vaccinations after the October ruling by District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, the vaccine still is considered an investigatory drug and can be administered with consent.

That requirement for consent remains unless Bush takes it away. Michels told UPI that language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 requires the president personally to rule to make the program mandatory.

"Once they have the authorization to use it, the secretary still has to ensure that those getting the vaccine have the option to accept or refuse," Michels said. "Our position is that you can't administer the vaccine (mandatorily) without the president."

Whatever the answer is, it should be known soon.

The process will require a separate assessment by the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Food and Drug Administration, said a DOD spokesman.

"This process is deliberate and will require additional discussion between DOD and HHS over the next few weeks," he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

MARINE GENERAL ANSWERS QUESTIONS IN IRAQ <br />
<br />
From future troop rotations to new weaponry, Marines got their chance to ask any and every question to the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine...

[thedrifter]

CMC visits Marines in, around Fallujah
Submitted by: I Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 20041215105349
Story by Cpl. Randy L. Bernard



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 15, 2004) -- Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee met with the Marines of 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment here during his tour of Marine Corps bases throughout Iraq, the commandant set aside time to meet with the Marines and discuss topics of the Corps and answer any questions that the Marines had.

The Marines took advantage of the opportunity to speak with Hagee, asking questions about how the war in Iraq would affect their careers in the Marine Corps. Hagee explained how and why reservists are activated, and what the Marines of the Battalion will have to look forward to in future deployments.

After visiting with the Marines of 1/8, Hagee and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps, John L. Estrada, convoyed into the city of Fallujah to see first-hand where his Marines have been operating for the past months.

While in the city, Hagee visited with the Marines of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, again answering questions, shaking hands, and giving the Marines a photo opportunity with their commander.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Chicago Tribune <br />
December 12, 2004 <br />
Pg. 1 <br />
<br />
'Scrounging' For Iraq War Puts GIs In Jail <br />
<br />
Reservists court-martialed for theft; they say they did what they had to do <br />
<br />
<br />
By Aamer Madhani, Tribune...

[thedrifter]

Rebel Strikes Across Baghdad Kill Five <br />
<br />
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer <br />
<br />
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Rebel strikes across Baghdad killed five people on Thursday — including three paramilitary...

[thedrifter]

$4B Spent To Send Vehicles To Iraq
Associated Press
December 16, 2004

WASHINGTON - Iraqi insurgents are growing more effective and it will take time to get U.S. troops the $4 billion in armor they need for protection, defense officials said Wednesday. "This is not Wal-Mart," one general said.

Officials rejected growing criticism that armor shortages in Iraq reflect poor war planning, and they said they've been working as fast as possible to give troops what they need.

At a Pentagon news conference, Army officials declined to say how much has already been spent armoring vehicles for the campaign. But they said that by the end of the next six to eight months, they will have spent $4.1 billion to try to make sure vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan have full armor - either manufactured that way or with armor added.

They said they expect 98 percent of Army Humvees in the theater to have proper armor by March and the rest of the fleet, such as fuel trucks, by summer.

"This is not Wal-Mart ... this is a very detailed process in terms of trying to get this capability," said Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sorenson, adding that it takes time to study, develop, test and produce equipment needed against what commanders say is a sophisticated and ever-adapting enemy.




Asked at a separate news conference on Iraq operations whether he was concerned about still lacking protection, Lt. Gen. Lance Smith said officials are concerned that insurgents have changed their tactics -- attacking troops in the rear area after realizing they could not win in direct combat.

"Yes, we're concerned that he has changed his tactics and it's required us to armor vehicles that we might otherwise not armor," he said of attacks on logistics convoys.

"I don't know that we'll ever find a silver bullet" against the insurgents' homemade bombs, said Smith, deputy commander of Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations throughout the Middle East.

He said insurgents may use doorbell mechanisms today and remote controls from toys tomorrow to detonate the bombs that have become the major source of U.S. casualties in Iraq.

"As we adapt, they adapt," he said.

Smith and Sorenson spoke to Pentagon reporters in two separate press conferences Wednesday, a week after a soldier's question to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ignited a firestorm over why troops lack proper armor 21 months into the Iraq campaign.

Critics of Bush administration policies in Iraq blame what they say was a rosy picture the administration held before the war. The campaign was meant to be fought at rapid speed by a limited-size force with international help to disarm Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction. Instead, no weapons were found, the international community largely refused to participate and officials have been forced to increase the size of the force there, now going up to 150,000 troops.

There was too little advanced body armor and too few armored vehicles to deal with what the Pentagon has since acknowledged is a far stronger and longer insurgency than expected, critics say. Smith said all troops now have the body vests.

Defense officials say it wasn't a matter of poor planning but that insurgents have proven very smart. U.S. forces changed various tactics, including driving convoys fast through problem areas and getting jammers that foil insurgents' ability to detonate bombs by remote control, Smith said.

"And that's been effective, but it's effective for a short time," Smith said. "The enemy is very smart and thinking ... so he changes his tactics and he becomes more effective."

Officials also said this week that the Air Force has started making more cargo flights over Iraq to keep Army transport trucks off the country's dangerous roads when possible.

"Its not just armor ... but a holistic approach" to the threat, Sorenson said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Los Angeles Times <br />
December 15, 2004 <br />
Pg. 1 <br />
<br />
Details Of Marines Mistreating Prisoners In Iraq Are Revealed <br />
<br />
<br />
By Richard A. Serrano, Times Staff Writer <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON — Marines in Iraq conducted...

[thedrifter]

Omro Veteran Plans Memorial to Slain Marines

We have new information about how the two latest Wisconsin Marines died in Iraq. Private First Class Brent Vroman, 21, of Omro, and Lance Corporal Richard Warner, 22, of Waukesha, were both riflemen in the Marine Reserves Fox Company First Platoon. They were on foot patrol Monday when they were hit with an explosive device fired from a vehicle.

Vroman and Warner are the third and fourth members of the company to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

PFC Vroman's loss is especially painful for one Omro veteran. He was friends with the last member of the armed forces from Omro to die in a military conflict.

It's been a long time since the community has dealt with the loss of a hometown Marine. John Hoeft says it's his duty to make sure that sacrifice is remembered.

The stories are so similar -- from the same city, 37 years apart. Two young men -- both athletes, both well-liked at school, both gone.

John Hoeft knew them both.

"Here you got two young men, roughly about the same age, both Marines," Hoeft points out.

Twenty-year-old Merlin Allen died in 1967 in Vietnam when his helicopter was shot down. "Merlin, I think he was a door gunner on a Marine helicopter," Hoeft said.

Allen and Hoeft were friends growing up in Omro. "His memory stays with a lot of us in his age group, especially being in Vietnam and knowing what went on."

Hoeft says Vroman's death brings back memories of Allen, and of his own service in Vietnam.

"When you're a veteran yourself, I don't care what the age difference is, you have that special bond." A bond that Hoeft says requires him to create some memorial to Vroman and to Allen, too.

"I don't know what it is yet, but there will be something done on behalf of his memory and also any previous veterans that were killed. I don't care how far back it went."

Hoeft says he'll start to make plans for a memorial with his American Legion Group at its next meeting.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

"Learning To Care For Those In Harm's Way"

The Walter Reed Society, inc.
Post Office Box 59611
Walter Reed Station
Washington, D.C. 20012-9611
Phone 202.782.6607
14 December 2004

MEMORANDUM TO: Potential Donors

SUBJECT: Walter Reed Society/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom Family Support Fund
(OIF/OEF-FSF)

The Walter Reed Society, established in 1996 is a tax exempt organization (tax exempt id 52-1961196) incorporated in the District of Columbia with the purposes of preserving and enhancing the rich history and worldwide reputation of the Army's best known medical research, treatment and training facility and aiding and assisting its patients and staff. Membership is open to all and the society has been involved in fundraising for philanthropic purposes since its inception. Past projects have included the improvement of waiting rooms, provision of playground equipment, a healing garden and other contributions in accordance with requests from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Command and staff.

The Walter Reed Society is available to receive donations to assist family members of service members returning to Walter Reed Army Medical Center as patients. The Operation Iraqi Freedom Family Support Fund provides funds for lodging and other related expenses incurred by family members that are not otherwise covered by government funding. Donations may be made to the Walter Reed Society Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom Family Support Fund and will be managed by a separate account ledger with payment authorized by an office/individual designated by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Command. Receipts for donations will be issued by the Walter Reed Society and disbursements from the fund will be managed by the Walter Reed Society's treasurer in accordance with an established request form with appropriate validation. Incidental expenses incurred in the management of the fund will be recorded in the account's ledger.

Point of contact for this action is the undersigned or Mr. Dan Bullis - phone 202-782-8937, fax 202-782-7948 or e-mail: dan.bullis@na.amedd.army.mil .

FOR THE WALTER REED SOCIETY:



Peter B. Esker
Secretary
(301) 295-1219, FAX (301) 295-3757, email pesker@usuhs.mil

Walter Reed Society's Operation Iraqi Freedom Family Support Fund

Walter Reed Society continues to help our wounded warriors

The Walter Reed Society's Operation Iraqi Freedom Family Support Fund (WRS-OIF/FSF), established on 19 March 2003, continues to serve our wounded warriors here at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in many different ways.

Most all of the soldiers that arrive here at WRAMC via the medical evacuation system arrive with little or no personal belongings and are generally met by their family who travels hundreds of miles to be here at Walter Reed to assist with their care and support them while here. The Medical Family Assistance Center is able to provide for the families needs through many of the support organizations that are here, however many times the needs exceed either the ability or bureaucracy sometimes involved in providing the support required.

For these soldiers and family members the Medical Family Assistance Center assists them with completing a request for assistance to the WRS-OIF/FSF and arranges for them to meet with SGM Dan Bullis (USA-RET), who meets with each soldier and or family members as part of the WRS's-OIF/FSF committee and insures that their needs are properly captured and transmitted to the committee for final review/approval.

Once approved the WRS provides a grant to the individual. Thus far we have provided direct support to over 50 soldiers/family members and have supported requests from the Occupational Therapy Department for musical instruments, clothing and other items to assist many of the amputees with their needs. We have also assisted with providing items for the patient recreation center, and supporting the transportation needs for soldiers and family members to outings.

The WRS-OIF/FSF has proven to be a huge care multiplier for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center's mission of providing the best possible care to this very special population and we are honored and proud to provide this support to our wounded warriors.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

General: Insurgents Growing More Effective

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Iraqi insurgents are growing more effective and it will take time to get U.S. troops the $4 billion in armor they need for protection, defense officials said Wednesday. "This is not Wal-Mart," one general said.


Officials rejected growing criticism that armor shortages in Iraq (news - web sites) reflect poor war planning, and they said they've been working as fast as possible to give troops what they need.


At a Pentagon (news - web sites) news conference, Army officials declined to say how much has already been spent armoring vehicles for the campaign. But they said that by the end of the next six to eight months, they will have spent $4.1 billion to try to make sure vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites) have full armor — either manufactured that way or with armor added.


They said they expect 98 percent of Army Humvees in the theater to have proper armor by March and the rest of the fleet, such as fuel trucks, by summer.


"This is not Wal-Mart ... this is a very detailed process in terms of trying to get this capability," said Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sorenson, adding that it takes time to study, develop, test and produce equipment needed against what commanders say is a sophisticated and ever-adapting enemy.


Asked at a separate news conference on Iraq operations whether he was concerned about still lacking protection, Lt. Gen. Lance Smith said officials are concerned that insurgents have changed their tactics -- attacking troops in the rear area after realizing they could not win in direct combat.


"Yes, we're concerned that he has changed his tactics and it's required us to armor vehicles that we might otherwise not armor," he said of attacks on logistics convoys.


"I don't know that we'll ever find a silver bullet" against the insurgents' homemade bombs, said Smith, deputy commander of Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations throughout the Middle East.


He said insurgents may use doorbell mechanisms today and remote controls from toys tomorrow to detonate the bombs that have become the major source of U.S. casualties in Iraq.


"As we adapt, they adapt," he said.


Smith and Sorenson spoke to Pentagon reporters in two separate press conferences Wednesday, a week after a soldier's question to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ignited a firestorm over why troops lack proper armor 21 months into the Iraq campaign.


Critics of Bush administration policies in Iraq blame what they say was a rosy picture the administration held before the war. The campaign was meant to be fought at rapid speed by a limited-size force with international help to disarm Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) of his weapons of mass destruction. Instead, no weapons were found, the international community largely refused to participate and officials have been forced to increase the size of the force there, now going up to 150,000 troops.


There was too little advanced body armor and too few armored vehicles to deal with what the Pentagon has since acknowledged is a far stronger and longer insurgency than expected, critics say. Smith said all troops now have the body vests.


Defense officials say it wasn't a matter of poor planning but that insurgents have proven very smart. U.S. forces changed various tactics, including driving convoys fast through problem areas and getting jammers that foil insurgents' ability to detonate bombs by remote control, Smith said.


"And that's been effective, but it's effective for a short time," Smith said. "The enemy is very smart and thinking ... so he changes his tactics and he becomes more effective."


Officials also said this week that the Air Force has started making more cargo flights over Iraq to keep Army transport trucks off the country's dangerous roads when possible.


"Its not just armor ... but a holistic approach" to the threat, Sorenson said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

New Film Highlights 1st AD's Iraq Mission

By Terry Boyd,
Stars and Stripes European edition


BAUMHOLD-ER, Germany — Filmmaker Michael Tucker is perplexed.
The Berlin-based documentary maker asks why America doesn’t seem to care about the Iraq war or the American soldiers who are fighting it.

America, he says, has lost interest in the war and turned the channel to “Survivor” and “American Idol.”

“My friends say, ‘You’re obsessed with this war,’” Tucker said in a telephone interview from his Berlin office. “I say, ‘How can you not be?’ The American people have no idea what life is like for these soldiers.”

Tucker, a Seattle native, has channeled his obsession into “Gunner Palace,” the first feature-length film about the Iraq war; a film that he says is from the perspective of the soldiers themselves.

It’s a film that may do for the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment — nicknamed “Gunners” — what HBO’s “Band of Brothers” did for Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division: Make them into American icons.

The movie is set to open Feb. 11 in six U.S. markets, then expand the following week to 15 markets. Tucker said he hopes to have pre-release screenings next month at major U.S. posts, such as Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Drum, N.Y., but those plans are not yet complete.

Tucker spent a total of two months between September 2003 and April 2004 living with the unit at what soldiers call “Odai’s Love Shack,” a partially bombed-out palace on the Euphrates River where Saddam Hussein’s son, Odai, brought paramours for trysts.

The regiment set up headquarters at the palace complex, which they nicknamed “Gunnerland,” while patrolling Al-Adhamiya, one of the most volatile sections of Baghdad. Tucker accompanied soldiers on countless missions and simply hung out with the troops. He said that left him with a sympathetic view of his soldiers that strongly runs counter to an image colored by soldiers’ abuses of Iraqi captives at Abu Ghraib prison.

“I tended to give soldiers the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “They didn’t ‘sandbag’ detainees (place sandbags over their heads). It shocked me you didn’t see rougher treatment of detainees” given the constant threat level.”

He did see, over time, mounting frustration among troops over the language barrier, and the fatigue of working nearly around the clock.

“It’s a bunch of 20-year-old kids who just want to survive,” he said.

Gunnerland was a world between the reality of raids and attacks and the “real” world via the Internet, phones and the media, Tucker said. There were the funny moments, when soldiers would pull up to find suspects conveniently waiting to be caught, and darker moments when the U.S. troops rammed Humvees into houses, only to find out they had the wrong targets, he said.

Tucker said his goal is to show Americans — without being voyeuristic, political or patronizing — a world that he finds inspiring and terrifying.

He quotes one of the men he calls “soldier/poets:”

“It’s like (Spc.) Richmond Shaw said – ‘For y’all this is just a show, but we live in this movie.’”

Tucker and his partner, Petra Epperlein, have shown “Gunner Palace” at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado and the Toronto Film Festival in Canada to enthusiastic reviews.

It is, said Tucker, art out of pain.

It was painful getting to know and respect soldiers and officers such as Sgt. Maj. Eric F. Cooke and Capt. Ben Colgan before they died in separate attacks, he said.

After that, he said, he couldn’t make “something rah-rah.” But neither could he make a film disrespectful of soldiers. Tucker said: “I most like that it shows them being them.”

Tucker succeeded in keeping the film “apolitical,” said Jon Powers, 26, a former 2-3 Field Artillery captain, now a schoolteacher in Buffalo, N.Y.

“It’s a great movie … for soldiers to see, and … for their families and friends to see if they want to understand what we went through for 14 months,” said Powers, who saw “Gunner Palace” at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

The film is, he said, an accurate depiction of daily life made by a filmmaker given extraordinary access by Lt. Col. Bill Rabena, the battalion commander. Attempts by Stars and Stripes to reach Rabena were unsuccessful.

“People always ask me if there was censorship; if I had trouble getting access and all those issues,” Tucker said.

Instead, he said, he had unrestricted access to soldiers in their off hours, to all missions and even to interrogations of suspected Iraqi insurgents. “They embraced your being there,” Tucker said. “People just want their story told.”

Whether the regiment’s soldiers will be able to go to the local base theater to watch themselves on the big screen remains unclear. Army and Air Force Exchange Service executives say that’s unlikely, unless a major distributor with whom AAFES has a contractural relationship picks up the film, and it goes into wide release, said Judd Anstey, media branch manager at AAFES headquarters in Dallas.

Viewers should be prepared for what Powers calls “some down-and-dirty” footage, including a scene where soldiers are “playing guitars and basically hanging out,” a peaceful moment interrupted by a mortar attack. “But once (the audience) gets over the shock, it will get a conversation started. … The guys who went with me to see it said, ‘Is that what it was really like?!’ … I said, ‘Yeah.’”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines see double in Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200412162246
Story by Lance Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr.



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 15, 2004) -- In Iraq, Marines may come across these two female officers and think they are seeing double.
First Lt. Jennifer J. Ryu, with 9th Communications Battalion, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group and 2nd Lt. Jessica J. Ryu, with 2nd Radio Battalion, 2nd MEF Headquarters Group, are twins.

They caught up with each other here Oct. 14, during their deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jessica was sent here to see how things worked in the Operational Control and Analysis Element and was able to spend a few days with her sister.

The Ryu sisters used to be separated by 2,742 miles in the United States, when Jennifer was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Jessica was at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Now, they are only minutes apart.

“It is funny how we are closer, now, that we are deployed,” said Jessica.

Born only one minute apart on March 21, 1980, the two 24-year-olds from Winchester-Salem, N.C., had not seen each other since the beginning of August. They used their time in Iraq to catch up and reminisce about old times.

“Our goals, as kids, were centered around competing with one another,” said Jennifer. “We constantly compared all of our activities like grades, points in a game, everything.”

The Ryu twins remembered doing everything together. They attended grade school side by side for nine years. Then progressed to Bishop McGuinness Memorial High School in Kernersville, N.C., where their competitive nature kept close.

The twins played every sport imaginable, had the same friends and hung out a lot together, according to Jessica. They played basketball, soccer and cross-country, and even tried their hand in the drama department.

After four years of being inseparable, the twins branched out heading in different directions to obtain their college degrees. Jennifer stayed in their home state attending the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, N.C., majoring in interpersonal and organizational communication. Jessica ventured off to Ann Arbor, Mich., attending the University of Michigan, to major in Latin.

However, the duo would reunite once again when they both attended Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., during the summer of 2001. The sisters laughed when they thought back to some of the situations that only twins would run into during OCS.

“We were both standing at attention in front of the instructor when he said, ‘twins are a miracle of God,’ and I started to laugh,” said Jennifer. “Then the instructor turned to Jessica and demanded to know why I was laughing. Jessica said, ‘This candidate’s sister has no bearing, she is undisciplined.’”

“From then on, I was known as the ‘undisciplined Ryu,” laughed Jennifer.

After completing OCS, the sisters both continued on with their senior year of college, Jessica graduated in May of 2002 and Jennifer in December later that year.

The sisters have spent a lot of time apart since graduating high school in 1998 and joining the Marine Corps, but that doesn’t stop them from continuing the bond that they share, when they do cross paths.

“We spend more quality time together now because we can appreciate our childhood and all the things we went through together to get here,” said Jennifer.

After all they have been through the two have not lost their competitive spirits. After her promotion to the rank of first lieutenant in May, Jennifer, the younger twin, is senior in rank to Jessica, who is scheduled to pin on first lieutenant in December.

“The relationship that Jennifer has with her sister is very amusing,” said 1st Lt. Timothy J. Robinson, 28, a native of Ferriday, La., and the executive officer for Company B, 9th Communication Battalion. “Technically, Jessica is older by one minute, but Jessica is still a second lieutenant. Jennifer never hesitates to remind her older sister of this fact and jokingly prefers that Jessica refer to her as ‘ma’am’ in front of others.”

Although they manage to enjoy these moments of levity, every assignment has its ups and downs. The twins feel that with the support of their family and each other they can get through the rough times together.

Their parents, Jai, 64, and Jacqueline Ryu, 54, residents of Dewey, Ariz., have been there to support the twins in every decision they make.

“(Our parents) both came from big families that stressed love, hard work and the benefit of a good education,” said Jennifer. “They never let us quit anything.”

The twins have plans to become teachers after they have fulfilled their commitment to the Marine Corps. While Jennifer wants to focus on working with developmentally disabled children someday, Jessica would like to teach Latin at a middle school.

The Marines that work with each of the twins think highly of them both and believe the leadership skills they both uphold will ensure their success in and out of the Marine Corps.

"Jennifer is well rounded, has sound leadership skills, and possesses tenacity for mission accomplishment,” said Robinson

Cut from the same mold, it’s no surprise Jessica’s Marines look to her as an example.

“2nd Lt. Ryu (Jessica) upholds the Marine Corps standards both on and off duty,” said Cpl. Justin K. Kimball, 21, a native of Friendswood, Texas, with 2nd Radio Battalion. “She is always hard at work and determined to do what ever it takes to accomplish the mission.”

Despite all the competition and distance between them, Jennifer and Jessica are grateful for the moments when they can spend some time together.

“Whether it is here in Iraq or in the U.S., being with each other is great,” said Jennifer. “(Jessica) is someone I can laugh with, talk to and also someone who knows what I’ve gone through to get where I am right now.”

The twins have been in country for approximately two months of their expected seven-month tour. They hope this isn’t the last time they meet during their stay.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

HERO IN FALLUJAH: Marine Laid Himself on Top of Grenade to Save Rest of Squad <br />
<br />
by Oliver North <br />
Posted Dec 16, 2004 <br />
<br />
&quot;It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa Marines...