Christmas comes early for platoon

[thedrifter]

Christmas comes early for platoon

Local man spearheads effort to make sure brother's outfit has upgraded combat gear

By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

James DeLozier started Christmas shopping in September for his brother's platoon in Iraq, shortly after the 36 Marines arrived in Qaim to stop insurgents from infiltrating across the Syrian border.

The wish list put together by his brother, Sgt. Ken DeLozier, 25, a Chaparral High School graduate, and others in Alpha Company's 2nd Platoon didn't include the usual fare of toilet paper and lip balm.

Instead, they asked for combat gear accessories -- $20,000 worth of stuff like goggles, fire-resistant gloves, ammunition pouches, helmet kits with padding, tactical vests, long-sleeve latex shirts and machine-gun slings.

They even wanted voice-activated radios with headsets and laser-targeting attachments for M-4 rifles, if that would be possible.

Long before the need for armor upgrades gained attention when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld held a town hall meeting with troops in Kuwait this month, James DeLozier set out on a fund-raising campaign for his brother's unit.

In October, one of the members of that unit lost both legs when a roadside bomb exploded alongside a convoy of Humvees.

The corporal was the only one seriously injured, DeLozier said. The other Humvees, including the one his brother was in, missed running over the detonator by 4 inches.

That's when the issue of installing armor hit him. Two months later, Rumsfeld told a National Guard soldier: "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."

But he doesn't blame Rumsfeld for the $4.1 billion armor-upgrade problem and the lag in upgrading general-issue combat equipment.

"It comes down to this. You get what you pay for," DeLozier said. "During the 1990s the military was repeatedly slashed and cut because we weren't in war time. People forget that Clinton made cuts then and went to the lowest bidder on military equipment, and they gave us substandard equipment."

With their goal in sight, DeLozier and his mother, Denise Howard, "the guiding force behind this," set out to make sure the 2nd Platoon had the most effective gear to do the job.

While she wrote letters to Congress and the president calling for upgraded armor, DeLozier continued to raise money for the Christmas list by persuading his employer, the Outside Inn, to adopt the platoon and host tax-deductible projects such as raffles, yellow-ribbon sales and a slot tournament.

Now, DeLozier said Thursday at his Las Vegas home, "They have all the equipment they need. This is just top-of-the-line."

A sequence of calls last week to public affairs officials for the Marine Corps at the Pentagon, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Central Command eventually were deferred to the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad, Iraq, which in turn referred questions back to the Department of Defense. The Baghdad center said the Defense Department "is responsible for ensuring our forces are equipped properly."

Only one military spokesman offered comment on how common the practice is for troops to obtain commercially available equipment and why those items are not in the standard, government issue.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice, a duty officer at U.S. Central Command in Florida, said all units are not equipped identically because their missions vary.

"It's not totally unusual for soldiers and Marines to buy off-the-shelf equipment. While it performs the same function, they want something of a different design," Balice said.

For a guy who borrowed $2,000 from a friend for a down payment on a house, raising $20,000 in 2 1/2 months seemed like an insurmountable task for DeLozier.

But it wasn't long before the first thousands of dollars came in and he began receiving boxes from such out-of-state gear manufacturers as Blackhawk and Diamondback.

"The first shipment of $12,000 (in equipment) is already over there. They got that two weeks ago," he said, adding that the remaining shipments, making enough for five gifts for each Marine, will be sent as soon as orders are filled.

"This was basically a love gift to my brother and his platoon. The whole thing is I don't want to make it political," DeLozier said.

To accomplish the fund-raising task he set up a nonprofit organization, obtaining all the required credentials from city, state and federal agencies to legally receive tax-deductible donations.

He got businesses to donate services and items for a raffle. At the video poker bar where he is a midnight shift bartender, he sold 215 yellow ribbons for $10 apiece. He raised another $1,000 after expenses through a slot tournament.

He said a lot of people who had heard about the tournament and the raffle made donations, including relatives and friends in Wisconsin. A company from Wisconsin, DOWCO, donated $8,000 and Architectural Forest Products offices in Las Vegas and Wisconsin donated $2,000 each.

In comparison, an annual broad-based effort by Las Vegas businessman Phil Randazzo through his Nevada Benefits Foundation raised about $11,000 from sales of T-shirts and wristbands at a rally Dec. 11 to honor the families of Nevada's military personnel who have been killed supporting the nation's war on terrorism.

The money goes to four Pentagon-designated charities including Wounded Warriors and Homes for our Troops. About $2,500 will help pay for food and utility bills for families of local citizen-soldiers who are deployed.

About 3,000 service personnel, families, friends and veterans attended the Operation Holiday Cheer rally, where nonperishable food and items also were collected.

DeLozier said he applauds such grass-roots efforts because they parallel his initiative for his brother's platoon. If it wasn't for a steel rod that doctors put in his leg after a car accident at age 16, DeLozier said he too would have joined the Marines, like his father and his grandfather.

"I tried three times but they wouldn't take me," he said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Soldier Killed In Kuwait
Associated Press
December 19, 2004

KUWAIT CITY - One U.S. soldier was killed and three injured in a hit-and-run traffic accident outside Kuwait City on Sunday, the U.S. military said.

The accident happened while the soldiers' were changing a flat tire, Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Pete Pearse told The Associated Press. He declined to provide further information.

In a statement, the U.S. military said the "hit and run" accident took place in the morning, and the injured soldiers were admitted to a civilian hospital. Their names were withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The driver of the vehicle that hit the Americans surrendered to police later, a Kuwaiti security official told the AP. The official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said the driver, an Egyptian, appeared to have suffered a lapse of concentration.

The U.S. military and Kuwaiti authorities were investigating the accident.





On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy warned its citizens of possible terrorist attacks in Kuwait, a staunch U.S. ally.

American forces have been based in the country since the end of the 1991 U.S.-led Gulf War that ended a seven-month Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.

In the past three years, American troops, and U.S. civilians contracted to the military, have been targeted by fundamentalist Muslims who oppose their presence in Kuwait. One Marine and one civilian contractor have been killed in the attacks.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

4th CAG family members send holiday greetings to Marines in Iraq via satellite



by Sgt. Melvin Lopez Jr.
Henderson Hall News


Family members waited anxiously in the Henderson Hall Theatre for their names to be called Saturday. They were not going to win a prize. They were not being called down to be the next contestant on a game show. Everyone knew they would probably have a long wait, but, no matter how long they were there for, they knew that this was an opportunity they did not want to miss.

Those families belong to the Reserve Marines of the 4th Civil Affairs Group, Anacostia Naval Station, Naval District Washington, who are currently deployed in Iraq fighting the global war on terrorism. The families were given an opportunity to see and speak to their loved ones in a video teleconference Saturday via satellite during a unit Christmas party here.

The opportunity to see their Marines' smiles and hear their voices was more valuable than any other gift they could receive this Christmas.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Anthony Rivera, the family readiness officer for the CAG, is one of the Marines that helped make it possible. He said many family members were crying tears of joy after seeing their loved ones.

"They were very grateful," said Rivera. "It was very gratifying for them to see their Marines this holiday season."

Part of the Family Readiness Program, the CAG assembled the event, and informed the families in hopes of continuing to build the bond between family members by eliminating the distance gap through video communication.

"It gives them an opportunity to talk to each other and to share experiences," said Rivera.

In Iraq, even though the Marine detachments are scattered around Al Anbar Province, they were united at their headquarters in Camp Fallujah for this special event.

The Marines had been deployed since August and are not slated to return until March. One family expressed how glad they were to be able to see their beloved warrior. By seeing him on screen, they "were able to see they were safe and know they were safe."

Rita Treadwell, Supplemental Education Services, also took part in assisting with the preparation and testing of the equipment as well as preparing the classroom used for the teleconference. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the event on Saturday.

Although she played a big part in setting up the VTC equipment, she stated that the Marines in Iraq have committed themselves to an even greater task.

"This is just a small part compared to their sacrifices," said Treadwell.

She said she was glad to see the teleconference was possible and that it was a great morale booster for the Marines.

"I was thrilled that the whole thing was even possible," said Treadwell. "We needed to do something that would make the Marines feel and know that we care and that we're thinking of them."

At the conclusion of the VTC, the families gathered in the theatre to view a slide show of family photos and eat some food and snacks. The children spoke to Santa, and participated in decorating the 4th CAG Christmas tree. Thanks to Rivera, the Marines will be able to see the tree upon their return.

"It will not be dismantled until the unit returns from Iraq."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

December 17, 2004
Children and Deployment: Keeping in Touch


by Jennifer L. Hochlan
LIFELines


It's been a long day and you're enjoying a cup of fine coffee and a nice, long, relaxing massage. A gourmet dinner complete with calorie-free cheesecake tickles your nose. The sensuous scents of duck a l'orange mingled with floor wax and fabric softener sheets are like heaven. A clean house, dinner that magically serves and cleans up after itself, and the peaceful serenity of respite are a dream come true. Well, OK, maybe just a dream, interrupted by the return of the school bus.

Beneath the urge to turn your home into an exploded toy store, your kids really try to make your dreams come true. Whether you are near or far, they love you no matter what. While a massage from Fabio would be nice, reality has given you a 5-year-old with gum in her hair who thinks her crayons are essential to wallpaper design. All this action and adventure, and your spouse joined the Navy or Marine Corps? Just think what they're missing while deployed.

Not only is it essential for you to stay in touch with your loved one during a deployment, it is vital for your children. Daydreams might help pass the time in your world, but for your kids, time away from a deployed dad or a deployed mom feels endless. Easing the wait and making the most of it means making your little ones (and big ones, too) a part of the cycle. Open the door to your child's creativity and sensitivity, and they might come up with something better than Fabio (hey, it could happen).

Stock up on paper, paints, crayons -- anything your child loves to play with. Don't forget basic painting software on your computer, too. Your child can use it to create masterpieces ready to e-mail to your spouse. If your kids are older, they can create journals or write about school, sports, or other hobbies and send these expressions of love via e-mail or regular mail. Don't forget that you are home with your family while your loved one is a million miles away from life's simple family pleasures. (Here are some other ideas for keeping in touch.)

After the construction paper has been cut and pasted, the letters sealed with a kiss, and the occasional telephone I-love-you's are said and done, comes a silence. Helping your children stay in touch isn't just about pictures and cookies, it's about teaching them the reality of life in the military. You may know that a deployment allows you the opportunity for growth. It isn't any different for your kids. After a few months of your spouse being gone, have your kids write or express how they have changed in a positive way.

This method of keeping connected can be especially rewarding for older children -- the ones who think they know everything (yes, we share your pain). Have your 16-year-old son write about the date with the girl he's had a crush on since 7th grade ... how he built up the nerve to ask her to the movies based on a conversation he may have had with Dad before he left on float. Or have your 14-year old daughter express the heartache of fighting with her best friend because she didn't call her 10 times after school (only seven). Those quirky things your teen does that make you shake your head (because you can't shake them) will bring a smile to your spouse's face and make him or her feel closer to home.

Helping your kids stay in touch is about expressing the little things in life. The more you concentrate on the everyday, seemingly mundane events that occur, the more your spouse will feel loved, and feel he or she is still a part of home. So rattle on about the dishwasher and the fact that you drove off from the gas station with the pump in the tank (again), and let little Janie go on about boys with cooties -- it makes life worth living. And it makes you realize Fabio can't hold a match to your husband in his olive-green socks, slippers, and boxer shorts.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

December 17, 2004
Happy Holidays Marines!!!
Marines, families gather to celebrate Christmas

by Sgt. Melvin Lopez Jr.
Henderson Hall News


Everybody was in high spirits at the Henderson Hall Christmas Party held at the Smith Gym Saturday.

Headquarters Battalion Marines and their family members were invited to attend the party and share in the festivities. The party included music, food, drinks, games for the kids and a raffle where a number prizes were given away.

The prizes, consisting of bicycles, an XBOX, and other toys, were provided by organizations such as the Montford Point Marine Association, Inc., GEICO, and the Navy Mutual Aid Association. Thanks to them, the childrens' eyes were a little bigger, their smiles were a little brighter, and their hearts were a little happier.

Lance Cpl Librada M. Garza, company clerk, Headquarters & Service Company, Headquarters Battalion, was one of many Marines who attended the festivities. This was her first HQBn. party, and she enjoyed it.

"It was awesome!" said Garza. "It was great being able to see the other Marines' kids at the party, plus it's always a good day when I get to show off my baby."

Ellier

[thedrifter]

Heavy-equipment company helps with Marines' training
Group gets chance to operate bulldozers

By Sheldon S. Shafer
sshafer@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Marines who landed in Louisville were churning up tons of turf yesterday at Whayne Supply's vast compound along the Shawnee Expressway.

They had mounted the cabs of two huge bulldozers, similar to ones they may soon be operating in a combat zone to build defensive positions, clear landing space for aircraft, build berms or clear pathways.

Seven Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., took turns yesterday driving large tracked vehicles and moving piles of dirt around a muddy field.

The training being conducted at the end of Cecil Avenue in western Louisville is a cooperative effort of the military, Caterpillar and Whayne, a Caterpillar dealer. Whayne has been rebuilding heavy equipment for the military since 1996, said Bill Buren, a Whayne spokesman.

For several years various military personnel have trained at Caterpillar's headquarters in Peoria, Ill.

But some of the heavy-duty training recently was moved to Louisville because the facility and space were available and because of its central location, said Mike Oster, one of the Whayne managers supervising the training. The exact cost of the training was not known yesterday, but Whayne said it would be reimbursed by the military only for the actual cost of operating the bulldozers.

Oster, who served 10 years with an aviation unit in the Army Reserve and National Guard, said he is behind the training for the soldiers "100 percent."

"We feel like we are making a contribution to the national security," agreed Brian Sims, a product demonstrator with Caterpillar assisting with the training.

The trainees Wednesday and yesterday were the second wave of Marines to come to Whayne this month.

Twelve Marines with the 8th Engineering Support Battalion from Camp Lejeune were in Louisville Dec. 8-9, followed by 13 soldiers from the Army's 983rd Engineering Battalion from Camp Atterbury, Ind., for two days this week.

Among the seven combat engineer-operators from Camp Lejeune with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force who were learning the ropes yesterday were Cpl. Joe Rojas of Houston, a five-year veteran who recently re-enlisted for four years, and Lance Cpl. Eric Clauson of Philadelphia, a three-year veteran.

Rojas served a tour in Kuwait in 2002, and Clauson recently returned from Afghanistan.

Both said they didn't know when or if they will be shipped to Iraq.

Clauson said the bulldozers he was operating yesterday were bigger than the ones he drove in Afghanistan.

There, he said, he used similar heavy equipment "to push away debris to clear streets and to build defensive positions and trenches. All sorts of stuff."

Rojas said he had not previously operated bulldozers so heavy or so new, or equipped with such "high-tech electronics."

The top speed of the bulldozers is about 9 mph and they can move up to 21 cubic yards of dirt on one pass. They have 470-horsepower engines, officials said.

The Marines received eight hours of classroom training at Whayne Wednesday, going over the machines' safety, operations and mechanics, Oster said.

That was followed yesterday by nine hours of field training, much of it in a bulldozer cab.

Buren said Whayne isn't sure if additional service personnel will be trained in Louisville.

"I am more than glad to have been a part of this," said Eric Mayfield, another Caterpillar instructor.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Those Who Led Must Return
USA TODAY
December 20, 2004

FORT STEWART, Ga. - Two dozen sergeants are sitting around a table, hard men who led troops into downtown Baghdad last year and helped end Saddam Hussein's regime. They shake their heads and chuckle softly. What kind of question is that: Did they ever expect to be returning to Iraq?

"Nobody expected this, a year later," says Staff Sgt. Ken Austin, a veteran of Desert Storm in 1991 as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom. "The first Gulf War was in and out. I thought this would be pretty much the same."

Sgt. 1st Class David Richard recalls that even Fallujah -- the city west of Baghdad where U.S. and Iraqi troops fought a brutal, weeklong battle in November to root out insurgents -- was quiet when he and other soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division headed home in the summer of 2003. "We had that thing in a lockdown," he says.

But continuing insurgent attacks have forced the United States to boost its force in Iraq toward 150,000 troops, its highest level yet. So the 3rd ID -- as the division is commonly referred to throughout the Army -- is loading up again, to try to finish the mission.

The division has been retrained and more heavily armored for a different kind of war. From its senior officers to the spouses back home, it's also ready for a reality where the enemy is everywhere and deaths and injuries could be worse than when it led the invasion.





Last year, 44 3rd ID soldiers were killed and 258 wounded. The division was the Army's lead invasion element. The 2nd Brigade's "Thunder Runs," when it raced its tanks into downtown Baghdad much sooner than expected, shocked the world and ended Saddam's regime. But it turns out the bold attacks didn't end the war. Since the 3rd ID's soldiers left Iraq, their victories have been clouded by a fierce insurgency.

"Winning the war itself, if you will, is often the easy part," says Lt. Col. Steven Merkel, commander of the 1-9 Field Artillery, part of the brigade. "The much more complex task is at hand."

Different, but not light

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's goal for the Army is to be lighter, faster and more deadly, rather than slow and armored. In the past year, the 3rd ID has become the first of the Army's 10 active-duty divisions to be reorganized as "modular," easily divided into smaller, more self-sufficient units the Pentagon can plug into place quickly when emergencies arise.

But the demands of Iraq -- where insurgents attack U.S. convoys with roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and suicide vehicles -- mean the 3rd ID is going there anything but light. It's bringing its 70-ton Abrams tanks and its armored Bradley troop carriers, the kind of bulk the Pentagon was pulling out of Iraq a year ago in favor of quicker, lighter vehicles. The division's convoy trucks and Humvees sport new steel cladding. Maj. Russ Goemaere, the 2nd Brigade spokesman, says troops will drive no unarmored vehicles in Iraq except for those that never leave military compounds.

The division's vehicles are so heavy they would destroy roads if they drove. Rail lines taking them to port offer an intimidating display. Fresh desert-tan paint can't hide the heft riding on hundreds of flatbed cars.

The Humvees in particular show how experience in Iraq has translated into metal. Gone are the canvas-like doors that were standard equipment. In their place are windowless steel panels that go about three-fourths of the way to the roof. The gaps at the top are shaped so soldiers can fire across a wide angle, as insurgents pop out of doorways or alleys.

The attacks can come "out of basically anywhere," says Staff Sgt. Leo Levesque, 29, of Benton, Ill., a veteran of the 3rd ID's first deployment. "You could be down a street 1,000 times and then, on that one day--" Levesque leaves the sentence incomplete.

The division is bringing all its 155mm Paladin howitzers: 32-ton, tanklike mobile guns that can fire explosive salvos 15 miles. It's a lot more artillery than is probably needed, but Lt. Col. Merkel says the Paladins are extra insurance and more armored protection for the unit's troops.

When the 3rd ID was rushing north along the Euphrates River in March and April of 2003, there was a front line. Troops to the rear were protected behind it. It's one of the many characteristics of the Iraq war then that no longer apply today.

An unfamiliar mission

Advance teams from the 3rd ID's home here are scheduled to fly to Kuwait after Christmas, followed shortly by the rest of the division. Unless there's an emergency, the division convoy won't reach Iraq before the elections Jan. 30. But over its yearlong deployment, one of the 3rd ID's chief missions will be to get control over the insurgency in central Iraq in time for further Iraqi elections planned for next summer.

The 3rd ID, which still carries the World War I moniker "Rock of the Marne" for its stoic defense of that French territory from the Germans, prides itself as a division of warriors. They are, says the division song every member must memorize, "dog-faced soldiers." Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War II, was a member of the 3rd ID.

The fighting aura is so persistent that commanders regularly put down rumors here that the division isn't really going back to Iraq but is getting ready to invade someplace else -- Iran? Syria? -- in the war on terrorism.

Younger soldiers such as Pfc. Richard Smith, 18, of Lakeville, Minn, who was in high school last spring, says he "would have liked to have been there for the invasion. Now it's more like police work and stuff," he says.

The Army doesn't like the term "police work" for its missions. It also doesn't like to highlight the fact that no matter how much armor it brings, troops must regularly get out of their armored shells and engage Iraqis, friends or foes. But that's what will happen, and the Army has trained the soldiers for it.

"When they enlisted, they thought they were going be on a tank or a vehicle. But now they know they could be clearing a room," says Col. Joseph DiSalvo, commander of the 2nd Brigade.

From their helmets to their boots, the 3rd ID's troops are dressed as foot soldiers. The Army has issued them Wiley X wrap-around sunglasses to keep debris from explosions out of their eyes and kneepads for when they drop and fire in Iraq's urban battlefields.

Arabic phrases for "good morning," "I don't understand" and "put your weapon down" come from the lips of soldiers who never expected to get near enough to an Iraqi to converse. Few troops bothered to learn much about Iraq before last year's invasion. Now, learning everything possible about the language and culture of the country is a life-preserving obsession. Cheat sheets are taped to the stocks of their assault rifles.

continued....

[thedrifter]

"We have to deal with the Iraqis one on one. It's a lot more fluid environment," Sgt. 1st Class Richard says.

At Fort Polk in Louisiana, the division was put through the paces by Iraqi expatriates posing as potential troublemakers, whose reactions depend on how they are treated by the soldiers.

"They act as you act. If you act as a fool," then that's what they'll do, Staff Sgt. Levesque says. Soldiers must be disciplined and respectful, and neither too friendly nor hostile. He tells his soldiers: "Set the example."

"We are going in prepared, but we are also prepared to help out another country and to help out civilians," says Staff Sgt. Bart Hatcher, an artilleryman in the 1-64 Armor. "We're not going over there guns blazing."

Key officers from the division were sent to Jordan for seminars on the Arab world. The division's recommended reading list on Middle Eastern culture would make a graduate student wince.

Lt. Col. Gary Luck, commander of the 3-15 Infantry, says the lessons have direct practical impact. Troops will find "the enemy is not clearly separated from non-combatants," he says, and battle zones are not separate from mosques and other sensitive sites.

Street-smart tips and stories from units in Iraq are passed along on the Internet, on a bulletin board called Cav-Net and another from the Army's CALL -- Center for Army Lessons Learned. "There's a lot better sharing of tactical experience and tactical expertise" between units than before, Luck says.

The online discussions include descriptions of how terrorist bombs are made from old artillery shells, hidden in cars or dead animals, and then remotely detonated using cellphones or garage door openers.

The soldiers who were in Iraq before pass along hard-won knowledge. One sign that a bomb is nearby: The local children aren't out playing.

Even the veterans of the invasion say they've learned much since they came home. "Something as simple as offering a person a cigarette has meaning," says Staff Sgt. Hatcher, recalling a lesson from field training at Fort Polk. "It made people think you now sided with this person," which could make enemies of others. Now, "before I even offer a bottle of water to someone, I'm going to think about what to do," he says.

Preparations at home

Rebecca Smith, wife of Capt. Todd Smith of 1-9 field artillery, says she knew this was a different kind of fight when her spouse asked for a riot baton for Christmas. She says her husband is the kind of officer who would step in front of his troops to take a bullet, and she has an order for him:

"Don't you dare -- you'd better friggin' duck!" she tells her burly soldier. Turning back again to a reporter, she calmly asserts that "a state of denial is therapeutic. . . . You can't live every day wondering if your husband is still alive."

Smith and other officers' spouses have been working with the division's chaplains and its personnel office to address what they say was the least prepared part of the division -- the families.

In late 2002, when the 2nd Brigade shipped out to Kuwait, it was ostensibly for a regular six-month training rotation. Though war had been discussed, family members hoped a diplomatic solution would result from President Bush's threats. Families weren't mentally prepared for the war and the extended deployment in Iraq.

This time, everyone knows the plan. On Dec. 1, all division soldiers scheduled to deploy were ordered into their desert camouflage uniforms, a daily reminder of the year to come.

Jackson Cook, 4, son of Maj. Terry Cook, calls it his daddy's "bye-bye uniform."

The Army and family volunteers are making sure families understand what's happening in Iraq and the risks of injury or death. "We don't sugarcoat anything. We're Army wives," says Rebecca Merkel, the battalion commander's wife, who was an officer in the British army. She met her husband when they both were stationed in Germany.

"If we expect the worst but the best happens, we'll be ecstatic," she says.

Soldiers and spouses attend special readiness fairs where soldiers go table to table to prepare and sign their wills, powers of attorney and other paperwork needed for a year's absence, or absence forever. "For this 19-year-old wife who has never paid bills before, never had tires rotated on the car . . . the stress does get pretty high," Rebecca Smith says.

Despite the risks, despite discouragement from senior sergeants and commanders, young love seems to have intensified at Fort Stewart in the weeks before re-entering the war, much as it did before units headed out to ongoing conflicts in the past. Chaplain Capt. Charlie Lee of the 1-9 Field Artillery says he married 12 of the battalion's 500 soldiers in November. He also expects a rash of "deployment babies."

Lt. Col. Merkel says he has promised to do all he can to get the soldiers back unharmed. He's added a twist to the soldier's mantra of "leave no man behind" to reflect the grisly reality of Iraq, where capture could mean an Internet-televised torture and execution.

Merkel says he warns his soldiers that none of them should ever be taken prisoner. "And they believe it," he says, "It's in the look in the eye."

Soldiers also look you in the eye when they say they'd like to be the ones who see Iraq turn the tide away from terrorism and toward democracy, so the U.S. Army can go home.

"We'd love to be the last rotation," Austin says.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Bush Selected As Person Of The Year
Associated Press
December 20, 2004

NEW YORK - After winning re-election and "reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style," President George Bush for the second time was chosen as Time magazine's Person of the Year.

The magazine's editors tapped Bush "for sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes - and ours - on his faith in the power of leadership."

Time's 2004 Person of the Year package, on newsstands Monday, includes an Oval Office interview with Bush, an interview with his father, former President George H. W. Bush, and a profile of Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove.

In an interview with the magazine, Bush attributed his victory over Democratic candidate John Kerry to his foreign policy and the wars he began in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The election was about the use of American influence," Bush said.

After a grueling campaign, Bush remains a polarizing figure in America and around the world, and that's part of the reason the magazine selected him, said Managing Editor Jim Kelly.




"Many, many Americans deeply wish he had not won," Kelly said in a telephone interview. "And yet he did."

In the Time article, Bush said he relishes that some people dislike him.

"I think the natural instinct for most people in the political world is that they want people to like them," Bush said. "On the other hand, I think sometimes I take kind of a delight in who the critics are."

Bush joins six other presidents who have twice been named the magazine's Person of the Year: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower (first as a general), Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Franklin Roosevelt holds the record with three nods from the editors.

Kelly said Bush has changed dramatically since he was named Person of the Year in 2000 after the Supreme Court awarded him the presidency.

"He is not the same man," Kelly said. "He's a much more resolute man. He is personally as charming as ever but I think the kind of face he's shown to the American public is one of much, much greater determination."

The magazine gives the title to the person who had the greatest impact, good or bad, over the year.

Asked on ABC's "This Week" how Bush reacted when he learned of Time's decision, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said the president was "not worried about what pundits might be saying."

Card praised Bush as a "great liberator" for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq and lauded Bush's tax cuts, education and Medicare reform packages and plans to remake Social Security.

"So I think he's got the right ingredients to be recognized as the Person of the Year," Card said.

Kelly said other candidates included Michael Moore and Mel Gibson, "because in different ways their movies tapped in to deep cultural streams," and political strategist Rove, who is widely credited with engineering Bush's win. Kelly said choosing Rove alone would have taken away from the credit he said Bush deserves.

This is the first time an individual has been named since 2001, when then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was celebrated for his response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The magazine featured the American soldier last year; in 2002, it tapped Coleen Rowley, the FBI agent who wrote a critical memo on FBI intelligence failures, and Cynthia Cooper and Sherron Watkins, who blew the whistle on scandals at Enron and Worldcom.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

60 Killed In Iraq Car Blasts
Associated Press
December 20, 2004

NAJAF, Iraq - Car bombs tore through a Najaf funeral procession and Karbala's main bus station Sunday, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 in the two Shiite holy cities. In Baghdad, gunmen launched a bold ambush, executing three election officials, in their campaign to disrupt next month's parliamentary ballot.

The deadly strikes highlighted the apparent ability of the insurgents to launch attacks almost at will, despite confident assessments by U.S. military commanders that they had regained the initiative after last month's campaign against militants in Fallujah.

In the Baghdad attack, dozens of guerrillas - unmasked and apparently unafraid to show their faces - ran rampant over Haifa Street, a main downtown thoroughfare. They dragged the three election workers from a car, lay them on the street in the middle of morning traffic and shot them point-blank.

The bombings in Najaf and Karbala, which Shiite officials suspected were coordinated, were the deadliest attacks since July. They were a bloody reminder that the Shiite heartland in the south - not just the Sunni regions of central and northern Iraq - is vulnerable to the mainly Sunni insurgents aiming to wreck the vote.

Shiites, who make up around 60 percent of Iraq's population, have been strong supporters of the election, which they expect will reverse the longtime domination of Iraq by the Sunni Arab minority. The insurgency is believed to include many Sunnis who have lost prestige and privilege since Saddam Hussein's fall.




The persistent insurgent violence has already raised questions over whether residents of central and northern Iraq will be able to vote. If attacks scare away voters in the south as well, it would further undermine the first national ballot since Saddam was ousted.

In a message passed on by lawyers who visited him in his cell last week, Saddam denounced the elections as an American plot.

"President Saddam recommended to the Iraqi people to be careful of this election, which will lead to dividing the Iraqi people and their land," Ziad al-Khasawneh, who heads Saddam's legal team, said in Jordan. An Iraqi member of the team met Saddam in detention on Thursday.

Saddam said the elections "aimed at splitting Iraq into sectarian and religious divisions and weakening the (Arab) nation," said Bushra Khalil, another member of the defense team.

The bombings in Najaf and Karbala, predominantly Shiite cities 45 miles from each other south of Baghdad, came just over an hour apart. The first was a suicide blast that ripped through minibuses parked at the entrance to Karbala's main bus station, followed by a car bomb in a central Najaf square crowded with people watching a funeral procession attended by the city police chief and provincial governor.

The Najaf car bomb detonated in central Maidan Square where a large crowd of people had gathered for the funeral procession of a tribal sheik - about 100 yards from where Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi and police chief Ghalib al-Jazaari were standing. They were unhurt.

Hospital officials said 47 people were killed and at least 90 others wounded in the blast, which went off about 400 yards from the Imam Ali Shrine, the holiest Shiite site in Iraq

"A car bomb exploded near us," al-Zurufi said. "I saw about 10 people killed." Al-Jazaari believed he and al-Zurufi were the targets of the attack.

The blast sheered facades off nearby buildings and brought down part of a two-floor building. Dozens of local men clambered over the rubble, digging for survivors.

Police and Iraqi National Guard troops on Monday set up checkpoints throughout Najaf, and roads leading to the city's holy Imam Ali shrine were blocked, apparently out of fear of repeat attacks.

The Karbala blast destroyed about 10 passenger minibuses and set ablaze five cars outside the crowded Bab Baghdad bus station. Hospital officials said 13 people were killed and 33 injured.

It was Karbala's second bombing in a week. On Wednesday, a bomb exploded at the city's gold-domed Imam Hussein Shrine, killing eight people and wounding 40 in an apparent attempt to kill a top aide to Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Also Sunday, insurgents detonated two roadside bombs and a car bomb targeting U.S. forces in the volatile city of Mosul 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, in three separate attacks during a two-hour period. Three soldiers were wounded in one roadside bomb blast, while there were no casualties from the others, according to military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Hastings.

An official with the leading Shiite political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, said the bombings in Karbala and Najaf Sunday were "no doubt" linked. "These operations aim at driving the Shiites away from the political process and toward acts of revenge to undermine the national unity," Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer said. "The whole issue has to do with elections."

Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Said al-Hakim, one of Najaf's top four Shiite clerics along with al-Sistani, denounced the bombings, saying they aimed to "create a disturbance in security and incite sectarian sedition" and that God will "avenge and compensate" the victims.

The Baghdad ambush was the latest attack to target Iraqi officials working to organize the elections.

During morning rush hour, about 30 armed insurgents, hurling hand grenades and firing guns, swarmed onto Haifa Street, the scene of repeated clashes between U.S. forces and insurgents. They stopped a car carrying five employees of the Iraqi Electoral Commission and dragged out three of them. The other two escaped.

Pistol-wielding guerrillas forced the officials to kneel in the middle of Haifa Street, while cars behind them braked to a halt, with some panicked drivers trying to reverse away. One of the officials was punched by the gunmen as he lay on the ground, while another knelt nearby, before the militants shot all three at point-blank range.

The gunmen then set fire to the officials' car.

The commission condemned the attack as a "terrorist ambush."

A police official said the ferocity of the clashes prevented police from nearing the area. The attackers, most of whom wore no masks or scarves over their faces, set fire to at least one other vehicle before melting away as U.S. and Iraqi National Guard forces cordoned off the area.

Sunni elder statesman Adnan Pachachi, who is running in the Jan. 30 elections, said the Haifa Street violence proved there should be a "short postponement" of the national polls to address the concerns of senior Sunni clerics demanding a boycott.

Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a pro-American secular Shiite, said an increase in attacks ahead of the elections had been anticipated.

"For sure we expect strikes and we hope the eyes of our people will be open to inform authorities and help them in doing their job," told Al-Iraqiya TV.

Meanwhile, masked insurgents claiming to represent three Iraqi militant groups released a videotape showing what they said were 10 abducted Iraqis who had been working for an American security and reconstruction company.

The militants said they represent the Mujahedeen Army, the Black Banner Brigade and the Mutassim Bellah Brigade, all previously unknown groups. Nine blindfolded hostages were seen lined up against a stone wall and a 10th was lying in a bed, apparently wounded.

The kidnappers said they would kill the hostages if the Washington-based company, Sandi Group, does not leave Iraq.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq a drain on Toys for Tots
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By P. J. Huffstutter
Los Angeles Times
Posted December 20 2004

CHICAGO - Toys fill the gymnasium - boxes of teddy bears press against a weapons cabinet, bags of dolls and games are stacked high - but it isn't Christmas as usual at the Marine Corps Reserves training center.

This year, Toys for Tots - the program that has put toys into the hands of millions of kids and let the nation see the softer side of Marines for close to 60 years - is missing many of the men and women who are its driving force.

"We had 270 reservists helping us with Toys for Tots last year," said Maj. Rick Coates of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines. "This year, we're lucky to have 20 people. Everyone else is in Iraq."

Ten members of the battalion have died there since October.

With overseas deployments stretching on, and reservists and active-duty military personnel being tapped to serve repeat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Marine officials say Toys for Tots groups across the country are struggling to find enough people to staff the charity effort.

Last year, Toys for Tots, which is run by the Marine Corps Reserves, distributed 15 million donated toys to 6.6 million kids. The Toys for Tots Foundation, based in Quantico, Va., also routinely kicks in an additional $30 million to $40 million worth of toys to nonprofit organizations nationwide.

At the Chicago training center where Coates is based, more than 150,000 gifts to needy children are collected, sorted and given away each year.

Military officials say they hope there will be just as many toys, waiting for just as many children, this year. But they worry about a shortage of Marines who can move the toys out of the donation bins and help place them under the Christmas tree.

"With the mobilizations, the units need help," said Maj. Tom Nelson, national Toys for Tots coordinator. "So we're turning to civilians, retirees, anyone willing to help out for a good cause."

Such pleas are being issued in Washington and California, where scores of the Marine units have been tapped for duty.

In Boston and surrounding areas of Massachusetts, retired Marines in their 70s and 80s volunteered to fill the gap, and have spent the past few weeks sorting Tickle Me Elmo dolls and Tonka trucks. So many reservists have been deployed from Corpus Christi, Texas, that eight reservists are handling a workload carried by 80 last year.

In Illinois, all but one of the state's Marine Corps Reserves units has been activated. Overseas deployments have diminished the 145 toy-toting reservists from one of the battalion's companies in Waukegan, Ill., down to five.

"I'm happy that we even have five," said 1st Sgt. Joe Thornton. "We're calling some of the units in Wisconsin for help, but they're pretty spread thin too."

Marine units run about 179 of the nation's more than 481 Toys for Tots sites, said Nelson.

The remainder are organized by military retirees or civilian groups.

The program was founded by Los Angeles reservist Bill Hendricks in 1947, after his wife sewed a Raggedy Ann doll. She asked him to find a group that would give the doll to a needy child. When Hendricks couldn't find a home for the doll, his wife told him that he needed to start such an organization.

In Chicago, when the phones at the Joseph J. McCarthy training center began ringing with requests this fall, most of the reservists with the field service-support battalion were in Iraq, stationed in the Babil province south of Baghdad, the capital.

Coates, who in civilian life is a logistics manager for Sears, is one of the few battalion members left behind and is helping to lead the program.

Searching for manpower, he and the rest of the reserves have posted fliers in local grocery stores, called up veterans groups, and cajoled military families and friends.

Some volunteers have come forward.

Bridgette Lappen of Evanston stopped by the training center three weeks ago after hearing about the battalion's plight on the radio.

Work at her company had slowed for the holidays, so she offered to spend a few hours helping with clerical work.

She has worked every day since, up to eight hours per day.

"How can you not want to be here?" she asked. "They've lost so much, and they need us."

Amid the public's clamor for holiday help, Coates and the remaining Marines also have had to wrestle with the grim realities of war.

The first member of the battalion was killed in October. In November, six were killed in one week. Another died on Thanksgiving. Two more were killed last week. The funerals tentatively are set for this week, a day or two before Christmas Eve.

As Coates walked through the center's gymnasium, winding his way through towers of toys nearly 10 feet tall, he greeted two Marines wearing formal dress uniforms.

"You dressed for Toys for Tots or a funeral?" Coates asked.

One Marine showed Coates a tightly folded U.S. flag and replied, "Funeral."

The pair left and quickly changed into fatigues. Within minutes, they returned to the gymnasium and started packing Scooby Doo blankets and hula hoops into boxes.

Now, the Marines say they average 18-hour days. This week, they expect to be busy around the clock.

"We're going to be just like Santa, delivering toys at the last minute," Coates said. "There's no alternative. We have to get this done."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines give away goodies at Toys for Tots event

By DAVE PAYNE Sr.


PARKERSBURG - Dozens of area families picked up toys Saturday at the Grace Gospel Church for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves' Toys for Tots program, but noticeably absent were many of the local Marines who helped organize the drive.

Eight Marines devoted countless hours to organize the local drive with military precision, but only two of them were able to see the faces of parents to whom the toys were given. The other six were at the Marine Corps Reserve facility in Cross Lanes Saturday for a day of training in preparation for deployment to Iraq in the next few weeks, said Marine Sgt. Cliff Hecker.
"It just goes to show the dedication of these people. They are getting ready to go to war and they are taking the time to do this," Hecker said.

Hecker and Sgt. Jason Dennis were the only Marine able to attend the giveaway. Dennis may be deployed as well.

"I'm in limbo right now," Dennis said.

The Marines organized the annual drive with the help of countless volunteers. They stood on street corners and walked in parades to gather toys and about $21,000 monetary donations, which was about 25 percent more than was donated last year.

The Marines were able to collect or purchase over 21,000 toys, many of which are being distributed through local churches and social-service organizations, Hecker said. Those toys are being given to about 2,200 children, each of whom receives a 30-gallon bag full of toys, he said.

"We supplement what the parents give the kids so they can have a full Christmas," Hecker said.

Hecker said he is touched by the willingness of the community to help. Volunteers donated thousands of hours to the program. More than a dozen people each donated about $300 worth of toys, but were unwilling to give their names so the Marines could thank them.

One boy in Williamstown recently donated his birthday presents, Hecker said. The boy asked those attending his party to bring toys for the Marines instead of presents for himself.

"It mesmerizes me that people teach their kids to be this giving. It rejuvenates my faith in society," he said.

Vienna resident Melissa Jones picked up toys for her three children, ages five, four and one. Jones said she had presents for her children on layaway for Christmas, but the family had to recently cancel those toy layaways to make ends meet.

"I really appreciate what they do. It makes me feel good that my kids will have something when they wake up Christmas morning," she said.

Most of the Jones family Christmas presents would have come from grandparents, which would have been less than what the parents would have purchased, said Jones' mother Karen Parsons, also of Vienna.

"I'm a grandma on my eighth grandchild in April. I can only make money stretch so far and still live. It's good to know there is somebody out there who will step in to see little children have something for Christmas," Parsons said.

The Marines had their favorite toys. There was a Marine doll in desert fatigues that sparked Hecker's interest and Dennis pointed out the Tonka trucks hold up as well today as they did when he was a boy. Also popular was an aircraft carrier which had a small motor to move itself to launch attacks in bathtub missions. However, the Marines filled sacks with Barbie dolls, flutes, basketballs, fishing rods, books, footballs and skateboards with just as much enthusiasm.

The Marines showed strong hand-eye coordination as they filled the sacks with toys. Dennis tossed a Matchbox car to Hecker about 15 yards away. The car was so well thrown, Hecker was able to catch it without moving his arm and he tossed it in his sack with a flick of the wrist.

It's hard work, but it's fun, the Marines said. What the Marines don't get to see is the children opening their presents. That has to be left to the imagination, Dennis said.

"I just wish I could see those kids' faces when they open their presents Christmas morning," he said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Soldier Participates In Graduation
Associated Press
December 20, 2004

ST. LOUIS - Spc. Keith Lucas is a National Guardsman on duty in Iraq, where his job is clearing bombs from roads, but that didn't stop him from taking part in his college graduation.

Lucas, 26, participated Saturday in the commencement ceremony at the University of Missouri-St. Louis with the help of a satellite hookup.

"We go out and clear the roads from dangerous roadside bombs and save many lives," he said as fellow graduates watched him live on a giant screen placed behind the stage. "Hopefully, we'll get back real soon."

Lucas, whose degree is in mass communications, was given a minute-long ovation and his parents, fiance and other relatives were invited to the stage.

Lucas, also a trauma specialist for the Missouri Guard's Alpha Company, 1140th Engineer Battalion, earned a 3.8 grade-point average. He finished his final course, Business Writing, over the Internet.




Lucas' family accepted the diploma on his behalf. "It shouldn't be just for him - it's for all those guys over there," said his father, Larry Lucas.

Lucas sweeps major trade routes in Iraq for roadside bombs and then destroys them. He also provides emergency medical support and helps manage the health of the 120 soldiers in his company.

Lucas is due back in the states in February.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Honduran natives become U.S. Marines, citizens



by Cpl. Sharon E. Fox
2nd Force Service Support Group


CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Washington D.C. residents and Honduras-born brothers, will be spending this Christmas with their family - one with a new promotion and the other as a U.S. citizen.

Nahum I. Melendez, a diary clerk at the Group Consolidated Administration Center, was recently meritoriously promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal during a ceremony at the 2d Force Service Support Group's Headquarters and Service Battalion building here. His brother, Cpl. Jario E. Melendez, a cook for Food Service Company, H&S Bn., 2d FSSG, was more than happy to pin on his brother's chevrons.

Nahum won his battalion's meritorious promotion board in November, around the one-year anniversary of his enlistment.

Jario earned his U.S. citizenship earlier this year by a request submitted through the Marine Corps. Nahum is hoping to receive his citizenship approval from his request also through the Marine Corps, within the next six months.

Jario joined the Marine Corps in June 2002 at age 19.

"I wanted to join because I was not ready to go to college and knew that the Marine Corps would open up many opportunities for a successful future," he said.

Within a year of joining the Corps, only days out of his military occupational specialty school, Jario was immediately trained and deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as a food service specialist with the II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group on ship and at Camp Ryan, Kuwait from January to July of last year.

Nahum joined the Marine Corps in November 2003, after having an uneventful college experience and watching his brother prepare for war.

"I wanted to do something I could be proud of," the elder Melendez said. "My brother was already fighting the war in Iraq and I wanted to have the honor of serving my country and earning money for college."

Even though the 22-year-old has yet to deploy, he is proud of the mission he and his fellow Marines are accomplishing on the home front.

"I know I will get my chance to fight soon enough, but I will concentrate on my job at home for now and be happy our mother only has to worry about one of her children fighting overseas," said Nahum.

The Melendez brothers said joining the service seemed almost natural for them. Their relatives have served in the Honduran Army for generations.

"Of course our family's military history had an impact on our enthusiasm to join, but it was mostly a combination of wanting to do something useful and helping ourselves achieve success in the future," said 21-year-old Jario.

The brothers are two of four siblings. They have a 9-year-old sister and a 13-year-old brother who is already expressing interest in becoming a fellow devil dog.

The Melendez family has lived in Washington, D.C., since they moved to the United States in 1998. Most of their relatives are still in Honduras.

Though the brothers have no immediate plans of returning to live in Honduras, they are looking forward to visiting the small Central American island as U.S. citizens in the near future.

"Serving in the Marine Corps as U.S. citizens is just one of the many privileges we've earned as Marines," said the brothers. "We know our family both here and in Honduras can look at us knowing we've achieved more success than they could have hoped for."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Army Reserve Undergoing "Deep, Profound Change"
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2004 – Army Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly doesn't like the word "reservists." Members of the Army Reserve are "soldiers" plain and simple, he said.

"I have put out a policy statement which says we don't have 'reservists.' We have Army Reserve soldiers," Helmly said during a recent interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service. "The intent there is to induce across the length and breadth of our force an identification with the simple title of American soldier."

The changes the Army Reserve is undergoing are much deeper than what the service's members are called, the general said. Leaders are working to overhaul how Reserve soldiers train and mobilize, the regulations governing these things, even how soldiers think of themselves.

"Transformation" is another word Helmly prefers not to use. He said he prefers to call what his service is going through as "deep, profound, enduring change."

"Our intent, frankly, is that our force will be ready for a call to active duty as if they knew the hour and the day that it would come," he said. "That requires that each and every soldier take their individual responsibility for personal fitness, wellness, healthcare, personal affairs, the affairs of their family, etc."

Helmly likened changing a military service during wartime to refitting an airplane during flight. "There's no time out here for remodeling. We cannot hang a shingle out that says, 'Closed for remodeling,'" he said. "We've got to do it while we're still mobilized."

Part of that remodeling is cutting "23,000 spaces worth of structure" over the next three years to have those spaces available to better fill deployable units. Also to ensure the most soldiers deployable, the service has changed how it manages soldiers' physicals and updated training guidance to units.

Until recently, Army Reserve units have spent considerable time training after mobilization but before deployment. This led to units being mobilized for 18 months for a 12-month deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. It also resulted in insufficient time to prepare soldiers to go to war.

Today the Army Reserve expects units to be fully trained and ready to go to war before an alert order is even issued. "We are requiring commanders to train warriors prior to mobilization and changing the model from 'alert, train, mobilize, deploy' to 'train, mobilize, deploy.'

"Waiting until mobilization to undergo training is simply too late. You cannot respond and you cannot have the kind of soldiers ready to fight, accomplish their mission and survive if you wait until the unit's mobilized," he added.

Such fundamental changes require a deep commitment on the part of service and defense leaders, Helmly said.

"Our soldiers on the battlefield are performing with magnificent courage. And they are really out there -- stout of heart and doing a very dangerous job immensely well," he said. "And I think here in the Pentagon, we in senior leadership positions owe those soldiers the same amount of courage, commitment and sense of urgency and energy to make changes in the institutional processes that govern how those soldiers are treated."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Touched by tragedy in my little town
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By PHIL HERON
Times Editor
12/20/2004

It's just like hundreds of other tiny little towns across America that sent their sons and daughters off to fight a war, only to find some of them don't come back. Only this one was different. I grew up in this one.

The release from the Department of Defense, as it always is, is blunt and to the point: Cpl. Kyle J. Renehan, 21, of Oxford, Pa., died Dec. 9 in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from injuries received Nov. 29 as a result of enemy action in Babil Province, Iraq. He was assigned to Marine Air Control Squadron 2, Marine Air Control Group 28, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

He belonged to the Marines, but his roots were in Oxford. So are mine.

Oddly enough, I didn't find out about the Oxford native's death from the Defense Department. I had been off the Friday the news broke, and spent the day bumping into other harried shoppers at the King of Prussia Mall. When I got home, I flipped on the evening news (I go into withdrawal if I go too long without a fix of the local headlines.)

There was a teaser to a death involving a local Marine. My ears perked up as I waited to see if Delaware County had lost one of its own in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Thankfully, Delaware County had been spared. Tragically, my hometown had not. It's a long way out Baltimore Pike to Oxford. It takes a pretty big story for the TV news vans to make that trek. But there was a reporter standing smack dab in the middle of Oxford. They actually were doing their report from the parking lot of the Oxford Diner, on Third Street. Center City, only a lot smaller.

I didn't know Kyle Renehan. The name didn't ring any bells. I'm guessing his family is new to the area. Most everyone is. The area is exploding. What was once a tiny little town surrounded by farms is now a tiny little town surrounded by houses. Development is everywhere. It's not the town I grew up in, but that doesn't lessen my feelings for it, and the people who live there.

I quickly scanned the different stations as they did their reports, looking for a family name or face as they talked to neighbors and other people in town.

Kyle Renehan was a lot younger than me, but we had some things in common.

He played football for Oxford Area High School. I was a member of the school's first football team in 1969. We weren't very good. Got beat 72-3 by Chichester. Ripped up both my shoulders. Went 0-10 my senior year. And I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world.

Renehan graduated from Oxford High in 2001. Which means he donned cap and gown and marched into the same cramped, incredibly hot school auditorium that I had 28 years before.

To be honest, when I walked off that stage I didn't have any idea what I wanted to do with my life. Kyle apparently didn't have that problem. He joined the Marines soon after he graduated.

In one of the stories that was written after Renehan's death, his father marveled at the way the town had rallied around them. As it turns out, Jim and Theresa Renehan moved their family of five to Oxford from Maryland about five years ago.

Jim Renehan said the family had received personal notes from total strangers talking about what a great guy Kyle was. Sounds just like the town I grew up in.

"That's the advantage of living in a small town," Jim Renehan said. "People get it, understand you, support you." Nice to see some things don't change.

This likely will be a very different, very difficult holiday season for the Renehans. Just as it will for the families of the 1,289 U.S. soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq as of last week.

The fact is, there are lots of people, in lots of towns, who will be affected this holiday season by the war in Iraq.

Not everyone will be home for Christmas. We've decided to honor those families with a series of stories that will profile those who have loved ones away from home, too often in harm's way.

"Holidays on the Homefront" will start Friday, Christmas Eve, and run through New Year's Eve.

In it we hope to shed some light on the sacrifices being made by our neighbors at this special time of year. And how celebrating the holidays is different this year.

It is our way of saluting those who put their lives on the line in defense of our country, as well as the family members left behind to deal with everyday life.

It's also our way of saying that what they are doing is not forgotten, that it is appreciated, that their sacrifices are not unnoticed.

That people like Kyle Renehan are revered as the heroes that they are, in tiny little towns all across this country. And by the people who grew up in them.

Philip E. Heron is editor of the Daily Times. Call him at (610) 622-8818. E-mail him at editor@delcotimes.com.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

War on the Cheap
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By BOB HERBERT
The New York Times
Dec. 20, 2004

Greg Rund was a freshman at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in 1999 when two students shot and killed a teacher, a dozen of their fellow students and themselves. Mr. Rund survived that horror, but he wasn't able to survive the war in Iraq. The 21-year-old Marine lance corporal was killed on Dec. 11 in Falluja.

The people who were so anxious to launch the war in Iraq are a lot less enthusiastic about properly supporting the troops who are actually fighting, suffering and dying in it. Corporal Rund was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Because of severe military personnel shortages, large numbers of troops are serving multiple tours in the war zone, and many are having their military enlistments involuntarily extended.

Troops approaching the end of their tours in Iraq are frequently dealt the emotional body blow of unexpected orders blocking their departure for home. "I've never seen so many grown men cry," said Paul Rieckhoff, a former infantry platoon leader who founded Operation Truth, an advocacy group for soldiers and veterans.

"Soldiers will do whatever you ask them to do," said Mr. Rieckhoff. "But when you tell them the finish line is here, and then you keep moving it back every time they get five meters away from it, it starts to really wear on them. It affects morale."

We don't have enough troops because we are fighting the war on the cheap. The Bush administration has refused to substantially expand the volunteer military and there is no public support for a draft. So the same troops head in and out of Iraq, and then back in again, as if through a revolving door. That naturally heightens their chances of being killed or wounded.

A reckoning is coming. The Army National Guard revealed last Thursday that it had missed its recruiting goals for the past two months by 30 percent. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, who heads the National Guard Bureau, said: "We're in a more difficult recruiting environment, period. There's no question that when you have a sustained ground combat operation going that the Guard's participating in, that makes recruiting more difficult."

Just a few days earlier, the chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. James Helmly, told The Dallas Morning News that recruiting was in a "precipitous decline" that, if not reversed, could lead to renewed discussions about reinstatement of the draft.

The Bush administration, which has asked so much of the armed forces, has established a pattern of dealing in bad faith with its men and women in uniform. The callousness of its treatment of the troops was, of course, never more clear than in Donald Rumsfeld's high-handed response to a soldier's question about the shortages of battle armor in Iraq.

As the war in Iraq goes more and more poorly, the misery index of the men and women serving there gets higher and higher. More than 1,300 have been killed. Many thousands are coming home with agonizing wounds. Scott Shane of The Times reported last week that according to veterans' advocates and military doctors, the already hard-pressed system of health care for veterans "is facing a potential deluge of tens of thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq with serious mental health problems brought on by the stress and carnage of war."

Through the end of September, nearly 900 troops had been evacuated from Iraq by the Army for psychiatric reasons, included attempts or threatened attempts at suicide. Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, an assistant secretary of defense for health affairs from 1994 to 1997, said, "I have a very strong sense that the mental health consequences are going to be the medical story of this war."

When the war in Afghanistan as well as Iraq is considered, some experts believe that the number of American troops needing mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.

From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on.

Nevertheless the troops have fought valiantly, and the price paid by many has been horrific. They all deserve better than the bad faith and shoddy treatment they are receiving from the highest officials of their government.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Country club gives Marines a show of thanks
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BY SAMUEL P. NITZE
snitze@herald.com

''Ten-Hut! There's an officer in the house!'' bellowed Santa Claus as he clasped the Marine Corps sergeant's hand.

''Bless you,'' he added quietly, bells jangling, beard flowing. ``Bless you.''

In fact, there were about a dozen Marines in the house, invited by the Fort Lauderdale Country Club in Plantation to attend the annual Christmas with Santa Brunch.

''We're doing this because of what's going on in the world today,'' said the club's president, Don Carlon. ``We thought wouldn't it be nice to invite some of these Marines here as a way of saying thanks for doing such a good job -- for protecting all of us so we can even sit here and have this brunch.''

Staff Sgt. Deryck Smith, of Hialeah, a tank gunner who served five months in Iraq, said that whatever one thinks of the war, a show of thanks to those who serve goes a long way.

''Not too many people show their appreciation, so this is awesome -- a big display of support for the troops,'' Smith said, flanked by his wife and two children. ``We have a job to do. And we're human just like everyone else: We need a little support now and then.''

The club has been showing its gratitude for years in the form of an annual golf tournament to benefit the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Carlon said. But this year the board wanted to do something more.

So Marines from the recruiting command in Plantation and the reserve station in Hialeah, along with their families, were treated to oysters and shrimp, omelets and cakes. To a clubhouse decorated with scenes from a winter wonderland. To tunes from a piano man.

And to the jolly man in red.

The children called out to him as he entered the dining room: ``Hi, Santa!''

They sat on his lap, posing for photographs.

They rattled off wish lists that included video games and toys Santa had never heard of. And they endured his questions and advice.

''Have you been brushing your teeth?'' he asked Neako Ramirez, 5, son of Staff Sgt. Cesar Ramirez.

He added, ``Make sure you help mom around the house.''

Yes, fine, but Neako wanted to know about the Tak 2 video game he had asked for.

''A tattoo?'' Santa said, casting a glance at Neako's father. ``Well, I don't know about that.''

Ramirez, 29, of Plantation, said he spent eight months on the USS Iwo Jima providing support to troops on the ground in Iraq. Born in Venezuela and raised in New Jersey, he has been a Marine since he was 18.

''I'm not even from this area,'' he said. ``But to be able to join people who support the military is great. This is America right here for me, and inside, my blood is red, white and blue U.S. Marine.''


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Maryland college displays Marine's photos from Iraq
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By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, December 20, 2004

WASHINGTON - Even though thousands of pictures have been taken during the U.S. occupation in Iraq, Maj. Benjamin Busch doesn't think many Americans have really seen the country.

The Marine took hundreds of photos of his own during his 13-month tour following the invasion of Iraq, and will be displaying 100 of them at University of Maryland University College in College Park, Md., next month. He thinks they show an unfiltered look at everyday Iraqis, and their reaction to the war.

"This exhibit does not insist that the war was a mistake or that it was necessary; those positions have lost their relevance," he said. "It simply states that it is a war and that we have a duty to understand our situation now that that distant country is a part of our lives."

Busch, 36, an actor who has performed in a number of television shows including "The West Wing" and "The Wire," has been an amateur photographer since graduating from college. He also served as the commanding officer of Delta Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, which arrived in eastern Iraq in April 2003.

The pictures in the exhibit were all taken in the following six months, as his unit moved along the Iranian border.

"It was very difficult to take this series of photographs during my first deployment," he said. "I was the provisional military authority for a large piece of territory … I could not allow myself or my Marines to be considered vulnerable tourists.

"There are thousands of images that I had to walk or drive past simply because the moment had not been appropriate to pause."

What he did record is a series of faces and emotions of Iraqi citizens watching their country undergo dramatic changes. A number of his photos were put on display at Vassar College in New York earlier this year, and Busch was impressed with how well the audience could separate controversy surrounding the war from the pictures themselves.

"Intelligent viewers appreciated the messages in the exhibit for what they were," he said. "[The photos] were taken by a Marine with an unlikely combination of both a military and an artistic perspective in a combat zone."

Busch is scheduled to return to Iraq next month, shortly after his exhibit, "The Art of War," opens. He said he isn't sure what to expect on the return trip.

"When I took most of the photographs in this show, I was able to make and, to a certain extent, control the first impression that the Iraqi people had of American occupation," he said. "This time I will be operating in an area corrupted by our armed response to an increasingly popular insurgency.

"But I will bring my camera. I don't go there to take pictures, I take pictures because I am there."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines now armed with Arabic
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December 20,2004
By Kirsten A. Holmstedt
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

By Kirsten A. Holmstedt

Marine Cpl. David Guthrie was standing duty at the gate of an abandoned airfield in Al Kut, Iraq. A chain-link fence wrapped for miles around the airfield, which was used by Iraqis as temporary lodging until the Marines moved in.

Guthrie, a member of II Marine Expeditionary Force Motor Transport Company from Camp Lejeune, had orders to keep the Iraqis out.

On this evening, 30 Iraqis stood in front of the 25-year-old Marine, anxious to recover their belongings. Guthrie wanted to tell them, "Come back tomorrow." Those three words, in Arabic, could have made a world of difference.

Instead, chaos ensued.

"I wished every day that I could speak Arabic," said Guthrie, of his last tour in Iraq in 2003.

Today, Guthrie's wish is coming true. When he returns to Iraq in 2005 he will be armed with an understanding of the language, which could turn out to be the best weapon he has. He will use it to prevent common situations from escalating into tense ones.

Guthrie is one of 260 Marines and sailors who are either taking or have completed an Arabic course through Coastal Carolina Community College. The course teaches Modern Standard Arabic, the formal language that is written and spoken throughout the contemporary Arab world. Basic grammar, military vocabulary, and conversational Arabic are emphasized.

Graduates are expected to be familiar enough with the Arabic language that they won't have to rely on an interpreter.

Instructor Ed Paradysz, a retired master sergeant, teaches the course. Paradysz spent 20 of his 22 years in the Marine Corps as a cryptologic linguist. When he started teaching for Coastal in January of 2002, the classes averaged 13 students. In the past six months, enrollment has increased to 24 by virtue of an order by Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson, commander of II MEF Forward demanding that one Marine from each infantry squadron learn Arabic before a massive deployment in 2005.

Lt. Col. Michael R. Kaine, training manager for II MEF G-3 Operations, said that by learning Arabic, the Marines will be better positioned to establish order and reduce friction. It will also enable them to get help and information and to communicate at check points, and house searches.

During the past year, when the demand for Arabic-speaking Marines soared, the college hired another instructor, Kristine Kruchten, a former Army linguist. The courses are 160 hours over 20 working days. Students receive 26 CDs in Arabic to facilitate their learning. In addition, the Defense Language Institute of Monterey, Calif., which developed the course, sent two instructors to Jacksonville to handle more Arabic courses.

Kaine said the Marines are not expected to be fluent when they graduate from the course, but they should be able to pick up key words or phrases and communicate on a basic level with the Iraqis.

Guthrie hopes that he will be able to identify words in a sentence, such as "American" and "bomb," so that he can anticipate a hostile action and warn his fellow Marines.

Iraqis who converse with Marines will have to speak slowly, Kaine said, but he hopes that they will appreciate the effort that the Marines are making to learn their language and culture.

Like Guthrie, many of the Marines in the Arabic courses have already completed one or two tours in the Middle East.

The last time Guthrie was in Al Kut, one of his daily responsibilities was to deliver food and water to Marines staying on another base. To get to the other base, he had to travel in a large truck down a narrow, one-lane road. As protesters walked alongside Guthrie's vehicle, one threw a brick at his windshield.

If he knew Arabic, Guthrie would have understood what they were saying and been able to respond appropriately to the situation. He wanted to explain that he was simply taking food to the Marines on the base.

Guthrie had already participated in humanitarian efforts, such as giving Iraqis food and playing soccer with them. He believes that learning Arabic and finding out about their culture is another step in the right direction.

"It shows that we have respect for them," he said. "Maybe they'll be more respectful of us."

Cpl. Adam Jimenez, 21, and an engineer with II MEF, said that during a deployment to Kuwait, he was responsible for tearing down camps and washing gear, such as generators and air conditioners. He was on a shift that oversaw 100 Iraqis as they washed vehicles.

"There was a lot of fighting between the Iraqis," Guthrie said. "The Marines weren't allowed to lay hands on them. We had to use hand gestures instead and that was aggravating."

The Marines could yell, but that wasn't very effective because they were shouting in English. By the time they found an Iraqi supervisor, the fight was over. Those who were fighting were fired, and the already short-staffed workforce became even smaller.

Lance Cpl. Pablo Ochoa, 20, of Small Craft Company of 2nd Marine Division, said he had taken a 30-day Arabic course through Berlitz prior to his first tour in Iraq. He said he has learned more in the first four days of Coastal's Arabic class. That's because the Coastal courses emphasizes conversational Arabic.

Ochoa conducted riverine operations in Iraq. He wished he had known Arabic then, so he could ask the Iraqis if they had seen any weapons or suspicious boats. When the Marines found something, they wanted to track down the owner, but their effort was stymied by the language barrier.

"It was really frustrating not being able to ask those questions," Ochoa said. During his upcoming deployment, he hopes to be able to speak enough Arabic to pick out words in a conversation, so he can understand what is being said.

Being chosen as the one in their squad to learn Arabic is quite an honor. The responsibility goes beyond the course. When class ends, the learning has to continue. "It's a huge commitment," said Guthrie, who volunteered to learn the language. He studies a lot on the weekends.

"I like the fact that I'm the one learning the Arabic," he said. "I would rather it be me than someone who doesn't care about it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Busier times lie ahead for base hospital
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December 20,2004
ERIC STEINKOPFF AND ANDREW DEGRANDPRE
DAILY NEWS STAFF

If the number of war-wounded Marines leaving Iraq next year stays at its current rate, Camp Lejeune's Naval Hospital will get a lot busier.

Lejeune's II Marine Expeditionary Force, which boasts about 14,000 local troops, will begin deploying in January. In Iraq, it will eventually assume command of operations from the West Coast's I MEF, which is based at Camp Pendleton. Presently, there are 21,000 I MEF Marines in Iraq.

With some Lejeune units - including the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment - already on the ground there, the Naval Hospital here treats an average of 25 to 30 casualties per month, said Capt. Richard C. Welton, the hospital's commander.

At Camp Pendleton's Naval Hospital, the monthly average between February and November is about 63. However, the actual number of casualties ebbs and flows, said Doug Allen, a spokesman.

"There was one particular spike," Allen said, "right after the (November assault on) Fallujah. There was a four- to five-day period when they sent more (wounded) than normal - if there is a normal."

In mid-November, when Marine Lt. Gen. John Sattler said opposition forces in Fallujah had been "broken," CNN reported that 275 American troops and soldiers were wounded in the offensive - and that about 60 of those returned to active duty. Casualties treated by doctors at the American military hospital in Germany more than doubled during that time, according to CNN.

"We normally anticipate one to two groups of two to 10 injured individuals per week (at Pendleton's Naval Hospital)," Allen said. "Fifty-six Marines and sailors arrived (between) Nov. 15 and 19."

From February through November, Pendleton's Naval Hospital treated 632 wounded troops, Allen said. Most patients have orthopedic injuries suffered as a result of gun shots or shrapnel, he added.

When Lejeune troops in Iraq suffer combat or non-combat injuries, Welton explained, they're treated at various locations before coming home to North Carolina.

"First, they are stabilized in theater, and then they are (medically evacuated) to Landstuhl, Germany for treatment," Welton said. "Then they are returned stateside. The idea is to get them as close to home as possible, (and) for Camp Lejeune, that's Bethesda, Maryland."

Medical specialists at Bethesda do what they can to help the patients they see, Welton said. Then Lejeune Naval Hospital doctors provide any additional care - be it inpatient or outpatient rehab, he added.

"Most are outpatients, but some need one to three days of additional surgery or treatment," Welton said. "We receive casualties to provide ongoing treatment and support."

At the Naval Medical Center San Diego, which is the West Coast's counterpart to Bethesda, I MEF Marines wounded in Iraq come in waves, said Amy Rohlfs, a spokeswoman. While the inpatient count has been as high as 40 at any one time, she said, there are six patients there right now. Another 20 are staying in the hospital's "med hold," Rohlfs said, which is like a dormitory used to house troops who need ongoing treatment.

Again, most require orthopedic surgery. One Marine corporal, wounded in Fallujah and admitted with substantial shrapnel wounds to his arm, was recently released from the San Diego facility after regaining almost complete mobility, she said.

"His whole arm was dangling," Rohlfs said. "It was broken and missing a huge piece of muscle. But just like Humpty Dumpty, the doctors here put him back together again."

While commanders at Lejeune quietly acknowledge the numbers may increase locally, improvements in body and vehicle armor, along with tactics that keep troops safer, have been credited with reducing the number and severity of injuries. The Associated Press reported earlier this month that for every one American service member killed in Iraq, nine others survived injuries - the highest rate for any war involving U.S. forces.

"The idea is rehabilitation - to get them back to active duty," Welton said. "Today, even those with artificial limbs have the possibility to stay in the Marine Corps if they can pass the physical requirements."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Local Heroes
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By ANDREW BORENE
The New York Times
Dec. 21, 2004

Minneapolis - IF the Pentagon hopes to start bringing American troops home from Iraq while also increasing security there, it will have to find a way to do more with less. One approach could be expanding the Marine Corps combined-action program, an initiative that was successful in Vietnam and has shown early promise in Iraq.

The concept behind the program is that if American and foreign troops operate together, each will gain knowledge from the other as to the best way to counter an insurgency. In Vietnam, platoons were created that combined marines and Vietnamese militia members. The Americans were handpicked, chosen because they had shown particular respect for the local culture. They were expected to live in the villages they were assigned to defend, striving to "work themselves out of a job" by training their Vietnamese counterparts in police work and security operations.

The most striking success of the program was a rapid increase in actionable intelligence. Living in Vietnamese hamlets for months, the marines got a chance to get to know the locals, who in general had kept a careful neutrality in the war. This helped to humanize the American presence and reduced the passive support many civilians had been giving to Vietcong guerrillas. For many, their respect for (or fear of) the communist guerrillas waned, and they broke their silence about intelligence leads.

In the long run, it was one of the few efforts that managed to win some "hearts and minds" in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the top brass lost interest in the program in the early 1970's and, well, the rest is history.

Last year, under the leadership of Gen. James Mattis, members of the First Marine Division in western Iraq began adapting the program to aid poorly trained Iraqi National Guard and police forces. Although it is too soon to declare success, reports from the military and the news media suggest that Iraqis in the combined-action program perform better in combat, have higher morale and are considerably more reliable than their regular Iraqi military counterparts.

Expanding the program would be best accomplished by teaming coalition troops with Iraqi security troops, or even paramilitary groups as in Vietnam, and placing them in cities along the main supply routes. This would significantly bolster the coalition's ability to gauge popular sentiment and gather intelligence leads on the pursuit of enemy leaders. It would also reduce the high profile of the coalition forces.

While the situations in Vietnam and Iraq are not identical, when it comes to battling insurgents it is always vital to erase their advantages in popular support and local knowledge. A few good marines learned how to do that during Vietnam; perhaps trying it again in Iraq can bring about a different ending.

Andrew Borene, a law student at the University of Minnesota, was a first lieutenant with the Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq. He is an adviser to Operation Truth, a veterans' advocacy group.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

We are different... We show respect!! <br />
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Marines recover, bury enemy remains in Fallujah <br />
Submitted by: 1st Force...