3rd MAW Marines thank America, cheer NFL team from Iraq

[thedrifter]

3rd MAW Marines thank America, cheer NFL team from Iraq
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200511121812
Story by Cpl. Paul Leicht



AL ASAD, Iraq (Jan 11, 2005) -- More than 150 deployed Marines and Sailors with Marine Aircraft Logistics Squadron 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, gathered here Jan. 8 to thank America for its support and to cheer their favorite NFL team during the playoffs.

Although the unit is from Miramar, Calif., MALS-16 has many Pittsburgh Steelers fans and they could be considered the squadron’s ‘adopted team.’

In the NFL post-season excitement, MALS-16 sent a cherished, collectible unit ‘challenge’ coin to the Steelers to use during the opening coin-toss. The coin will be used during the Steelers’ first playoff game against the New York Jets airing Jan. 15 on national television.

The Marines then thought it would be a good idea to record a motivated ‘shout-out’ to play during the game, rooting on the Steelers from the Iraqi desert.

“We just want to thank everyone back home for all the things they do for us and let the Steelers know we are rooting for them,” said Lt. Col. Scott Loch, commanding officer of MALS-16, and a native of Scranton, Penn.

On behalf of his squadron, Loch led his troops’ ‘Here we go Steelers, here we go!’ cheer with appreciation for America’s support and well wishes.

A chilly morning greeted the crowd, which included some fans of other NFL teams, but everyone was still ‘pumped up’ and enthusiastic about participating in the cheer.

“I think everyone got into the Steelers spirit, even the (Dallas) Cowboys fans,” said Maj. James V. Longi, future operations officer, Marine Aircraft Group 16, who held up a large black and yellow Steelers blanket during the cheer. “It was obvious that everyone felt special being in the photo shoot.”

Sprinkled among the cheering crowd were some key players who helped make the day an exciting event.

Navy Cmdr. Douglas A. Lucka, aircraft depot maintenance advisor with MALS-16, contacted the Steelers organization about the having a MALS-16 unit coin tossed before the first game kick-off. According to Lucka the Steelers were proud to recognize the Marines during the game for a morale boost.

Many Marines brought their own Steelers gear and other specialty items like ‘Terrible Towels’ and t-shirts for the event. One Marine officer with a special connection to the team also brought some morale boosting Steelers swag.

“I have seen firsthand how news of Steelers' successes this year and the looking forward to the hearing or watching the Steelers play the next week, or just hearing how they did, has uplifted the morale of many a ‘Steelers’ Marine,’” said Capt. Brian J. Rooney, deputy staff judge advocate, 3rd MAW, whose grandfather, Art Rooney, founded the team in 1933. “It was heartening just to see how the Marines reacted to getting this gear.”

Rooney is a modest man and not one to boast about his experiences in Iraq or his family legacy, but if someone asks him he will admit to being related to the Steelers franchise.

“Obviously, Marines wear our names on our uniforms and inevitably many people--usually people from Pennsylvania--would ask me if I was related to the ‘Steeler’ Rooney’s,” said Rooney whose family has a deep respect for the Corps. “I've met an incredible amount of Steelers fans in the Corps throughout Iraq. I have corresponded regularly with the Steelers, coaches and my family. All of the individuals I have corresponded with greatly appreciate what the Corps is doing out here.”

In a recent letter from the Steelers defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau, Rooney said the team was ‘grateful for the job that the Marine Corps is doing.’

“The Steelers' organization has always been proud to support the Armed Services in anyway it can,” said Rooney.

Ellie

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200511122154/$file/040108-M-0484-L-001LR.jpg

Caption:
With more than 150 Marines and Sailors showing off their team spirit behind him, Lt. Col. Scott Loch, commanding officer, Marine Aircraft Logistics Squadron 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, sends a message of appreciation to America for their support during videotaping of motivational cheer at Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 8 for the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team. Recognizing the hard work and sacrifices of the Marines, a MALS-16 coin will be tossed before the Steelers first playoff game against the New York Jets airing on national television Jan. 15.
Photo by: Cpl. Paul Leicht

[thedrifter]

U.S. Denies Creating Death Squads
United Press International
January 11, 2005

WASHINGTON - A Pentagon spokesman Monday denied reports the U.S. military is training "death squads" to target insurgents in Iraq.

Newsweek magazine reported Saturday on the effort in its latest issue.

"The U.S. military does not take part in or train other forces to undertake illegal actions, assassinations or torture. All training and advising our Special Operations forces conduct with Iraqi security forces is done in full compliance with the laws of war," said a Pentagon spokesman.

"The leadership of the insurgency in Iraq is a legitimate military target. U.S., Coalition and Iraqi security forces will continue to capture or kill the command-and-control elements of the insurgency as a legitimate military tactic. Since 9-11, the U.S. government has made clear a goal to capture or kill those guilty of terrorist acts and we will continue to do so, governed by the laws of war."

The U.S. military's plan for Iraqi security from the start has been to create an Iraqi security force to police the country. The experience of the last 18 months has shown it to be imperative: The very presence of occupation forces inflames the insurgency and public opinion. The only viable way of stopping the insurgent forces is to have Iraqi-trained forces target them, a senior U.S. military official said.




Human rights organizations were quick to denounce such plans. "Experience from countries such as Colombia, Sudan and Russia in Chechnya shows that 'death squads' and paramilitary groups created to combat insurgencies take on a life of their own and are often difficult to rein in," Human Rights Watch said in the statement Monday. "Once established, it is difficult to prevent them from killing whomever they want for whatever reasons they want, opening up the possibility that civilians will be targeted because of personal or political vendettas in violation of the Geneva Conventions."

The statement quoted Kenneth Roth, executive director, as saying, "If this plan is real, the Pentagon will rue the day it dreamed it up. They are creating a monster that could someday kill the very Iraqi democracy they say they want to build."

The organization said U.S. and Iraqi forces have been legally arresting insurgent leaders or killing them when they fight back. However, they noted, "deliberately targeting civilians or executing combatants in custody would be a war crime."

One of the primary lessons U.S. forces have learned in Iraq, particularly over the last six months, is that non-local Iraqi forces are often best able to target insurgents embedded in certain areas, because they are not compromised by tribal alliances or by fear for their families' safety. Bringing Iraqi forces from one area to operate in another has paid dividends, particularly along the Syrian border where some of the worst violence is seen, and where smugglers and fighters -- Iraqi and foreign -- cross the border.

One unit of Iraq's former Special Forces, organized under an Iraqi general who offered his services to the 1st Marine Division, has been especially effective in lawless Husayba, according to a senior military official.

The Newsweek report says trained Shiite and Kurdish soldiers would be used against the rebels. A senior military official said Sunni soldiers, including those in the 600-man Special Forces unit, would also be used.

The officials bristled at the term "death squads," which suggests the Iraqi forces will be sent against innocent targets in a scorched-earth policy to rout the rebels, the senior official complained. That is not the intention, he said.

Another official said the new forces would be akin to the United States' secret Delta Force, a team of Special Forces soldiers especially trained for counter-terror operations.

Delta Force was created in October 1977 in direct response to worldwide terrorist incidents. It specializes in hostage rescue, barricade operations and reconnaissance, according to GlobalSecurity.org.

Newsweek noted the presence of now Iraqi Ambassador John Negroponte who served in Honduras in the 1980s. Death squads with connections to the United States government operating in Nicaragua and El Salvador sometimes used Honduras as a home base.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

US marines undertake "gut-wrenching" clean up in Sri Lanka

GINTOTA, Sri Lanka (AFP) - Despite their training and combat experience, the US marines working in tsunami-hit Sri Lanka admit that picking through the shattered remains of peoples' lives has been a heart-rending exercise.


A few dozen of around 400 marines stationed in or off the southern city of Galle pick up brick after broken brick, the pieces left behind after the Asian tsunami ravaged the seaside village of Gintota.


Like survivors right across the three-quarters of Sri Lanka's coastal belt obliterated by the December 26 tsunami, they use their hands -- some gloved in black leather or khaki wool, others simply bare.


They toss what's left of entire lifetimes into the mouths of camouflaged bulldozers, brought by the US military themselves, which then transfer the detritus into their dump trucks. Then it's off to a makeshift tip.


"There was rubble everywhere. It was like the Twin Towers," in New York destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks says Private First Class Damon Carr, describing the scene when he arrived.


"I didn't know where we were going to start from; everywhere you looked, there was rubble."


He found a photo album with a family snap of half a dozen people and says he handed it back to the mother pictured in it. She was the only one still alive.


"I almost cried," he says. "We're marines, we've been trained, but I never thought I'd be standing here, picking up the pieces of someone's whole life."


Sergeant Jarrod Birchler was also astounded at the scale of wreckage.


"It looks good now but when we came you couldn't even drive a truck here. There were six houses standing and there were six with nothing but their foundations left," he says.


Those standing had to be demolished -- except for a small structure that he thinks used to be somebody's kitchen -- and added to the metre-high rubble which has taken three full days to almost clear.


"It's long, hard work," Birchler adds.


The area the marines have tackled is barely a dot on the map of Sri Lanka's disaster zone, an indication of the enormous effort that will be needed to rebuild the South Asian country.


Amid the mess, the occasional piece of torn cloth -- perhaps once someone's dress -- and pieces of household items still peak through.


Hospital Corpsman First Class Tim Dittlinger, who normally provides medical care to the marines from the 9th Engineers Support Battalion here, scrunches up a piece of material and tosses it into the bulldozer's jaws as he admits it's been tough.


"It's been heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. It's hard to come here and do what we've been doing, dumping what people have built up their whole lives," he says.


"Picking up people's lives, it's not what we've been expecting to do."





In small clusters around the periphery of the work site, curious Sri Lankans watch. G.V. Kellum, 41, who lost his father to the tsunami, solemnly observes as the remainder of his home gets tossed away.

"They're helping, so that's good," the labourer says, standing from a vantage point where he can also see the surf rolling in along the rubbish- and boat-strewn beach, an ever-present reminder of the tragedy.

Nearby G.V. Dayawathie rummages in the remains of her home, surrounded by a few relatives and neighbours, hoping to find some intact bricks that they might be able to re-use, while also keeping an eye on the marines at work.

"We are happy that they are coming to Sri Lanka for free to help us. We're happy about them cleaning up," says the 33-year-old mother of four, whose father was also killed by the surging waters.

Her neighbour and nephew, Padme Talakkumara, 17, would like to talk to the marines but can't speak English.

The marines say many Sri Lankans have been hesitant to approach, but some have cheerfully handed out sliced coconuts from the palms swaying overhead.

"Obviously, the machinery is intimidating -- we're intimidated by the machinery. They've been gracious, hospitable and yet wary," says Dittlinger.

"They're glad we're here, but at the same time, you can read the distress and the loss on their faces."

Corporal Ryan Zeiter, 24, drives one of the seven-tonne dump trucks.

Asked how he is coping emotionally, he says: "I've been to Iraq (news - web sites), I'm used to it. But it's pretty sad to see some of these people who don't have anything anymore."

The conditions he's working under are however far better than in Iraq, he says, where he finished a tour a year ago.

"There you've got to be constantly looking around. There's no trust. Here, I can leave my truck running without worrying it will get stolen. They seem like pretty honest people here."

Asked if anything stands out as being difficult, he shakes his head.

"No, it's something we do. We're marines, we're here to help."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

US ship brings 100 marines, helicopters to Sri Lanka coast

COLOMBO (AFP) - Amphibious vessel USS Duluth has brought about 100 marines and three helicopters to the southern coast of Sri Lanka for relief work before heading on to Iraq (news - web sites), a US official said.


"The ship will be anchored off the coast of Galle for a week or so and later head to its final destination, which is Iraq," US embassy spokesman Chris Long said.


He said the Austin-class ship is carrying three helicopters that will be used for relief work in Sri Lanka as well as a range of heavy engineering and earth moving equipment.


Long said the USS Bonhomme Richard, which was to arrive in Galle to carry out relief work in the tsunami-hit island, has been diverted to Indonesia.


The ship had been due to bring 1,500 US marines to help rebuild tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka.


"It is unlikely (now) that those many marines will be stationed in Sri Lanka as other tsunami-affected regions also need attention," Long said.


"A smaller force will be committed to Sri Lanka. At the moment we have around 300 marines at Galle."


Galle was devastated in the December 26 tsunami tragedy that killed at least 30,718 people in Sri Lanka.


The US relief operations would focus on clearing debris and rebuilding some 30 bridges washed away by the earthquake-whipped seas.


Sri Lankan officials have said that no foreign troops will be deployed in areas of the island's north and the east where Tamil Tigers are in control.


The US already has a big military relief operation in Indonesia, the country battered worst by the tsunami, and has committed 350 million dollars in aid for affected countries.




Ellie

[thedrifter]

Witness: Graner Punched Iraqi Prisoner <br />
Associated Press <br />
January 11, 2005 <br />
<br />
FORT HOOD, Texas - The alleged ringleader of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal went on trial Monday with witnesses telling...

[thedrifter]

Navy Ship Arrives In Sri Lanka
Associated Press
January 11, 2005

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - An American Navy ship, the USS Duluth, carrying more than 100 U.S. Marines arrived Monday off the southern coast of Sri Lanka as part of the U.S. military's relief and rebuilding efforts in tsunami-struck areas.

The ship brought three military helicopters and one landing craft, all with capacity to carry large amounts of equipment and personnel. In Sri Lanka, more than 30,000 people were killed and another 800,000 have been displaced.

A large amount of earth-moving and engineering equipment will be deployed in relief efforts, according to a U.S. military official who declined to be named.

Some 300 Marines are currently on the island and the number is likely to go up 600 in the coming weeks, he said.

The ship will be anchored off the coast of Galle for approximately a week before heading to Iraq, he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

More Weapons Caches Seized, Suspected Insurgents Detained
Marine Corps News
January 07, 2005

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq - Marines from the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force detained 15 suspected insurgents and discovered several weapons caches today during operations throughout Al Anbar Province.

The following weapons and munitions were discovered and destroyed:

(3) RPG rockets
(2) RPG launchers
(1) AK-47 with 140 rounds
(1) Shotgun with rounds
(1) Dragunov sniper rifle
(256) 7.62 sniper rounds
(2) 107mm rockets
(23) 57mm rockets
(10) 60mm mortar rounds
(16) 82mm mortar rounds
(3) Anti-tank mines
(3) 68mm rockets
(3) 120mm mortar rounds
(65) Cans of 14.7mm rounds
(1) Can of 14.5mm rounds
(2) 122mm mortar rounds
(1) Grenade
(3) Rocket launcher
(1) Rocket tube
IED making material

The discovery and subsequent destruction of the weapons caches reduces anti-Iraqi forces' ability to launch attacks against Iraqi and Multi-National Forces and Iraqi civilians.

The Marines, Soldiers and Sailors of the 1st Marine Division continue to enhance security and stability in the Al Anbar Province for the Iraqi people in advance of the upcoming elections.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Insurgents Increase Explosives' Power
Associated Press
January 11, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A roadside bomb destroyed a second heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle in less than a week Monday, killing two U.S. soldiers, wounding four others and indicating that insurgents have increased the power of the explosives they are using against American troops.

The blast came hours after gunmen in a passing car assassinated Baghdad's deputy police chief and his son while they drove to work, part of a campaign to target Iraq's security forces. Al-Qaida in Iraq, the group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility.

American officials have cautioned that insurgents will escalate attacks in a bid to scuttle Jan. 30 elections. After a roadside bomb struck a Bradley on Thursday and killed seven soldiers, the Defense Department warned that militants were increasing the size and power of their bombs.

The attack Monday on a Bradley in southwest Baghdad followed the same pattern.

"It's fair to say that they are afraid of the elections, they are afraid of what the outcome will be and they want to do everything they can to derail that process because that's just one more step toward their demise," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. James Hutton said. "This is probably an indication of their increase in effort and investment to derail the vote."

The attack was one of several acts of major violence Monday.





A suicide attacker detonated a bomb in a fake police car at a police station courtyard in Baghdad, killing at least four officers and wounding 10 during a shift change, police and witnesses said.

A roadside bombing killed three Iraqi National Guard soldiers and wounded six during a joint patrol with U.S. troops in the restive northern city of Mosul, said Maj. Andre Hance, a U.S. military spokesman. He said there were no American casualties.

In a suggestion that the insurgents were looking for new ways to intimidate voters, a militant group posted threats in at least two towns warning it would deploy "highly trained" snipers to target voters around Iraq during the elections.

The statement, signed by the previously unknown Secret Republican Army, said 32 snipers will stalk voters outside polling in Wasit, a largely Shiite province south of Baghdad that includes Kut, Numaniyah and Suwaiyra. It did not say how many would be sent elsewhere.

Sheik Fassal Raikan al-Gout, the governor of Anbar province, said he was aware of the circulated posters but dismissed their importance.

"We do not care about such statements," he said. "We will continue to do our best and what we see fit to maintain security."

Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's estimated 26 million people, say the country is far too dangerous for the vote later this month, and many are refusing to participate. Failure by the Sunni Arabs to participate in the vote would undermine the election's credibility.

But the United States rejected a request by Sunni Muslim clerics to spell out a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq in exchange for calling off their boycott of the elections, U.S. Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said.

The leader of Iraq's largest Shiite Muslim political group said in an interview broadcast Monday that "if elections were postponed, this will lead to a serious legal problem because Iraq will be without a legitimate authority."

"No legitimate authority has the right to postpone the elections because this will lead to more problems," said Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. He was referring to the interim constitution and a U.N. resolution that says elections must be held before the end of January.

A number of election officials and government leaders have already fallen victim to brutal terror attacks, and many have received death threats. The most prominent victim in recent weeks was the governor of Baghdad, Ali al-Haidari, who was slain with six bodyguards on Jan. 4.

On Monday, attackers shot and killed Baghdad's deputy police chief, Brig. Amer Ali Nayef, and his son, Lt. Khalid Amer, also a police officer. They were slain in Baghdad's Dora district while traveling in a car on their way to work, Interior Ministry spokesman Capt. Ahmed Ismail said.

Gunmen sprayed machine-gun fire from two cars driving parallel with the police chief's vehicle close to his home before fleeing, police said. The two were alone in the car.

The government sought to strike back against the insurgents with its own media campaign Monday. Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said authorities have captured 147 suspected insurgents in Iraq, including the new leader of an insurgent group.

Allawi identified the man as Raad al-Doury, who just days earlier had taken over the top post of Jaish Muhammad - Arabic for Muhammad's Army - from a man detained in November. Allawi has accused Jaish Muhammad of killing and beheading a number of Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners in Iraq.

"Every day the terrorists name a new leader we capture him and they will stand trial," Allawi said.

Soon after, the Al-Arabiya television station showed footage of four Iraqis confessing that they had carried out killings and beheadings of Iraqi intellectuals as well as members of Iraq's security. The four said they were forced to do the job or otherwise get killed.

Also Monday, the U.S. military said its forces accidentally killed a 13-year-old Iraqi girl and wounded a 14-year-old boy near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

"This is an absolute tragedy. We do not know at this time what the children were doing in the area," said a military spokesman, Maj. Neal O'Brien. "An investigation into what happened is under way."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines Visit Local Supply Company

Jan 10, 2005 4:34 pm US/Eastern
ELWYN, PA (KYW) Some life-saving medical supplies used by American forces in Iraq are made in Delaware County.

As CBS 3’s Dick Standish reports, Marines from Delaware County who just back from Iraq, stopped by the company today.

Members of the Folsom Marine Reserves visited Elwyn Industries to thank the workers who make the bandages used when American forces are attacked in Iraq and lives are on the line.

“I can think of two people who are with us today because these bandages stopped the bleeding and they got them, to the hospital in time,” said Corporal Paul Hegerty.

The Folsom Marines are bridge builders who've been in Iraq twice. Three unit members have been killed.

Corporal John Clements had been surprised when he checked his trauma kit in the desert and discovered the bandages were made near home. The bandage makers have a range of disabilities: “This is probably the most reliable and dedicated work force I've seen."

Altogether, 165 workers are on duty to make one bandage, typically it go through 10 to 20 specific stops.

It is a job where there can be no mistakes as for seven hours a day they make sure they get it right.

Standish reports the workers were clearly happy that the Marines had made the effort to come to say thank you.

"They're very nice people the Marines. I wish them all luck. And I wish them to stay safe and sound,” said Bandage Maker Jeanne.

After seeing the dedication firsthand, the reservists were just as impressed.

"This is really heart warming to see this and to realize they appreciate us as much as we appreciate them,” said Corporal Crystal Helpon.

One of her Marine friends told Standish that the company is so dedicated and hardworking that all they wanted to do was quickly meet the Marines and get right back to work.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 10, 2005

Aftermath of World War II gives hope for rebuilding our trust after Sept. 11

By Barry R. Fetzer


Even though my father is the most honest person I know, he — like many others — brought home someone else’s property from a war.
It wasn’t seen then as stealing, nor is it seen that way now. It’s more like “liberating” something from one’s enemy that he deserves to lose because he’s, well, the enemy.

When at war, much of what would be viewed as anti-social and abnormal behavior in any other situation is accepted as normal.

World War II was no different, and nearly everyone brought something home from his time overseas. If you didn’t have the chance to take something from the dead or pick up something off a battlefield yourself, you could get war booty from someone who did.

Dad was in the Army Air Corps, the predecessor of today’s Air Force, serving as a weather forecaster in China in 1944 and 1945 with the 14th Air Force.

As a weather forecaster, he mostly was bivouacked in relative safety “in the rear with the gear,” so he didn’t have the chance to pick up souvenirs from battlefields.

Nonetheless, he came home with a couple of things I vividly remember from my childhood.

Every once in a while, Dad would bring out what he called a “samurai sword.” It was really a Japanese officer’s ceremonial sword. It was encased in its decorative sheath and was so long that as a kid I didn’t have the arm length to fully draw the sword from its scabbard. Dad would hold the sheath as I pulled out the sword, its gleaming and slightly curved metal blade reflecting my smiling image as I did.

He never said where he got it, only that he brought it back from World War II.

Dad also had a small Japanese battle flag that I somehow ended up with.

It’s faded and frayed around the edges. It has a narrow pocket sewn into the left side for a small staff of some sort and displays the Japanese rising sun in the center surrounded by Kanji lettering. There are several rust-colored splotches that could be blood.

When I look at the flag, it reminds me of the sacrifice of so many brave Americans and bolsters my belief that we should never be allowed to forget the brutality of war.

Anniversaries such as the Dec. 7 remembrance of the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, help us remember that the Japanese were a ruthless enemy during World War II.

That date also reminds us to be ever vigilant, always prepared and to never let our guard down — as does Sept. 11.

Some would say that the price we pay for such vigilance is our ability to trust. There are Americans today who cannot believe that followers of Islam can ever be completely trusted.

Likewise, many of the Americans who cautiously — if not fearfully — celebrated Christmas in 1941 probably believed it would never be possible to trust the Japanese again.

Yet today, with my Dad’s approval, I have begun a search, 63 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor that pulled my 18-year-old father away from his family — along with his brother, my Mom’s two brothers and her sister’s husband — to fight the Japanese.

I am seeking the family of the original owner of Dad’s flag. We’d like to return the flag to the family of the soldier to whom it belonged.

I suppose trust inevitably comes back over time. And, I hope, so does rightful ownership.

The writer is a retired Marine living in eastern North Carolina.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 10, 2005

Gunners: Better prepare enlisted advisers

By Jeffery L. Eby


An article in a recent issue of Marine Corps Times, “Gunners question enlisted advisers’ war-fighting skills” [Sept. 27], seems to have struck a nerve among first sergeants and sergeants major.
My fellow gunners and I want to make the Corps stronger by identifying areas in need of attention. Having senior men in positions for which they are not prepared is a symptom — it isn’t the problem. In fact, it’s a secondary symptom.

The primary symptom is the existence of a system that allowed such a situation to arise. These symptoms arose because we allowed Manpower and Reserve Affairs to “fix” the promotion pyramid in all military occupational specialties through the cross-pollination of first sergeants and sergeants major throughout the Corps, without regard to MOS experience and credibility. We allowed a very dangerous system to develop.

We cannot afford to handle the assignment of occupational specialties and billets as if they were civilian jobs. We allowed the primary MOS manual for first sergeants and sergeants major (MOS 9999) to be written without the war-fighting purpose of the Marine Corps in mind.

The MOS manual uses descriptive terms such as “assists,” “keeps apprised,” “reports,” “counsels,” “interviews,” “participates in” and “assumes other duties” as the first sergeant or sergeant major’s reason for existence. None of these billet requirements are quantifiable as tasks with measurable standards. No school is required to develop the skills allowing the first sergeant or sergeant major to assist, report, interview, participate or assume other duties any differently than a master sergeant or master gunnery sergeant.

We expect those who hold the 9999 MOS to be experts in the “all other areas not related to the primary MOS” without breaking down these areas into deliberate tasks, establishing the conditions or setting the standards by which to measure and quantify them. We have not tied an education process to the instruction and maintenance of the skills expected of the future 9999 to ensure his growth and development and to ensure that that growth and development stay tied to the Corps’ war-fighting purpose.

Our proposal is this: We should conduct a job task analysis that identifies war-fighting functions for the 9999 MOS as a competent addition to the MOS assigned, with tasks under identifiable conditions and measurable standards.

Then, we should establish a career track for 9999s to ensure they either have access to education sufficient to make them successful in their new billets or that they stay in the war-fighting component of their greatest expertise.

By removing war fighting from the education track of every Marine, we were forced to eliminate war-fighting capabilities as a requirement for selection and assignment of first sergeants and sergeants major. We propose putting war fighting back into the billet requirement, then developing an education track to prepare future Marines for those billets.

We believe that every guy counts in the fight. We need fighters first and can assign collateral duties to those people. A collateral duty should never be a primary MOS without a single focus on the purpose of our existence.

We need to develop an education structure for future first sergeants and sergeants major that will develop technical, leadership and administrative skills in proportion — and that will prepare all Marines for promotion and personal growth. This education must start at the corporal level and proceed throughout the Marine’s career until reaching the rank of first sergeant if we are to continue the current billet assignment process. We can no longer put the burden of success upon the shoulders of the individuals selected.

These two storied enlisted ranks have seen many changes through the past century, and without attention to preparation and current employment, we could find these ranks going the way of sea duty and sword fighting.

The writer, a chief warrant officer 3 serving as an infantry weapons officer, is deployed to Iraq with 7th Marines.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 10, 2005

Editorial
Instilling cultural savvy



In Iraq, every Marine is as much a civil affairs specialist as he is a rifleman.
The roles are in equal demand — and are equally important to success — in the counter-insurgency fight there. Yet for too long, the cultural training Marines need to be successful civil affairs operators has taken a back seat to other training needs.

If the Corps is to win the fight in Iraq and other battles beyond, cultural savvy will be as important as martial-arts or marksmanship skills.

Much of the most challenging civil affairs work there — the stuff requiring the most cultural savvy — has gone to the Corps’ handful of trained civil affairs specialists. But Marines of all ranks have been thrust into situations they never imagined, nor ever trained for.

Battalion commanders, staff judge advocates and other officers with limited exposure to local governance work closely with Iraqi city councils, feeling their way through the democratic process as they negotiate reconstruction contracts.

Enlisted Marines, too, are honing their “people skills” on the fly as they fumble through language barriers to keep the peace with an angry family patriarch during a house-to-house search, or haggle with a local street vendor.

And every situation counts, as another Iraqi angered by the American occupiers is another potential supporter lost — or worse, another member of the insurgency.

Along the way, the Corps has learned from its mistakes and successes; the classes deploying units receive now are markedly improved from what was offered at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom. But more must be done.

Marine Corps Training and Education Command is considering the creation of a cultural training center at Quantico, Va., within the next six months.

It would formalize and centralize much of what is being taught on an ad hoc basis to units bound for Iraq, but go beyond OIF to become the Corps’ clearinghouse for all pre-deployment cultural training.

Corps leaders must not hesitate to fast-track this proposal.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines arrive in two Indonesian regions

Troops bring food, water, equipment

By Eric Talmadge and Tini Tran
ASSOCIATED PRESS

January 11, 2005

MEULABOH, Indonesia – Marines zoomed ashore yesterday on a high-tech hovercraft carrying tons of food, water and a forklift to help this tsunami-wrecked Indonesian town. In Sri Lanka, they splashed ashore with a bulldozer to repair roads and bridges.

After days of delays, the Marines landed yesterday on either side of the disaster zone.

They arrived in the two areas hardest hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake-tsunami disaster, regions wracked by decades-old civil conflicts.

Rajadin Amkar, who lost his wife and newborn daughter, said seeing the U.S. Marines at Meulaboh made him feel more secure. "We have lost everything, we can't think about the future," he said. "They can think about these things. It's reassuring."

Nearly 2,000 Marines in two amphibious assault ships diverted from duty in Iraq are afloat off Meulaboh on the devastated western coast of Sumatra island. At least 10,000 Meulaboh residents were killed when the fishing town was destroyed; thousands are missing.

Yesterday's landing came after days of negotiations between the Marines and the local military. It was conducted on a much smaller scale than originally planned – only about 10 Marines came ashore in Indonesia and about 100 in Sri Lanka.

Though Indonesia has allowed U.S. Navy helicopters to fly hundreds of helicopter relief missions from the Abraham Lincoln battle group to towns along the Sumatran coast, the government has expressed worries about the impact of the Marines' presence, said Col. Tom Greenwood, commander of the Camp Pendleton-based 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Greenwood is stationed on the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard.

Indonesia's government has been battling an insurgency in Aceh, where Meulaboh is located, and has long made the region off-limits to foreigners.

In Sri Lanka, about 100 Marines and Navy troops from the San Diego-based amphibious transport dock Duluth came ashore yesterday at Koggala, 12 miles east of the southern city of Galle, ferrying ashore a bulldozer, trucks and a tram that can be used to clear heavy debris.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines are equipped to help themselves
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 11, 2005
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF

The space-age coagulant Quick Clot has been called a "silver bullet" - one that could save the life of a Marine seriously wounded in combat.

"It takes our body heat and uses it to generate more heat, providing clotting to cauterize the wound," said Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen A. Kelly, 32, a 14-year Navy corpsman from Shreveport, La. "It acts like flour, as a thickening agent."

Kelly spoke Monday at New River Air Station to a couple hundred members of the Marine Aircraft Group 26 headquarters, which will provide the nucleus for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing forward when it leaves for Iraq sometime between January and March. His presentation included a variety of tips and tactics for self-treating wounds commonly seen on the battlefield.

In Iraq, Kelly explained, Marines will carry with them a new-fangled Individual First Aid Kit, or IFAK. At 6-inches-by-6-inches, and roughly 3 inches deep, it's nearly twice the size of its predecessor.

It'll still contains the familiar things for treating small cuts and bruises - lip balm, Band Aids, iodine tablets, battle dressing, two cravats, an eyepatch and disinfectants - but the new model also includes a green vacuum-packed trauma kit. That contains Quick Clot, a burn gel, a one-handed tourniquet, two one-handed pressure dressings with stretch bandages and hooks, and two gauze rolls.

In theory, by equipping Marines with the tools to self-treat traumatic injuries, their comrades can continue to fire on the enemy. To illustrate, Kelley cited the film "Black Hawk Down," which depicts the Army's 1993 nightmare in Somalia. A tight tourniquet will keep most severed arteries in place, for example, and prevent them from snapping and retracting like a broken rubber band back up into the body, Kelly noted. When that happens, a medic's only option is to dig for them.

Monday's presentation included photographs of facial wounds and amputated hands and feet - intense visual warnings of how deadly serious this type of training is. The class included strategies for dealing with stomach wounds and distended organs falling out of the body. They studied how to splint broken bones, joint dislocations and how to treat serious burns or victims of electric shock.

The Marines listened as the seasoned medic warned also of Quick Clot's limitations and potential dangers. Since it causes a chemical burn that seals off blood loss, he noted, it should not be used in windy environments - like near the back of a helicopter - where it can spray all over others.

"Keep it sterile, avoid dust in the wound and avoid ingestion," Kelly said. "Do not put it on the chest, abdomen, eyes or head."

Like many present Monday, Staff Sgt. Mauricio Garcia, 28, a hydraulics mechanic from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said he feels safer having received the first-aid training.

"It seems like a lot more gear to use in case of an emergency," Garcia said. "It's a better way to prepare to help yourself and your Marines who might need it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

A sweet 300 grand <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Brian McGrory <br />
Boston Globe Columnist <br />
January 11, 2005 <br />
<br />
NORWELL -- Usually the e-mails I...

[thedrifter]

U.S. Marine from Haiti fights deportation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY MICHAEL NORTON
Associated Press

SAN JUAN - A U.S. Marine who went to battle in Iraq after he served a sentence for adultery is fighting a deportation order to his native Haiti.

Cpl. Philippe Louis-Jean, 25, was court-martialed in 2002 for having oral sex with a Marine sergeant's stepdaughter, who was a minor. He was demoted and sentenced to 45 days, but released early for good behavior, then sent to Iraq where his weapons company fought from Kuwait to Baghdad, where it secured Saddam Hussein's palace on April 10, 2003.

The night before, his armored personnel carrier was hit by three rocket-propelled grenades. Louis-Jean was not wounded but four Marines with him were.

He returned to his home base in Camp Pendleton, California, a month later, and was promoted to corporal.

But in March 2004, Homeland Security officers arrested Louis-Jean under a 1996 anti-terrorist law designed to protect America from its enemies. Louis-Jean was not accused of terrorism. But the tough law transformed his military offense of adultery to a deportable immigration crime of sexual abuse of a minor.

''People have been deported or detained based on very minor criminal histories'' said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Miami-based Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. It released a report last month accusing U.S. Immigration officials of harassing immigrants since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, and targeting Haitian migrants. Immigration officials say they are just enforcing the law.

Louis-Jean noted that foreigners can join the Marines and apply for U.S. citizenship during their enlistment period or after. Some 205 Haitian nationals currently serve in the 175,000 active Marine Corps and 92 in the Marine Reserve.

Louis-Jean left Haiti when he was 5. He obtained his U.S. residence but his 2002 arrest prevented him from applying for citizenship. Both his parents are naturalized citizens.

If Louis-Jean loses his case, he could go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. But that court is overwhelmed with thousands such appeals. He is more likely to be detained for another year or deported to Haiti while he waits for his appeal to be heard, his lawyer said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

More Marines Tying Knot Before Shipping Out

POSTED: 8:19 am EST January 10, 2005

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Some Camp Lejeune Marines facing deployment starting this month are heading to the altar before they ship out.

Camp Lejeune and the two air stations that support it are preparing to send thousands of troops to Iraq over the next three months. So more couples are spending $70 for a civil marriage.

It costs $50 for the license and another $20 for a brief ceremony before the county magistrate.

Last Friday, the registrar of deeds office issued 27 marriage licenses and is preparing for more.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

US marines undertake "gut-wrenching" clean up in Sri Lanka

GINTOTA, Sri Lanka (AFP) - Despite their training and combat experience, the US marines working in tsunami-hit Sri Lanka admit that picking through the shattered remains of peoples' lives has been a heart-rending exercise.


A few dozen of around 400 marines stationed in or off the southern city of Galle pick up brick after broken brick, the pieces left behind after the Asian tsunami ravaged the seaside village of Gintota.


Like survivors right across the three-quarters of Sri Lanka's coastal belt obliterated by the December 26 tsunami, they use their hands -- some gloved in black leather or khaki wool, others simply bare.


They toss what's left of entire lifetimes into the mouths of camouflaged bulldozers, brought by the US military themselves, which then transfer the detritus into their dump trucks. Then it's off to a makeshift tip.


"There was rubble everywhere. It was like the Twin Towers," in New York destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks says Private First Class Damon Carr, describing the scene when he arrived.


"I didn't know where we were going to start from; everywhere you looked, there was rubble."


He found a photo album with a family snap of half a dozen people and says he handed it back to the mother pictured in it. She was the only one still alive.


"I almost cried," he says. "We're marines, we've been trained, but I never thought I'd be standing here, picking up the pieces of someone's whole life."


Sergeant Jarrod Birchler was also astounded at the scale of wreckage.


"It looks good now but when we came you couldn't even drive a truck here. There were six houses standing and there were six with nothing but their foundations left," he says.


Those standing had to be demolished -- except for a small structure that he thinks used to be somebody's kitchen -- and added to the metre-high rubble which has taken three full days to almost clear.


"It's long, hard work," Birchler adds.


The area the marines have tackled is barely a dot on the map of Sri Lanka's disaster zone, an indication of the enormous effort that will be needed to rebuild the South Asian country.


Amid the mess, the occasional piece of torn cloth -- perhaps once someone's dress -- and pieces of household items still peak through.


Hospital Corpsman First Class Tim Dittlinger, who normally provides medical care to the marines from the 9th Engineers Support Battalion here, scrunches up a piece of material and tosses it into the bulldozer's jaws as he admits it's been tough.


"It's been heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. It's hard to come here and do what we've been doing, dumping what people have built up their whole lives," he says.


"Picking up people's lives, it's not what we've been expecting to do."





In small clusters around the periphery of the work site, curious Sri Lankans watch. G.V. Kellum, 41, who lost his father to the tsunami, solemnly observes as the remainder of his home gets tossed away.

"They're helping, so that's good," the labourer says, standing from a vantage point where he can also see the surf rolling in along the rubbish- and boat-strewn beach, an ever-present reminder of the tragedy.

Nearby G.V. Dayawathie rummages in the remains of her home, surrounded by a few relatives and neighbours, hoping to find some intact bricks that they might be able to re-use, while also keeping an eye on the marines at work.

"We are happy that they are coming to Sri Lanka for free to help us. We're happy about them cleaning up," says the 33-year-old mother of four, whose father was also killed by the surging waters.

Her neighbour and nephew, Padme Talakkumara, 17, would like to talk to the marines but can't speak English.

The marines say many Sri Lankans have been hesitant to approach, but some have cheerfully handed out sliced coconuts from the palms swaying overhead.

"Obviously, the machinery is intimidating -- we're intimidated by the machinery. They've been gracious, hospitable and yet wary," says Dittlinger.

"They're glad we're here, but at the same time, you can read the distress and the loss on their faces."

Corporal Ryan Zeiter, 24, drives one of the seven-tonne dump trucks.

Asked how he is coping emotionally, he says: "I've been to Iraq (news - web sites), I'm used to it. But it's pretty sad to see some of these people who don't have anything anymore."

The conditions he's working under are however far better than in Iraq, he says, where he finished a tour a year ago.

"There you've got to be constantly looking around. There's no trust. Here, I can leave my truck running without worrying it will get stolen. They seem like pretty honest people here."

Asked if anything stands out as being difficult, he shakes his head.

"No, it's something we do. We're marines, we're here to help."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Gifts pour in for wounded Marines

Donors want troops to feel appreciated

By Rick Rogers
STAFF WRITER

January 10, 2005

Americans are showering wounded Marines from Camp Pendleton with an "overwhelming" amount of phone cards, food and other tangible symbols of support despite their misgivings about the war in Iraq.

A year ago, injured Marines often returned to Camp Pendleton without so much as a bar of soap and a towel. Residents at the base would step in with care baskets, said Master Sgt. William Bonney, who oversees family readiness for the 1st Marine Division.

Now, goods are pouring in from across the country, Bonney said. He estimated that the division gets "about 50 boxes a day" filled with calling cards, towels, washcloths, DVDs and vouchers for pizza.

"I don't know how many people have said to me that they don't want these Marines treated the way Vietnam vets were treated when they came back from war," Bonney said.

"They might not support the war, but they support the troops. They say to me, 'I want to ensure that these kids don't come home to what I came home to, because they deserve better.' "

The generosity is attributed partly to the holiday season, but Marines also cite a greater desire among Americans to help troops in a concrete way.

"We've probably gotten 4,000 pounds of items in the last six weeks," Bonney said. "You name the state and we've gotten something from it."

The outpouring of giving has been particularly great in California, said Bryan a Marine spokesman in Quantico, Va.

"In California, the public seems more geared toward helping the military than in other parts of the country," Driver said.

"For example, I never get an e-mail from anyone on the East Coast wanting to adopt a Marine, but I get them by the hundreds from the West Coast. There are just a lot of people who want to support the Marines in California."

Businesses, veterans groups and churches have donated assorted items for about 1,000 wounded Marines from Camp Pendleton during the past two months.

Cubic, a defense contractor in San Diego since 1951, was quick to respond when it heard that the Marines were doing without. Its employees filled bins with DVDs, snacks, towels, computer-game systems and CD players, said Jan Stevens, a spokeswoman for the company.

"We have a lot of ex-military who work here and have a lot of people whose sons and daughters are in the military now," Stevens said. "This was something that people felt deeply about. We stand ready to help when they need our help again."

Besides the corporate contributions, about 25 couples donated to the Marines instead of exchanging presents themselves this past holiday season, Bonney said.

Some of the items most prized by Camp Pendleton Marines have no monetary value, he said. They included the hundreds of letters written by schoolchildren, some of them addressed to "Marine heroes."

"Most of the cards are from elementary schools, like maybe they were school projects," Bonney said. "I know the Marines are thankful . . . for the letters and the people who come out to visit them. They are impressed that people are taking the time to stop by and see how they are."



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

Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 11, 2005 <br />
<br />
Four British Gitmo detainees to be released, sources say <br />
<br />
By Ed Johnson <br />
Associated Press <br />
<br />
<br />
LONDON — The United States has decided to hand over an Australian man and four...

[thedrifter]

Marine ready to put down the guns <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Chris Sikich <br />
Chris.Sikich@Topics.com <br />
January 11, 2005 <br />
<br />
FISHERS -- Justin...

[thedrifter]

January 10, 2005

Researchers work to develop better body armor

By Brent Kallestad

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Spc. Robert Loria’s life’s was changed when a roadside bomb blasted his Humvee in Iraq. With no armor on the vehicle or his body, the Middletown, N.Y., soldier lost part of his left arm and suffered other injuries.
“I can’t be too angry,” he said in a recent telephone interview from his home. “Things happen for a reason. It was God’s intent. It just so happened it was my time.”

Loria has taken a philosophical approach to his injuries but critics of the U.S. military say inadequate armor is costing many troops their lives and limbs in an increasing Iraqi insurgency. Injuries like those he suffered are prompting the military to come up with answers to give the troops more protection

But the helmets and bulletproof vests that soldiers now wear don’t protect their arms and legs. And many, who suffer blasts such as the roadside bomb that injured Loria in February, are losing limbs or are bleeding to death because their extremities are exposed.

Researchers at Florida State University and Jacksonville armored-equipment manufacturer Armor Holdings think they have a solution. They are developing lightweight armor for soldiers’ arms and legs that could reduce fatalities and loss of limbs.

“Most of the folks who die over there, die from flying debris, they bleed to death,” said lead researcher James Thagard, a visiting assistant professor at FSU’s engineering school. “We hope to help save lives and help save limbs. It’s not feasible to believe we can protect everybody.”

Thagard’s team is experimenting with polymers toughened with carbon nanotubes (a tube structure made from carbon molecules) to strengthen fabrics used to make bulletproof armor. The developers bound multiple layers of fabric and plastic materials together to create the armor.

The school’s researchers have begun making prototype pieces similar to pads worn by football and hockey players, which will be given to Armor Holdings to manufacture on a broad scale for field-testing. Armor Holdings already manufactures vests and other plates that soldiers wear to protect their torso.

The developers will first focus on armor protection for the upper arm and shoulder areas, where bleeding wounds can be fatal, then for the forearms and legs. The armor will likely be field tested at military training facilities in the coming weeks to determine if it can be comfortably worn and isn’t too bulky for soldiers.

Thanks in part to bulletproof vests, the survival rate for soldiers injured in Iraq is the highest of any war in U.S. history. But many of the injured troops have had their arms and legs blown off. And most deaths result from excessive bleeding. Thagard believes the new Armor will help reduce those injuries and deaths.

“The reality is you can’t protect everybody from everything,” Thagard said. “If we can reduce 15 percent or (even) 10 percent of the casualties, or protect these soldiers from losing their arms or losing their legs, that’s huge.”

Since the start of the war in Iraq, more than 10,000 troops have been wounded and another 1,335 have been killed. Nearly 90 percent of the Americans wounded in Iraq survive, compared to 78 percent in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and 73 percent in Vietnam.

In Iraq, many injuries and deaths result from car bombs or improvised explosive devices, known as IED’s. There was far too little advanced body armor and there were too few armored vehicles to deal with what the Pentagon has acknowledged is a far stronger and longer insurgency than expected

The issue of inadequate protection for troops was highlighted recently when a soldier complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in Kuwait that troops have to scrounge landfills for scrap metal and discarded bullet-resistant glass to provide armor for their vehicles.

“This case has come up many times,” Loria said. “I’ve seen where people didn’t want to do missions because they didn’t have proper equipment.”

Armor Holdings, one of several companies that manufactures protective equipment for the military, has provided an initial grant of $100,000 to FSU cover two months of research. The partnership is the latest area of high-tech, composite-materials research at the Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies.

Besides the new body armor, Thagard and other researchers have developed lightweight, custom leg supports for various uses. One brace, for example, helps Navy Seabee Anthony Muller of Jacksonville to walk after he sustained a severe leg wound in Iraq.

Ballistics tests show the combination of materials for the body armor being developed at Florida State exceed the new requirements for bulletproof vests and still fit comfortably over the body areas they’re designed to protect.

The improved protection was something Loria could have used. He lost part of his left arm three inches above the wrist when hot metal fragments from the explosion ripped into the Humvee he was driving.

“I couldn’t tell my commanding officers I’m not going to do this mission because I don’t have the proper equipment,” Loria said. “It really doesn’t matter. You still have to do it.”



Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 11, 2005 <br />
<br />
Witness: SEALs, CIA beat Iraqi prisoners during interrogation <br />
<br />
By Seth Hettena <br />
Associated Press <br />
<br />
<br />
SAN DIEGO — A former Navy SEAL says he saw fellow SEALs and CIA officials...

[thedrifter]

South Florida Marines Ship Out To Iraq

Dozens of South Florida Marines are headed to Iraq (news - web sites) to help the country prepare for the upcoming election.


More than 80 troops said goodbye to their families Monday morning in a scene filled with a broad range of emotions.


Marine Sgt. Amir Abdmishani said, "It's a mixture of happiness and sadness, I think. Happiness that the day has finally come to leave, but sadness because we're all going to be leaving our families for a while."


Abdmishani is five months away from graduating from the University of Miami's Law School.


His mother says she's both proud and sad that he's going.




Ellie