5 Car Bombs Rock Baghdad

[thedrifter]

5 Car Bombs Rock Baghdad
Associated Press
January 20, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents unleashed a wave of five car bombings across the capital Wednesday, killing about a dozen people, despite stepped-up U.S. and Iraqi measures to protect this month's elections. North of Baghdad, insurgents killed a British security officer.

Iraqi police also said insurgents kidnapped a Japanese engineer, but on Thursday officials in Tokyo cast doubt on the report, saying they had no information on the incident.

Gunmen also fired on the Baghdad office of a major Kurdish party and two senior officials escaped assassination in separate attacks in the north.

The U.S. military put the death toll from the day's Baghdad bombings at 26, saying the number was based on initial reports at the scene. Iraqi officials gave a lower toll - 12 people killed in the bombings and one at the Kurdish office.

Sunni Muslim insurgents have threatened to disrupt the elections, and the five car bombings - four within a span of 90 minutes - underscored the grave threat facing Iraqis at this watershed in their history. U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up raids and arrests in Baghdad, Mosul and other troublespots as the elections approach.





Nevertheless, the attacks had little effect on preparations for the Jan. 30 balloting, in which Iraqis will choose a 275-member National Assembly and regional legislatures. At Baghdad airport, Iraqi authorities Wednesday received the largest shipment of ballot boxes and other elections equipment to date.

Elections official Farid Ayar said 90,000 ballot boxes had already been flown to Iraq along with millions of ballots printed mostly in Canada and Australia.

Throughout the morning Wednesday, the routine clatter of big city traffic was punctuated by the crisp sound of distant explosions. U.S. military helicopters rattled low overhead, roaming the bright blue sky for any sign of trouble.

Al-Qaida's branch in Iraq claimed responsibility for the first of the day's blasts, which occurred about 7 a.m. at the Australian Embassy in the capital. A truck packed with explosives blew up outside the concrete barriers in front of the embassy, killing two people and wounding several, including two Australian soldiers.

"A lion of monotheism and faith ... carried out a martyrdom operation nearby the Australian Embassy," the group al-Qaida in Iraq said in an Internet statement. The group is led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has allied himself with Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, director of the U.S. military press center, said U.S. officials could not explain the discrepancy between the American and Iraqi figures "but we are holding to our numbers."

A half-hour after the embassy blast, another car bomb exploded at a police station next to a hospital in eastern Baghdad. The U.S. military said 18 were killed there, but the Iraqi Interior Ministry put the death toll at six, including a policewoman.

A third car bombing struck at the main gate to an Iraqi military recruiting center located at a disused airport in central Baghdad. Police said the driver told guards he was delivering potatoes and detonated his explosives at the gate, killing three Iraqi soldiers and injuring one American.

The U.S. military also said a car bomb detonated southwest of Baghdad International Airport, killing two Iraqi security guards. The fifth car bomb exploded around noon near a Shiite mosque and a bank in north Baghdad, killing one person and injuring another, police said.

Also in the capital, insurgents in a car fired on an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, killing one of its members and wounding another, party officials said.

Elsewhere, an Iraqi police officer was killed Wednesday in another car bombing in the largely Shiite city of Hillah south of Baghdad, the Polish military said.

In London, Janusian Security Risk Management, Ltd., confirmed two of his employees - one Briton and one Iraqi - were killed and a third, also a foreigner, was missing after an ambush in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.

Also in Beiji, gunmen killed two Iraqi policemen and abducted a Japanese engineer, police Lt. Shaalan Allawi said. The engineer's name was not released.

Hiroyuki Hosoda, Japan's top government spokesman, said on Thursday that Tokyo had not heard that a Japanese person had been kidnapped in Iraq but was checking.

"Other information indicates (the victim) was not a Japanese citizen," Hosoda said at a news conference. "We would like to confirm details."

Akira Chiba, assistant press secretary at Japan's Foreign Ministry, said Tokyo had not known of any Japanese engineers working at the power station.

To the north, the dean of the police academy in the Kurdish self-governing region, Maj. Gen. Wirya Maarouf, escaped an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire on his convoy in the city of Irbil. One bystander was killed and another injured, said police Col. Tharwat AbdulKarim.

Farther north, a roadside bomb exploded in Dahuk near the convoy of provincial Gov. Nejrivan Ahmed, but he was not injured, AbdulKarim said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials had predicted an escalation in violence as the elections approach, with Sunni insurgents seeking to frighten people into staying away from the polls. Sunni clerics have also called for a boycott because of the presence of U.S. and other foreign forces on Iraqi soil.

Although the majority Shiite Muslims and the Kurds are expected to vote in large numbers, officials fear a low turnout among Sunni Arabs may cast doubt on the legitimacy of the new government and sharpen communal tensions among the country's 26 million people.

President Bush called interim President Ghazi al-Yawer on Wednesday to discuss preparations for the elections, including security and how to encourage voter turnout among Sunnis.

Later Wednesday, al-Yawer urged his fellow Sunnis to "reject the grip of terrorism" and take part in the elections. Al-Yawer is among a number of Sunni Arab politicians who have urged Iraqis to reject insurgent threats.

"Voting is a national duty and a right of every Iraqi," al-Yawer said in a message marking the start of the four-day Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha, which begins Thursday. "From now on, the people must be the source of power."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Powell Says Goodbye To State
Associated Press
January 20, 2005

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell left the State Department Wednesday, thanking his staff for their work and support during his four years on the job as America's top diplomat.

"You are wonderful individuals. You are wonderful families," he said. "You are wonderful patriots who serve your nation as its troops in the far-flung outposts of American diplomacy. You are in the first line of offense of America's foreign policy."

Powell arrived at the State Department's packed lobby to a thunderous and sustained applause. He was flanked by his wife, Alma, and his No. 2 at the department, Richard Armitage, as well as other senior staff.

Powell thanked the department and said he hoped the support he enjoyed would be extended to his presumed successor, Condoleezza Rice. He said he carried fond memories of his time at the department that would rival the 35 years he spent in the military.

"Even though I step down as your secretary, I will never leave you," he said. "I will always be a part of this wonderful family."




The end of his remarks were met with more applause, which lasted for close to 10 minutes. Powell left the building later in the day and will continue to be secretary until Rice is sworn in, which is expected to be Thursday, sometime after the presidential inauguration.

To many Powell will be remembered as the man who made the ultimately unsuccessful U.S. bid to persuade the U.N. Security Council to invade Iraq, for his strong commitment to international diplomacy and, as the moderate face of the Bush administration.

Powell's resigned Nov. 12, but stayed on in his post until the Senate confirmation of his presumed successor, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, looked certain. In his resignation letter, Powell said he had always intended to serve one term. Even after his resignation, he traveled extensively, representing the United States in Africa and Europe and more recently in tsunami-hit countries.

Rumors of his departure circulated for months as did his differences with other members of the Bush Cabinet, including Vice President Dick Cheney.

His departure comes amid unresolved foreign policy issues facing the United States. There is the unfinished job of building a wider international coalition in Iraq, stalled six-party talks with North Korea on its nuclear program, differences with Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program, and the war on terror.

He was, however, seen by many, including Democrats, as being committed to coalition building. That popularity extended to many foreign capitals and leaders.

Powell's four years in office were marked by global instability that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Iraq, Iran and North Korea, members of what Bush labeled the "axis of evil," dominated his tenure at the State Department.

He spearheaded the Bush administration's ultimately unsuccessful effort to persuade the U.N. Security Council to invade Iraq. His show-and-tell at the world body included evidence of alleged mobile weapons labs possessed by the Saddam Hussein regime. Ultimately, the United States and a few allies attacked Iraq without a second U.N. resolution, but no weapons of mass destruction were found in the country.

Powell's State Department took a more conciliatory approach toward Iran, preferring strong diplomacy to attempt to persuade Tehran to renounce its alleged nuclear weapons program. Although it was eventually European diplomacy that apparently persuaded Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment plan, Powell engaged Tehran in dialogue on Afghanistan's future, security in Iraq and the global "war on terror."

North Korea's nuclear weapons program also dominated U.S. foreign policy. Talks began in Beijing after it emerged that Pyongyang had reneged on a deal with the Clinton administration and had secretly restarted its nuclear program. After initially refusing to deal with the north, the United States, together with China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, engaged Pyongyang in talks to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons. Pyongyang stalled those talks last month after several rounds in Beijing.

In the last six months of the first Bush term, Powell worked hard to draw global attention to the violence in Sudan's Darfur region where the army and government-backed Arab militia called the Janjaweed embarked upon a campaign against the local black population after rebel movements revolted over what they saw as discrimination against African tribes. Powell's department determined the violence constituted genocide and the United States worked with the international community, especially the African Union and the United Nations, to try to end the violence and return displaced villagers to their homes. Although the crisis has not ended, last week the Sudanese government and rebels signed a peace deal that could stop the fighting.

Early in his job, Powell played a key role in securing the release of U.S. airmen who were held in China after their spy plane collided with a Chinese aircraft and killed its pilot. Then came the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and unequivocal international support for the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan and the toppling of the Taliban regime.

There were setbacks, too. The "road map" to peace in the Middle East -- put forward by the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States remained stalled following Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death.

Powell, a veteran soldier, served in Vietnam and rose through the ranks to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and oversaw U.S. victory in the first Gulf War against Iraq. At the time, he helped shape what is now known as the Powell doctrine according to which troops should only be sent to fight when there is a clear national interest and exit strategy.

Powell also served as President Reagan's national security adviser. He was the first African-American secretary of State.

He was born in the Bronx in 1937 to Jamaican immigrants. He is married to Alma Powell and the couple has three children.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Study: Base Closings Survivable
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
January 20, 2005

Washington - Shutting U.S. military bases has not dealt a severe economic blow to most of the nearby communities, according to a federal report released this week as preparations begin for another round of closures this year.

The General Accounting Office report, sent to the chairmen of the House and Senate armed services committees, also says that the closings have saved the Defense Department nearly $30 billion and that most of the land freed up has been turned over to other uses. Though Georgia has escaped closures in the past, state and local officials are concerned that facilities such as Warner Robins Air Force Base and Augusta's Fort Gordon Army base could be vulnerable.

Past efforts to shut military bases have proved painful, and with military installations in about 75 percent of U.S. congressional districts, the political fallout can be huge.

The GAO report, however, says most of the economies of communities near previously closed bases had recovered or are in the process of recovering.

Almost 72 percent of civilian defense jobs lost on bases due to realignments and closures have been replaced, the report says, citing Pentagon data.




It examined the unemployment rate and the average annual real per capita income growth rate for those communities and concludes they are ''generally doing well when compared with average U.S. rates.''

The study acknowledges that some local economies had sustained losses and notes that ''the recovery process has not necessarily been easy.''

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a strong supporter of base closures, has said the military still has an estimated 25 percent more base capacity than it needs.

Rumsfeld, who also is pushing major shifts in the basing of U.S. troops abroad, sees the moves as part of his plan to transform the military into a lighter, more lethal and better-integrated force.

The GAO said previous closings had generated $28.9 billion in savings through fiscal year 2003.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines, Iraqis Work To Safeguard Vote
Associated Press
January 20, 2005

CAMP KALSU, Iraq - The sound of boots clattering up helicopter ramps at dawn kicked off a series of raids Wednesday by U.S. Marines, who are using everything from concrete barriers to no-parking signs to help secure Iraq's elections in 10 days.

Marines are working side by side with Iraqi SWAT teams in training and conferring with sheiks and police chiefs. They are clearing out health clinics to make room for potential casualties, and prison cells for captured insurgents.

U.S. efforts to safeguard the Jan. 30 vote are as multipronged as any military offensive.

"It's going to be a surge of operations. We're hoping to keep them off-balance prior to elections; keep them guessing," Col. Ronald Jackson of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit said of his get-out-the-vote offensive in south Baghdad and north Babil provinces.

Dubbed Operation Checkmate, Jackson's series of raids opened Wednesday and will seek out suspected insurgents and munitions caches ahead of the elections. Marine commandos and Iraqis boarded the squat U.S. CH-46 helicopters in the dark of morning, in disciplined single-file silence.

The trainees are among 500 Iraqis being rushed through Marine reconnaissance force training in arms, tactics and martial arts before election day.




The SWAT teams will form the Iraqi front line of defense at the polls. Other Iraqi SWAT members and Americans will be ready as backup.

Americans, and many Iraqis, are adamant that U.S. forces hang back, recognizing that the vote needs to be seen as Iraqi run if it is to have any hope of winning legitimacy.

The opening raid by Marines and new Iraqi police assault teams targeted a crossroads of farm houses and a chicken ranch near the town of Jaballa, where Marines had been told insurgents had buried 10 55-gallon drums of munitions.

The U.S. and Iraqi forces netted no weapons-filled drums - only 11 guns - but the firearms had been wrapped in plastic and hidden in oil, said Capt. Tad Douglas, the raid leader.

They also detained a suspected Saddam Hussein-era intelligence official and 14 other people with multiple passports and identification documents, Douglas said.

The evidence was enough for Marines and Iraqis to believe they had broken up an insurgent cell. "We hope more targets will come out of it," Douglas said.

American forces are concerned that Sunni-led insurgents are storing up for their own election offensive, stockpiling explosives and arms, Jackson said.

As a result, much of the U.S. effort in Iraq will be defensive.

The 24th Marines have requested 600 concrete blast barriers to transform polling sites into versions of the bunkers that now shelter almost all foreign nationals here.

Jackson also has ordered the no-parking signs to help protect streets from car bombs.

Everything from water to generators are being delivered on emergency terms to Iraqi police stations and other key election sites.

Marine officers have released most inmates from the tin-roofed cells at the Marines' Camp Kalsu to make room for an expected influx of new detainees.

Jackson's 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit has been responsible for the so-called "triangle of death" to the south of Baghdad.

The region, home to a volatile mix of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, saw several months in which more than 200 roadside bombs went off and other attacks were launched.

Sunni Muslims west of the Euphrates River control key roads to Baghdad and into Karbala and other important Shiite cities. Jackson's Marine infantry is camped on the grounds of a power plant that supplies up to half of Baghdad's electricity.

Jackson's officers credit stepped-up operations and better intelligence with what the 24th Marines says was the halving of insurgent attacks by December.

"We have a good plan," he said. "But you can't anticipate everything that can happen."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 24, 2005

Relief force won’t carry weapons



Marines continued their role in Sumatra’s tsunami relief operation after resolving Indonesian objections to armed U.S. troops and the creation of a base camp on shore, officials said.
In a major compromise, the Marines agreed not to carry weapons while on Indonesian soil and for the vast majority of troops to return to ships stationed off the coast after each day’s operations.

Marines flew a French medical team to the shattered city of Calang by helicopter Jan. 12 and delivered supplies to Indonesian troops in Meulaboh, to the south. Navy crews based on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln flew hundreds of relief missions during the two preceding weeks.

Like the Marines, the Navy crews carry no weapons and have no land base.

Intensive negotiations opened the way for expansion of helicopter relief operations and for the first batch of Marines to come ashore by hovercraft in Meulaboh on Jan. 10.

“At first, we were sent to known airfields,” helicopter pilot Capt. David Shealy said Jan. 12. “Now we are doing targets of opportunity, looking for small groups of people who are isolated and need help.”

The leathernecks are with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who were diverted to the region on their way to Iraq. Col. Tom Greenwood, the 15th MEU commander, said early the week of Jan. 9 that they would instead keep a “minimal footprint,” with most returning to their ship at night instead of establishing a camp ashore.

The bulk of the Marines’ mission has become ferrying aid workers and transporting food from the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard.

Hundreds of troops from Australia, Singapore, Germany and other nations are also helping the relief mission. The Indonesian military is providing security.

Much of the devastation is in Aceh province, where separatist rebels have fought government forces for decades.

Both sides say they won’t fight during the tsunami emergency, although the military has warned aid workers that some regions are not safe.

— The Associated Press

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Beached Marines Ready to Return to the Water

By Joseph Giordono,
Stars and Stripes Mideast edition


HADI-THAH DAM, Iraq — After months of patrols and countless firefights in Iraq, the only Small Craft Company in the Marine Corps has been temporarily beached after suffering its first combat death.

But the Marines who man the boats say they are eager to get back onto the water and continue their mission, which has taken them from hot spot to hot spot along the Euphrates River in Anbar province.

“Once we started proving ourselves as an asset, it just hasn’t stopped,” said Sgt. Andrew Vasey, a 29-year- old 4th Platoon Marine from Olsburg, Kan.

“We’ve been used as a recon tool, to conduct security patrols up and down the river, a transport for personnel, to go on raids and draw contact … we’ve been a medevac, too.”

Small Craft Company, normally based at Camp LeJeune, N.C., is currently operating with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment at Hadithah Dam, northwest of Fallujah. The unit has seen action in Fallujah, Ramadi, Habbinayah and numerous other locations since arriving in Iraq.

And it has been been the first to test the Small Unit Riverine Craft, or SURC, which replaced previous vessels used by Marine small craft units. The 39-foot boat, armed with a Gatling gun and several other heavy weapons, carries a crew of five, along with up to 15 ground troops.

With its speed and maneuverability, the boat can overtake anything on the waters, Marines say. And with its relatively flat bottom, it can beach itself on shore and deliver ground troops at sites Humvees or other vehicles can’t reach as quickly.

In November’s assault on Fallujah, the unit patrolled the Euphrates River on the west side of the city. During the aborted assault on Fallujah last April, several high-ranking insurgents were believed to have escaped the city via the river. Small Craft Company’s role this time was to cut off that exit.

The unit has also worked with combat engineers, Army infantry units and Iraqi special forces. It has recovered weapons caches and intercepted smugglers heading downriver from the Syrian border. At one point, it found three large weapons caches within 1,500 meters of one another along the riverbanks.

Despite its success, the Iraq mission will likely be the last operational deployment for Small Craft Company. Marine Corps officials plan to disband the unit, as early as this summer.

Members of 4th Platoon say they will be disappointed if that happens. Part of that reluctance is because the unit believes it has proven its versatility and durability in Iraq. The first elements of Small Craft Company arrived in March; they were relieved by other platoons in September.

“We’ve been in more gunfights than we care to talk about. Everywhere we’ve been, we’ve had at least two or three serious engagements,” Vasey said Friday as he perched on a SURC tied up near the Hadithah Dam.

Sgt. Anthony Czerwinski, who was wearing a black watch cap Friday emblazoned with “Amphibious Raid Instructor” in gold lettering, served three years as a small-boat tactics instructor at the Special Operations Training Group. He believes the performance of the SURC crews far exceeded what the doctrine had anticipated.

“No training can take the place of doing it for real. You couldn’t ask for a better group of guys, but you couldn’t prepare them for what they’d see here,” said the 29-year-old Painesville, Ohio, native. “They’ve shined since we got here, and I credit a lot of that to the leadership of the platoon.”

And the boats have been better than advertised.

“They’ve saved our asses more than once,” Czerwinski said, of the Gatling guns and the boats’ other weaponry.

Over the course of its deployment, 4th Platoon has watched their enemy’s tactics evolve.

“At first, it was small arms fire from the shore and then they’d run,” Vasey said. “Then they upgraded the ambushes, and they’ve thrown in mortars, [rocket-propelled grenades], medium machine guns. Pretty much anything.”

The Jan. 1 ambush that grounded the boats was well planned, 4th Platoon Marines said. It began when a routine patrol was fired upon from an area of shoreline just outside Hadithah city. The crews fired back, then returned to base to pick up more Marines.

“This time they stayed and waited for the ground element. They stayed and waited for us to come back,” Vasey said. When the ground teams landed, an explosion — nobody is sure whether it was an improvised bomb or a mortar — hit them almost immediately. That was followed by small arms and machine gun fire.

One Marine, a 19-year-old coxswain, was killed. Several others were severely injured, including an engineer who lost part of his right arm.

Vasey and Czerwinski estimate that the first ambush was carried out by fewer than five attackers. When the Marines returned, some 15-20 insurgents laid in wait. The firefight lasted around 20 minutes, they said.

The Marines of 4th Platoon admit the incident has taken its toll, but say they want to get back on the river. Even then, though, they expect more.

“It’s started getting silly,” Czerwinski said. “It’s a surprise every time we get hit. It’s never the same scenario twice.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 24, 2005

Pacific-based Marines face busy 2005
Many missions to continue this year

By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer


OCEANSIDE, Calif. — With more than 3,000 Marines now assisting in tsunami relief in South Asia, the life of a Pacific Marine isn’t one of exotic liberty ports and scuba trips.
But the tsunami relief effort, which involves hundreds of leathernecks forward-stationed on Okinawa and the Japanese mainland, is only their latest foray into real-world missions.

It seems that these days, Pacific Marines are all over the map: fighting insurgents in Iraq, hunting al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan and distributing supplies to typhoon-ravaged villages in the Philippines.

“We’ve probably got more Marines doing more things than ever before,” Brig. Gen. Christian B. Cowdrey, who commands the 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa, said in a mid-December interview, just weeks before he deployed to lead Combined Support Group Indonesia.

Cowdrey’s division, which includes grunts from the Hawaii-based 3rd Marines, the Unit Deployment Program-fed 4th Marines on Okinawa and artillerymen with 12th Marines, contributed ground troops during 2004 to an area of operations that extends from Hawaii to the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. And, the division looks to be just as busy this year.

Demands of war

Since Sept. 11, 2001, duty with the 3rd Marine Division has meant a lot of time spent in real-world missions far from its usual Pacific stomping grounds.

In spring 2004, two battalions deployed from California to Okinawa — 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, from Camp Pendleton, along with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, from Twentynine Palms — instead found themselves headed to the Middle East.

By summer, the leathernecks of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, deployed from Hawaii, found themselves battling insurgents in Fallujah in November.

Hawaii-based Marines also joined the fight in Afghanistan, as 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, shipped out, with 2nd Battalion in line to replace the unit later this year.

“It’s a big challenge for our service headquarters to balance the competing requirements worldwide and to ensure, I think, the basic responsibility” of training forces heading to combat zones, Cowdrey said.

The UDP battalions are a key part of the 3rd Marine Division’s combat punch, but the demands of the Iraq and Afghanistan missions have shifted their combat boots away from the Pacific Rim.

“The drain on this division is equally difficult for the [1st Marine Aircraft] Wing and the [force service support group],” Cowdrey said. “They are all providing forces.”

Full slate for 2005

Pacific Marines normally do 44 exercises — 12 of which are division-level evolutions — each year around the region, in countries including Thailand, Australia and South Korea.

How much III Marine Expeditionary Force will contribute to these exercises remains to be seen, however, as the wartime pace isn’t expected to ease this year.

“We have been attempting to honor all of those commitments and do it the best that we can,” Cowdrey said.

“It is fair to say we have not been able to meet every requirement or send the same-sized force to the countries that we would normally send,” he said.

Much of the potential demand in Iraq hinges on the national elections scheduled for Jan. 30 and the ongoing efforts to train an effective Iraqi military force.

Pacific Marines are also playing a part in those efforts.

The 4th Marines command element is helping train Iraqi military forces, a role that military analysts say is critical to building a secure infrastructure to support the fledgling Iraqi government.

The regiment, normally filled out by UDP rotations, has no infantry battalions assigned to it.

In fact, two of the usual UDP battalions — 1/5 and 3/4, both with two combat tours in Iraq already — are slated to skip their Okinawa rotations and return to Iraq.

Gidget Fuentes is the San Diego bureau chief for Marine Corps Times. She can be reached at (760) 677-6145 or gfuentes@marinecorpstimes.com


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fighting Bengals deploy to Iraq
Submitted by: MCAS Beaufort
Story Identification #: 200511883543
Story by Cpl. Anthony M. Guas



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, SC (Jan. 14, 2005) -- The Marines and Sailors of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224 departed the Air Station for the Bengal’s first deployment to Iraq.

In groups of two, the Bengal’s 12 F/A-18 Hornets departed Tuesday, while the squadron’s main body departed Wednesday.

The Bengal’s first flew into Kuwait and later landed on an air base in Western Iraq.
Approximately 54 pilots left on Tuesday, while the main body consisted of 200 Marines.

“We are extremely motivated to get into the fight,” said Sgt. Maj. William Burton, squadron sergeant major, VMFA(AW)-224. “Everyone here has been training for years and we feel it’s our turn.”

The Bengal’s will be the first East Coast Hornets to deploy to Iraq. In Iraq the squadron will be in direct support of the Marines on the ground for almost seven months, according to 1st Lt. Michael Greene, unit information officer, VMFA(AW)-224.

“We know the nation is counting on us,” said Lt. Col. Will Thomas, commanding officer, VMFA(AW)-224. “We are going on the offensive, hoping that our actions will prevent another attack at home.”

Before going to Iraq the Bengal’s prepared for six months. The squadron recently returned from Yuma, Ariz., where they participated in Exercise Desert Talon.

The Bengal’s participated in Exercise Desert Talon in December. The training consisted of providing convoy escort, close air support and urban close air support, according to Greene.

“We have had a very aggressive training plan in the last six months,” Thomas said. “At Desert Talon, we had integrated training with all of the aviation units that will be together.”

The Bengal’ s feel that the training throughout the six months and Desert Talon has been a benefit, according to Thomas.

“The face-to-face contact was helpful, because we’ve already bonded and formed relationships like a team,” Thomas said. “Personal relationships make the Marine Corps so special.”

While in Iraq the enlisted Marines will work 12 hours on and 12 off, while the pilots will have 24-hour flight operations, according to Greene. The pilots will be flying once a day on a two-hour average.

“Our goal is to perform our mission successfully,” Thomas said. “My personal goal is to bring every Marine and Sailor home as soon as that mission is complete.”

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200511883832/$file/224Deployslow.jpg

Captain Jeremy Siegel, pilot, Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224, boards his F/A-18 Hornet, Tuesday. The Bengal’s went to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by: Cpl. Anthony M. Guas

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine keeps USS Truman safe, afloat <br />
Submitted by: MCAS Beaufort <br />
Story Identification #: 20051189528 <br />
Story by Cpl. Justin V. Eckersley <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
ABOARD THE USS HARRY S TRUMAN (Jan. 14, 2005) --...

[thedrifter]

America Supports You: Wristbands Bind Troops With Families, Supporters <br />
By John Valceanu <br />
American Forces Information Services <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2005 -- Troops on the front lines of the war on...

[thedrifter]

Marine journeys from Ivory Coast to Fallujah battlefield
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200511862715
Story by Lance Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr.



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan.15, 2005) -- As the howitzer team from Battery M, 4th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, prepares for each mission many shouts are heard carrying distinct southern accents. However, one Marine sergeant’s rich foreign accent sticks out among the southern twang from the Marines around him. With his dark skin and clean-shaven head, this Marine’s soft-spoken accent comes from the western bulge of Africa.

Sgt. Guy S. Yale, an ammunition technician chief with Gun 6, Battery M, 4/14, was born on the Ivory Coast (cote d’Ivoire) of Africa July 23, 1968.

Listening to his father’s advise, Yale moved to Washington D.C. in 1992, and lived there before moving to Atlanta and settling in Duluth, Ga., in 1997.

“My first intentions were to go to Canada to live with friends, but my dad persuaded me to move to America because there were better opportunities,” said Yale.

Wanting to join the military since his youth in Africa, Yale knew that when he walked into the recruiter’s office to sign up to be a Marine, it was a choice he would not regret.

“I grew up seeing U.S. embassies in different parts of the world guarded by Marines and I was impressed,” said Yale. “Every time I saw the Marines they always looked sharp, I always wanted to be in the military and knew I had to be a Marine.”

According to Yale, people outside of the United States recognize the high standards upheld by the Marine Corps.

“I have friends from other parts of the world who are impressed that I am a Marine,” said Yale. “The reputation of being called a Marine is like non other, the Marine Corps is an organization respected worldwide.”

Yale attended boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Paris Island, N.C., June 1999, and graduated August of that year. As a reservist, Yale has been with the battery for five years. Driving more than 120 miles to Chattanooga, Tenn., each time for weekend drills.

“I have made some of the best friends with the Marines from Chattanooga,” said Yale. “The bond between the Marines to my left and right is very strong and I expect to remain good friends with them even after the Marine Corps.”

Many of the Marines around him can attest to the dedication and his love for the Marine Corps.

“I have known Yale since he joined the battery. The first thing you notice about him is his accent and kindness, but best of all he is a good leader and takes care of his Marines,” said Staff Sgt. Josh M. Emmett, a platoon sergeant with Battery M, 4/14.

On top of his current responsibilities, Yale has submitted the necessary paper work, while in Iraq, to become a United States citizen and says he did not realize the meaning of being an American till now.

“I have wanted to become a citizen since I arrived in 1992, but it wasn’t until I found myself in Iraq that I realized how much more I wanted to be a citizen. Now I feel that I have earned the right to call myself an American,” said Yale. “It would be like the crowning of my time here in Iraq, to return to the U.S. as a citizen. I wasn’t born in the U.S. so I had to do my part to prove that I’m an American.”

“It has been a long battle for Yale, but when most people would have given up, he has marched on and continued his quest to become a citizen despite the slow process,” said Emmett, 27, a native of Dacula, Ga.

Although America is his new home now, Yale feels he will always have a reason to revisit his homeland.

“I have nothing but sweet memories while I was in Africa. I have a big family with lots of brothers and sisters, so it was always a big feast when we got together,” said Yale. “The one thing I miss the most is the food.”

Besides the Marine Corps and the Ivory Coast there is someone else that has tugged on the heart of this 36-year-old native of Africa.

“When I left to come to Iraq, my daughter, Kayle, was only three-years-old, she just recently turned four, and I know she misses me physically but emotionally I have tried to be there for her,” said Yale. “Since being activated with the battery to come out to Iraq, the single biggest adjustment was how to be a father figure to my daughter while I am over here.”

When Yale returns back to the United States after his tour in Iraq is over, he plans to take leave to visit his homeland and revisit his childhood.

“The coast has changed in many ways, so I have a lot of catching up to do,” said Yale. “I hope that one day I can show my daughter where her father came from.”

Although thoughts of his daughter and home are constantly on his mind, he remains focused on his tasks at hand. As he looks out for the well-being of his Marines, he is excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

“It has been an adventure, I keep saying to myself who would have thought from Africa to Iraq,” said Yale.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 24, 2005

Lawmakers get earful from troops during base visits
Concerns include malfunctioning equipment, cuts to family services

By Rick Maze
Times staff writer


A congressional delegation visiting U.S. troops and their families in Texas and North Carolina heard about problems that have made headlines, such as equipment shortages for deployed troops, but also about relatively lesser-known issues such as proposals to cut back on community services on some bases to save money.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the House Armed Services Committee chairman who led the group on a two-day whirlwind tour of bases, said he would try to address those concerns.

The seven-member delegation planned the trip to talk with troops on their way to or from overseas deployments. If meeting lawmakers wasn’t enough to interest troops, the delegation brought with it a football star — former NFL defensive back Scott Turner, who is recovering from a hamstring injury — and a pile of donated gifts that included electronics, movies, NASCAR apparel, food and gift cards.

Hunter said a key purpose of the trip was to hear directly from troops about what’s on their minds. The delegation, which traveled Jan. 7 and 8, had hoped to visit more bases, but had their departure delayed by legislative business in Washington. Hunter said he is considering similar tours to other bases.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, the only Democrat in the delegation, said the complaints from service members and their families “suggest that our forces are being stretched to the breaking point.”

“We heard from soldiers who deployed with outdated or malfunctioning equipment,” Reyes said. “They spoke of a lack of personal protective vests and armored vehicles, back-to-back deployments without enough recuperation and training time in between, and base family support programs that were being reduced or eliminated due to budget cuts.”

At Camp Lejeune, N.C., Marine Staff Sgt. Jubal Young told Hunter that units in Iraq needed extra radio components to keep communications gear operating, something Hunter promised to look into.

“I don’t think this is a funding problem, but a logistical problem of having the right parts in the right place,” Hunter said. “This is something we can help with.”

Vehicle armor and explosive-jamming devices remain a critical need, Reyes said.

“Marines who are in Iraq right now are telling Marines about to deploy to make getting more armor a top priority,” he said.

Hunter said the Pentagon is making progress on boosting production of armored vehicles, add-on armor kits and a variety of jamming devices.

Eighty-seven percent of Humvees in Iraq have extra armor, and only so-called up-armored Humvees are going out on combat missions, Hunter said. Also, 55 percent of medium trucks and 37 percent of heavy trucks in the theater are armored, he said.

Hunter said Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., a former aerospace executive who has experience with industrial production rates, found that companies could be producing equipment faster if the Defense Department was willing to pay for it. Under an agreement struck by Simmons, the Pentagon will be shifting money between accounts to pay for a higher rate of production, Hunter said.

Lawmakers also learned that some family programs, including libraries and programs for teens, face cuts because of tight budgets.

“We will have to find out why this is happening,” Reyes said.

Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., said soldiers raised questions about pay and benefits, including complaints about enlistment bonuses that are larger than re-enlistment bonuses for people in the same occupation.

Reyes said a common thread in the comments of troops at all the bases visited is that there was “insufficient planning for the aftermath of the Iraq invasion.”

“This has led to a severe operational deployment rate that could cause a recruiting and retention crisis,” he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Local "1st Marine Brigade" brings gifts to Fightertown
Submitted by: MCAS Beaufort
Story Identification #: 200511885154
Story by Lance Cpl. Kat Johnson



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, SC (Jan. 14, 2005) -- Dozens of Fightertown Marines and Sailors received food baskets, toys, and gift certificates from the Retired First Marine Brigade over the holidays.

The Retired First Marine Brigade raised hundreds of dollars throughout the year to provide military families with food baskets and toys for the holiday season.

“I think its good when people give back to the community,” said Sgt. Carl Ray, rescue man, Crash Fire Rescue. “Me and my family really appreciate it.”

The holiday baskets were given to select Marines and Sailors from all units aboard the Air Station. Recipients of the baskets were chosen by their command based on who would benefit the most from the gifts. Marines and Sailors were able to choose from bikes, doll babies, train sets, remote control cars, paint kits, board games, books and stuffed animals to give to their children. Also included for each family was a basket of food items and grocery gift certificates amounting to more than 30 dollars.

“The baskets are a really great idea,” said Staff Sgt. James Cainguitan, supply chief, station supply. “They’re a lot of Maries in bad financial situations this year and every thing they receive is surely to help.”

Holiday baskets were distributed in front of the Crash Fire Rescue hanger by Lance Cpl. Justin Kalina, supply clerk, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron Supply.

“I’m out here to make sure that every one of these items goes to a family from this base,” Kalina said. “It’s almost Christmas and I can’t think of a better present to receive from the military.”

The basket give away was one of several fundraisers hosted by the Air Station during 2004 to help military and civilian families throughout the community.

“I think it’s a really good thing what we do for everyone else,” said Cpl. Kirk Prinsen, crash crewman, Crash Fire Rescue. “I’ve been to several units and never before have I seen something like this. It makes me proud to be a part of this base and the Marine Corps.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Speaker at anti-Bush rally draws on Marine experience
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 20, 2005

When a Marine combat veteran who served honorably in Iraq speaks against the war, word gets out almost as quick as rifle fire.

Hence Andrew VanDenBergh, 22, South Bend, was recruited -- yes, peace activists recruit, too -- to address today's 11:30 a.m. counterinauguration rally Downtown at Monument Circle. The event, sponsored by the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center, coincides with President Bush taking his oath of office in Washington.

Organizer Jane Haldeman explains the rally's intent. "We are trying to provide an open forum for alternatives to the policies of the Bush administration. And we want to give people a chance to speak out."

That's VanDenBergh's mission for his noon address.

Tough as that may be -- this is Bush country -- the assignment does not approach what he and buddies have been through in Iraq. Repeating a demoralizing theme, VanDenBergh says the U.S. war effort is seriously imperiled by the lack of proper armor for Marines and Humvees. The result can be a death sentence, he says -- something he witnessed too often.

This is coming from a Marine loyalist who states up front that he is not a pacifist. "I believe in the right to self-defense. Some things are worth fighting for."

VanDenBergh's grandfathers and uncle were Marines. He joined the corps in July 2000 after graduating high school near his home in Camano Island, Washington. "I wanted to make something of myself. I felt that I had a duty and responsibility to earn the privileges that come with living in America."

He was deployed to Kuwait Feb. 1, 2003, and entered Iraq with the first Marine Expeditionary Force on March 20. During his eight months there, he was a machine-gun section leader.

He opposed the war from the start. He questioned the premise: weapons of mass destruction. He also doubted that the United States could force democracy on a Middle Eastern culture without resistance.

His reservations about the war did not hinder his service. He won numerous medals, including a combat action ribbon, a global war on terrorism (expeditionary) medal and a presidential unit citation. He served until June 2004.

In July, he moved to South Bend to be near his girlfriend of eight years, Megan Lloyd, a senior at the University of Notre Dame.

They were in the standing-room-only crowd last November on campus when former Marine Sgt. Robert Sarra, of Chicago, spoke about his opposition to the war. Both Sarra and VanDenBergh are members of Veterans Against the Iraq War. As Sarra fielded questions, VanDenBergh offered to answer some as well. He joined Sarra at the podium.

News of this reached George Holland in Indianapolis. An Air Force veteran, he served in Europe with NATO. He is now a peace activist.

Holland knew he wanted a veteran to speak at today's rally.

On Sunday, he and activist Carl Rising-Moore, who served in the Army from 1964 to 1967, drove to South Bend. They had dinner with VanDenBergh and Lloyd. They were impressed.

Understandably so. VanDenBergh is articulate. He thinks before he speaks.

He does not think his opinion will demoralize the troops. Some support the war, he says. Others oppose it. The troops are there doing their job.

Asked if he has a message for them, he's quick to answer. "Thank you for the job you are doing."

What message does he have for the president, whose inauguration inspired his visit to Indy? "I'd rather not say," he says with strict military discipline.

Ruth Holladay's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. You can reach her at (317) 444-6405 or via e-mail at ruth.holladay@indystar.com .


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Twisted Steel and Licorice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 20, 2005
by Bob Newman

He still isn't old enough to have a beer, but in his two decades of life, the young Marine is already about to complete his second tour in Iraq. To the combat-hardened veteran, it seems like yesterday that he was traipsing through an alder patch with his Labrador and shotgun in the hamlet of Warren, Maine, where he grew up. Now and then, he wonders how he so quickly went from hunting partridge off of Patterson Mill Road to hunting men along Haifa Street.

The Leatherneck, however, like so many of his brothers, is an anomaly made of twisted steel and licorice. A cold-blooded killer who doesn't have time for regret, he loves giving cherry licorice whips to the Iraqi children who come out of their homes to watch the Marines on patrol. Their big, brown eyes remind him of his kid sister's eyes, whom he hasn't seen in-in a long time. In the small part of his heart that will always remain innocent, he yearns to again hear the gleeful laughs of his siblings as they chase the family Lab around the yard that overlooks Crawford Pond.

He is usually happy. Two things in particular make him smile: receiving letters and packages from home, and listening to the continual banter of his brother Marines.

But today he is confused, though not surprised. In a package from home were several American newspapers. Each told stories of how the Iraqis hated the Americans and how car bombs and terrorists were likely to destroy the upcoming election and even lose the war. He wonders why the news doesn't report all the good things that are happening in Iraq now that Saddam is in prison and how so many Iraqis come up to them and thank them.

"Hey, Land Shark," he says to his friend, calling him by his nickname. "It says here we are losing the war. This Senator Boxer chick says we suck."

"Yeah, right. Maybe that newspaper and Senator Boxer should tell that to all the dead terrorists we did last night, right man?" Land Shark replies.

"Mmmm," comes the nodded reply. "Hey, you're from California. When we get back to the world, maybe you should knock on her door, tell her you're delivering a love note from Saddam, and then bite her head off when she opens it."

"Nah. Why should I soil my beautiful teeth?" Land Shark smiles back, revealing the grin of a movie star, which miraculously remains intact despite the horrific scar running from the Marine's right eyebrow down across his nose to the tip of his chin. Shrapnel tends to leave calling cards like that. Land Shark hopes the chicks will dig it when he gets back to the world. (Land Shark had been worried that his sister's high school graduation gift to him, a teeth-whitening session from BriteSmile, was going to be ruined.)

The Marine folds up the newspaper and picks up his rifle as he watches his unit begin to make final preparations for tonight's patrol. His "company gunny" is walking around reminding the Marines to make sure they each have an extra tourniquet in the right cargo pocket of their trousers.

In his mind's eye, for a moment he is back in high school, holding Kathy's hand during lunch. His beautiful girlfriend, he knows, is still waiting for him back in Warren. When he gets out of the Corps, they will marry and he will become a lobsterman.

As he slips on his flak jacket and checks to see if the package of licorice is still in the jacket's left pocket, the Marine doesn't know that she will wait forever, for he won't be returning from tonight's patrol.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ CASUALTIES



Mothers of 3 who died together share grief

By Sean D. Hamill
Special to the Tribune
Published January 19, 2005


The three Marine corporals on patrol near Fallujah in Iraq on July 5 hadn't known each other long, but they had become fast friends.

There was Lance Cpl. Michael S. Torres, 21, of El Paso, Texas, the former engineering student who left college to join the war on terror and earned the nickname "Guardian Angel" for pulling a fellow wounded Marine out of the line of fire.

Nearby was Lance Cpl. John J. "Buddy" Vangyzen IV, 21, of North Dighton, Mass., a lover of trout fishing who was constantly asking his parents to send him more candy so he could give it to the Iraqi kids he encountered on patrol.

And alongside them was Cpl. Dallas L. Kerns, 21, of Mountain Grove, Mo., the half Cherokee Indian who planned on returning home to southwest Missouri to become a police officer.

With little warning, their lives were ended when a rocket exploded in their midst.

Their death sent ripples well beyond the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Twentynine Palms, Calif., of which they were a part.

Members of their units told their parents the three had become inseparable. And in their deaths, their mothers have become long-distance-friends, consoling one another and sharing their grief.

"We have a shared bond in the fact that we've suffered the same loss," said Rossana Esparza, Torres' mother, who first reached out to the mothers of the other two.

Most of their contact is through regular e-mails, prayers, sometimes just a word of support. But it has helped.

"I'm hurting, and they understand that," said Connie Kerns, Dallas' mother. "It's a lot of the same pain."

Part of that shared pain is that they all experienced closed-casket funerals because of the injuries to their sons.

"That was hard for the three of us. We never had closure," she said.

Another aspect they share is that none of them was happy to hear their sons say they were joining the Marines.

Dorothy Arsenault, Vangyzen's mother, resisted when he told her that, at 17, he was ready to sign with the Marines.

"Mothers have a feeling about their children," Arsenault said. "And I had a feeling he wasn't going to come home alive."

Vangyzen, too, planned to go to college after a short stint in the Marines, his mother said, "but as time went on, he started saying he wanted to make a career out of it."

The events of Sept. 11 changed his view.

"It was his America and they had treaded on it"" she said. "He was angry about that."

When Arsenault's son was home after his first tour of Iraq, "he told me he was scared to go back."

"He was my little boy who had become a man," she said, "but I didn't get to know that part of him."

Torres' mother had managed to get her son into college for a year after he earned a full scholarship.

But Sept. 11 had an impact on him similar to Vangyzen.

"He thought the threat of terrorism against our homeland was too great," she said.

That argument wasn't persuasive to Esparza, who wanted to keep her son out of the military because "of the very real possibility that he'd be killed," she said. "Obviously, I'm living at this time with my worst fear realized."

After giving birth to her son when she was 14, Connie Kerns literally grew up with her son.

"We were best friends," she said. "He learned a lot from me, but I learned a lot from him."

In the new home she bought with the money she received after her son died in combat, she set up a room in his honor.

In it, she has placed photos of him, an American flag that flew over his unit's Iraqi base and his dress blues with medals. The uniform hangs in plastic on a door, symbolically waiting for her son to return.Kerns said she sometimes finds herself thinking her son will fulfill their dream and return home to become a police officer and live near her. "But I think [the room] is about the closest he's ever going to get," she said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

January 20, 2005

Guerrilla suspects detained in Mosul raids

By Jason Keyser
Associated Press


BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. troops launched fresh raids Thursday around the northern city of Mosul to rein in guerillas who have threatened to disrupt the upcoming election. Iraqi forces sealed off main routes into Baghdad one day after a wave of car bombings rocked the capital.
Troops from the Army’s Stryker Brigade Combat Team detained nine people and seized weapons in the overnight sweeps in Mosul, the military said Thursday.

U.S. forces have intensified nighttime operations in Iraq’s third largest city in a race to make it safe enough for voters to cast ballots in the country’s Jan. 30 parliamentary and regional elections. In the past two weeks alone, U.S. and Iraqi forces have rounded up 200 suspected insurgents there, the U.S. military said.

A surge in car bombings and street clashes in the city have followed November’s devastating U.S. offensive in the former insurgent hub of Fallujah, and U.S. commanders believe many rebel fighters who fled that siege have set up new operations in Mosul and other cities.

Also in northern Iraq, a Brazilian working for a construction company was reported missing after insurgents fired on his car in a highway ambush Wednesday that killed a British contract security worker and an Iraqi guard, Iraqi police Lt. Shaalan Allawi said.

The Brazilian man, who has not been named, works for the Sao Paulo-based Constructora Norberto Odebrecht S.A., one of Brazil’s largest construction firms, the company said.

He was working on a reconstruction project at a power station in the central city of Beiji, the firm said. Earlier, Iraqi police had said the missing foreigner was a Japanese engineer, but later said he was from Brazil.

The slain security team the man was riding with was employed by the British-based Janusian Security Risk Management, Ltd.

“We are proud of their professionalism and dedication and of the role they played in trying to help in the reconstruction of that country,” said David Claridge, managing director of the firm. “We are investigating the matter and are working with the local authorities in their efforts to locate the missing civilian.”

News video footage of the aftermath of the attack showed two cars riddled with bullets and the ground soaked with blood.

Baghdad appeared mostly calm Thursday, following a wave of deadly car bombings that sent thunderous booms rattling windows throughout city.

The five blasts, including a truck bomb outside the Australian Embassy, seemed well-coordinated, with four of them rocking different parts of the city within a span of 90 minutes Wednesday morning.

On Thursday morning, motorists reported that major highways leading into the capital from the west and south were sealed by Iraqi forces.

Alaa Mahmoud, an Iraqi National Guard captain at the scene of one roadblock, said he was under orders to prevent all vehicle traffic from entering the city. Government officials could not be reached for comment because offices were closed at the start of a four-day Muslim holiday.

During Muslim prayers Thursday to mark the feast of Eid al-Adha — which coincides with the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia — a cleric at a Baghdad mosque offered a sour reflection on the effect violence has had on life in the capital.

“Baghdad is the city of science, city of kings, city of believers. It has now become the city of explosions and hideout of criminals,” Mohammed al-Sumeidi said in his sermon.

Sunni Muslim insurgents have threatened to disrupt this month’s elections and Wednesday’s rebel offensive on the capital demonstrated the grave threat facing Iraqis at this watershed in their history.

Nevertheless, the car bomb attacks had little effect on preparations for the Jan. 30 balloting, in which Iraqis will choose a 275-member National Assembly and regional legislatures. At Baghdad airport, Iraqi authorities Wednesday received the largest shipment of ballot boxes and other elections equipment to date.

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, meanwhile, said he was discussing with American officials how to accelerate the training and arming of Iraqi security forces to help speed the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

The presence of foreign troops is an issue that threatens to keep some voters away from this month’s elections. Some Sunni clerics have called for a boycott of the vote, in part because they say it should not take place while the country is occupied.

Although the country’s majority Shiite Muslims and the Kurds are expected to vote in large numbers, officials fear a low turnout among Sunni Arabs may cast doubt on the legitimacy of the new government and sharpen communal tensions among the country’s 26 million people.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Dads deployed far away stay close by reading to kids <br />
<br />
Michelle Healy <br />
USA Today <br />
Jan. 17, 2005 12:00 AM <br />
<br />
Before his deployment to Iraq in May, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Santiago Zapata was the...

[thedrifter]

January 20, 2005

U.S. to immediately scale back tsunami-relief operations

By Lely T. Djuhari
Associated Press


BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The U.S. military — the largest group aiding tsunami survivors — says it will immediately begin scaling back its relief operations. The Indonesian Health Ministry said 70,000 people previously listed as missing were now counted among the dead, a development that would push the overall death toll to more than 221,000.
But conflicting death estimates from different government departments meant the exact count was not clear. Agencies within two countries — Indonesia and Sri Lanka — were reporting different death tolls, thousands of people were still listed as missing, and officials say the true toll will probably never be known.

In Japan, nations at a U.N. conference rallied behind plans for a network of buoys to warn of future killer waves in the Indian Ocean.

Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the U.S. military “will start right now transferring functions to the appropriate host nations and international organizations.”

About 15,000 American troops have been deployed to tsunami-hit nations, where huge waves spawned by a massive earthquake swept away coastal settlements on Dec. 26. Most of the soldiers have been sent to worst-hit Sumatra island in Indonesia.

At a news conference on Thursday, Fargo, who was on a two-day visit to Malaysia, noted that the humanitarian missions in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other affected countries have moved from the “immediate relief phase ... toward rehabilitation and reconstruction.”

Earlier, Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak said Fargo had told him that the United States will scale down its relief operations in Aceh by the end of February.

Late Wednesday, Indonesia’s health ministry upped its death toll by more than 70,000 to a new total of 166,320, although its count differed sharply from other Indonesian government tallies; the Social Affairs Ministry put its figure at 114,978 dead.

If the death toll is confirmed, the overall toll would rise to more than 221,000.

Officials have frequently cautioned that compiling accurate figures for those killed in the disaster is almost impossible.

At a U.N. conference in Kobe, Japan, participating nations discussed plans for a network to detect tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and warn coastal residents of the danger.

On the third day of the five-day meeting, delegates gave the go-ahead to start examining various proposals, including the one by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO proposed a network of deep-sea buoys and regional communications centers that would cost $30 million and go into operation by mid-2006.

Eventually, U.S. officials say the Pacific warning system could also extend to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and other parts of the globe. A U.N. official, however, stressed that the United Nations, not the United States, would lead the effort.

About 100 volunteer workers from across Indonesia gathered at the ruins of a seaside mosque near Banda Aceh for prayers to mark the start of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, which ends the annual hajj pilgrimage period.

The Bairturrahim Mosque is one of the few structures standing in the Ulee-Lheue village, which is now a lifeless landscape of rubble and mangled cars.

As aid continued to pour in from around the world, the sometimes fragile situation on the ground in Aceh underscored the difficulties that remain in delivering assistance.

Gunfire rang out Thursday in the hills near Aceh’s capital, Banda Aceh, causing tsunami survivors living in a temporary camp to dive for cover. At least three bursts of gunfire were heard. The Indonesian military had no immediate comment.

No one was hurt and the gunfire did not appear to target the refugees, but it reinforced the danger of renewed fighting in a region where separatist rebels and government forces have fought for nearly three decades. Aceh rebels and the Indonesian army have declared an informal cease-fire to help the humanitarian effort, but there have been sporadic reports of fighting.

“I cannot imagine a more terrible nightmare,” Revita, a 28-year-old midwife, said after the shooting.

In a separate incident, an Indonesian soldier in Aceh fired his weapon into the air Thursday, narrowly missing the rotor blades of a U.S. helicopter delivering aid to survivors, witnesses said. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

The soldier apparently was trying to control a crowd of up to 25 refugees in the coastal village of Panga that stormed toward the American helicopter to grab relief supplies.

Indonesia’s military said it killed at least 120 separatist rebels in Aceh province over the past two weeks, despite an informal cease-fire in the region since the Dec. 26 tsunami, Indonesia’s army chief of staff said Thursday.

Sporadic clashes between rebels and troops in Aceh have occurred since the disaster, but there have been few reports of fatalities.


Associated Press writers Mike Corder in Jakarta, Indonesia, Brian Murphy in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Kenji Hall in Kobe, Japan, and Jasbant Singh in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraqi, Marine forces capture 15 in early hours of pre-election offensive
Submitted by: 24th MEU
Story Identification #: 200511981936
Story by - 24th MEU Public Affairs Office



FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (Jan. 19, 2005) -- Iraqi security forces and U.S. Marines rounded up 15 suspected insurgents south of Baghdad today, beginning a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month.

Operation Checkmate kicked off with a pre-dawn raid near Jabella, about 50 miles south of the capital. Six CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters ferrying the joint strike force -- composed of elements of the Iraqi SWAT team, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance platoon and U.S. Army troops -- swarmed the target, a crop of houses believed to shelter a number of militants and a stockpile of weapons and munitions.

Of two dozen military-age men initially questioned, 15 were detained, including a suspected former intelligence officer in Saddam Hussein's regime. The raid force, joined by an additional team of Marines called in to assist in the search, also uncovered a small weapons cache, including 11 rifles and shotguns and 1,500 rounds of ammunition.

In the coming days, more such raids are planned, as intelligence gleaned from one mission drives follow-on operations.

Despite a recent drop in insurgent activity in the area, the commander of pro-Iraqi forces in northern Babil Province said he has no intention of letting local militants regroup.

"When we have an enemy on the run, especially a determined one, we can't afford to stand around admiring our progress," said Col. Ronald J. Johnson. "We have to stay in the attack."

Johnson said Iraqi forces will take the lead in providing security during the upcoming elections.

"We have worked with our Iraqi partners to put together a solid plan,", he said. "The Iraqis will be in front, confident and aggressive. We will be in support, ready to reinforce. And the Iraqi people will get the best opportunity possible to vote in a real election for the first time in their lives."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200511982426/$file/050119-M-1250B-004lores.jpg

Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit escort detainees back to a vehicle after capturing them during a raid in Jabella, Iraq, Jan. 19.
Six CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters ferrying a joint strike force -- composed of elements of the Iraqi SWAT team, the 24th MEU's Force Reconnaissance platoon and U.S. Army troops -- swarmed the target, a crop of houses believed to shelter a number of militants and a stockpile of weapons and munitions.
The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month.
Photo by: Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

Ellie

[thedrifter]

British Troops, Iraqis Wounded in Basra Blast <br />
<br />
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - An explosion at the entrance to a logistics base in British-controlled southern Iraq (news - web sites) wounded five British...

[thedrifter]

Marine combat engineers get it wired as students

Twelve gyrenes take a break from Camp Pendleton and visit OCC to hit the books instead of targets.

Jeff Benson, Daily Pilot


ORANGE COAST COLLEGE — It's not like they marched in, pitched a tent and pulled combat engineering exercises in the middle of campus.

In fact, the dozen U.S. Marines who trained for four weeks at Orange Coast College were relatively unknown to other students, who were home for the holidays.

Twelve members of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division from Camp Pendleton, donned civilian clothes and attended an OCC electrical training course over the winter break in preparation for deployment to Iraq.

The five-unit residential electrical wiring class helped the Marines focus on residential electrical construction, wiring principles and compliance of the National Electrical Code for building requirements. The course advanced the servicemen's knowledge and response time to establish command posts and handle wiring for military facilities.

"On all the buildings there, the wiring isn't that great," said Sgt. Brian Romero, 30, of Pueblo, Colo. "So the class will help out when they have to rewire the buildings themselves."

Most of the Marines have already served once overseas, and some have served twice, said OCC spokesman Jim Carnett. They serve in the Corps as electricians, generator mechanics and water-treatment specialists.

"The class was great," Romero said. "It taught me a lot more than I thought I knew. I couldn't complain. I'm actually smarter now."

OCC associate professor of construction technology David Rodriguez called the lessons he taught, from Dec. 10 through Jan. 14, the highlight of his eight-year teaching career.

"I enjoyed it very much," Rodriguez said. "They chose a closer institution because they didn't have the facilities to handle it at Camp Pendleton. We were the closest to handle the training."

The Marines spent Tuesday adapting what they'd learned at OCC to equipment at Camp Pendleton, OCC dean of instructional programs Bob Mendoza said.

OCC responded quickly to the military's request to use the college because its staff knows the servicemen need to obtain their training as soon as possible, Mendoza said. The Marine Corps covered the cost.

"The campus has been fairly quiet this month," Carnett said. "Their visibility wasn't prominent but a lot of staff members knew they were here."

The Marines attended the class in the college's Technology Center classrooms, and each of them received college credits for completing the OCC course.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Myers: Medal of Honor Recipients 'Set Standard' for Today
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2005 — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told 70 Medal of Honor recipients today they've set the standard for today's military men and women who he said, "like you, represent the best of American values."

Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers hosted the gathering of heroes here at the 2005 Medal of Honor Society Luncheon. The event, also attended by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, has become a traditional part of the presidential inauguration activities.

Myers thanked the veterans for serving their nation with an understanding that "freedom is not free, and that it is paid for with the currency of courage and sacrifice."

Despite coming from "all walks of life imaginable," he said, all demonstrated a common trait: "extraordinary courage to risk your lives to defend freedom and to protect your comrades in arms."

He paid a special tribute to 95-year-old Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, who earned the award for actions in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, when he was a chief petty officer.

Finn "showed the enemy it would take more than surprise to break the spirit of the American people," Myers said. And, Finn and his fellow Medal of Honor recipients demonstrated through their actions a "determination that the enemy could not defeat you or the ideals of the nation you were serving," he told the group.

These are the same characteristics the chairman said today's men and women in uniform, many of them in harm's way, exhibit every day.

Those who have earned the Medal of Honor continue to serve to this day, he said, providing an ongoing source of inspiration and an example for the servicemembers who follow in their footsteps.

"Like you, they serve bravely and humbly and they ask for no personal reward," the chairman said. "Like you, they have been relentless and courageous in upholding their oath to serve our country." And like you, Myers told the group, today's servicemembers have placed the freedom of others before their own personal safety.

"The story is the same," Myers said. "They are the same ordinary citizens, doing extraordinary things."

"They're doing the right thing," said Arthur J. Jackson of today's men and women fighting the global war on terror. Jackson, of Boise, Idaho, earned the Medal of Honor in 1944 while serving with the Marines in Pelieu in the South Pacific.

"There's nothing more precious than our freedom," Jackson said, and today's military men and women "have responded to the call" and are "doing a fabulous job."

"Thank goodness they are doing what they are doing, or we wouldn't be able to enjoy the freedoms we have today," said former Army Col. Jack Jacobs, who earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam in 1968.

Jacobs said he thinks of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who serve their country "all the time" and believes the recognition they are receiving for their duty is long overdue. "It's important that we recognize them," he said. "They are carrying a big burden."

Former Army Sgt. Sammy L. Davis, an artilleryman in Vietnam in 1967 when he earned the Medal of Honor, said the nation's recognition of its men and women in uniform reflects a growing understanding of the price of freedom and security. "Freedom is not free," said the Flat Rock, Ill., resident. "And it's up to us back at home to help others remember that."

Davis said a highlight of his visit to Washington so far has been the opportunity to meet some of the men and women being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center for wounds they received in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I just spent time hugging them," he said.

Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Littrell, president of the Medal of Honor Society, said there's no "common denominator" that describes the 129 living recipients of the nation's highest military honor.

Most, if asked how they earned the award, say they were simply doing their job, said the St. Pete Beach, Fla., resident, who earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam in April 1970.

Pointing to the medal draped around his neck, he said those who have earned the medal wear it, not for themselves, but for their comrades in arms who made the ultimate sacrifice.

"If you ask any of the recipients who wear the award, they'll tell you that it's not for us, but for those who can't," agreed Jacobs. "For every recipient of an award for valor, there are many, many more who were never recognized. We're individual representatives of those men and women."

Ellie