Abizaid Visits Multinational Division, U.S. Marines in Iraq

[thedrifter]

Abizaid Visits Multinational Division, U.S. Marines in Iraq
By John Valceanu
American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 12, 2005 -- The commander of the U.S. Central Command stressed the importance of passing along knowledge from experienced troops rotating out of the country to newly arrived replacements during a visit today with multinational and U.S. Marine troops

Army Gen. John Abizaid, who is responsible for all troops operating in the Middle East, as well as parts of Asia and Africa, visited the Multinational Division Central South in Diwanyiha and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Fallujah as part of his tour of Iraq. His stop came at a time when many units are rotating in and out of Iraq. For example, the Marines are scheduled to leave in about six weeks.

"All new units that come to a combat zone have to learn the mistakes the hard way," Abizaid said. "Troops that have been out here for a long time need to do everything they can to minimize those hard lessons by passing on to the new troops what they know about the enemy, what they know about the terrain, what lessons they've learned."

The recent Jan. 30 Iraqi elections and the emerging new Iraqi government have created a situation fraught with many uncertainties, Abizaid said.

"The whole force right now is going through a period of transition. U.S. Army divisions are changing out. The Multinational Division Central South is having a lot of changeover in people primarily for rotational purposes," the general pointed out. "It's a time of great hope and of great concern. It's one of these moments in history where you come to some very unique circumstances."

With U.S. troop levels going down after a plus-up for added security before and during the Iraqi elections, Abizaid cautioned against confusing numbers with capabilities.

"Numbers never quite work in the military game. Capability works," he said. He added that he was "convinced that combat capability, especially based on the growth of Iraqi security forces," would provide adequate security.

During his visit to the multinational division, Abizaid thanked the Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Salvadoran, Bulgarian and other coalition allies who make up the division and are helping to bring peace and stability to Iraq.

"We appreciate your efforts," Abizaid said. "This is a historic time. You are helping a new government and a free people to emerge."

During an interview with Polish television station, Abizaid gave special thanks to the Polish troops, who make up the multinational division's largest number of troops.

"I appreciate the tremendous support of the Polish armed forces have provided to this mission from the very beginning," he said. "I think the people of Poland probably understand better than anybody in Europe that you have to fight for your freedom, and that we are all here fighting for the freedom of Iraqis."

The CENTCOM commander also had words of appreciation for the Marines, who fought the intense, decisive battle of Fallujah in November 2004, ridding that city of entrenched terrorists and insurgents.

"I appreciate the risks you've taken and the sacrifices you've made. You have to know that your effort is appreciated by the American people, and that it's worth it," Abizaid told a group of Marine commanders and senior staff officers.

"Your role in it has been absolutely phenomenal. … You guys have done a tremendous job. You have to be immensely proud of yourselves," he continued. "The Second Battle of Fallujah will go down with the great battles of the United States Marine Corps. I honor you for what you have done."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Shiites, Kurds Sweep To Victory
Associated Press
February 14, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Clergy-backed Shiites and independence-minded Kurds swept to victory in Iraq's landmark elections, propelling to power the groups that suffered the most under Saddam Hussein and forcing Sunni Arabs to the margins for the first time in modern history, according to final results released Sunday.

But the Shiites' 48 percent of the vote is far short of the two-thirds majority needed to control the 275-member National Assembly. The results threw immediate focus on Iraqi leaders' backdoor dealmaking to create a new coalition government - possibly in an alliance with the Kurds - and on efforts to lure Sunnis into the fold and away from a bloody insurgency.

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the secular Shiite chosen by the United States to lead this country for the last eight turbulent months, fared poorly - his ticket finishing a distant third behind the religious Shiites and Kurds.

"This is a new birth for Iraq," election commission spokesman Farid Ayar said, announcing results of the Jan. 30 polling, the first free election in Iraq in more than 50 years and the first since Saddam fell. Iraqi voters "became a legend in their confrontation with terrorists."

Iraqi Kurds danced in the streets and waved Kurdish flags when results were announced in the oil-rich, ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk. Thousands more Kurds - a people who were gassed and forced from their homes by Saddam's forces - turned out in Sulaimaniyah, firing weapons in the air and carrying posters of their leaders.




"I feel that I am born again," said Bakhtiyar Mohammed, 42. "I am very happy because we suffered a lot. Now I can say that I am an Iraqi Kurd with pride."

President Bush praised Iraqis and said America and its allies should be proud for making the election possible. "I congratulate the Iraqi people for defying terrorist threats and setting their country on the path of democracy and freedom," he said in a statement. "And I congratulate every candidate who stood for election and those who will take office once the results are certified."

The Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance ticket received 4,075,295 votes, or about 48 percent of the total cast, officials said.

The Kurdistan Alliance, a coalition of two main Kurdish parties, finished second with 2,175,551 votes, or 26 percent. And the Iraqi List headed by Allawi stood third with 1,168,943 votes, or nearly 14 percent.

Parties have three days to lodge complaints, after which the results will be certified and seats in the new Assembly distributed. Seats will generally be allocated according to the percentage of votes that each ticket won. It appeared only 12 coalitions would take seats. The Shiites stand to gain up to 140 seats with the Kurds could end up with about 75.

"This is a great victory for the Iraqi people," said Ahmad Chalabi, a former Pentagon protege and member of the Shiite ticket who is lobbying for the prime minister's post. "We will have an assembly which is elected by the people and the government which is completely legitimate and elected by the people."

Other leading contenders for the top post include fellow Shiites Ibrahim Jaafari, a vice president; Finance Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi; and former nuclear scientist Hussain al-Shahristani.

Abdul-Mahdi told al-Arabiya the next Iraqi government is burdened with "difficult and complicated responsibilities that require national unity and the wide support of the national assembly," and the presidency. He said his alliance is "seeking to realize a wide national harmony in choosing" for those positions.

The election results highlighted the sharp differences among Iraq's ethnic, religious and cultural groups - many of whom fear domination not just by the Shiites, estimated at 60 percent of the population, but also by the Kurds, the most pro-American group with about 15 percent.

The results also draw attention to the close and longtime ties between now-victorious Iraqi Shiite leaders and clerics in neighboring Iran. The Shiite ticket owes its success to the support of Iraq's clerics, including Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

In contrast, many Sunni Arabs, who make up an estimated 20 percent of the population, stayed home on election day, either out of fear of violence or to support a boycott call by radical clerics opposed to the U.S. military.

Overall, national turnout was about 60 percent, the commission said - but only 2 percent of the eligible voters cast ballots in Anbar province, the Sunni insurgent stronghold that includes Ramadi and Fallujah.

Turnout was also low in the Sunni Arab provinces of Ninevah and Salaheddin, both insurgency centers. An American soldier was killed and another wounded in Salaheddin as the results were being announced in Baghdad.

After results came out Sunday, some Sunnis again rejected the whole process.

"The elections were held to fight the Sunnis and were led by the Americans with the Kurds and Shiites," said Ramadi mechanic Abdullah al-Dulaimi. "The election results will lead to a sectarian war."

Mohammed Bashar of the anti-American Association of Muslim Scholars said he questioned the figures because few international or U.N. monitors were present in Iraq for the vote.

"Those who boycotted the elections are more than those who took part in it," Bashar said on Al-Jazeera television.

No date has been set for convening the new assembly. Its first task will be to elect a president and two vice presidents by a two-thirds majority. So far the only declared presidential candidate is a Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani. The three will choose a new prime minister subject to assembly approval.

Mindful of such tensions, Shiite leaders went out of their way Sunday to assure disaffected Sunnis, as well as Turkomen, Christians and others, that they would have a place in the new Iraq and a role in drafting the new constitution.

Abdul-Mahdi, the finance minister and possible prime minister, insisted that Shiite leaders do not want "an Islamic government."

And the Shiite ticket's leader, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, told Iraqi television: "We believe in the need for participation and will seek harmony among all segments of the Iraqi people."

Al-Hakim, who lost 19 family members to Saddam's executioners, sat and wept as he heard the results.

But finding credible Sunni leaders - who can speak for both average Sunnis and also reach out to the insurgency - could prove difficult.

Although the Shiite ticket included some Sunnis, prominent Sunni Arab politicians fared poorly due to the boycott: The list headed by interim President Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, won only 150,680 votes. The ticket led by Sunni elder statesman Adnan Pachachi gained only 12,728 votes.

Pachachi, who had pleaded with the Bush administration to delay the election to allow time to win Sunni support, said it was now clear "a big number of Iraqis" did not vote.

Because relatively few Sunnis will end up in the assembly, some Iraqi politicians have suggested appointing Sunnis to advisory committees to help draft the new constitution.

But the Association of Muslim Scholars, believed to have some ties to the insurgency, has demanded tough conditions for accepting such a role - including a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The group also wants to end purges of members of Saddam's Baath party from the government.

Many Shiites and Kurds - with bitter memories of Saddam's repression - have opposed opening government ranks to former Baathists. And in general, those groups also have said they want U.S. troops to stay for now.

"The issue is about policies and strategies," Shiite politician Mouwafak al-Rubaie told CNN's "Late Edition." "The issue is not about appeasement policy, appeasing the old Baathists or old criminals who have committed crimes against our own people."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines Face Tough Recruiting Questions
Associated Press
February 14, 2005

ALGONQUIN, Ill. - On a recruiting visit to a school in this Chicago suburb, Marine Staff Sgt. Jody Van Doorenmaalen asked a sophomore what popped into his parents' heads when they thought about him joining the Marines.

"The only thing they think (is) I'm going to go to war and die," 16-year-old Nick Ambroziak replied.

The exchange illustrates the difficulty these days for recruiters like Van Doorenmaalen as they visit high schools, community colleges and shopping malls trying to sell the Marine Corps to young people while the country is at war in Iraq.

Earlier this month, the Marine Corps announced it had fallen short of its monthly recruiting goal in January for the first time in nearly a decade. While the Marines say they remain on track to meet their recruiting target for the year, they also acknowledge their task is harder because of the war and its mounting death toll from roadside bombings, helicopter crashes and suicide attacks.

"I'd say it has made it more challenging on a number of fronts," said Capt. Timothy O'Rourke, executive officer of the Marine Recruiting Station Chicago.




One of the first students to stop at his information table in the cafeteria at Algonquin's Harry D. Jacobs High School was Jeff Gold, an 18-year-old senior.

With his military-style haircut and dream of becoming a police officer, Gold would seem the ideal candidate. But Gold is pretty sure what would happen if he did join.

"I probably will get deployed," he said after talking to Van Doorenmaalen. "And I'll probably die."

Among the biggest obstacles today between recruiters like Van Doorenmaalen and recruits are parents. When the country wasn't at war, parents often stayed in the background while their sons or daughters decided whether to enlist, but today they pepper recruiters with questions and concerns.

"Recruiters are spending a lot of time going to parents' houses making sure they clearly understand the responsibilities their son or daughter will face as a Marine," O'Rourke said.

Recruiters also are butting up against research that shows young people today are more tied to their parents than young people in years past.

"They seek more guidance and counsel from their parents than other generations," said Maj. Dave Greismer, a spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command. And it's not just the parents of teenagers who have not yet turned 18, whose permission is needed for their sons and daughters to enlist, he said. Those 18 and older also seem to be looking to their parents for advice more than ever before.

It doesn't help that some parents, like Nick Ambroziak's, are concerned about this particular war and the way the military is handling it.

"I am proud that he would want to do his patriotic duty ... but we are over there to provide a democratic system of government to people that don't seem to appreciate it," said Victor Ambroziak, Nick's father. "They are attacking guys over there who are sent there to protect them."

Lisa Ambroziak knows her son has thought about the Marines for years, but she worries when she reads about soldiers having to buy their own bulletproof vests and other gear.

"It concerns me that we are spending billions of dollars and these guys are picking up scrap metal for whatever," she said.

At the high school, Van Doorenmaalen focuses on the challenge the students would face if they enlist.

"If you can't handle getting yelled at, screamed at," he told some students, laying out the demands that will be placed on them. "I'll tell you right now, the Marine Corps is not for everybody."

"If they say the biggest reason they want to be a Marine is for money for education or a technical skill, we believe that is the wrong reason," said Van Doorenmaalen. "We have all that, (but) we are more looking for if they want to serve their country than have that money for education."

The Marine Corps expects to continue attracting recruits because people considering the Marines won't be discouraged by what they see on the news. "People that want to be Marines, they want to do it regardless of the world situation," O'Rourke said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Rumsfeld Against NATO Plan
Associated Press
February 14, 2005

MUNICH, Germany - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Saturday came out against a German proposal that would create a trans-Atlantic rival to NATO to coordinate and develop policy among alliance nations.

Rumsfeld described the 26-country alliance, created in 1949 to confront the Soviet Union's military strength in the Cold War, as still energetic and vital.

He also said the U.S.-European alliance can withstand its current differences, caused chiefly by opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. In urging unified efforts to defeat terrorism and deter weapons proliferation, Rumsfeld took a conciliatory note toward America's allies in Europe and even made light of his "old Europe" characterization of nations such as France and Germany that opposed U.S. policy in Iraq.

"That was old Rumsfeld," he said, drawing laughs from officials at a security conference. "Our collective security depends on our cooperation and mutual respect and understanding."

Germany's defense minister proposed more direct coordination between the European Union and the United States. NATO "is no longer the primary venue where trans-Atlantic partners discuss and coordinate strategies," said Peter Struck, reading a speech on behalf of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was ill.




Struck also recommended appointing a commission to study the idea.

But Rumsfeld said: "NATO has a great deal of energy and vitality. I believe they are undertaking the kinds of reforms to bring the institution into the 21st century. The place to discuss trans-Atlantic issues clearly is NATO."

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, citing missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, said the alliance "has seen more change and transformation over the past three or four years than in the many decades before. Let's not say NATO is ill or terminally ill ... this alliance is very alive."

Rumsfeld advocated further cooperative efforts to counter the spread of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

"Our Atlantic alliance relationship has navigated through some choppy seas over the years. But we have always been able to resolve the toughest issues," he said. "That is because there is so much to unite us: common values, shared histories, and an abiding faith in democracy."

The Pentagon chief said coordination of legal, diplomatic and intelligence efforts was crucial.

"By now it must be clear that one nation cannot defeat the extremists alone," he said.

"It will take the cooperation of many nations to stop the proliferation of dangerous weapons ... and it surely takes a community of nations to gather intelligence about extremist networks, to break up financial support lines, or to apprehend suspected terrorists," Rumsfeld said.

He added, "The military can only be part of the solution and it is always the last resort."

The secretary singled out France and Germany for praise for their arrests of suspected Islamic extremists last month.

Rumsfeld's trip to Germany followed stops to France and Iraq this past week. At a conference of NATO defense ministers in France, he advocated greater alliance participation in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He also said he believed that U.S. and European policy concerning Iran's nuclear ambitions were in accord. "There is not much daylight between the approach of the United States and the Europeans," Rumsfeld said.

The speech at the gathering of leading security officials was a late addition to Rumsfeld's agenda and came after German prosecutors decided not to investigate Rumsfeld on war crimes allegations involving torture of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

State Eyes Cash Relief For Guard
Miami Herald
February 14, 2005

Compared to what he made as a civilian electrician, Florida National Guard Sgt. Kippy Dobbels estimates he lost about $30,000 in wages during the 17 months he was called up for active duty in the war on terrorism.

Other Guard members like Dobbels have found themselves in a similar situation, losing money because their civilian jobs paid more than the military does.

Now, two South Florida legislators say they have a way to help them.

State Sen. Steven Geller, a Hallandale Beach Democrat, and state Rep. Jack Seiler, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, want the Legislature to set aside money to help private businesses make up the difference between a Guard or Reserve soldier's civilian base pay and his or her pay as a soldier. If the difference is $500 a month, for example, the state would pay half, and the private employer half.

The state of Florida as well as many county and municipal governments and some private firms already pay all or part of their Guard or Reserve workers' missed salaries.




Dobbels, a 41-year-old electrician for a Palm Beach County firm, is a 24-year veteran heavy equipment mechanic in the Guard's Fort Lauderdale-based 743rd Maintenance Company. He was called to active duty in 2003 and served most of his time near Tikrit in Iraq.

Besides the danger he faced overseas, he nearly faced bankruptcy back home. His wife cut back spending drastically to make ends meet, Dobbels said.

His situation is not unique. A survey by the Department of Defense shows that close to a third of reservists called to active duty say they lose money.

"We are asking citizen-soldiers not only to risk their lives, but in many cases the certainty of risking their financial futures, and I think that is wrong," Geller said.

LOSE SOLDIERS

He said he worries that the Guard and Reserve will lose soldiers if service becomes too much of a financial obligation. So far, though, Florida units are up to strength.

Dobbels said his company was generous, reimbursing part of his salary initially, but could not keep that up throughout the long deployment.

He thinks the new bill will benefit soldiers.

"It would definitely have helped," Dobbels said. "It would have decreased the mental stress" on his wife, Barbara, a physician's office manager.

The cost of the program would vary from year to year, and there are no precise figures on what private employers are already doing. Geller estimates the new policy would cost taxpayers just under $15 million a year, and perhaps as little as $5 million a year, he said.

A Senate staff study puts the state's cost higher, closer to $45 million. That's based on 7,500 people being called to active duty with 100 percent of them and their private-sector employers participating at an average pay differential of $10,855. The $45 million includes a $4 million fee for administering the fund. Geller said the state's figure is too high because only 47 percent of the soldiers work for private companies. And he thinks the 7,500 figure is too high.

"I find it unacceptable that we can't find four or five million dollars," Geller said. "I am tired of politicians telling us how patriotic they are. Stop telling me how much you support our soldiers and start showing me."

According to the Department of Defense, there are about 2,300 Florida Guard or Reserve on active duty. There are about 800 Florida National Guard in Iraq, Afghanistan or Kuwait, said Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, spokesman for the Guard.

About 47 percent of Florida National Guard soldiers work for private companies. Twenty-eight percent work for the government, Geller said. About 21 percent are college students. About 4 percent are either unemployed or no information is available for.

HAZARDOUS DUTY

Most soldiers who are called up are assigned to duties within the United States. Soldiers assigned to war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan are eligible for hazardous duty pay and separation pay, reducing the economic impact. Some even make more when in war zones than they would earn in their civilian jobs.

But for soldiers suffering financial hardship, pay supplements are "terribly important," said Army Reserve headquarters spokesman Steve Stromvall.

"I think it will have an extremely positive effect," said David Janes, national chairman of the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve, the organization that enlists employers to hire and support Guard and Reserve personnel.

The "Citizen Soldier" bill has passed two Senate committees without opposition and it is just starting its journey through the Florida House. A similar measure died in the Senate Appropriations Committee last year.

"This will be a fiscal issue that the Senate Appropriations Committee will consider during the regular session," said Sen. Lisa Carlton, an Osprey Republican who is chairwoman of the Senate's Ways and Means Committee. "It will be a challenging task to balance available dollars and legislative priorities," she said.

Gov. Jeb Bush said he's willing to look at the legislation, but said he wants more information about the cost of the program, the reenlistment rates for the National Guard and information on how employers were treating their employees who are called up for active duty.

"I've seen that idea and am intrigued by it," said Bush. "If our reenlistment rates continue as they have been, and we don't have evidence that employers are not fulfilling their commitment, then why would we change it?" Bush asked.

"It's a good idea if it's a problem," Bush added. "If there's not a problem it's a bad idea."

The Florida National Guard is about 300 short of its 10,200 strength, Tittle said Friday.

Increased signing bonuses and the hiring of more recruiters should help erase that deficit, he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq
Associated Press
February 14, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. soldier was killed in fighting north of Baghdad and gunmen assassinated an Iraqi general and two companions in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital Sunday. Election officials said a Shiite alliance won the most votes in the Jan. 30 elections but will have to form a coalition government.

Three other U.S. soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled into a canal Sunday, the military said. The men from Task Force Danger were on a combat patrol near the town of Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. command said in a statement.

A fourth Task Force Danger soldier was killed and one was wounded in fighting near Samarra, a flashpoint of the insurgency 60 miles north of Baghdad, the military said.

In the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, an Iraqi translator for Italian troops and his son were shot to death Sunday, a spokesman for Italy's military said.

Hassan Khiwaet Ghali, 51, and his 20-year-old son, Salah, were killed near their home, said Lt. Col. Francesco Tirino, spokesman for the Italian contingent in Nasiriyah. The elder Ghali had worked for the Italian contingent since the summer of 2003.





In violence in the north, insurgents attacked a U.S. convoy and a government building near Mosul, leaving at least four people dead, hospital workers said. Two Iraqi National Guardsmen also were killed while trying to defuse a bomb along Mosul's airport road.

U.S. hopes for a larger NATO role in Iraq suffered a setback Sunday when German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer rejected calls for the alliance to protect U.N. operations there. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also ruled out a U.N. security role.

The United Iraqi Alliance, a Shiite dominated list of candidates backed by Muslim clergy, won the most votes in the Jan. 30 balloting for a 275-member National Assembly, officials said Sunday. A Kurdish alliance was second and U.S.-backed interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's list was third.

The vote was the first free election in Iraq in more than 50 years and the first since Saddam Hussein was ousted from power after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The new assembly will elect a president and two vice presidents, who then will choose a prime minister, who will form a government. The assembly also will draft a constitution.

Sunni Arab extremists, fearing a loss of their privileged position, have accused the Americans of manipulating the election to install Shiites and Kurds in power. Sunni Arabs, an estimated 20 percent of the population, form the heart of the insurgency, and many of them boycotted the election.

In the Baghdad assassination, the gunmen struck as Brig. Gen. Jadaan Farhan and his companions were traveling through Baghdad's Kazimiyah district, an Iraqi police officer said on condition of anonymity.

A claim of responsibility for the attack in the name of al-Qaida quickly surfaced on a Web site that often posts statements by Islamic militants. The claim described the brigadier general as a senior commander in the Iraqi National Guard and the guard commander at Taji camp, an American facility about 15 miles north of Baghdad.

There was no way to verify the claim's authenticity.

In the battle just north of Mosul, insurgents fired on the convoy in Al-Qahira district, leaving at least four people dead and two wounded, doctors at the Al-Jumhuri Teaching Hospital said.

Insurgents also fired a rocket at the governor's building in Mosul, killing one woman and one man, as well as injuring four others, hospital officials said.

NATO's role in Iraq has been limited to a small training mission in Baghdad and logistics support to a Polish-led force serving with the U.S. coalition. Iraq war opponents led by France and Germany have prevented the alliance from developing a wider role and have refused to send their own troops, even on the training mission.

The German foreign minister said his country would not veto a NATO decision to do more if it was backed by the other 25 allies. But he insisted "we will not be sending soldiers to Iraq."

Germany's government strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion.

Fischer emphasized German efforts to help Iraq in other ways - through military and police training outside the country, economic aid and debt relief.

Also, an Iraqi militant group claimed in an Internet statement that it kidnapped an Iraqi Christian translator who worked at a U.S. military base. The Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed to have kidnapped Abdul Messieh Jerjes Noaman, a translator working for a U.S. company on a military base west of Baghdad, Iraq.

The claim, posted on a Web site known as a clearinghouse for militant statements, could not be immediately verified. The group did not offer visual proof it was holding the man hostage.

In comments published Sunday, Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said Italy will not pay a ransom to win the release of a kidnapped journalist. Giuliana Sgrena, a 56-year-old reporter for Italy's communist daily Il Manifesto, was seized Feb. 4 by gunmen near Baghdad University.

Asked whether Italy might pay to secure her freedom, Fini was quoted as telling The Sunday Times of London: "Italy does not have dealings with criminals. Italy is working for her release."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines' bond evident with Iraqi villagers
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 200521173716
Story by Sgt. Enrique S. Diaz



AL MADINAH, Iraq (Feb.11, 2005) -- Local residents and Marines of 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment celebrated the completion of a village improvement project here with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 10, 2005.

Throughout the past seven months, 2/10 Marines worked with village leaders here to build working relationships and identify ways to improve the village's living conditions.

The battalion invested more than $360,000 for the refurbishment of 32 homes, which provided residents with new septic and electrical systems. The projects improved the quality of life for the Iraqi people, and strengthened their local economy - many of them were hired to do the work themselves, according to Chief Warrant Officer Dwight Torres, the information operations officer for 2/10.

Prior to the upgrades, the village was in a state of decay, ignored by Saddam Hussein's regime for the past three decades, said Torres. The ground was covered in litter and the homes lacked such amenities as running water and electricity.

As the Marines toured the homes, walls still carried the smell of fresh paint; previously open earth floors had been covered with tiles, and Persian rugs and plush couches added décor to the trailers.

"I don't believe this change," said Mamud, a villager whose new business grew from the changes the Marines had brought; he is now a furniture salesman. "I would never have believed my home would look like this."

But the upgrades made to this small village took more than money to complete, according to Torres.

Torres and his team of Marines have spent the deployment building relations and trust with the residents of Al Madinah - one of two local towns 2/10 has worked with in an effort to improve quality of life for the residents.

The battalion has also aided Al Kabani, a local fishing village, with a water pipeline system and a means to access electricity. They oversaw the contracting to have Kabani's school reconditioned, and had a soccer field made last fall.

During earlier visits to Al Madinah, a village of 300 plus Iraqis, the Marines were greeted by apprehension and distrust. One elderly Iraqi woman in particular made her opinion of the U.S. military's presence in her village very apparent, recalled Torres, 36.

"She would ask us why we were here and was opposed to us being here," said Torres.

Now, her face lights up as the Marines approach her home and she invites them inside.

"We see their efforts for us," she said, through a translator. "Because of them, we feel safety here; I respect them."

She even allowed the Marines to use her front yard for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Her husband Sammy, along with Lt. Col. Terence Brennan, commanding officer for 2/10, cut the ribbon.

"The biggest thing we delivered (here) is not toys or soccer balls or even new homes. It's hope," said Gunnery Sgt. Patrick T. Patton, 2/10's information operations chief and 33-year-old Fort Stockton, Texas, native.

"It's taken our own country 200 to 300 years to get where we are. They've had 35 years of oppression. It's going to take time, but they see hope," said Torres, a Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, native. "They are living the progress right now."

The ribbon cutting symbolized a "mission complete" for 2/10's Marines, who will return to Camp Lejeune in coming weeks.

Following the ribbon cutting, Torres offered advice to 1/112th's soldiers who will continue to work with local Iraqi villages during what has been dubbed by many as Operation Iraqi Freedom III.

"Don't make promises, make progress and if they cooperate, progress will continue, said Torres.

The Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based battalion, which is at the end of a seven month deployment to Iraq, provides security for Camp Taqaddum, the headquarters base for 1st Force Service Support Group, and other U.S. military posts in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. The battalion will be replaced by U.S. soldiers from the 2nd of the 112th Armor, a Texas-based National Guard unit.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

New system helps troops hear shots being fired

By Gopal Ratnam
Special to the Times


The noise of a moving military convoy can muffle the sound of an enemy sniper’s muzzle, so by the time troops realize an enemy shooter has drawn a bead on them, it’s too late.
By late 2003, as coalition forces moving around Iraq on trucks were facing just that problem, officials turned to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — which has been researching sniper-detection systems since 1995 — for a technical solution.

Last November, the agency called on U.S. companies to develop a low-cost solution within 60 days. The result is the Boomerang, a Humvee-mounted system that can detect fire from AK47s and other small arms from 50 to 100 meters away and can identify snipers within 15 degrees of their location, according to the manufacturer, BBN Technologies. Troops in a moving truck get visual and audio warnings of the direction of the fire.

Unlike other sniper-detection systems, Boomerang gauges not just the sound from a muzzle, but also the conical shock waves that surround a speeding bullet, according to Tad Elmer, BBN’s chief executive.

Boomerang contains microphones that listen to the sound of a shot fired, as well as sensors that measure the conical waves created by a supersonic bullet as it pushes the air.

Adding more sensors would allow the system to compare the curvature of the shock waves on two sides of a speeding bullet, yielding more accuracy, Elmer said.

The company has shipped about 50 units to Iraq. DARPA director Tony Tether told U.S. lawmakers last March that the agency would buy thousands of such systems, but he did not specify a schedule.

“One of the hardest things about sniper attacks on convoys is knowing you are being shot at — it is hard to hear over the road noise,” Tether told the lawmakers then. “Troops have tested and trained with these systems. ... if they work well, we’re prepared to buy almost 1,000 more.”

A better version — one that can withstand dust and vibrations — is in the works, Elmer said. He added he expects more orders for the improved system, but would not disclose the cost.

Researchers elsewhere also are working on novel ways to detect sniper fire using better microphones and advanced signal processing software.

One scientist looking for highly sensitive directional microphones — that can detect sound from a single direction while ignoring background noise — has found a clue in nature.

Ron Miles, a professor of mechanical engineering at Binghamton University in New York, believes Ormia ochracea, a small parasitic fly, may help develop directional microphones the size of pencil erasers.

Though Miles initially focused on developing tiny hearing aids, he soon attracted DARPA’s attention; in 2000, the agency gave him $2.8 million to develop acoustic sensing systems to detect sniper fire.

Gopal Ratnam is a staff writer for Defense News.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Final respects paid to Miramar-based Marines




SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
1:20 p.m. February 11, 2005

SAN DIEGO – Bereaved loved ones and former military colleagues paid their final respects today to four Miramar-based Marines who died last month in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Hundreds of people packed a chapel at the fallen servicemen's home base in northern San Diego.

Among the 31 personnel killed when their CH-53E Super Stallion went down Jan. 26 about 220 miles west of Baghdad were Capt. Paul Alaniz, 32, of Corpus Christi, Texas; Capt. Lyle Gordon, 30, of Midlothian, Texas; Lance Cpl. Tony Hernandez, 22, of Canyon Lake, Texas; and Staff Sgt. Dexter Kimble, 30, of Houston.

The four Texans natives belonged to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Jenny Garabalia, a friend of Hernandez's, told the gathering she had accepted the fact that she would never find answers to such haunting questions as, "why him?" and "why now?"

"There is one thing that I do know for certain – that is, somewhere in the night sky, a Texas star is looking down, lighting the way with his smile," she said. "God bless Tony, and God bless Texas."

Another service was scheduled in Pacific Palisades today for USMC Capt. Sean Brock, 29, of Redondo Beach.

Brock died Feb. 2 from shrapnel wounds to the abdomen he suffered in Al Anbar Province, according to the Pentagon. He reportedly had called his wife just hours before his death.

Twenty-seven of the service personnel killed in the crash were based in Hawaii.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

10 Marines join roster of ‘a few good men’

By Jefferson Antiporda, Reporter

A hero’s welcome on Monday awaits the 10 Marines killed in the war between government troops and Muslim rebels loyal to Nur Misuari and perhaps the Abu.

“For us, these brave ‘few good men’ who fought a treacherous and overwhelming enemy are heroes. They truly lived up to the Marine motto of Karangalan, Katungkulan, Kabayanihan [Ho*nor, Duty, Heroism],” the Marine commandant, Maj. Gen. Orlando Buenaventura, said.

Buenaventura condoled with the soldiers’ families and instructed the command staff to follow up the requirements for the release of financial support and benefits to the survivors, heirs or beneficiaries.

The Marines who were killed were Sergeants Edwin M. Leo*nen of Bangar, La Union; and Arnel P. Banta of Guinobatan, Albay; Cpl. Renato T. Rodriguez of Indang, Cavite; Privates First Class Delfin C. Accad of Cagayan Valley; Domingo S. Fermante of Nabua, Camarines Sur; Privates Jon Jon F. Quejado of Labrador, Pangasinan; Redentor B. Resurrección of Santo Tomás, La Union; and Jowie V. Casucay of Amadeo, Cavite;

All eight were ambushed by pro-Misuari admirers and the Abu Sayyaf on February 7 at Sitio Wani, Barangay Pansul Patikul Sulu, the military said.

Two other soldiers, First Lt. Reynaldo B. Ricalde of Tabaco, Albay; and Pfc. Ledred T. Poca*san of Bontoc, Mountain Province, were killed on February 8 while the Abu Sayyaf harassed the headquarters of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-5 at Taglibi, Patikul, Sulu, less than 24 hours later.

The 10 were the first batch of the 15 slain Marines whose bodies arrived in Manila Saturday and were lain in the Bonifacio Naval Station gym for public viewing.

The bodies of the Marines will be transferred to their hometowns after the scheduled ceremony on Monday for final burial.

So far, 24 soldiers have been killed in the fighting when Misuari’s followers and the Abu Sayyaf simultaneously harassed military detachments in Sulu after capitalizing on the death of a child who was caught in a crossfire in military operations in the past weeks.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Most Americans Don't Know How Many Have Died in Iraq War
By THOMAS HARGROVE and GUIDO H. STEMPEL III
Feb 12, 2005, 06:44

Most Americans guess wrong when asked to estimate how many troops have died in the U.S. occupation of Iraq, a sign that many are giving scant attention to the nation's most dangerous military operation since the Vietnam War.

A new survey of 1,001 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University found that fewer than half said they "very closely" follow news coverage of the military occupation. Less than a third named "the war on terror" or "peace in the Mideast" as the most important issue facing America. Most others preferred domestic concerns like the economy, Social Security, education or health care.

So far this year, soldiers and Marines have died at a rate of about three per day in the conflict. More than 1,450 military personnel and several dozen civilian employees of the Defense Department have died since Operation Iraqi Freedom began nearly two years ago.

Forty percent of people in the poll gave the correct answer when asked, to the nearest 500, how many have died in the six-week war and the bloody military occupation that followed. Thirty-two percent guessed that 1,000 or fewer have died, 21 percent said 2,000 or more have died and 7 percent could not make a guess.

People who oppose the war tend to overestimate the number of fatalities in Iraq while those who support it are more likely to underestimate the death toll.

Participants in the poll were asked, "How often would you say you think about America's military occupation of Iraq?" About 5 percent said they think about it "almost every hour," 35 percent said "several times a day," 35 percent said "about once a day," 15 percent said "several times a week" and 10 percent said "about once a week" or "less than once a week."

The survey also asked, "How carefully would you say you follow news media coverage of America's military occupation of Iraq?" Forty-two percent said "very closely," 47 percent said "somewhat closely" and 11 percent said "not closely."

People who said they are following war news closely are much more likely to know how many Americans have died in Iraq than people who don't read or watch war accounts in newspapers and on television. The proportion who correctly identified that "about 1,500" have died in Iraq was 51 percent among people who follow war news "very closely," 34 percent among those who follow news accounts "somewhat closely" and 25 percent who are "not closely" following news from Iraq.

The decision to commit American troops to Iraq has never been especially popular, according to a series of six previous surveys taken during the past two years.

In the latest poll, people were asked, "Despite everything that has happened, do you think the United States has done a good thing or a bad thing by sending our military to occupy Iraq?" Forty-seven percent said the United States has done "a good thing," 44 percent said it's "a bad thing" and 9 percent were undecided.

The recent elections, widely heralded by President Bush and other political leaders as a historic milestone for Iraq, produced only a temporary boost in America's public support for the U.S.-led occupation. Sixty percent of people interviewed during the election and the two days after it said the military occupation was "a good thing." But the support level dropped to about 49 percent in the next two days, then settled to the mid 40s thereafter.

The survey was conducted by telephone from Jan. 30 through Feb. 10 at the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University. It has a margin of error of about 4 percentage points. It was funded through a grant from the Scripps Foundation.


(Thomas Hargrove is a reporter for Scripps Howard News Service. Guido H. Stempel III is director of the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University.)

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Amputee Seeks Help For Wounded <br />
Associated Press <br />
February 14, 2005 <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON - Ever since Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly lost his right leg to a roadside bomb near Baghdad more than a year ago,...

[thedrifter]

Iraq Situation Defies Vietnam Analogy, CENTCOM Chief Says <br />
By John Valceanu <br />
American Forces Press Service <br />
<br />
DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 13, 2005 -- U.S. involvement in Iraq now is a very different situation...

[thedrifter]

Area Marines’ parents form support group

By SAMANTHA ROTH
Times Staff Writer




GENEVA — Deena Simmons of Waterloo likes to think she’s just like other mothers with kids in college.

Except her son’s college is boot camp and his professors are drill instructors.

This not-so-subtle difference is the reason another local mother, Karen Drennen of Geneva, is forming a support group for Marine Corps families.

She hopes to create a network that local residents can turn to for answers and a sympathetic ear. The first meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Winnek American Legion Post 396 home on Lochland Road.

“I see an awful lot of Marine stickers and flags around. ... I think there’s a lot more of us out there than we know,” Drennen said.

Last July, Drennen and her husband, Darren, of Lyceum Street, found themselves apart from their son, Joshua, 20, and with a whole lot of questions when he left for boot camp on Parris Island, S.C. Communication during those three months is restricted to letters only.

“He was the first to leave the nest. It was a very difficult time. We didn’t really have anyone to talk to,” Drennen said.

A 2003 graduate of Geneva High School and the Wayne -Finger Lakes BOCES auto mechanics program, Josh felt the Marines offered an opportunity for someone with little experience.

“He realized there wasn’t much here for him,” Drennen said, noting her son is now stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Drennen turned to the Internet during their time apart and found Web sites that connected Marine families. The communication offered solace to a worried mother.

She’s also kept in contact with 10 local families with sons in the Marines, including Deena and Howard Simmons.

The Simmons’ son, Tyler, 18, is in boot camp at Parris Island.

Tyler, a 2004 graduate of Geneva High School, comes from a long line of military men, with both grandfathers and several great uncles having served. That family history was a strong influence in Tyler’s decision to join the Marines, and it’s provided him with a confidence that Deena Simmons finds reassuring.

“When he has the opportunity to write, his letters have been very positive and great,” said Simmons, of Story Road. “He is very committed.”

As tough as it is for any parent to accept a child moving out, Marine parents face a harsh reality that their child may soon be in a war zone.

“It’s difficult because you’re concerned for their safety,” Simmons said, adding that she tries to take it “one day at a time.”

Both hope this group can be a positive outlet for the concerns and frustrations they hold.

“I think the hardest thing is you feel very helpless ... there’s really nothing you can do but somehow show support,” Drennen said.

Plans for the monthly group include fund-raising efforts to send care packages and phone cards to deployed Marines.

“I’d really like to find local families who are further along in the process,” Drennen said. “Because I have a lot of questions that I would like answered.”

For more information, e-mail Drennen at kdrenne1@rochester.rr.com.

• • •

sroth@fltimes.com


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Rota training complex puts Marines to the test


By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, February 12, 2005


NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain — The Marines lined up outside the door with ski goggles on, their rifles loaded and intense, anxious looks on their faces as if they were entering the gates of hell.

No matter that this was just practice and the bad guys waiting for them inside were just cardboard silhouettes.

They wanted to clear their room the right way as the platoon commander watched overhead from a catwalk.

“Tango down! Tango down!” one Marine said after he shot one of the targets from behind a piece of furniture.

“Clear!” another Marine yelled.

The training run through the newly built live-fire facility last Thursday aimed to help Marines practice seizing an embassy or U.S. building taken over by terrorists. Although they routinely brush up on their building-clearing skills, the facility – known to Marines as a shoot house – added realism and variety to the exercise.

The new facility is just one of several new projects that will help members of the Rota-based Marine Corps Security Force Company Europe improve their tactics and skills.

The company, which has roughly 200 Marines, can be called upon to help protect ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar or help augment security forces at Navy bases in Europe. In addition, the company’s Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team, or FAST, must be ready to deploy on a moment’s notice to help guard embassies throughout Europe and elsewhere if needed.

Since the Navy consolidated Marine units from London and Naples, Italy, to Rota in 2002, the company has been in the midst of an overhaul of its training facilities and buildings.

Several projects are finished or will be completed this summer, including:

A small mock town, dubbed “Hogan’s Alley,” on about two acres of land on the east side of the base will help Marines practice how to deal with riots and polish their urban warfare training.
A 50-foot rappel tower will help Marines practice leaving a helicopter by rope.
An obstacle course made mostly of wooden beams and ropes that will test physical endurance and climbing skills. The course is right next to the tower.
The company has been using the steel shoot house since December. The 10,000-square-foot building has six rooms with walls covered with a rubber material so that the Marines can fire simulated ammunition rounds, or “simunition” or some small-caliber rounds. A catwalk above the rooms allows squad commanders to get a bird’s-eye view of the drills.

Trainers can also modify the rooms and have Marines enter different doors or block of walls to mix it up. Before the structure was built, Marines walked through scenarios in an open field or used an abandoned building on base.

“One of the things that’s kind of unique to this building is that you can tailor it to fit what type of scenario you want,” said 1st Lt. Lance Day, commander of the 1st platoon.

Maj. Frank Lugo, the company’s commander, spearheaded many of the projects since he took over almost three years ago. He said other units also will be able to use the shoot house and other facilities.

“This is going to serve the company and the base for many years to come,” he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

February 14, 2005

Corps requires different way of thinking

By Paul J. Roarke Jr.


As I worked my way through the final weeks of preparation for my deployment to Iraq, I noted the same strange occurrence that always seems to happen right before I leave: weird questions from friends and family.
Even stranger were the blank looks I would get after answering. These are people I love and respect, and many have known me all my life. I know they are concerned for my welfare. However, the majority of the questions left me baffled.

The most common question I was asked when they found out I was deploying was: “Did you volunteer for this?”

I always gave the same answer: “Yes, I did, when I signed up 23 years ago.” They gave me blank looks.

I tried to explain that this is what I do, and when I took the oath, I volunteered for anything and everything that comes up.

In fact, I did want to go on this deployment. Why? Because I don’t want to miss anything. Like all Marines, I want to be where the action is. This seems hard for civilians to understand. Even my poor worrywart of a mother, who has seen me deploy several times over the years, always asks me that question and never seems satisfied with the answer. But she’s my mother and, like all mothers, she has the right to worry as much as she wants.

The questions didn’t come only from people who lead relatively safe, routine lifestyles, either.

I have a good friend who is a police officer and a member of his city’s SWAT team. He routinely kicks in the doors of drug dealers, handles hostage situations and has lived through a few “OK Corral”-type shootouts. So I was astonished when he asked me a few weeks before I left: “Can’t you get out of this deployment? Don’t you think Iraq is a dangerous place?”

It was my turn for the blank look.

I would guess that just about every Marine gets these questions before deploying, and I’ll bet they are as perplexed as I am.

We Marines don’t think the same way civilians do about the Iraq situation. I’m not saying we are smarter or better than anybody else. Just different.

But what makes us think so differently? I’ve been a recruiter, and I know that the young men and women who join the Corps come in all shapes and sizes, and from almost every possible ethnic, religious and economic background. Many are tough, street-smart kids, while just as many grew up spoiled. They are as diverse a group as you’ll find.

But look closely, and you’ll see that what all these people have in common is the way they think. It’s not something taught by parents or at school. It’s based on what they consider important, and maybe most of all on what they’re searching for.

Because of the way they think, the vast majority of Marines are somewhat restless. It seems they are always looking for something to do or to get into.

What they’re looking for (whether they know it or not) is the right state of being, a place where they fit in — where they can find people who are looking for the same thing. Many of these people will find a lifelong home in the Marine Corps. I did.

The attitude that binds us together is based on the core belief that life is meant to be lived — and not from a couch or behind a computer screen — and that you aren’t living unless you are constantly being challenged.

When you search for real challenges, you put yourself in harm’s way. In the end, it’s worth the risk.

It’s also a Corps cornerstone belief that sacrifice and loyalty to each other is essential, and that giving of yourself, but not just for yourself, is worthwhile.

People who think this way do it naturally. Our training fosters it, but either you get it or you don’t.

Marines do, and that’s the reason we will never understand questions from those who don’t.

I hope I never do.

The writer, a master gunnery sergeant, is the ordnance chief for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Minister's children follow his footsteps into Marines
Father cites faith, duty, pride as son, daughter join

By Mike Belt, Journal-World

Monday, February 14, 2005

The Rev. Dan Nicholson enlisted in the Marines 35 years ago because he wanted to go to South Vietnam and fight.

"As a young man I felt and truly believed it was my patriotic duty to serve my country," said Nicholson, now the pastor at Lawrence Christian Center, 416 Lincoln St. "I think every young person ought to have a little bit of military service and serve their country."

Like father, like son -- and like daughter.

Nicholson's son, Adam Nicholson, joined the Marines after he graduated from Lawrence High School in 2003. Today he is a lance corporal assigned to an intelligence unit at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

And in August, three months after she graduates from LHS, Jennifer Nicholson will go through Marine boot camp at Parris Island, S.C.

The children said their dad never pushed them into the Marines. In fact, they said, Dan Nicholson was surprised by their decision.

"I think he was kind of excited, but I think it did catch him off guard," Jennifer Nicholson said.

"The thing I feel for both of them is pride," Dan Nicholson said. "I am very proud of them."

Dan Nicholson said he cried when the Marines rejected his request to fight in Vietnam. He had wanted to avenge the death of a high school friend who died in the war that was stirring controversy and protests in the United States.

"I felt like I had been trained to do something and wasn't being allowed to do it," Nicholson said.

Nicholson was the only son in his family, and the Marines do not send an only son into combat.

Instead, Nicholson was sent to Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina, where he was assigned administrative duties. Later, however, the Marines discovered Nicholson was an expert rifle marksman and assigned him to train other shooters.

"As a boy growing up in the mountains of West Virginia, I liked to shoot," Nicholson said.

Nicholson served three years each of active and inactive duty before leaving the Marines. His life spiraled out of control after he left the Marines, however, because of alcohol and drug abuse.

"I hit a real low point in my life and started going back to church," Nicholson said. "After I became a Christian, it was like a deliverance. It was like God took away the dependency of alcohol and substance abuse from my life."

In 1979, Nicholson was ordained full-time into the Christian ministry. He pastored churches in Pennsylvania and North Carolina near Camp Lejeune -- a large number of Marines and their families were in his congregation -- before coming to Lawrence 12 years ago.

Nicholson sees no contradictions in being both a man of God and a former Marine who was willing to kill. The Bible, he said, makes a distinction between killing in self-defense and murder.

"If you read the Bible, you understand that God's children went to war to protect what God had given them," Nicholson said. "I believe that the reason we should be in Iraq is to protect ourselves here in the war on terrorism. War is not for the sake of trying to impose your beliefs and values on somebody else as much as it is to protect our way of life."

Father's footsteps

Adam and Jennifer Nicholson said their dad's high regard for the Marines and serving their country was a powerful example.

"He supported my decision," Adam Nicholson said in a telephone interview from Camp Lejeune. "But he wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons."

Adam and Jennifer said they would use the Marines as a springboard for obtaining financial help to further their education. Adam is working on a college degree while in the Marines and hopes to attend Kansas University School of Law. Jennifer will get paralegal training in the Marine Corps.

Jennifer completed her LHS credits in December and will participate in graduation this spring. She already is preparing for training -- doing some unpaid volunteer work at the Marine recruiting office, following a physical workout regimen and memorizing Marine general orders. She also works at the Eudora grocery store.

"I'm sure they (Marines) will get me in the best physical shape I've ever been in," she said. "I think they'll offer me a lot of self-confidence and a sense of pride in belonging to such an elite group of people."

Adam said he was confident his sister would make a good Marine. He will be leaving for Iraq when she enters training.

"I'm proud of her," he said. "I think she can do it. But I'm little disappointed that I won't be able to be there when she graduates from boot camp."

Dan Nicholson said he had mixed emotions about what his children face in the immediate future.

"You commit them to God's care, ask him to protect them and look over them," he said. "There comes a time when you let go of your children and trust that you have done the best you can as a parent, then your faith in God comes into play and you commit them to it."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Aid and Comfort to Our Heroes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
America loves a man in uniform

By Michael Graham

For most married guys like me, the whole "for better or worse" part of the wedding ceremony is a swiftly forgotten theoretical proposition. But for Army Specialist Aaron Bugg and his new bride Lisa McCroskey, it's a real part of everyday life.

Spec. Bugg was engaged to Lisa when the Humvee he was riding in was hit by an IED in Iraq. When they were married just a few months later, he was staying at one of the three Fisher Houses serving Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The groom wore a specially modified tuxedo to accompany the oversized medical device stabilizing his left leg, which suffered extensive injuries in the bomb attack. The tux, along with bridesmaid dresses, various hairstylings, and a reception at the luxury Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown were all donated through the Fisher House Foundation.

The idea behind the 32 (and counting) Fisher Houses near military medical centers around the nation is to make it possible for the families of wounded soldiers to be near the men and women they love when they're needed the most. The average stay at Fisher House is about two weeks, but through my work with Fisher House, I've met young married couples who have spent six months together - at no cost to themselves - living in a Fisher House while an injured soldier or marine went through treatment and physical therapy.

I discovered the Fisher House Foundation purely by accident: A chance lunch meeting with their executive director led to my radio station, 630 WMAL in Washington, DC, launching a fundraising effort on their behalf. That's when I made another discovery: The American people are head-over-heels in love with our men and women in uniform.

One Veteran's Day, I urged my listeners to try and raise $250,000 by Christmas - an aggressive amount, I thought at the time. They just laughed.

In less than we week, they raised the $250,000. A week before Christmas, we hit the $1 million mark. By mid-January, $2 million had been raised and the contributions continue to roll in. Listeners were literally buttonholing me on the street, shoving money into my hands and demanding to know other ways they could help. The Fisher House Foundation had to add staff (donated by a local temp agency) just to handle the flood of calls and letters offering to volunteer.

When a construction worker gives you an envelope with $1,000 in $20s and $50s raised by passing the hat around his job site in a single day, that's not duty. It's not abstract patriotism. It's love, plain and simple.

I know how they feel. When I first interviewed Cpl. Pinedo and his wife, it was all I could do to keep from hugging them live on the air. Here was this young man, 23 at the most, who came back from Iraq missing most of his right forearm, with his even younger bride and the new son he'd never met waiting for him. They were living in a Fisher House while he went through the painful and frustrating process of teaching his body to use a machine where his right hand had once been.

As he sat across from me during our radio interview, calmly talking about the battlefield injury he received, his wife next to him rocking their infant son, all I could think of was the wreck I would be in his place. I wouldn't have their level of poise and resolve today, much less during my early 20s.

To spend an hour with these young men is to be in awe of their love of country. I've spoken repeatedly to volunteers and staff from the six Fisher Houses in the D.C. area, and they can recount on one hand the number of times they've heard a young soldier or Marine rail against their fates. Unlike the sofa-cushion patriots back home, they have made the great sacrifice and still believe their country worth the cost.

The power of love is one reason why the Fisher Houses are so appreciated by members of the military. From Colin Powell (a Fisher House supporter) to the local Fisher House volunteers, there is universal agreement that the presence of a wife or mom or dad has a tremendous, positive impact on the health of these wounded servicemen. The recovery process for amputees, burn patients, and others injured in battle is difficult under the best circumstances. Without the Fisher House, many of these wounded young men would go through this painful experience virtually alone.

Thanks to Fisher House, they have a home. It's a home shared by six-to-twelve other families, and somehow that seems to amplify the effect. An amputee preparing his first meal for himself in a Fisher House kitchen is likely to have an audience that includes another patient who had his audition not long before. The common areas of Fisher Houses are gathering places for families with common experiences and common concerns.

When the news of Iraq's successful election came across my TV, the first people I thought of were those young couples I've met through Fisher House. I knew they were hearing the same news, and I hoped they were as proud of their part in this success as I was of them. I hope they saw the outpouring of generosity to the Fisher Houses for what it really was - a love note of heartfelt affection from a grateful nation.

If the marketing folks at Anheuser-Busch are smart, they'll fill Valentine's Day commercial breaks with the Super Bowl TV ad starring American troops arriving to applauding crowds at a U.S. airport.

We'll swoon again, I guarantee it.

- Michael Graham is a radio talk show host in Washington, D.C.. There are 32 Fisher Houses located on 17 military installations and six VA medical centers, and one new house, at the DeBakey VAMC, Houston, Texas is under construction. You can find out more about Fisher House at www.fisherhouse.org .

Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/5 Marines provide aid to Fallujans
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005213121942
Story by Lance Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr.



FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 13, 2005) -- One of the largest humanitarian efforts in Fallujah was held recently.

The effort, conducted by U.S. Marines, Sailors and Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, was part of a civil military operation (CMO).

The CMO allows the military to talk to the people of Fallujah and focuses on assessing the damages to the six major schools in the city. The CMO is the first of its kind since the Iraqi people returned to their homes in early January.

The damage assessment team talked to the people to see what needs to be done so the schools can reopen, said Capt. Paul J. Batty, the information operations officer with 3/5. This was the first process of Operation School Recovery.

“Many of the parents are eager to get their children back into a safe school,” said Batty, 33, a native of Park City, Utah. “Most of the damages are minor but it will take a while until the children can attend the schools again.”

However, this did not stop the American troops from handing out more than $15,000 of supplies to the surrounding areas of the six schools.

A seven-ton truck along with several other humvees were filled with non-perishable foods, clothing, linen, school supplies, medical supplies, hygiene supplies, candies, toys, and sewing machines to give to the Iraqi people.

“It felt great to help the civilians out by giving them things that they need,” said Lance Cpl. Kurt W. Scovill, 24, a native of Broken Arrow, Okla., and a company clerk with Headquarters and Support Company, 3/5. “This effort will help them get their lives back to normal.”

Several donations from Project Handclasp made the CMO possible. Project Handclasp is a non-profit organization established in 1962 to be a mediator between the Navy and the American citizens who want to donate humanitarian, educational and goodwill material to other countries during naval deployments.

“Most of the supplies were sent to me by Project Handclasp which donated most of the materials handed out to the needy families of Fallujah,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Dwight A. Horn, a chaplain with 3/5, who acted as the Navy’s representative for the battalion.

The chaplain took it personal to be out in the city handing out candy and toys to the children.

“This is the heart of chaplain ministry, to serve the community and to be able to help them in some way,” said Horn, 42, a native of Huntsville, Texas.

Other contributors included families and friends of Marines, Sailors and Soldiers currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“My mother, Suzanne, along with the community of Thief River Falls, Minn., gathered about 65 backpacks and filled them with school supplies to give to the children of Fallujah,” said 2nd Lt. Colin M. Browning, a range safety officer with 3/5.

“All of the donation items came from people in the United States generous enough to send needed items to our military personnel, so we can hand out the aid to the people of Fallujah,” said Batty.

Many of the Fallujans lined up as soon as they saw Marines handing out candy, toys and clothes to those near the schools.

“The people are happy we are here providing security and giving them the much needed supplies,” said Batty. “It was an overall good day. What we did for the people helped dilute some of the fear they still might have of us.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Valentine's Day Comes Under Fire in Iraq

Mon Feb 14, 2:30 AM ET

By OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - For Adel Mousa, Valentine's Day (news - web sites) is complicating an already delicate situation with his fiancee: He postponed their wedding planned for this month and has been looking for a safe way to make it up to her.


Mousa, a 28-year-old engineer, says he already has days he avoids his fiancee simply because water shortages leave him looking — and smelling — less than desirable.


So, setting aside his worries as best he can, Mousa's made dinner reservations Monday, Valentine's Day at a fancy restaurant. He'll rush Rana home before dark.


"It's unsafe for couples to stroll Baghdad streets — car bombs and explosions are everywhere," Mousa said. "I don't want her to be hurt or kidnapped by gangsters."


Valentine's Day has never been a widely marked holiday in Iraq (news - web sites). Some Iraqis eye it suspiciously as a retail gimmick to get people to spend money they don't have; others say it's inappropriate — a violation of conservative Islamic values — or that it simply is not possible to find an appropriate place to steal a romantic moment.


These days, isolated corners largely out of sight are too dangerous — crowded cafes are far safer, if less romantic. And in a time when Islamic extremists are fighting alongside loyalists of former dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), public displays of affection are risky.


At City Center, a western Baghdad restaurant popular among high school and university students, a husky bouncer kicks out couples who cross red lines of propriety.


"No kisses, no touching and no hiding in the restaurants' corners," said Omar Mufeed, who tips the scales at more than 300 pounds.


"All the couples hate me. I am even known in all the universities," said Mufeed, 35. "But I would tell those who fear me, I am only doing my job."


Zaid Falih, a 24-year-old student, said he will buy a bouquet of flowers for his sweetheart — against his better judgment. Valentine's Day, he said, is just an excuse to squander money. "It will be the cheapest thing I can buy," Falih said of his bouquet.


Martin Rowel, who sat inside a Baghdad ice cream shop with his girlfriend Wafaa, downplayed the importance of such a holiday.


"I don't need an official date to celebrate love," said Rowel, 25.


But sometimes, he acknowledged, he's needed a little help.


Rowel, a Christian who derided Islamic extremists as the scourge of Iraqi society, said he and fellow students at the nearby Technology University would gather at times in the same ice cream shop, pretending to be a group of casual friends.


But each privately would pay attention only to one special date, he said, giving Wafaa's hands a warm squeeze.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines ambushed in Sulu get posthumous honors

Ten Marines killed in fighting in Sulu were honored posthumously Monday, DZMM reported.


Emotions ran high at Philippine Marines gym in Fort Bonifacio as the families and friends of the 10 Marines mourned their deaths.


The awarding ceremony was led by Philippine Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Orlando Buenaventura. The event was graced by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, former AFP chief of staff and Marine commandant. Both officials consoled the grieving families of the fallen Marines.


The honored servicemen were part of Battalion Landing Team 5, which was ambushed by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits and members of the Moro National Liberation Front breakaway faction last week. A total of 15 Marines died in the ambush.


The remains of the 10 Marines arrived in Manila Saturday and were taken to the Veronica Funeral Homes in Libertad, Pasay City.


The bodies of the other five Marines are still in Sulu.
DZMM


Ellie

[thedrifter]

His gunnery sergeant had it right

To: Chief William J. Bratton

Los Angeles Police Department

Dear Chief:

When I was a U.S. Marine undergoing combat training a long time ago, a gunnery sergeant named Clutch, I think it was, gave us some advice about the use of firearms.

He said, "You don't shoot your mother, you don't shoot your dog and you don't shoot your friends."

He phrased it in more colorful terms, but policy and human decency forbid their usage in this journal. I'm pretty sure that Clutch was his name, because it often occurred to me during training at Camp Pendleton that we were in his clutches, and if we didn't pay attention, his hands would be clutching our throat.

Clutch wasn't a large man, but he was built of iron and leather, and one paid attention to him when he was in the mood to offer advice, which was often.

Essentially, what he was saying, as we were to learn later during the Korean War, was that you don't shoot unless you have to, and when you do, you make sure you know who or what you're shooting at.

Unlike the more recent comments by Marine Lt. Gen. James Mattis, Clutch never suggested that shooting anyone ought to be fun, just necessary.

To the best of my knowledge, no one in my outfit ever shot a fellow Marine, although whether they went home and shot their mother or their dog simply to defy Clutch is unknown to me.

Shooting is on my mind today, Chief, due to the tragic incident involving that young boy your officer gunned down because, basically, he didn't know what was going on or how to deal with it.

Devin Brown, just 13, with barely a toehold on life, died because he probably didn't exactly know what he was doing either. His actions were based on a lack of maturity. The response of Officer Steve Garcia was based on the lack of good training.

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I'm not among those who believe that all cops are either racist or just plain brutal, although those conditions have existed, and probably still do to some extent, in your department.

What I do believe is that a culture of fear and an inability to respond properly to it can result in the shoot-first syndrome that The Times mentioned the other day in an editorial. What you kill, in effect, can't harm you.

The problem here is that too often the victims of that kind of mentality are either a kid out joyriding or a homeless woman waving a screwdriver. Or your mother, your dog or your best friend.

Devin Brown, in some ways, was the victim of a few seconds. Had Garcia made sure of what he was dealing with before he began acting like Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral, the kid would still be alive. You don't kill because a car backs into your car. You get out of the way and do what Gunny Clutch said to do. You know what you're shooting at.

Tough training is aimed at overcoming fear. I know, after half a century covering cops, that there's good reason to be wary on the street.

There was equally good reason to be afraid in the mountains of Korea.

Clutch knew fear because he'd fought in the bloody island wars against the Japanese. He was aware of the gut-twisting terror that can almost paralyze a man when he's in the position of being killed.

I know it too. And your officers know it, Chief.

The kind of training we received in the Corps was oriented toward coping with that fear in the split seconds necessary to overcome and respond to the danger we were facing. It worked for me and for all the rest of us in Fox Company, even in the blackest of night and under the most dire of circumstances.

I'm glad that you're once more reviewing the policy that currently allows your officers to shoot into moving cars, even if they're moving just a few feet. But policy is only as good as the manner in which it is applied. Talk tough, Chief. Be a gunnery sergeant. Fear is an all-consuming emotion and without an ability to deal with it through training, more kids like Devin are going to die.

I think your troops also ought to be indoctrinated with the fact that not everyone in South L.A. or on the Eastside is out to make his mark by killing a cop. Some are, and your guys already know that. But most aren't, and they've got to be willing to accept that too and, in so doing, maybe overcome at least part of the fear that compels them to shoot first and bag the body later.

Gunny Clutch said it best when he said goodbye at a beer-drinking party before we were shipped off to war. "We're all in this thing together. Take care of each other."

Yours for less violence …


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Al Martinez's column appears Mondays and Fridays. He can be reached at al.martinez @latimes.com.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine charged in killing of Iraqis <br />
<br />
<br />
By Rowan Scarborough <br />
THE WASHINGTON TIMES <br />
<br />
<br />
He is the kind of Marine officer who seems to come off the assembly line, so patriotic that he rejoined the...

[thedrifter]

Thanks for the Super Bowl Thanks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFIF.org
Feb. 10, 2005

Last Sunday, in living rooms, dens, basements and bars across the country, Americans gathered to watch a major event. For some, the event was a football game. For others, the event was the orgy of marketing that has grown up around that game, manifesting itself annually in commercials that are crafted to be the most entertaining and attention-grabbing that Madison Avenue can conjure. In previous years, these commercials have ranged from amusing to bizarre, and insipid to occasionally offensive. And in too many years, the commercials have been far more entertaining than the game they rely on.

This year, through the first two quarters and half-time, all was normal. The game, commercials, and even the half-time show proceeded unexceptionally, with viewers devoting their attention subject to their own tastes. But shortly into the game's third quarter, a commercial aired that captured everyone's attention, halted conversations and subdued the atmosphere at many a home and bar.

The commercial, of course, was the exceptional tribute to America's men and women in uniform who have been fighting so valiantly around the world to defend our freedom. The spot, which shows passengers in a crowded airline terminal spontaneously applauding a group of soldiers returning from abroad, is extraordinary for is simplicity and its breathtaking effectiveness.

The ad provided an appropriate reminder to all of us who were watching that while we enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday safely at home, thousands of our friends and neighbors are putting themselves at risk serving our nation. More important, the ad conveyed a sincere message of thanks directly to the tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines watching all around the world.

On that basis, it seems that we all owe one further word of gratitude. This time to the company that sponsored the ad, beer-maker Anheuser-Busch, and to the ad agency which produced it, DDG Chicago. They put up the money and the creative force to say what we don't ? and can never ? say enough, and did it with grace.

Since the ad ran, too many cynics, notably including New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, have questioned the company's motives. They've accused Anheuser-Busch of exploitation and worse. The most hardened skeptics wondered aloud on the morning after the game whether the troops in the ads were real veterans or ? gasp! ? actors. (Every single person in uniform in the ad was a current or former member of our armed forces who had served overseas.)

This cynicism is dreadfully misplaced. Sure, Anheuser-Busch will attract some positive publicity for fronting $2.4 million to express its thanks to our military in the most public way imaginable. And they deserve every column inch they get.

Krugman and his ilk just love to bash corporate America for what they consider to be its inexhaustible greed. But here we have a company, acting in the best spirit of good citizenship, spending a large amount of money on a commercial designed to deliver a sentiment.

The crime here isn't Anheuser-Busch thanking our troops. It's Krugman, et al., knocking their gesture.

Nevertheless, we've got one message for the cynics: join the chorus of thanks directed to our men and women in uniform. Then shut up. It's not corporate America that's messing this up. It's you.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

The big hand for a few real heroes
From the Nation/Politics section
The Washington Times

The churls, knaves, blackguards and other aging lobberheads who long for the days of their vanished youth, when the proper '60s salute for an American soldier was insult and spittle, are having a hard time adjusting to the times.

That Super Bowl commercial, of American soldiers getting a round of applause as they walked through the passenger lounge of an airport somewhere deep in Middle America, is squeezing tears from the eyes of millions.

But it's driving some folks nuts.

Internet Web sites are seething with the anger of dingbats who ought to be grateful for a little relief from the fatigue of their full-time jobs of hating George W. Bush. They're getting encouragement from the usual suspects, such as Teddy Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi with their ritual sneers at good news from Iraq. A columnist in the London Guardian, searching the ladies room for a fainting couch, sums up the anger on the looney left:

"Pass the sick bag, Alice," writes one Stefano Hatfield. "I was too stunned by the [commercial] to really take in the full import of a beer company waving off 'our boys' (and girls) to battle. But battle? Where? The war in Iraq's over, isn't it, or so they keep telling us? ... Pure propaganda, and it picked up on one of the themes of the night: patriotism."

The contents of one knave's spleen does not a consensus make, nor the racket on the Internet an anvil chorus of any size, but it brings into sharp focus the reality that's driving the anvil chorus crazy. A certain kind of nut imagines he's a hostage at the Nuremberg rally every time he sees the flag on the breeze, or hears the sweet and innocent notes of a hymn to the home of the brave and the land of the free. But these scamps and skeesicks had best get a life, because it's true, patriotism is back, and with it the traditional appreciation for the sacrifice of the soldier.

The news gets worse for the haters. The TV commercial, unlike a lot of television, actually reflects real life. One traveler tells the Wall Street Journal Online: "Last Thursday I was on a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Portland, Ore. There were four soldiers returning home for a two-week leave from Iraq. As the plane arrived at the gate in Portland, the pilot mentioned and thanked them for their service and asked that they be allowed to disembark first. As each of them walked toward the front of the plane, the rest of the passengers erupted in spontaneous applause."

Another traveler reports a similar experience: "In the past two weeks I have witnessed American Airlines giving empty first-class seats to soldiers and an entire terminal in Denver giving a plane full of disembarking soldiers a standing ovation on a busy Friday night." Still another traveler: "I, too, was spit upon and called a 'baby killer' in September 1971, in the San Diego airport, while wearing my Navy uniform. ... The Super Bowl ad brought me to tears, not of pain remembering my experience, but from pride in today's American patriots."
My cousin Chris Sarris died the other day in New Orleans at 80. The most momentous four years of his life were reduced to a single line in a modest obituary in the newspaper: "He was a Marine Corps veteran of World War II." Five decades afterward he reluctantly told me about a single night of terror in a foxhole on Okinawa. Two Marines who shared the hole were killed within a single hour. He was haunted ever afterward by the question of why them and not him. "They carried photographs of wives and children, but I never knew their names."

When I told him what a hero he had always been to me, he mumbled embarrassed thanks and left the room to get more coffee. When he returned he said: "The only mark I got in four years was a small burn when a piece of shrapnel hit my hand." Enough, maybe, for a Purple Heart for John Kerry, but he was chagrined to talk about it.

Americans make lousy imperialists. We don't do Nuremberg rallies. Americans make pretty good soldiers, as a lot of men in Valhalla could tell you, but when the shooting stops the American GI only wants to come home, marry the girl next door, pop the top on a cool one and watch the Patriots clock the Eagles. It's what makes him distinctively American.

So here's another round of heartfelt applause for the lousy imperialist: This Bud's for you.

---Wesley Pruden is editor in chief of The Times.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Intel Marine prepares for Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20052917843
Story by Cpl. Mike Escobar



MARINE CORPS AIR-GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (Jan. 18, 2005) -- How does one become a better problem solver, acquire patience and tact, and attain a high degree of self-discipline?

For Cpl. William H. Zeh, it was to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

“I tried going to college shortly after I graduated,” said the Vero Beach High School graduate. He added, “At first I really wasn’t too serious about it and didn’t have the money to attend full time,” stated the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment intelligence analyst. “I’d never really done anything worthwhile in my life, so I decided to join the Marines.”

Coming into the Corps aspiring to be an FBI or CIA agent, the 25-year-old Vero Beach, Fla. native enlisted as an intelligence analyst.

Nowadays, he spends his time at work like any other Marine: preparing for war and maintaining a combat-ready mindset. In the intelligence world, this means becoming knowledgeable on areas where Marines may deploy.

“In garrison, we get reports from units overseas and we keep situational awareness on the missions they’re conducting and how they’re going about it,” he stated. “We also do lots of administrative work, like helping people acquire security clearances.”

The administrative side of the job can be slow at times, Zeh added. It’s during deployment that he derives true satisfaction from his job.

“During deployment is when we get to put our skills to the test, when it all comes together,” he continued.

While deployed, the intelligence section of a battalion, also known as the S-2, tasks infantry companies with targets to gather information on during their missions.

“When these units go out on patrol, we tell them to keep an eye out and gather intelligence on certain things, like spotting criminals or watching for any other suspicious activity,” Zeh stated. “Sometimes, S-2 personnel will go with the infantry on patrols to help them gather intel.”

Having been deployed to Haiti in support of Operation Secure Tomorrow from March through June 2004, Zeh said he’s learned valuable lessons to benefit him and 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment’s S-2 during their upcoming deployment to Iraq.

“In Haiti, I learned how to work with (3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment’s) rifle companies to get the infantry Marines to help us gather information on possible threats and on the local community,” he added.

In addition to considering observations from Marines in the field, intel personnel also gather information from the local community and reconnaissance from unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Once we get all the data we can, it’s my job as an intel analyst to put it all together and make sense of it,” Zeh said. “We use our analysis to brief the commander and make recommendations.”

Out here in the Mojave Desert, Zeh and his S-2 teammates are putting these analysis skills to the test during 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment’s Revised Combined Arms Exercise.

Along with refreshing their infantry skills by learning combat operations in urban environments and conducting live-fire ranges, the intelligence section provides maps and range imagery to other units participating in RCAX.

“Everything we do (during RCAX) prepares us for our missions in Iraq,” Zeh said. “I look forward to doing my job once we actually get there in March.”

For as many lessons as he’s learned during his time in the Corps, Zeh said once he returns from deployment, he’ll pursue other passions closer to home.

“I want to study a career in computer networking or network operations, and I’m thinking about attending the Florida Institute of Technology. I’ll use what I’ve learned in the military through my career in intelligence, like how to research things in depth. I’ll use the discipline I’ve gotten by being a Marine to help me succeed.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

31st MEU ends operations in Iraq, prepares for long journey home

Submitted by: 31st MEU
Story Identification #: 20052116153
Story by - 31st MEU Public Affairs Office



CAMP RIPPER, Iraq (Feb. 7, 2005) -- The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit relinquished the responsibility of providing security and stability in Iraq's western Al Anbar province to Regimental Combat Team 7 of the 1st Marine Division, Feb. 7.

The Okinawa-based unit has been in place since mid-October 2004 and was tasked with planning and executing various missions throughout a 33,000 square-mile area of operations, approximately the size of South Carolina.

"I don't believe anyone else could have done as good of a job," said Maj. Gen. Richard A. Natonski, commanding general, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Natonski and Sgt. Maj. Wayne R. Bell, sergeant major of the 1st Marine Division, visited the Marines and Sailors as they transferred responsibility of the area of operations to RCT-7.

"This generation of Marines is as good, if not better, than previous generations of Marines," said Bell. "I am proud to have served with (the MEU)."

The 2,200-member Marine Expeditionary Unit was responsible for a wide range of missions that included assistance and security for Iraq's first free elections, cordon and knocks operations against the insurgency, civil affairs missions, Iraqi border security, training of Iraqi security forces, security of the Hadithah Dam, as well as other operations needed to further stabilize the area in support of the interim Iraqi government.

Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, the MEU's ground combat element, fought in the battle for Fallujah alongside the Marines and Sailors of RCT-7 and MEU Service Support Group 31. MSSG-31, the MEU's combat service support element, provided necessary logistical support during the Fallujah operation. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (Reinforced), the MEU's air combat element, accumulated more than 4,300 flight hours, which included more than 2,000 hours flown during night operations. The squadron transported more than 10,000 personnel and lifted more than 835,000 pounds of cargo throughout the Al Anbar province and its AV-8B Harriers supported the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing's aviation missions during the Fallujah battle.

The MEU conducted numerous limited-scale raids and cordon and knock operations, capturing more than 150 insurgents and seizing more than 60 weapons caches.

Countless civil affairs missions were conducted by the detachment from the 4th Civil Affairs Group assigned to the MEU. The detachment conducted more than 250 missions to evaluate and assess infrastructure, engage with the local populace, manage construction projects and identify the medical needs of the Iraqi people. The initiation and management of more than 200 projects that focused on education, heath care, water and sanitation, and roads and bridges construction were further accomplished by the detachment. The civil affairs Marines and Sailors subsequently arranged and coordinated the distribution of more than $2 million worth of donated medical supplies from the Humanitarian Operations Center, Kuwait, to the people of Iraq.

The detachment and other elements of the 31st MEU further assisted the interim Iraqi government and the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq by distributing voter education materials to the Iraqi people of Al Anbar province and assisted the Iraqi security forces in providing security for nine polling stations.

More than 500 miles of the international border were patrolled and the points of entry between Iraq, Syria and Jordan were monitored in an effort to stop foreign fighters from crossing the border and to reduce smuggling activities.

Marines and Sailors of the MEU trained numerous Iraqi security forces including the national police, highway patrol, border police, and Iraqi National Guard in their mission to provide Iraq with professional, proficient and competent forces.

The hydroelectric dam at Hadithah provides a large portion of Iraq's electrical needs; elements of the 31st MEU conducted patrols both on the Euphrates River with Small Craft Company and on the shores to ensure the security of the dam.

The MEU also patrolled thousands of miles of roadways throughout the province, locating and destroying more than 160 improvised-explosive devices and land mines. The force conducted numerous vehicle checkpoints and provided security at abandoned Iraqi ammunition supply points that kept munitions out of the hands of insurgents, terrorists and foreign fighters.

Throughout their deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Marines and Sailors of the MEU have endured small arms fire, indirect mortar and rocket fire, rocket-propelled grenades, improvised-explosive devices, suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and land mines. The Marines have disrupted and repelled countless attacks on their forces, killing numerous insurgents and terrorists in the process.

Lost but not forgotten, the Marines and Sailors of the MEU will always remember and honor the 50 warriors who died during the MEU's tour in Iraq. Additionally, 221 servicemembers of the MEU were wounded during this period.

"The Marines and Sailors of the 31st MEU have carved their names into the history books," said Col. W. Lee Miller, the MEU's commanding officer. "I could not be any prouder to have led them during Operation Iraqi Freedom and in supporting Iraq's first free elections. The continuous cycles of training in the Asia-Pacific region had prepared us for such an operation and the MEU completed its tasks successfully."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

'Mail Call' Host Says 'Support the Troops' <br />
By Samantha L. Quigley <br />
American Forces Press Service <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2005 – &quot;I want you to go to AmericaSupportsYou.mil … let the troops – let me...

[thedrifter]

Family remains strong during Marine's deployment
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005211154023
Story by Cpl. Tom Sloan



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (February 9, 2005) -- Zoe Orend was just a few days old when her dad, Sgt. Robert C. Orend, a mortarman with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her big sister, Mackenzie, was one.

Orend, 28, from Marion, Iowa, returned safely to his two daughters and wife, Kat. He enjoyed some quality time at home with them in Stuart Mesa Housing, here before shipping out again seven months later for OIF 2. He will leave his family a third time when the infantry battalion he’s with deploys to Ar Ramadi, Iraq the end of this month.

The Orends are one of many Marine families feeling the effects of separation caused by combat deployments. The Corps is full of them.

The family members of Marines deployed to combat often have a fight of their own. It doesn’t involve bullets and the threat of flesh wounds. Their fight is with distress and heavy emotions.

“The majority of the time, I’m a single parent raising my two girls,” Kat said while fighting back tears. “I’m sad for him because he’s missing out on watching them grow up. They grow up so fast.”

Mackenzie is now four, and Zoe is three. They’ve spent most of their lives apart from their father, whom they call “Papa.”

Orend’s deployments to combat are hard for his two daughters to understand and even more difficult for his wife. Kat explains his absence to them the best she can.

“I tell them that Papa is at work on the other side of the world and he’ll be back soon,” she said. “I remind them every day that he loves them very much.”
Kat is aware of the realities of war but supports her husband of six years.

“It’s hard to deal with, because I’m afraid he won’t come back,” she explained voice quivering. “I don’t want my kids growing up and not having a father, and I don’t want to live without him. We support him, though, because he is taking care of us and protecting our country. We support him no matter what.”

It’s a pattern, too, that Orend doesn’t plan breaking. He has hopes of being a career infantry Marine. He said he’s glad he has his wife’s support despite the dangers it posses.

“The Marine Corps is a good job overall,” he said. He likes the financial security and the many benefits available to him and his family.

“She and I are willing to take the risks,” Orend added I know I’m getting a steady paycheck. If I have to go off to war sometimes, I will.”

Kat has developed a strategy to help her get through the tough times when her husband is deployed to combat.

“I tell myself that he will return,” she said. “I call my parents and other family here for support. I talk with other Marine wives who have husbands gone too.”

Kat said she doesn’t watch the news as much as she did the first time her husband was deployed.

“I watched the news a lot the first time,” she said. “That didn’t help. It made it worse for me because I would see reports of all the gunfights where he was and think the worst had happened to him. It got my mind going and was just too much for me to handle.

Kat seldom flipped to the news channel during her husband’s second deployment.

“I would just check it briefly,” she said. “I couldn’t watch it very long because it made me very emotional. “I wont watch it much this time either.”

Kat is better prepared for her husband’s deployment this time. She plans on keeping herself busy by concentrating on her two daughters. Helping them write letters, draw pictures for their Papa will help the time go by easier, she said.

They will also record themselves on mini cassette to send to him.

Kat also set their home computer up to show a slideshow of all the photos of her and her husband’s history together, more than 9,000 in all. Sergeant Orend is in the process of video taping himself reading stories, which his girls can watch while he’s away.

“I’ve gone over there twice and made it back safely,” Orend said. “I’ll do the same this time. We’ll make it though it.”

Ellie