Marine father, son serve together in Al Asad

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Marine father, son serve together in Al Asad <br />
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing <br />
Story Identification #: 20053773447 <br />
Story by Sgt. Juan Vara <br />
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AL ASAD, Iraq (March 7, 2005) -- Maj. Peter...

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U.S. May Abandon Abu Ghraib
Associated Press
March 8, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Incessant attacks against Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison may force the U.S. military to return the facility to Iraq's government and take their own high-security prisoners to a safer place, a U.S. military official said.

As the U.S. mulls over a plan to pull out of the notorious facility, located on the outskirts of the capital, U.S. military figures show that a crackdown against insurgents before and after Jan. 30's landmark parliamentary elections has bloated Iraq's prison system to the breaking point.

"The reason we would like to move our operations from Abu Ghraib is that it has been regularly targeted with attacks from insurgents. The new facility would be within the larger Baghdad International Airport complex, making it less susceptible to attacks," Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a spokesman for Iraq Detention Operations, told The Associated Press.

Abu Ghraib became infamous because of an abuse scandal that unfolded there after the publication last April of photographs showing naked, terrified Iraqi prisoners being mistreated and humiliated by U.S. military guards.

Plans for moving the prison, however, are not yet final, Johnson said. The military, he added, will continue to the notorious facility "for the foreseeable future."




Johnson said prisoners at Abu Ghraib were divided into two groups - "security detainees" under American control, and common Iraqi criminals under the control of the Iraqi judicial system.

Abu Ghraib is a 280-acre facility, a jumble of top-security buildings and minimum risk tent cities, located along a dusty highway west of the city.

The facility has come under repeated attack from insurgents. In April, a barrage of 28 mortars rounds killed 22 prisoners and injured 91. There were no U.S. deaths in that attack.

"I would anticipate the Iraqis would continue to use it as a civil prison, not for security detainees, a prison under the ministry of justice for people who are common criminals," he said. "Most likely, they'll just take over the whole complex."

Although the number of detainees at Abu Ghraib has surged above its original capacity, it remains "manageable," Johnson said, explaining that security and not overcrowding was the main reason the military was thinking about moving the facility.

Abu Ghraib and one another "theater-level" facility have become overcrowded, according to figures provided by the U.S. military over the weekend. There are three such facilities in Iraq, Camp Bucca near the southern city of Umm Qasr and Camp Cropper at the Baghdad International Airport complex.

At 3,200 inmates, Abu Ghraib has already surpassed the 2,500 people it was designed to incarcerate. Camp Bucca has 5,750 detainees, 550 more than its capacity. Camp Cropper, which holds 110 high-profile detainees, including former dictator Saddam Hussein, is the only prison that is not yet overpopulated.

In the run-up to the Iraqi elections, many suspects were rounded up in a bid to secure the polls, and the figures showed that more than 1,473 were captured in the two weeks before the Jan. 30 vote.

The numbers have not dropped after the elections - last month, 1,927 suspects were captured, 1,049 of whom were processed to detention facilities.

"The numbers reflect the reality that units continue to capture people who are trying to undermine the Iraqi government and threaten security in the nation," Johnson said.

The military has been refurbishing Camp Bucca for several months and new compounds are likely to be used at the facility by the end of March.

According to U.S. military figures, review and release boards set up by coalition forces and the interim Iraqi government, which began work in August after the Abu Ghraib scandal, have been released 9,000 detainees in 2004, while 1,400 have been released since Jan. 1.

That has left Abu Ghraib and the other facility crowded with hard-core inmates and insurgents.

"Because of the people we detain, the facilities are inherently dangerous places," Johnson said. "We understand the dangers, train the guards and leadership to deal with those issues, and constantly review procedures to ensure effective contingencies are in place."

There have been at least three major outbreaks of violence at Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca, the most recent on Jan. 31 when U.S. guards fired on prisoners during a riot at Camp Bucca, killing four detainees and injuring six others.

Ellie

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28 Servicemen Based In Hawaii Remembered
Associated Press
March 8, 2005

HONOLULU - Nearly 2,000 people gathered Monday at Hawaii's Capitol for an emotional service to honor 28 Hawaii-based servicemen killed in Iraq, all but one in a single helicopter crash.

"It's one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have ever seen," said Roni Aurelio, among family members who came from about a dozen states to the open air rotunda, where purple-and-white orchid leis framed photographs of the Marines.

"I think he would be very honored," she said of her son, Cpl. Stephen P. Johnson, 24, of Covina, Calif.

"He was my best friend, my son, my comrade," said Aurelio, clutching her son's dogtags.

The photographs rested in front of the Marines' boots, M-16 rifles and tan helmets. The service included songs, prayers and a 21-gun salute. It concluded with the playing of "Taps," as family members wept into their hands.




Twenty-six Marines from the base at Kaneohe Bay and a Pearl Harbor sailor were among the 31 killed when their helicopter went down in western Iraq in late January. It was the single deadliest event for the American military in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003.

The 28th honoree Monday was Marine Lance Cpl. Sean P. Maher, 19, of Grayslake, Ill., who was killed in Iraq combat in February.

Richard Gilbert Sr. flew from Florida to attend the ceremony for his youngest son, Marine Cpl. Richard A. Gilbert Jr., 26, of Dayton, Ohio.

"I don't think the pain will ever go away," he said. "My son's a national hero."

Ten of the 28 were fathers. Three never met newborn children.

"They'll never know their fathers in human form, but I know you will keep their memories alive," Gov. Linda Lingle said. "I hope when you talk to the children, you will tell them about today, that the people of Hawaii came out to honor their fathers."

Hundreds of Marines from the Hawaiian base and sailors from Pearl Harbor attended the service, creating an ocean of white and khaki.

Sgt. Catcher Cutstherope, 32, of Hays, Mont., knew most of the helicopter crash victims.

"You've had dinner with them at their houses, you trained with them, you sweat and bled with them," he said. "They're home now."

Cutstherope was wounded by a suicide bomber carrying grenades in Fallujah on Nov. 22. He now walks with a cane and has limited movement of his arms and legs.

Ellie

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Army: Young Blacks Less Willing To Join
Associated Press
March 8, 2005

WASHINGTON - Young blacks have grown markedly less willing to join the Army, citing fear of being sent to fight a war in Iraq they don't believe in, according to unpublicized studies for the military that suggest the Army is entering a prolonged recruiting slump.

Fear of combat also is a leading reason fewer young women are choosing the Army, the studies say. Although female soldiers are barred by law from assignments in direct combat, they nonetheless have found themselves under attack by insurgents in Iraq, and 32 have died.

"More African Americans identify having to fight for a cause they don't support as a barrier to military service," concluded an August 2004 study for the Army. It also said attitudes toward the Army among all groups of American youth have grown more negative in recent years.

"In the past, barriers were about inconvenience or preference for another life choice," the study said. "Now they have switched to something quite different: fear of death or injury."

Statistically, the fear factor is about twice as strong among potential recruits as a whole as it was in 2000, the study said. That and other studies, all of which are posted on an obscure Defense Department Web site, cited the Iraq war as a major turnoff for many.




The Army has suffered more of the 1,500-plus U.S. deaths in Iraq than any other service, and thousands have been wounded. Some soldiers will serve their second tour in Iraq this year. While Army leaders say soldiers have shown a strong interest in re-enlisting, the strains of war seem to have become a barrier to first-time enlistees.

The Army's recruiting challenge is critically important not only to the long-term commitment in Iraq but also to the Army's goal of expanding by 30,000 soldiers. Through the first five months of the budget year which began last Oct. 1, the active Army is about 6 percent behind schedule to meet its 2005 recruiting goal.

Explaining the overall drop-off, Army officials cite an improving national economy that offers more career opportunities as well as concern about the war in Iraq.

Blacks make up about 23 percent of today's active-duty Army, but the share of blacks in the recruit classes of recent years dropped. From 22.7 percent at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the share slid to 19.9 percent in 2002; 16.4 percent in 2003 and 15.9 percent last year, according to figures provided by Army Recruiting Command spokesman Douglas Smith.

The slide has continued, dropping to 13.9 percent as of Feb. 9.

A July 2004 study of parents' influence on young people of recruiting age found that black parents have more say in their child's career decisions than is the case with white parents. Also, black parents trust the military less and have more moral objections to military service.

The Army isn't the only service having trouble finding recruits. The Marine Corps fell slightly short of its recruiting goal in January - the first month that had happened in nearly a decade - amid parents' concerns about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the Marines remain on target to meet their full-year goal.

The Navy and Air Force have had no problems meeting their goals.

A separate study, done shortly after President Bush declared major combat operations in Iraq had ended, concluded, "Combat is the number one reason why" blacks don't want to join the Army.

Smith, the Army Recruiting Command spokesman, said Monday that the current, reduced level of black recruits is closer to the percentage of young blacks in the eligible population. "Our strategy of being representative of America is working," he said.

As recently as 2001, before the global war on terrorism, young people tended to think of military service as less risky. The 1991 Gulf War had ended after only 100 hours of ground combat with relatively few deaths, and no American soldier died in the 1999 air war over Kosovo.

Females also are getting harder to recruit, with the share of females in Army recruiting classes falling for four years running, from 21.6 percent in 2001 to 19.2 percent last year. It has slipped still further this year to 17.1 percent.

"Over time, females are seeing less benefits to joining the Army and more barriers, particularly combat-related reasons," concluded another study done for the Army last spring by the market research firm Millward Brown.

Another study cited a survey that said 50 percent of youth rate the Army as their last choice for a career.

"There is a lot of work to be done, and it will take a lot of time to make major changes in the Army experience and the Army's image," that study concluded. "Risks of military service, and particularly the Army, are perceived to far outweigh the rewards for the vast majority of youth."


Ellie

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CG Cutter Unloads 2 Tons Of Seized Drugs <br />
The Virginian-Pilot <br />
March 8, 2005 <br />
<br />
PORTSMOUTH - Protected by more armed agents than might surround Fort Knox, dozens of Drug Enforcement Agency and...

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Marines Volunteer To Help Ill Vet
Associated Press
March 8, 2005

LOMA LINDA, Calif. - Thousands of Marines have volunteered to be tested to determine if they could be a potential bone marrow donor for a Marine who developed a life-threatening liver ailment after returning from Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu was listed in fair condition Sunday at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he has been hospitalized since January, a hospital spokeswoman said.

LeBleu, of Lake Charles, La., received an emergency liver transplant but now his body is not producing enough red blood cells; doctors say he may need a bone marrow transplant.

"He's a fighter and he's fighting even harder today," said his wife, Melany LeBleu.




When news spread of LeBleu's need, about 200 people donated blood or took tests to determine whether they would be suitable marrow donors. In addition, 2,000 Marines volunteered to be tested at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, where LeBleu is stationed.

Another 5,000 Marines are expected to be tested in the search, LeBleu's wife said.

LeBleu returned from seven months of duty in Iraq in September.


Ellie

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Troop Withdrawal Affects Study Abroad
Associated Press
March 8, 2005

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. - Two community colleges have ended their study-abroad program in Spain, citing the country's troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Trustees of the South Orange County Community College District, comprising Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College, voted 5-2 last week to cancel the 14-year-old summer program.

"Spain has abandoned our fighting men and women, withdrawing their support," said trustee Tom Fuentes, a former head of the Republican Party in Orange County. "I see no reason to send students of our colleges to Spain at this moment in history."

Spain pulled its 1,300 troops after the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in March last year.

Fuentes said the bombing also raised concerns about student safety, although students were allowed to visit Spain three months after the bombings.




"Bringing this up now is strange," said trustee Marcia Milchiker, who voted to keep the program.

"I'm still in shock," said Professor Carmenmara Hernandez-Bravo, who runs the study abroad program. "I cannot believe a community college can put this much politics into academics."

Ellie

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Marines cut into insurgents ability to operate
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20053703221
Story by Cpl. Matthew R. Jones



HUSAYBAH, Iraq (Feb. 28, 2005) -- In the middle of the night, the Marines of Heavy Equipment Platoon, Company C, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7 did some town renovations to Husaybah, Iraq, by demolishing several buildings used by insurgents.

The mission was the kick off of Operation River Blitz in the Husaybah area, and it destroyed buildings known to be used by insurgents, said Staff Sgt. Ronald S. Gillaspie, heavy equipment operation chief, Headquarters and Support Platoon, Co. C, 2nd CEB.

In addition to the leveling the buildings, the Marines of Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, worked further to disrupt the insurgents by limiting their ability to move freely through the area.

The Marines placed a curfew in effect and conducted cordon and knocks to find and possibly detain insurgents in the area. They also used vehicle control checkpoints (VCP).

The use of VCPs was prevalent throughout the Al Qaim area, including Husaybah, according to Gillaspie, 29, a native of Crown Point, Ind.

Not only are VCPs instrumental in limiting the movement of insurgents, they help to deter them from planting or trafficking improvised explosive devices and weapons in to the city. This is essential since Marines have often been attacked on the roads and shot at from the houses.
The Marines also increased their base safety by blocking roads approaching their bases and preventing civilian traffic from traveling on them.

All of the measures during the operation made it harder for foreign fighters to get into the country and those who were already in would find it difficult to move around.

Ellie

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Marine learns language of leadership
Submitted by: MCAS Cherry Point
Story Identification #: 2005349758
Story by Cpl. Wil Acosta



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (March 4, 2005) -- Recruits learn a new language when they arrive at Parris Island and San Diego. There, angry Marines wearing funny hats teach them to replace simple words like "wall" and "pen" with "bulkhead" and "ink stick."

They quickly learn flashlights are really "moon beams." And, they understand the phrase "I'm tired," only translates into "this recruit is lazy."

But, it was a lot harder for Staff Sgt. Antulio Del Rio to understand the clever twist his Drill Instructors put on the English language. In fact, it was hard for the native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico to understand English at all.

"When I went to boot camp in November of 1996, I could not speak or understand English, although I was able to read and write it very well," said Del Rio. "I passed the initial written exam with a 97% and I scored a 99% on the final exam, which was a lot better than most of the English-speaking recruits."

"The language barrier was pretty tough to beat, though. I had to watch my fellow recruits and do what they did," said Del Rio. "Needless to say, I was always the last one to get back on line. By the end of second phase, I was able to understand enough to get some of the unwanted attention off my back."

Today, Del Rio knows those funny hats he saw as a recruit are called campaign covers. He plans on earning one when he attends the Drill Instructor's Course this July. But, he's wanted to wear a "Smokey Bear" since his first day as a recruit.

"When the bus arrived at Parris Island and a Drill instructor gave us the order to step on the yellow footprints, I knew that I wanted to be a Drill Instructor," said Del Rio. "My Drill Instructors were the perfect Marines in my eyes. From the spit-shined boots, their clean shave and almost eccentric haircuts, to their even temper and incredible presence, they had all the soldierly virtues I came to expect of a Marine."

The present day staff sergeant's accomplishments as a Marine prove he has continued to strive toward the same values he admired in his Drill Instructors.

After Boot Camp, Del Rio put his newly developed understanding of the English to good use. He won several boards while at his first duty station, Iwakuni, Japan and earned the title of NCO of the Quarter.

Del Rio has also distinguished himself as an NCO. When he attended the Corporal's Course at Iwakuni, Japan, he won the Motivation Award. He placed 5th out of 147 sergeants in his class while attending the Sergeant's Course at Camp Geiger. He won his second NCO of the Quarter Board here as a sergeant while assigned to Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2.

In addition, Del Rio was given the honor of serving as the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and MWHS-2 Color Sergeant for more than three years. It is the most senior billet a sergeant can hold within a unit.

To say he has come a long way from being the last recruit on line would be an understatement.

Now, Del Rio has aspirations of being the Drill Instructor on the other side of that line. He hopes he can be as successful making Marines as he was becoming one.

"Some of the many qualities I plan on taking from my DI's are to never take anything personally and to keep the training clean and professional," said Del Rio. "The DI/recruit relationship should not be that of master and slave, but rather that of a mentor, a teacher and a trainer. It should be a relationship based on utmost respect, not fear."

If he succeeds in becoming a Drill Instructor, Del Rio may or may not teach his recruits how to say "ink stick" and "bulkhead" in Spanish. However in any language, one thing is certain. He will teach them the meaning of the word "Marine."

Ellie

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Blue Star Moms support troops, each other


by Jo Rafferty
March 6, 2005

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Blue Star Moms not only support their own children in the military, but all of the troops, said one of the founders of Sierra Nevada Blue Star Mothers, the first Northern Nevada chapter of the national organization, formed in November.

At the same time they find comfort in sharing their stories about their own sons and daughters.

"We don't like to make it about our kids," said Leslie Evans of Genoa, mother of Henry Evans, 20, a scout with the U.S. Army 1st Calvary Division, a sniper. "It's really about all our kids. It really isn't just about Henry or Matt or Derrick. It's about all of them. We're about getting other people involved."

The approximate 15 members of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of Blue Star Mothers meet once a month to share their stories and make plans, according to Evans, who is one of the founders along with two other women, Debbie Kepler of Indian Hills and Cheryl Gray of Gardnerville.

Evans said the mothers who join Blue Star Moms develop a strong bond.

"Believe me, when your child goes off to war, it's the worst thing ever," said Evans. "Until you're going through this, you just don't get how gut-wrenching this could be, and you also don't understand the pride you feel for these young people.

"We're a group of moms who raised these righteous warriors in a world that doesn't condone them anymore."

Evans just found out Henry is scheduled to come home in March.

Blue Star Mothers of America has been around since World War II, but Northern Nevada never had its own chapter until Nov. 6, when Sierra Nevada Blue Star Mothers Chapter 2 was officially created. There is one other Nevada chapter in Las Vegas, Blue Star Mothers of Southern Nevada Chapter 1.

Gray's son is Matt Williams, 21, in the Army stationed in Tikrit, Kepler's 19-year-old son Derrick Kepler is in the U.S. Marine Corps, currently at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Marge Greenfield's son, Stuart Greenfield, 21, also in the Marines, is an intelligence specialist in Fallujah. The last she heard, he is supposed to come home in April.

Although Evans hears from Henry about once a week, usually via e-mail, because of his high security position, Stuart communicates with his mother a lot less. Stuart also has a girlfriend he calls, which could make a difference, too, Blue Star Moms Evans, Jean Strachan and Sally Wiley agreed.

"I'm glad he talks more to his girlfriend," said Greenfield, who lost her husband to a brain aneurysm in 1996. "I'm not sure if he wants to shelter Melissa (her daughter) and I,"

"I'm sure he is," said one of the mothers.

Melissa had wanted Stuart's room once he had left, but Greenfield said when Stuart got wind of this, he asked her if she could leave it as it was.

"He said, 'Mom, whatever you do you're not going to take my room. When I was in Iraq, all I thought about was my room and my bed,'" said Greenfield, with tears in her eyes.

Evans, who had moved with her husband Jerry Evans from Maine just prior to Henry being deployed said she wished she had a room for her son.

"I don't even have a room to go into." she said.

Strachan lives in the City of Refuge and homeschooled her children. Her son, Woody Strachan, 23, joined the Marine Corps in 2003 and was eventually assigned to ceremony drill unit in Washington, D.C.

"Does Woody know when he's going to Iraq? He doesn't know where, he doesn't know if, he doesn't know anything," said Strachan. "I would say for all military personnel not deployed - they shouldn't be overlooked because the majority of them want to go. They hate not going.

"To try and keep morale up is very difficult. Those guys don't want to be there with their white gloves."

Sally Wiley's son Sean Diamond, at 37 (38 on St. Patrick's Day), is the oldest soldier in the group. He joined the Army after dropping out of college in the late '80s, then remained in the reserves. He volunteered to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His wife and four children live in Germany, so Wiley gets most of her information through them.

Diamond helped clean up the Abu Ghurayb prison and has been working with Iraqi contractors in Kuwait to rebuild bridges. Next he will be going to Mosul.

"You talk to him and he is so confident and so into what he's doing," said Wiley.

Blue Star Mothers is not affiliated with any political organization.

The mothers work together to support the troops in any way they can.

Twice a year they take part in a national program, Operation Postcard. Last year they took almost 650 postcards to schools, churches and veterans' organizations so people could sign them and write a little note to send to Iraq on Christmas and July 4 for the soldiers to read.

On Jan. 20, Blue Star Moms attended the Inaugural Ball in Reno and raised $1,000. They also signed up three new moms. So far they have given $200 to the Wounded Warrior Project and $50 to an Army Guard helicopter unit in Sparks.

In the future they will try to get a memorial to Nevada's fallen soldiers dedicated somewhere in Nevada, said Evans.

In February they each brought 12 items to a meeting and packaged them up to send to a new member, Anne McRae's 19-year-old daughter, Cristi Muela's Army unit, now in a remote location in Iraq.

Muela, a 2002 graduate of Douglas High School, has begun online school while over in Iraq.

"We do miss Cristi dearly," said McRae. "We are fortunate to be able to e-mail her almost daily and we get most cherished phone calls every two weeks or so."



-- Jo Rafferty can be reached at jrafferty@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 213.

Ellie

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Okinawa servicemembers complete relief support
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification #: 2005337104
Story by - Consolidated Public Affairs Office, Okinawa, Japan



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER (March 3, 2005) -- The final group of more than 250 Okinawa-based Marines and sailors formerly assigned to Combined Support Force-536 returned to Okinawa Feb. 23 aboard the High Speed Vessel WestPac Express and March 3 aboard the USS Fort McHenry.

The servicemembers were among more than 18,000 Marines, sailors, airmen, soldiers and Coast Guardsmen in Southeast Asia who were assigned to CSF-536 in support of Operation Unified Assistance. While there, the Marines and sailors participated in the large-scale, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief effort that aided the affected people of Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered devastating tsunamis Dec. 26.

Combined Support Force-536 delivered 9,487,681 pounds of relief supplies to the region. Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters also flew more than 3,500 missions, totaling more than 10,000 flight hours, and more than 2,000 people received medical treatment during the operation.

The support force was organized into combined support groups in each country and was designed to minimize loss of life and mitigate human suffering, while the resources of other U.S. government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and international and regional organizations were brought to bear in the affected areas.

Many nations, including Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and the United Kingdom, joined the United States in support of the humanitarian effort in Southeast Asia, led by the III Marine Expeditionary Force based in Okinawa, Japan.

"The forward presence of Marines on Okinawa significantly contributed to the U.S. ability to respond to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and to alleviate human suffering," said CSF-536 commander and III MEF Commanding General Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman.

The deployment of U.S. military forces to Southeast Asia was part of a much larger U.S. commitment to providing long-term humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support. This assistance and support will continue to be directed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. government's lead agency for support to the region. While the redeployment of military forces is nearly complete, U.S. government efforts continue.

The hospital ship USNS Mercy, with an extensive array of medical and humanitarian capabilities, is off the coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, to assist international relief organizations and host nation medical teams ashore in tsunami-affected areas.

"We, as military members, are representatives of the American people," Blackman said. "We represent the compassion and generosity of the American people and the people of many other countries around the world. We provided much-needed hope to people in despair."

Ellie

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'The e-mails don't come anymore'
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By William Cole
Honolulu Advertiser Military Writer

There is the passage of time, and the statistics that go along with it, but for Rae Oldaugh, the loss of her son in Iraq is no easier to deal with or comprehend now than it was in January.

"Just the other day, I said to my husband, 'I think it's been seven weeks now since I last heard from Allan,' and that was probably my most profound thought recently - that I haven't heard from him," the Roseville, Mich., woman said. "The e-mails don't come anymore."

Lance Cpl. Allan Klein's last e-mail came 23 hours before he was killed in the crash of a CH-53E Super Stallion on Jan. 26 in a sandstorm in western Iraq.

"He e-mailed us to tell us he was going up to the Jordanian border," Oldaugh said. "He had his gripes about it, but he had to go."

The 26 Hawai'i-based Marines and a sailor who perished in the crash, along with a 19-year-old Marine killed Feb. 2 outside Fallujah, were remembered yesterday in a rare memorial service at the State Capitol.

Sixty-two family members representing 18 of the service members came to Hawai'i from across the country for the memorial, which drew about 2,000 people.

Lined up were 28 sets of empty desert boots, lei-framed photos and upturned M-16 rifles topped by camouflage-covered helmets in typical combat memorial fashion. Seldom have these displays been seen in such high numbers.

The Jan. 26 helicopter crash in Iraq, along with other U.S. deaths that day, represented the deadliest day for American forces since the start of the war in March of 2003.

"We want all the families to know that the people of our state share your loss and will remember your courage and your strength," Gov. Linda Lingle said.

Bagpipers played "Amazing Grace," taps was sounded and there was a 21-gun salute to the fallen Hawai'i service members.

As Hawai'i has struggled with the enormity of the crash, individual family members continue to try to cope with the loss of husbands, sons and brothers.

"It's always nice to see the community get out and show their support, but ... it doesn't get any easier," said Melanie House, cradling little James Cash House who was born on Christmas Eve, a son her husband never got to see.

Petty Officer 3rd Class John D. House, 28, a corpsman from Ventura, Calif., who took care of and died alongside the Kane'ohe Bay Marines, saw his son only by video phone.

One of four wives living in Hawai'i at the time of the crash, Melanie House said she's leaving the state in about a week and going back to Southern California to be with his family and hers. They live about 10 miles apart.

"We've been here two years. We loved Hawai'i. I wasn't ready to leave," House said, adding she loved the beach, and riding with her husband on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Her son wore a T-shirt with his father's picture that said, "I'm proud of my daddy, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Johnny House."

"I just feel for all these other families, because I know what it feels like," she said. "It doesn't seem fair - so many of them all at one time."

She said the Navy and Marine Corps "have both been so great, very, very helpful and very supportive."

As she spoke, House, 27, held hands with Elisabeth Spence, 22, whose husband, Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Spence of Scotts Valley, Calif., also was killed. Their daughter, Providence, was born in September.

"I'm just really grateful for Mel ... and the other wives," Spence said. She, too, is moving to California, and away from the military with her husband gone.

"I think it's going to be really hard. Not only have I lost my husband, but also all of his closest friends," she said.

Ten of the service members were married, said Col. Jeff Patterson, commander of the 3rd Marine Regiment. First Lt. Dustin M. Shumney's wife is left to raise three children on her own, Patterson said.

"Every Marine and sailor whose name you see behind me has a family who will miss him and a story that should be told," Patterson said.

"The loss is particularly sad," Patterson added, "because ... every one of those brave men were heroes who recently fought in the battle of Fallujah."

Eight 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine members were killed in a suicide car bomb attack on Oct. 30. Another 11 were killed in Iraq - most of them in Fallujah. Many of the 1/3 Marines are en route to Okinawa by ship, and will return to Hawai'i in the spring.

The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which is supported by donations, paid for the families to come to Hawai'i.

Seeing the 28 sets of boots and rifles, Oldaugh said, "It's too many. I really support the troops - I don't support the war."

She never saw her son's body because it was a closed-casket funeral, making it harder to accept that the 34-year-old who wanted to be a police officer really was gone.

She has asked for a report on the crash, believed to be an accident in a sandstorm. Another helicopter was flying with the chopper that went down.

"Somebody had said to me when they entered the sandstorm, one was on the outside of it, and had radioed to the other one to come out and up somehow to avoid it, but it must have been too late," Oldaugh said.

"It's sad, still very sad," Marine Cpl. Lauren Hackler, 21, said of the mood on the Kane'ohe Bay base.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine appears to have an edge in being named next JCS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will soon make one of the most important decisions of the administration's second term when they select the successor to Gen. Richard Myers as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top uniformed officer in the nation.

Myers, 63, a four-star Air Force general, is due to retire at the end of September after 19 months as vice chairman and four years as chairman.

Four senior military officers are considered the top candidates, with many military analysts giving the nod to Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, currently vice chairman.

Pace, 59, would be the first Marine to hold the top job.

Other names in the mix are:

• Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, chief of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, based in Norfolk, Va., and formerly Rumsfeld's military assistant.

• Gen. James Jones, another Marine who is the top military officer in NATO and chief of U.S. forces in Europe.

• Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command, which is spearheading the U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"These right now are the names to watch," said retired Army Gen. George Joulwan, former commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The new chairman immediately will face a slate of hot-button national security issues:

• The insurgency in Iraq and an expected resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

• The war on terrorism.

• Modernization of the U.S. armed forces.

• Management of recruitment shortfalls.

• Defending another round of contentious military base closings.

The chairman is the principal military adviser to the president, the defense secretary and the White House's National Security Council.

By law, the pool of military officers considered for the job is small. The officers must have served in one of 14 other senior-level positions.

Theoretically, Bush and Rumsfeld could select a retired officer who has served in such a position.

The defense secretary has shown a willingness to do the unexpected on personnel matters. For example, instead of selecting among a dozen or so senior active duty Army officers, he called back to active duty retired Gen. Peter Schoomaker to serve as Army chief of staff in 2003, the same year he named Jones as the first Marine officer to serve as NATO commander, a job that usually goes to the Army.

Thomas White, the former Army secretary in Bush's first term, said Pace was the best qualified among the four.

"His advantage is that he has been in the senior policy debates for the last four years," White said. "He understands the secretary of defense well and is already a very well-known commodity. The fact that he's a Marine and that we've never had a Marine as chairman might enhance his chances some."

Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, a commander in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, echoed that Pace was "the obvious good answer to get through the next few years." He was a decorated platoon leader in Vietnam "who has extraordinary credentials," McCaffrey said.

A 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with an MBA from George Washington University, Pace rose through the ranks and in 1996 served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that position, he was involved in all aspects of planning and deployment of U.S. forces.

In 2000, he was commander of the U.S. Southern Command, responsible for planning all U.S. military activities in Latin America south of Mexico, in the waters adjacent to Central and South America and the Caribbean. Southern Command's area of responsibility encompasses 32 countries and 14.5 million square miles.

Bush named Pace as vice chairman in 2001, a crucial posting that placed Pace in the center of all major military decisions and in daily contact with Rumsfeld.

Whoever's selected must walk a fine line between being loyal to his civilian leaders and offering advice that might differ from administration goals. And in an administration that covets loyalty, that's a tall order.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Accused U.S. Marine sent Iraqis 'a message' <br />
Posted: March 8, 2005 <br />
WorldNetDaily.com <br />
<br />
A statement by the Marine officer charged with pre-meditated murder for killing two Iraqi insurgents is...

[thedrifter]

Transcript: Bush Speech
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Tuesday, March 08, 2005

WASHINGTON — President Bush said Tuesday that democracy is beginning to spread across the Middle East. Following is a transcript of his remarks at the National Defense University, a center for professional military education.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all. Please be seated.

It is great to be back to this fine university. Many great military leaders of the 20th century, from Dwight Eisenhower to Colin Powell, studied on this campus.

And today, the National Defense University is training a new generation of leaders who will serve and defend this nation in a new century.

Americans are grateful for your devotion to duty and so is your commander in chief.

(APPLAUSE)

I am honored that two influential and important members of the United States Congress have joined us. First, Senator Joe Lieberman, a strong defender of freedom.

Thank you for coming, Senator.

(APPLAUSE)

And the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter.

Proud you're here, Duncan. Thank you for coming.

(APPLAUSE)

In the midst of what we hope will be the final snow blizzard of 2005, I'm honored you two men slushed here to this event.

I appreciate very much Lieutenant General Michael Dunn (ph) and his wife Pam for greeting me and for serving our nation.

I want to thank all the National Defense University students for being here.

I appreciate the staff for joining us.

I want to thank the members of the diplomatic corps who have come today.

It is an honor to see you all again.

I want to thank my fellow Americans for caring about the subject of peace. And that's what I'm here to discuss.

We meet at a time of great consequence for the security of our nation, a time when the defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom, a time with echoes in our history.

Twice in six decades a sudden attack on the United States launched our country into a global conflict and began a period of serious reflection on America's place in the world.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor taught America that unopposed tyranny, even on faraway continents, could draw our country into a struggle for our own survival. And our reflection on that lesson led us to help build peaceful democracies in the ruins of tyranny, to unite free nations in the NATO alliance, and to establish a firm commitment to peace in the Pacific that continues to this day.

The attacks of September 11, 2001, also revealed the outlines of a new world.

In one way that assault was the culmination of decades of escalating violence: from the killing of U.S. Marines in Beirut, to the bombing at the World Trade Center, to the attacks on American embassies in Africa, to the attacks on the USS Cole.

In another way, September the 11th provided a warning of future dangers, of terror networks aided by outlaw regimes and ideologies that incite the murder of the innocent, and biological and chemical and nuclear weapons that multiply destructive power.

Like an earlier generation, America is answering new dangers with firm resolve. No matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the task, we will fight the enemy and lift the shadow of fear and lead free nations to victory.

(APPLAUSE)

Like an earlier generation, America's pursuing a clear strategy with our allies to achieve victory.

Our immediate strategy is to eliminate terrorist threats abroad so we do not have to face them here at home.

The theory here is straightforward: Terrorists are less likely to endanger our security if they're worried about their own security.

When terrorists spend their day struggling to avoid death or capture they are less capable of arming and training to commit new attacks.

We will keep the terrorists on the run until they have nowhere left to hide.

In three and a half years, the United States and our allies have waged a campaign of global scale, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the border regions of Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, to the islands of the Philippines, to the plains of north-central Iraq.

The Al Qaida terror network that attacked our country -- it still has leaders, but many of its top commanders have been removed. There are still governments that sponsor and harbor terrorists, but their number has declined. There's still regimes seeking weapons of mass destruction, but no longer without attention and without consequence.

Our country is still the target of terrorists who want to kill many and intimidate us all. We will stay on the offensive against them until the fight is won.

(APPLAUSE)

Members of our military are undertaking difficult missions in some of the most dangerous and desolate parts of the world. These volunteers know the risks they face and they know the cause they serve.

As one Marine sergeant put it, "I never want my children to experience what we saw in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania." He said, "If we can eliminate whatever threat we can on foreign soil, I would rather do it there than have it come home to us."

In this vital cause, some of our men and women in uniform have fallen. Some have returned home with terrible injuries.

And all who sacrifice will have the permanent gratitude of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

In this war on terror America is not alone. Many governments have awakened to the dangers we share and have begun to take serious action.

Global terror requires a global response and America is more secure today because dozens of other countries have stepped up to the fight.

We're more secure because Pakistani forces captured more than 100 extremists across the country last year, including operatives who were plotting attacks against the United States.

We're more secure because Britain arrested an Al Qaida operative who had provided detailed casing reports on American targets to senior Al Qaida leaders.

We're more secure because German authorities arrested extremists who were planning attacks against U.S. and coalition targets in Iraq.

We're more secure because the Philippines' new anti-terrorism task force has helped capture more than a dozen terrorist suspects, including seven members of Al Qaida and affiliated networks.

We're more secure because Poland is leading a 15-nation multinational division in Iraq and forces from 23 countries have given their lives in the struggle against terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Our allies in the war on terror are making tough decisions and are taking risks and they're losing lives. These countries have proven themselves trusted friends and reliable allies.

So I urge the Congress to pass the solidarity initiative I have proposed to stand by the countries that are standing by us in the war on terror.

(APPLAUSE)

BUSH: Our strategy to keep the peace in the longer term is to help change the conditions that give rise to extremism and terror, especially in the broader Middle East.

Parts of that region have been caught for generations in the cycle of tyranny and despair and radicalism.

When a dictatorship controls the political life of a country, responsible opposition cannot develop and dissent is driven underground and toward the extreme.

And to draw attention away from their social and economic failures, dictators place blame on other countries and other races and stir the hatred that leads to violence.

This status quo of despotism and anger cannot be ignored or appeased, kept in a box or bought off.

Because we have witnessed how the violence in that region can easily reach across borders and oceans, the entire world has an urgent interest in the progress and hope and freedom in the broader Middle East.

The advance of hope in the Middle East requires new thinking in the region.

By now it should be clear that authoritarian rule is not the wave of the future, it is the last gasp of a discredited past.

It should be clear that free nations escape stagnation and grow stronger with time because they encourage the creativity and enterprise of their people.

It should be clear that economic progress requires political modernization, including honest representative government and the rule of law.

And it should be clear that no society can advance with only half of its talent and energy. And that demands the full participation of women.

(APPLAUSE)

The advance of hope in the Middle East also requires new thinking in the capitals of great democracies, including Washington, D.C.

By now it should be clear that decades of excusing and accommodating tyranny in the pursuit of stability have only led to injustice and instability and tragedy.

It should be clear that the advance of democracy leads to peace because governments that respect the rights of their people also respect the rights of their neighbors.

It should be clear that the best antidote to radicalism and terror is the tolerance and hope kindled in free societies.

And our duty is now clear: For the sake of our long-term security, all free nations must stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East.

Encouraging democracy in that region is a generational commitment. It's also a difficult commitment, demanding patience and resolve when the headlines are good and when the headlines aren't so good.

Freedom has determined enemies who show no mercy for the innocent and no respect for the rules of warfare.

Many societies in the region struggle with poverty and illiteracy. Many rulers in the region have long-standing habits of control. Many people in the region have deeply ingrained habits of fear.

For all of these reasons, the chances of democratic progress in the broader Middle East have seemed frozen in place for decades. Yet at last, clearly and suddenly, the thaw has begun.

The people of Afghanistan have embraced free government after suffering under one of the most backward tyrannies on Earth.

The voters in Iraq defied threats of murder and have set their country on a path to full democracy.

The people of the Palestinian territories cast their ballots against violence and corruption of the past.

And any who doubt the appeal of freedom in the Middle East can look to Lebanon, where the Lebanese people are demanding a free and independent nation.

In the words of one Lebanese observer, "Democracy is knocking at the door of this country. And if it's successful in Lebanon, it is going to ring the doors of every Arab regime."

Across the Middle East, a critical mass of events is taking that region in a hopeful new direction. Historic changes have many causes, yet these changes have one factor in common. A businessmen in Beirut recently said, "We have removed the mask of fear. We're not afraid anymore."

Pervasive fear is the foundation of every dictatorial regime, the prop that holds up all power not based on consent. And when the regime of fear is broken and the people find their courage and find their voice, democracy is their goal and tyrants themselves have reason to fear.

continued.....

[thedrifter]

(APPLAUSE) <br />
<br />
History is moving quickly and leaders in the Middle East have important choices to make. <br />
<br />
The world community, including Russia and Germany and France and Saudi Arabia and the United...

[thedrifter]

Italy didn't plan safe escape for hostage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
From the Nation/Politics section

Italian security forces failed to make arrangements for safe passage out of Iraq for a freed Italian reporter, whose car was fired on by U.S. troops, killing intelligence agent Nicola Calipari who brokered the reporter's release, according to an internal Pentagon memo.

The memo says checkpoint soldiers are trained to deal with erratic speeding vehicles whose drivers ignored warnings -- a profile that matches the Army's version of events in Friday night's shooting.

The memo says more than 500 American troops have been killed on the streets and at checkpoints in Iraq. Mistaken shootings of civilians resulted in "few deadly incidents" since the U.S. started checkpoints in March 2003, according to the memo.

Meanwhile, the White House dismissed as "absurd" the stated suspicion of the reporter, Giuliana Sgrena, who said the United States tried to kill her because it opposes negotiations with terrorists to free hostages. Miss Sgrena, a reporter for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto, provided no evidence.

"It's absurd to make any such suggestion that our men and women in uniform would deliberately target innocent civilians," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan adding: "We regret this incident. We are going to fully investigate what exactly occurred."

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., who heads the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, yesterday completed the "commander's preliminary inquiry." He has decided to conduct a more extensive inquiry, called a 15-6 for the regulation that authorizes it. Gen. Webster will name one officer to head the probe.

A U.S. official said that of all the cars that passed through the checkpoint that night, the reporter's vehicle was the only one fired upon.

"Something that car did caused the soldiers to fire," said the official, who asked not to be named.

The shooting occurred at night at a checkpoint on a notoriously dangerous road that links Baghdad to the international airport.

The incident has put a spotlight on "friendly fire" episodes that occur with some regularity in Iraq when motorists fail to heed warnings to stop at roadside checkpoints and are fired on by American troops who fear that the vehicle might be a weapon. Cars and trucks are a common weapon in suicide bombings and drive-by shootings.

The soldiers did not know that Miss Sgrena and Italian agents were headed in their direction on the way to the airport for a flight back to Italy.

An internal Pentagon information memo states, "This is war. About 500 American service members have been killed by hostile fire while operating on Iraqi streets and highways. The journalist was driving in pitch-dark and at a high speed and failed, according to the first reports, to respond to numerous warnings. Besides, there is no indication that the Italian security forces made prior arrangements to facilitate the transition to the airport."

The left-leaning Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported yesterday that Mr. Calipari decided not to use available escort protection from the elite commandos who protect Italy's Baghdad embassy.

Instead, he rented an inconspicuous pickup trick to recover Miss Sgrena, wrote La Repubblica's top investigative reporter, Giuseppe D'Avanzo.

"In Iraq, the United States makes the rules and the Italian ally also must respect them. If it wants to break them, it must do so with a double game and some crafty tricks," Mr. D'Avanzo wrote.

Italian magistrates have opened an inquiry into the killing and are arranging for the truck to be flown to Italy for examination by ballistic experts, judicial sources said. The magistrates also have obtained from the U.S. military the cellular phone that Mr. Calipari was carrying when he was shot.

Analysis of calls logged on the cellular phone might allow investigators to determine the speed at which the vehicle was traveling when U.S. troops opened fire on it, the sources say.

Mel Sembler, U.S. ambassador to Italy, reiterated Washington's position in a 45-minute meeting with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi last night, diplomatic sources said.

Robert Maginnis, a retired Army officer and military analyst, said Rome should have done a better job coordinating Miss Sgrena's exit once the Italians negotiated her release.

"It seems to me that the Italian secret service considers this a James Bond movie in Baghdad," Mr. Maginnis said. "They're driving around at night picking up a journalist who has been kidnapped and pretending they can get through a phalanx of checkpoints along the deadliest road in all of Iraq without being detected, much less shot up."

The Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which last week resumed command of Baghdad operations after participating in the 2003 invasion, said the soldiers had warned the approaching car repeatedly before opening fire.

According to the division, the patrol attempted to warn the driver to stop by hand and arm signals, flashing white lights, and firing warning shots in front of the car."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

WHITE HOUSE TAKES ON GIULIANA SGRENA
By Neal Boortz
March 8, 2005

The Bush administration has finally had enough of Communist "journalist" Giuliana Sgrena's little shenanigans. As you know, this is the communist propagandist whose freedom was bought from Islamic terrorists by the Italian government, and whose car was shot at by a U.S. Army checkpoint. Since the incident, she has said a number of things, including:

* She has accused the United States of directly targeting her

* She has sided with her captors, who told her that the Americans would not want her to escape alive

* She has said the United States does not value human life

* She has repeatedly changed her story as to what happened, at one point saying her car was shot at 400 times and another time saying it was shot at by a tank

Finally, the White House had enough of the so-called reporter who writes for the Communist "Il Manifesto." White House Spokesman Scott McClellan yesterday to say "It's absurd to make any such suggestion, that our men and women in uniform would target individual citizens." Nice to see the administration has a limit for this nonsense.

Some other facts are coming out, and things don't look so good for the Italians. According to a report in the Washington Times, the Italian security forces didn't tell anyone what they were doing, failed to request American security and just, in general, screwed up as much as possible. An internal Pentagon memo states that 500 American troops have been killed on the roads in Iraq. Another official points out that of all the cars that passed through the checkpoint that night, only the Italians were shot at, so they must have been doing something out of the ordinary.

Yesterday the Italians were saying that their car wasn't speeding. Just a few hours later the story was that the driver floored it when he saw the soldiers.

There is only real truth in this whole mess ... and that is the truth that America's enemies will manipulate and exploit this story as much as they possibly can to further their anti-American aims and goals.

It's good to see our president fighting back on this one.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

2/25 hits the snow for Battle Griffin 2005
Submitted by: Marine Forces Europe
Story Identification #: 200534124010
Story by Cpl. Enrique Saenz



NAMDALSEID, Norway -- (Mar. 2, 2005) -- Instability and unrest has erupted in a European nation. Social and ethnic tensions divide two ethnic groups and the situation has reached a boiling point. The United Nations Security Council has approved a resolution to send a multinational force to stabilize the region and to keep the peace.

The situation sounds like a chapter from a history book, but it's the same scenario faced by the multinational task force participating in exercise Battle Griffin 2005.

Marines from the Albany, N.Y.-based Fox Co., 2nd Bn., 25th Marine Regiment are on the theoretical frontlines as part of Marine Air Ground Task Force 25, who joins 13,000 troops from 15 countries for the exercise.

"The climate (in Norway) is one of the harshest we've seen," said Sgt. Sean Carvajal, platoon commander, 2nd Plt., Fox Co., 2/25. "There's lots of snow, lots of wind, and hardly any break from it. We've been to Iraq and seen one extreme, so now we're getting a taste of the polar opposite."

The Marines didn't just have to fight the weather, they had to be on the look out for surprises from all sides.

"We're doing (stability and security) operations as part of the field training exercise, and with SASO, you never know what to expect," said Carvajal. "One minute you could be manning a vehicle checkpoint and the next you could be in the middle of three dimensional block warfare."

For some Marines, Battle Griffin is the first time they participated in large-scale exercises.

"Before coming here, I expected it to be cold, and I was wrong," said Lance Cpl. Joseph J. Schiller, a rifleman with 2nd Plt., Fox Co., 2/25. "It's not cold, it's absolutely, uncomfortably freezing. This is the first time I've deployed and it was a bit of a shock. The combination of the weather, the different units, and the local culture is a lot to take in, but for some reason I'm having fun."

Battle Griffin is a Norwegian invitational exercise that allows the Marines Corps to test the interoperability of its tactics and systems with those of potential coalition partner nations.

For more information on exercise Battle Griffin 2005, click the following link: http://www.battlegriffin.no

Ellie

[thedrifter]

1st Battalion, 5th Marines, arrives at Ar Ramadi
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005370759
Story by Cpl. Tom Sloan



MARCH RESERVE AIR BASE, Calif. (Feb. 28, 2005) -- The Marines trudged up the steps of the idling 757 passenger aircraft that would soon carry them away from California. Other than looks of determination in their eyes, the warriors’ faces were like steel, showing little to no emotion.

Many of them are familiar with what awaits them in Iraq. It won’t be fun. They are going to combat again.

More than 1,000 Marines and sailors with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, left California Feb. 27 for Ar Ramadi, Iraq, where they will support Operation Iraqi Freedom 3. This is the infantry battalion’s third deployment in support of OIF.

Their mission will be to provide security and stabilization for the Iraqi people, train the Iraqi Security Forces, help the Iraqi people govern themselves, enable them to communicate freely and help stimulate the economy, according to the 2nd Marine Division OIF 04-06 Handbook.

The Marines of 1/5 are preparing to take over operations from other elements of 1st Marine Division. The infantry battalion will join 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, as the second infantry battalion from 1st MarDiv to serve under 2nd MarDiv.’s banner during OIF.

They’ll do a turnover with the unit they are replacing, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, according to Staff Sgt. Ramon E. Gonzales, platoon sergeant for Company C, 1/5.

“It’s going to be interesting to see the differences in how they do things compared to us,” Gonzales said. “We’ll learn what we can from them and improve on anything that needs improving.”

Keeping the insurgency at bay is key to mission accomplishment, Gonzales added.

“Keeping continuous pressure on the insurgents will help stabilize Ramadi,” he said. “Conducting patrols through our area of operations will help to keep this constant pressure.”

Gonzales added stabilizing Ramadi and training the ISF are essential ingredients in the battalion’s recipe for a successful deployment. The country will eventually be turned over to the ISF when they are capable of bearing that burden, which will mean the Corps’ presence won’t be required as much.

Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people is important too.

“We want the local populace to know we are there for their benefit,” said Gonzales, the 30-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who has a wife and three-year-old son.

This is the second time he’s had to leave his family for war. However, this is the third time that Lance Cpl. Matthew J. Rapp, Company C’s administration clerk, finds himself back in Iraq.

“I’ve spent half of my career in Iraq,” said the 23-year-old native of Tucson, Ariz., while smiling. “I’ve spent the same amount of time back in Pendleton as I have here. It’s not so bad, though. The extra pay softens the blow a bit.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fortenberry meets Nebraska Marines in Iraq


Editor's note: Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska's 1st District congressman, is traveling through the Middle East as part of a six-day fact-finding tour. This is the third installment of the first-term Republican representative's "Middle East Journal."



FALLUJAH, Iraq — If you want to deepen your love for your country, spend some time with the U.S. Marines who fought in the Battle of Fallujah. Today I had lunch with eight of these Marines from Nebraska, and in my short time with them I gained a fuller appreciation of their sacrifice, courage, and commitment. These were serious fighting men, but they knew how to enjoy themselves. When I asked them to share their problems, one Marine replied, "Sir, I'm having trouble getting football tickets."

Four months ago, many doubted there would be an election in January, and few thought it could succeed. The Battle of Fallujah is widely seen as a turning point that allowed the election process to continue, and it required real sacrifices. 83 Americans died uprooting the terrorists there, and a number of Iraqi soldiers died fighting beside them. Now Marines are rebuilding the city's infrastructure, even paying rent and restitution for homes they've had to occupy and destroy.

Sunday we also traveled to Tikrit, the "City of Saddam." This heart of Saddam's Sunni minority prospered during his reign, and its economy and social structure have been overturned by the collapse of the old regime. Many Sunnis chose to sit out the January elections, and local officials speak strongly of their concerns about the transitional government. Yet they do speak, and are taking part in the political process, looking to improve Sunni engagement in elections later this year.

Traveling by helicopter low over the Iraqi countryside, one is impressed both by the barrenness of the landscape, and the agricultural promise this well-watered nation holds. Vast expanses of barren nothingness become lush fields when properly irrigated, but Saddam's self-indulgence, witnessed in plentiful palaces, guaranteed that it wasn't developed to its full potential. In one brown field our group saw some of that potential, a group of boys waving, backed by an old man shaking his fist. These are the Iraqis of yesterday and tomorrow.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 08, 2005

Measure would make sex trafficking a crime under UCMJ

By Rick Maze
Times staff writer


In his continuing war on the international sex trade, Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., wants the Uniform Code of Military Justice amended to include a specific mention of sex trafficking as an offense and wants the Pentagon to appoint a high-level official to coordinate anti-trafficking policies.
Smith, the new chairman of the House International Relations Committee’s panel that oversees global human rights, says the United States already is a worldwide leader in the fight against exploitation of women and children, but could do more both by setting an example for the rest of the world and using its influence to stop trafficking.

As part of the U.S. effort, the Defense Department already is moving to make prostitution and pandering specific military crimes under current statutes. But Smith has a new bill, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, which would add the specific crime of sex trafficking to the military justice code.

The new offense would involve knowingly recruiting, harboring or transporting a person who would be forced or coerced into engaging in a commercial sex act. It also would make it a crime to force anyone by threat or physical restraint to perform labor.

Smith would make his provision part of Article 120 of the UCMJ, which covers rape and carnal knowledge. There is no maximum punishment under that Article; those convicted could receive a death sentence.

Smith hopes to bring the bill, HR 972, to a vote on Thursday, but the military provisions may have to be left out for now because of jurisdictional issues. Changing the UCMJ and creating a new Pentagon office on human trafficking are issues under the purview of the House Armed Services Committee.

Smith’s bill calls for a new assistant defense secretary for anti-trafficking policies to help coordinate the federal government’s effort. That office’s responsibilities would include surveying military members and civilian employees to determine how much they know about and what they think of the sex-slave industry, and then to develop training materials based on the results.

Under pressure from Smith and other human rights activists, the Defense Department has stepped up efforts to work with the South Korean government on shutting down off-base establishments in the sex-trade industry because of evidence that many of the women who work in clubs there are coerced into the jobs. Many are foreigners whose Korean sponsors confiscate their passports and force them to live in virtual slavery.

Part of the reason Smith is pressing the U.S. government over the conduct of Americans is because he wants the United States to set an example for other nations in the face of growing complaints that United Nations peacekeepers around the world have been involved in the sex slave business, either by helping to transport prostitutes or forcing women who were supposed to be under the protection of the peacekeepers to have sex with them in exchange for food and water.

“We can and will insist that the U.N. and its member states find and hold accountable all perpetrators, and implement new reforms to ensure that defenseless peoples in areas of turmoil are in fact protected and aided by U.N. peacekeepers, not exploited,” Smith said at a March 1 hearing.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 14, 2005

Kiss off
7-hour lip lock earns Marine a free truck



An Illinois Marine puckered his lips on Valentine’s Day and drove off with a brand-new truck for his efforts.
Of course, it wasn’t quite that easy.

Sgt. Joseph Cervantez, assigned to Recruiting Station Chicago, had to pit his lips against seven other contestants vying for a 2005 Dodge Dakota in a kissing contest held at the Chicago Auto Show.

Cervantez, 28, proved to be such a strong kisser that he literally “made out” with the gleaming red truck.

The contest lasted seven hours, 43 minutes, and raised money for charity. As part of the contest, Dodge donated $8,000 — or $1,000 for each hour of the contest — to the American Heart Association in recognition of February’s American Heart Month.

“I just puckered up and then kept on kissing as long as I could,” Cervantez said. “I never thought I’d spend Valentine’s Day kissing a truck, but after kissing for that long, I’m now really looking forward to spending quality time with my new Dodge Dakota.”

After a grueling seven-hour-plus lip lock with a truck, Cervantez, who didn’t eat, sleep, go to the bathroom or even stand up straight during the contest, was greeted with a congratulatory kiss from his girlfriend, Melinda. Cervantez credits his rigorous military training and discipline for his victory.

“My job has to do with discipline. Sometimes, that means not eating and not using the bathroom for a while. My job is sucking things up and just dealing with it,” he told the Chicago Tribune.

Talk about muzzle discipline.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 4, 2005
Hawaii Marines enjoy Great Aloha Run


by Sgt. Joseph A. Lee
Marine Corps Base Hawaii


MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Marines from nearly every Marine Corps Base Hawaii tenant command participated in this year's Great Aloha Run, as part of the "Sounds of Freedom" military division.

Kaneohe Bay Marines who ran the 8.15-mile road race that began at the Aloha Tower in Honolulu and ended Aloha Stadium outnumbered the participants from all of the other uniformed services.

Going on this, its 21st year, the Great Aloha Run, conceived by former Editor-in-Chief of the Honolulu Advertiser, Buck Buchwach, has raised more than $6.5 million for nearly 114 different community groups and non-profit organizations in Hawaii.

According to officials, some of the hundreds of community groups and non-profit beneficiaries include: Variety School of Hawaii; United Cerebral Palsy of Hawaii; Catholic Charities Hawaii; Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation; and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Military runners have participated in the Great Aloha Run as part of the "Sounds of Freedom" since the very first run. This year was no different. However, like other military units who participated in the run, 3rd Marine Regiment was short runners this year due to major commitments overseas. But, according to Sgt. Maj. David L. Smith, regimental sergeant major, they were still able to maintain a presence at the race.

"Of course we have two battalions committed elsewhere, so we can't come out in force the way we want to," admitted Smith. "But we were happy to participate with the Marines that we have."

Both Smith and Col. Jeffrey J. Patterson, commanding officer of 3rd Marine Regiment who led the Marines in the run, said that they thought the run went a bit faster this year than last.

"The difference was likely due to less military members running in formation this year," said Smith. "This allowed us to keep a near ten-minute pace throughout the race."

The race began just after the first light. At the Aloha Tower, music from sponsor radio station, Krater96, set the scene for stretching runners and the runners from military teams who were lining up in formation. The first runners started in a "silent start" and "Sounds of Freedom" runners started at the command of Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, commander, U.S. Pacific Command. Fargo offered encouraging words for military and civilian runners before they stepped off.

"It was a motivating feeling," admitted Cpl. Bryan C. Langevin, amphibious assault crew chief with Combat Assault Company. Langevin lead the formation, carrying the Marine Corps flag. "It was an extreme honor to carry the colors. It made me feel extremely proud to be a part of such a great event."

For the third time in the history of the Great Aloha Run, prize money was awarded to top finishers. The Bank of Hawaii sponsored the Military Elite Challenge, which awarded $1,000 to the top three military male and female finishers, $500 to second place, and a $250 prize for the third-place finishers.

At the conclusion of the race, runners arrived at Aloha Stadium where the Marine Forces Pacific Show Band, as well as others, entertained the runners as they arrived. Shining Star, Jordan Segundo, the Liberty Belles, The Krush, and Hot Rain were also scheduled to entertain. After receiving refreshments and a T-shirt, runners filled the bleachers to cool off and enjoy the entertainment.

In the military male category, no military runners placed in the overall top 10 categories; however, Rob Adams, a MCB Hawaii Marine lieutenant, took home the third-place prize of $250 with a time of 46:03. First place was awarded to Chris Larson, an Army National Guardsman, who ran the race in 44:45, and Antonio J. Eppolito, with the Air Force, won second place with a time of 44:45.

In the military female category, in which all three military runners placed in the top 10 overall, first place was awarded to Cristy D. Pritchard, of the U.S. Navy, with a time of 52:09. Second place was awarded to Sandra Ferreira, of the U.S. Coast Guard, with a time of 52:51, and third place was awarded to Fay C. Flattery, of the U.S. Air Force, with a time of 53:39.

"It was a good run," said Sgt. Daniel V. Villarreal, combat engineer with Combat Assault Company. "It felt good to be a part of such a huge event where I could both display my honor for the Corps and country, and get in an outstanding workout to start off my day."

The Michigan Center, Mich., native highly recommends that anyone who has not participated in the Great Aloha Run give it a shot in 2006.

"It really is a great start to President's Day," said the 22-year-old. "It's all over by eight or nine, and you can enjoy your day, energized and motivated from a truly great run."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Father says military preyed on dead Marine's youth

By Jessie Halladay
jhalladay@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal



Nearly two years ago, Fernando Suarez de Solar learned that his son, Jesus, was killed in Iraq while serving with the Marines.

Since then, Suarez de Solar has traveled from San Diego around the country warning young people to stay out of the military, which he says preyed on his son's youth to get him to join.

Suarez de Solar spoke to about 100 people at the University of Louisville last night as part of an event titled "Realities of War: The Hidden Costs of the War on Iraq."

"The recruiters play with the parents' ignorance and the innocence of our children," Suarez de Solar said in Spanish. An interpreter relayed his remarks in English.

Suarez de Solar said that he considers it good news that the Marine Corps reported that it fell short of its recruiting goal in January, which hasn't happened in nearly a decade.

"I don't want any more soldiers," he said.

About half of the audience were members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group of mostly Latino tomato pickers from the region around Immokalee, Fla.

The group has been on tour to talk about working conditions for the laborers and to put pressure on companies that buy the tomatoes, such as Yum! Brands Inc., which has its headquarters in Louisville. Yum says its Taco Bell chain buys less than 1 percent of Florida tomatoes and has no direct influence on the growers who hire the workers.

Suarez de Solar said there are similarities between exploited farm laborers and young men and women drawn to the military -- both are often vulnerable because of their youth, poverty and lack of education.

Nancy Jakubiak, 56, said she was moved by the suffering of both Suarez de Solar and other military families and the farm workers.

A local activist, Jakubiak said she often has tried to shed light on the types of stories she heard last night.

"I try to talk to people, and I get shut down because they don't want to hear it," Jakubiak said. "I'm very sad that so many of my fellow citizens don't want to hear the truth."

Morgan Taliaferro, 20, a junior at U of L and a member of Students United for Peace and Justice -- one of several groups sponsoring the event -- said it put a face on news stories she reads that focus largely on numbers.

"It makes you realize the impact of this war," she said. "And it makes you question why we're there."

Ellie