From behind the desk to the front lines

[thedrifter]

From behind the desk to the front lines
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20053910395
Story by Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio



CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, RAMADI, Iraq (March 07, 2005) -- While Marines fight the insurgency outside camp, there's a force of Marines within the walls less visible, but never more important. Unlike most though, one of the Marines volunteered for the job.

Private First Class Augustin Melendez is one of the Marines on the camp's security force, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious - day or night. He stands taller than many of the officers and personnel who walk into the combat operations center (COC) here, as he scans the area with an M-16 A4 service rifle slung around his body.

Melendez is a 22-year-old special intelligence communicator and administrator with 2d Radio Battalion, 2d Marine Division. The Roselle Park, N.J. native rotates between guarding the COC, where all 2d Marine Division missions are tracked, to handling insurgent detainees and even guarding the mess hall while Marines and other service members eat.

But that's not all he does.

The 2001 graduate of Roselle Park High started his career in computers when he worked at the Schering-Plough pharmaceutical company on a high school co-op work program. Instead of going to college, Melendez decided to get some life experience in the Corps. Since his decision, he's been an instrumental part of the Marine Corps' transition from a military to a civilian contracted computer network.

Now, he greets the Marines and other personnel going in and out of the facilities he guards around camp. For him, it's a chance to get some first hand experience in Global War on Terrorism.

Despite his accomplishments, Melendez wanted something more.

"When the battalion left the first time for Iraq I couldn't go because I underwent ankle surgery, but I really wanted to be a part of it," said Melendez. "When they went around asking for any volunteers, I was right on it," he added, in a confident tone.

Now he has his chance and he's making the best of things here. It's a total change from what he's used to, but according to him, it's nothing he can't handle.

As he stood on guard, his flak jacket and helmet dusty with sand, Melendez broke his serious expression for a moment and cracked a smile to say, "It's an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"Getting to deal with the detainees when they come in is a change for me," said Melendez. "It's a world of a difference than working in an office behind a computer. This is one of the reasons I joined the Marines - to do something for my country."

When he gets back to the U.S., Melendez plans to continue his life's passion - - racing import cars. His 1996 black Mazda Miata with racing wheels, roll cage and body kit is waiting to be raced again on one of the local tracks in the Onslow County, N.C. area.

"I'll take my car around the track a few times once I put my new headlight kit on. But then it's back to 'Jersey either for a career in automotive mechanics or computers," said Melendez. "But with my experience in the Marine Corps, I shouldn't have trouble getting a job in either field."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

No Plan Yet To Pay Back Soldiers
Associated Press
March 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department hasn't developed a plan to reimburse soldiers for equipment they've bought to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan despite requirements in a law passed last year, a senator says.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., asked details on the Pentagon's progress setting up the reimbursement program and questioned why it was not in place yet.

"Very simply, this is either negligence on their part, because they were not happy with this when it passed, or it's incompetence," Dodd said. "It's pretty outrageous when you have all their rhetoric about how much we care about our people in uniform."

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke said Rumsfeld will respond to Dodd's letter after he has reviewed it. She had no comment on the progress of reimbursement regulations.

Soldiers serving in Iraq and their families have reported buying everything from higher-quality protective gear to armor for their Humvees, medical supplies and even global positioning devices.




In response to the complaints, Congress last year passed Dodd's amendment requiring the Pentagon to reimburse members of the Armed Services for the cost of any safety or health equipment that they bought or someone else bought on their behalf.

Under the law, the Defense Department had until Feb. 25 to develop regulations on the reimbursement, which is limited to $1,100 per item.

Dodd asked that Rumsfeld provide details on the department's progress. But he also said it was unclear what recourse he has, other than public embarrassment, to force the Defense Department to act.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who repeatedly decried the lack of equipment during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, said the Pentagon needs to move quickly to give the troops their reimbursement and armored Humvees.

"They should be living up to the letter of the law," Kerry said.

The latest emergency spending proposal for the war totals $81.9 billion, including $74.9 billion for the Defense Department. It includes $3.3 billion for extra armor for trucks and other protective gear - underscoring a sensitivity to earlier complaints by troops.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

PM Disputes U.S. Version Of Shooting
Associated Press
March 10, 2005

ROME - Disputing Washington's version of events, Italy's premier said that an Italian intelligence agent who was shot to death by U.S. troops in Baghdad had informed the proper authorities that he was heading to the airport with a freed hostage.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also told lawmakers that the car carrying agent Nicola Calipari and a just-liberated hostage was traveling slowly and stopped immediately when a light was flashed at a checkpoint, before U.S. troops fired on the car.

Though the U.S. and Italian versions of what happened Friday do not match up, "I'm sure that in a very short time every aspect of this will be clarified," Berlusconi said.

The idea that Calipari was killed by friendly fire is painful to accept, the premier said. But he reassured lawmakers: "The United States has no intention of evading the truth."

Berlusconi is a staunch supporter of President Bush and the U.S.-led campaign and has been struggling to balance his decision to keep 3,000 troops in Iraq against heavy anti-war sentiment in Italy.




The premier said Calipari had notified an Italian liaison officer, waiting at the Baghdad airport along with an American officer, that he was on his way with the freed hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena.

However, the top U.S. general in Iraq has said he had no indication that Italian officials gave advance notice of the route the Italians' car was taking. In a statement released after the shooting, the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which controls Baghdad, said the vehicle was speeding and refused to stop.

The statement also said a U.S. patrol tried to warn a driver with hand and arm signals, by flashing white lights and firing shots in front of the car.

Berlusconi's 20-minute address did not mention whether ransom was paid to win Sgrena's release. Some Italian officials have suggested a ransom was paid, but there has been no official confirmation. Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini denied Wednesday that ransoms were paid for any Italian hostages.

"There has been no payment," he said, speaking during a talk show on RAI1 state television.

Berlusconi once again urged Italians in Iraq to leave.

"When Italian citizens have been victims of kidnappings, the government has always acted by following two directives: It has always rejected political blackmail while at the same time activating all the political, diplomatic and intelligence channels to obtain the release of our nationals," Berlusconi said.

Calipari was shot and killed as he headed to Baghdad's airport after securing the release of Sgrena, who had been kidnapped on Feb. 4. Sgrena and another intelligence officer in the vehicle were wounded.

"The case of friendly fire is certainly the most painful to bear. It feels like an injustice beyond any sentiment. It's something unreasonable," Berlusconi said.

Photos aired by RAI, state TV's main evening news program, showed the light gray Toyota Corolla that Calipari and Sgrena were riding in, which is still in Iraq in the hands of the U.S. military.

The body of the car appeared to have little or no damage on its left side and front, including the lights. A few bullet holes are visible on the right side - near the wheel and the front door.

Inside, the seats appear to be covered in glass, although the photos of the interior are grainy. A bullet hole also is evident in the back seat on the left side, where Sgrena reportedly was sitting.

U.S. officials have said American troops fired at the car's engine to stop it.

Berlusconi's address was well received and lawmakers followed it with a standing ovation in Calipari's honor.

The office of Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said Wednesday that Bush had sent him a letter renewing a promise for a swift and thorough investigation.

In it, Bush called the shooting a "terrible tragedy" and expressed his solidarity, Ciampi's office said.

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq announced Tuesday it was ordering an investigation into the shooting, to be led by a U.S. brigadier general with Italian officials' participation. Berlusconi said he expected the joint commission to release its findings in three to four weeks.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Troops Search Iraqi Roads For Bombs
Associated Press
March 10, 2005

OUTSKIRTS OF BAQOUBA, Iraq - The convoy of U.S. armored vehicles creeps down the rural roads outside this central Iraqi city at nightfall, soldiers peering through the windows to spot the preferred weapon of insurgents - the roadside bomb.

The 18 U.S. soldiers know that as they study the heavily used routes for anything that seems unnatural, they also are being watched by insurgents hidden in dark desert.

Just the night before, gunmen fired a grenade at a convoy in the same area, and two days earlier they planted bombs along this road.

"Especially at night time, we know they're watching us," said Spc. James Acker, 25, of Worcester, Mass. He is the driver of the lead armored Humvee in a patrol of soldiers from the 467th Engineering Battalion, 42nd Division, based in Millington, Tenn.

Two years into the war, hunting for roadside bombs remains a major task that consumes both time and manpower.




The bombs - called Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, in military jargon - have been the most lethal form of attack on U.S. soldiers, killing hundreds of the more than 1,500 service members who have died since the invasion of Iraq. Two men from Acker's division were killed by IEDs last month.

The bombs help level the playing field for guerrillas outmatched by U.S. firepower. All it takes is for someone to plant a bomb along or under a road and to pull the trigger - touching two wires together or making a cell phone call. Most attackers slip away unnoticed.

"IED is still the weapon of choice," said Maj. Ed House of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

House said he thinks the bombs are planted by locals but are built by more organized insurgents.

"This isn't your regular Iraqi building an IED in his garage," he said.

In the region around Baqouba - a city of 300,000 people and an insurgent hotbed - more than 1,400 IEDs have exploded or been found since November 2003, according to U.S. military statistics. Since their arrival about two months ago, Acker's group has found six - five detected before detonation and one that exploded but caused no injuries.

Major roads are searched several times a day. Acker's team crawls along its assigned roads at 20-25 mph.

One hour into a recent 50-mile patrol, the sun dipped below the skyline, leaving a moonless night sky. Night vision goggles are helpful but often cannot locate attackers in the surrounding bumpy terrain, full of shrubs, palm trees, burning roadside garbage and abandoned buildings.

The lead Humvee's headlights revealed a dark lump in the center of the road - a dead, black dog, similar to the carcass in which the group found their first bomb. It lay precisely in the center of the road, suspicious enough to hush the three soldiers. They called in "the Buffalo," a 22-ton armored mine-clearing vehicle in their convoy.

The mammoth vehicle rumbled to the front to inspect, stopping local traffic in both lanes. Twenty minutes later the vehicle lowered its large mechanical arm and harmlessly tossed the carcass aside.

The lead Humvee then drove by a dozen idling cars, with the gunner carefully monitoring movement. Most of the Iraqis in the cars stared straight ahead without any expression.

As the convoy went down its route, Iraqi drivers were forced onto the shoulder.

Acker suddenly hit the brakes. "Tracer, right to left," he said, alerting them to gunfire off the left side of the road.

Night vision goggles were thrown on and the soldier scanned for follow-up shots. After several minutes, the shots were dismissed as celebratory gunfire, a common occurrence in the country, and the convoy cautiously proceeded.

Then a loud thump caused everyone in the Humvee to tense up.

Acker's boot had inadvertently hit the side of the vehicle.

"Scare the hell out of you?" asked Acker.

"Yes," said his gunner Jose Santiago, a 26-year-old from Kerman, Calif.

Several people walked down the side of the road, some waiting for taxis, others casually walking home or elsewhere before the 11 p.m. curfew.

The convoy passed through four Iraqi Army checkpoints. Initially, all were manned by several soldiers who waved the U.S. troops through, but on the return trip two of the checkpoints only had one Iraqi soldier visible each.

"Well, they could be sleeping. You just don't know, you can't ever tell," said Sgt. Dallas Bryan, 50, of Pittsburgh, the senior soldier in the patrol.

"But they're around here," he quickly added.

The danger to the Iraqi soldiers is clear - about 12 hours later, some 20 insurgents attacked a nearby Baqouba checkpoint and killed five soldiers.

Just a few miles from completing their three-hour patrol, Bryan searched for the dog carcass that had been moved at the beginning of the patrol.

"It's gone. I can't believe it's gone," said Bryan.

After a pause, Santiago said the insurgents may have carried away the carcass for use in a future attack.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Gunmen Kill Five Policemen In Baghdad
Associated Press
March 10, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen shot dead five policemen in a drive-by shooting in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, one day after authorities said they'd found dozens of corpses - some bullet-riddled, others beheaded - at two different sites.

Gunmen in two cars opened fire on a vehicle carrying Col. Ahmed Abeis, the head of a police station in central Baghdad, killing him and four of his guards, said police Capt. Talib Thamir.

It was not known who shot the men, but Iraqi police and army troops, as well as top Iraqi politicians, are frequently targeted by insurgents who see them as collaborators with U.S. forces.

The shootings came after authorities announced Wednesday they'd found 41 bodies at two sites in Iraq. Officials said some of the badly decomposed corpses are Iraqi soldiers who were kidnapped and slain by insurgents. Others were civilians, including women and children who may have been killed because their families were seen as collaborators.

Also Wednesday, a suicide bomber in a garbage truck loaded with explosives and at least one gunman shot their way into a parking lot in a daring attempt at dawn to blow up a hotel used by Western contractors in Baghdad. At least four people, including the attackers and a guard, were killed.




The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that 30 American contractors were among 40 people injured in the massive blast. No Americans were killed. In an Internet statement, al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly claimed responsibility for the attack on the Sadeer hotel, calling it the "hotel of the Jews."

Iraq's interim planning minister, Mahdi al-Hafidh, escaped death on Wednesday after gunmen opened fire on his convoy in the capital. Two of his bodyguards were killed and two others were wounded, he said.

"I'm fine, just sorry about the death of the guards, who were still young," he told state-run Al-Iraqiya TV. "It is a part of the crisis that Iraq is living, but we will keep going for the sake of Iraq, to get rid of terrorism and build a democratic country."

Two other car bombings were also reported. One targeted an American checkpoint outside a base in Habaniyah, 50 miles west of Baghdad. Another car bomb exploded near U.S. troops close to Abu Ghraib, just west of the capital.

No other details were available and the U.S. military could not be reached for comment.

Elsewhere, guerrillas struck a police patrol with a roadside bomb in the southern city of Basra, killing two policeman and wounding three, Lt. Col. Karim Al-Zaydi said.

In northern Kirkuk, a woman identified as Nawal Mohammed, who worked with U.S. forces, was killed in a drive-by shooting, police Gen. Turhan Youssef said.

Another three unidentified men were gunned down in central Baghdad and another was killed when gunmen opened fire on a bus, police and defense ministry officials said.

In northern Mosul, two police officers were killed and two others were injured in clashes with insurgents, officials said.

One group of 26 dead were found late Tuesday in a field near Rumana, a village about 12 miles east of the western city of Qaim, near the Syrian border, police Capt. Muzahim al-Karbouli and other officials said.

Each of the bodies had been riddled with bullets - apparently several days earlier. They were found wearing civilian clothes and one was a woman, al-Karbouli said.

Authorities were led to the find by the stench of decomposing bodies.

South of Baghdad in Latifiya, Iraqi troops on Tuesday made another gruesome discovery, finding 15 headless bodies in a building inside an abandoned former army base, Defense Ministry Capt. Sabah Yassin said.

The bodies included 10 men, three women and two children. Their identities, like the others found in western Iraq, were not known, but they may have been slain because their husbands or families were viewed as collaborators.

Women are no longer safe even in traditionally minded Iraq. Decapitated bodies of women have begun turning up in recent weeks, a note with the word "collaborator" usually pinned to their chests. Three women were gunned down Tuesday in one of Baghdad's Shiite neighborhoods for being alleged collaborators.

Yassin said some of the dead men in Latifiya were thought to have been part of a group of Iraqi soldiers who were kidnapped by insurgents in the area two weeks ago.

In the attack against the Sadeer hotel, al-Qaida in Iraq's "military wing" posted another Internet statement attributed to its leader, Jordanian-born terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

It said it carried out extensive surveillance of the hotel and "we have fulfilled our vow to take down the Jews and Christians." In an alleged response on the same site, someone purporting to be al-Zarqawi replied that "you have relieved us by killing the enemy of God. God bless you."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Probe: Leaders Didn't Order Prison Abuse
Associated Press
March 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - Top commanders in Iraq put intense pressure on interrogators to extract useful intelligence information from prisoners, yet that does not explain the sexual humiliation and other abuse of prisoners under U.S. control, an investigation has concluded.

The report by Navy Vice Adm. Albert T. Church said the pressure was not excessive. The investigation could find no "single, overarching reason" why prisoners under U.S. control were abused at the Abu Ghraib prison complex in fall 2003 and elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Command pressure for more intelligence was to be expected in a battlefield setting, Church wrote.

"We found no evidence, however, that interrogators in Iraq believed that any pressure for intelligence subverted their obligation to treat detainees humanely," he wrote in a summary of his findings.

Church, a former Navy inspector general and now director of the Navy staff, was presenting his report to Congress on Thursday. A copy of a 21-page executive summary was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.




Church concluded that no civilian or uniformed leaders directed or encouraged abuse, and his report holds Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top defense leaders largely blameless on the narrow question of pressuring interrogators as well as the larger matter of interrogation policies.

"We found no evidence to support the notion that the office of the secretary of defense (or other military or White House staff) applied explicit pressure for intelligence or gave 'back channel' permission to forces in the field in Iraq or in Afghanistan" to exceed the bounds of authorized interrogation practices, the report said.

Church conducted more than 800 interviews and reviewed the conclusions of several other investigations. His main purpose was to trace the development and implementation of interrogation policies and techniques and to search for connections to the reported abuses.

"We found no link between approved interrogation techniques and detainee abuse," he concluded.

The review did cite, however, a number of "missed opportunities" in the development of interrogation policies.

Among the missed opportunities was a failure to provide commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan with specific and early guidance on interrogation techniques. "We cannot say that there would necessarily have been less detainee abuse had these opportunities been acted upon," Church wrote.

Had that guidance been provided earlier, "interrogation policy could have benefited from additional expertise and oversight," he wrote.

The Church report also disclosed that the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. George Casey, who arrived there last summer, approved on Jan. 27 a new, more restrictive interrogation policy for Iraq.

Casey's new policy "provides additional safeguards and prohibitions, rectifies ambiguities" and requires that commanders report to Casey their compliance with the policy, the report said.

The probe also found, in the cases of detainee operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that the dissemination of approved interrogation policy to commanders in the field was generally poor. And in Iraq in particular it found that compliance with approved policy guidance was generally poor.

By contrast, compliance with the authorized interrogation methods was in nearly all cases exemplary at the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where terrorism suspects have been held since January 2002, the report said. It attributed this to strict command oversight and effective leadership, as well as adequate resources.

The review was done last summer. It is among several triggered by disclosures last spring of prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison complex in Iraq. Church was directed to look at how interrogation policies were developed and implemented from the start of the terror war in fall 2001.

"An early focus of our investigation was to determine whether DOD (Department of Defense) had promulgated interrogation policies or guidance that directed, sanctioned or encouraged the abuse of detainees. We found that this was not the case," the Church probe concluded.

"Even in the absence of a precise definition of 'humane' treatment, it is clear that none of the pictured abuses at Abu Ghraib bear any resemblance to approved policies at any level," it added.

Church did not directly investigate the Abu Ghraib matter or address questions about accountability for senior defense officials involved in interrogation policy. Both of those matters have been investigated by others.

While the problems cited by Church in the dissemination of interrogation policy guidance to commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan were found to be "certainly cause for concern," Church concluded that "they did not lead to the employment of illegal or abusive interrogation techniques."

Church examined the 187 Pentagon investigations of alleged prisoner abuse that had been completed when he finished his work last September. He counted 70 of those investigations as having substantiated acts of abuse. In six of the 70 cases, the prisoner died. Of the 70, only 20 were related to interrogations; the other 50 were not associated in any way with questioning, he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Missile Bases Could Be Ready Fast
Associated Press
March 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - Experimental interceptor bases in Alaska and California can be made ready to fire at incoming ballistic missiles within minutes or hours, the chief of the Missile Defense Agency said Wednesday.

The comments from Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III in a conference call with reporters suggest the United States is technically ready to try to shoot down a few incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles with little warning.

The Bush administration has declined to declare the missile defense system operational, as it had once hoped to do by the end of last year. Nevertheless, missile defense officials describe the two bases as having an operational capability even though they are experimental in nature, but the system must switch from a test mode, to an operational one, before it can fire.

Whether it takes minutes or hours to change modes depends on how the systems are configured when the decision is made to become operational, Obering said. If the system is in the middle of a major software upgrade, it might take hours, he said.

To shorten the time, Obering said officials are installing a system in which it could be set to an operational mode almost instantaneously. He did not say when that would be completed.




How long it takes to ready the defenses could be critical if the United States were to face a surprise attack from North Korea, which Washington perceives as presenting the most likely near-term threat from long-range missiles.

It is not clear whether the North Koreans have the capability to put a nuclear warhead on a missile that can reach U.S. territory.

Still, such a missile launched from North Korea could reach the western United States in half an hour. Thus, given so little notice, it is not certain whether a surprise launch could be intercepted.

But missile defense officials have said they would expect some kind of strategic warning that a launch is possible, giving them some time to ready the system.

The system has mechanical blocks on the eight interceptor missiles - six in silos at Fort Greely, Alaska, and two more at Vandenberg Air Force, Calif. - that prevent them from launching. They can be removed quickly, officials said.

The system also relies on radars in Alaska, California, at sea and in orbit, and command centers in the United States.

Whether those defenses could shoot down an incoming missile is an open question. In two recent $85 million tests, the interceptors have failed to get out of the silos.

In the first, on Dec. 15, the missile did not launch because of the software that monitors the communications flow between the missile and ground controllers detected what it was programmed to perceive as too many missed messages. In response, officials set the software to be more tolerant of missed messages - a fix that amounted to changing one line of code, Obering said Wednesday.

The second test failed because an arm that holds up the interceptor did not fully retract in the moments before it launched, Obering said. The interceptor shut down automatically. Engineers do not know why the arm did not retract, he said.

Both tests involved launching an interceptor from Kwajalein Island in the Pacific Ocean at a target launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska. The Kwajalein base is for testing only.

In earlier tests, the system was successful in five of eight tests in highly scripted attempts to intercept a target missile carrying a mock warhead.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 14, 2005 <br />
<br />
Hearing set for lieutenant accused of slaying 2 Iraqis <br />
‘He did nothing but his job,’ his attorney says <br />
<br />
By C. Mark Brinkley <br />
Times staff writer <br />
<br />
<br />
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A...

[thedrifter]

Destination Fallujah: 1/6 ADVON leaves Lejeune
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200532125350
Story by Cpl. Mike Escobar



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 22, 2005) -- First Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment’s advance party departed here Tuesday, Feb. 22 bound for Camp Baharia near Fallujah, Iraq.

Approximately 50 unit leaders and troops from diverse military occupational specialties will arrive in country weeks before the battalion’s main body to assess their future area of operation and receive equipment.

“One of the reasons we left early was so 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (the unit that 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment will replace in Iraq) could turn gear they’d been using over to us,” stated 22-year-old Cpl. Nicholas K. Weber, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment radio technician.

The Louisville, Ky. native and his fellow advance party Marines will ensure that gear, such as trucks and communications equipment, works properly. Since the unit will receive gear that 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment used, they conduct this turnover to identify any discrepancies or broken items.

The advance party also gets a chance to talk to Marines that have been working in Fallujah to get oriented and see how they’ve conducted operations.

In addition, advance party unit leaders will have the opportunity to gain insight on how to conduct future missions and survey the area to facilitate a smooth transition and arrival for the main body.

According to Weber, his unit is well prepared for the mission after having conducted several months of training.

Battalion personnel participated in a Revised Combined Arms Exercise in California’s Mojave Desert in January, where they fired rifles, machineguns and mortars to learn mission accomplishment through teamwork by executing a combined arms assault on an objective.

Weber said his unit then conducted Security and Stabilization Operations training aboard March Air Reserve Base, Calif.

“This was the best training we’ve seen in awhile,” he added.

Marines and sailors practiced conducting patrols, performing humanitarian aid missions and providing camp security amidst Iraqi insurgent role players’ attacks.

Weber said the training was very similar to the missions his unit will perform in Iraq.
First Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment personnel continue to train in the weeks they have left before deployment, conducting mortar and grenade ranges, and furthering their urban war fighting skills.

Weber said he feels his training has prepared him for the tasks ahead, and he remains motivated to deploy.

“I don’t really know what to expect once we get into Iraq, and I’m sure it will be different than any other deployment we’ve done before. It will just feel good to get over there and get the job done.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Cumberland native back from Marine duty in Iraq

CUMBERLAND -- When your job is with the United States Marine Corps, you have to be flexible in making personal plans.


That’s what Heather Ravenelle found out; she had planned on being home in December for her birthday.


Instead, Ravenelle’s Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron was still on a seven-month tour of duty in Iraq, conducting missions from the Al Asad Air Base near Baghdad.

"Originally we were supposed to go to Okinawa, but then they came back and told us we were going to Iraq," Ravenelle, the daughter of Dennis and Pauline Ravenelle of Cumberland, said after finally making it back home this week.

The Marine sergeant admits to being a little nervous when she found out she was heading into the war zone and credits members of her unit who had already served a tour there with helping her to relax about it.

"We’re a pretty close group of Marines and they just talked to me about their experiences and what to expect," she said.

The 1997 graduate of Cumberland High School flew into Al Asad on a C-130 transport plane in the dark of night in August 2004 and didn’t get a real look at her new home until the next morning.

"There was sand everywhere, it was very hot and there was no color anywhere," she said. Nothing like the green of New England at that time of year.

Ravenelle’s daily routine in Iraq primarily focused on work at the unit’s headquarters, where she handled pay issues and other personnel matters.

The soldiers were told to follow a buddy system when doing anything, she said. Ravenelle always took along her M-16 wherever she went.

The unit’s pilots and aircrews flew their "Huey" and Cobra helicopters on daily missions into the field, but all made it back, she said. Stress was a regular part of life in Iraq and if the soldiers weren’t coping with that, they were bored.

"We worked 12 to 16 hour days depending on what was happening at that moment," she said.

Outside of doing physical training three times a week, the only other off-duty option was the mess hall, she said.

Occasionally, Ravenelle would meet Iraqis working at the base and they would be friendly and usually offer some word of thanks to the soldiers.

She spent Christmas Day, in fact, playing soccer with a group of Iraqis visiting the base.

Ravenelle’s original plans for holidays would have put her home in Cumberland when her 25th birthday rolled around on Dec. 23.

She probably would have gone out to celebrate with a friend from high school, Sarah Lincoln, and been around to spend the holidays with her parents.

Instead, Dennis Ravenelle and his wife kept in contact with their daughter through regular phone calls from Iraq and by e-mail.

Her father, himself an Army veteran of Vietnam, knows how it feels when the service says it is time to head out on duty.

"You have no control over yourself, they send you and you go," he said.

Ravenelle said he and his wife worried about their only child while she was serving in Iraq and hoped that her duties on base would keep her away from harm.

They sent lots of care packages to help her remember home and waited for any news or letters that would come from Iraq to say she was OK.

They felt a lot better when her tour ended and she was back in California, but not as good as they did when she walked off the plane at T.F. Greene Airport for her leave at home.

The family took along a welcome-home banner to greet her and, when other people in the airport saw it, they clapped for her, he said.

"Yeah, that was a relief," Dennis Ravenelle said.

The Ravenelles celebrated their daughter’s return with a big party of family and friends last weekend that included some the best food the young soldier had eaten in months.

Ravenelle said she had to work hard to make the grade to be a Marine during basic training and now has added service in a war zone to that experience.

"Before I became a Marine I had never been anywhere on my own and I was afraid of heights," she said. "Now, I’m not afraid of anything."



Ellie

[thedrifter]

Estrada: Recruit abuse a career destroyer
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Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story by Lance Cpl. Joseph L. Digirolamo

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March, 10 2005) -- The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps told current and aspiring drill instructors during a visit here last week they would "destroy" their careers if they abuse recruits.

He also predicted that neither "stop-loss" nor the draft would return despite military recruiting shortfalls that spread to the Marine Corps each of the last two months.

"I am unforgiving towards those that threaten our Corps' existence (and) way of life," Sgt. Maj. John Estrada said during his visit March 3, adding that recruit abuse has no place in the Marine Corps.

Estrada, who travels approximately 20 days per month in his post, said he flew west to deliver a "pep talk" to staff noncommissioned officers during visits to Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

But his 45-minute speech at the Edson Range Chapel to drill instructors and DIs in training included an admonition stemming from an alleged case of abuse blamed in last month's death of Jason Tharp, a recruit at MCRD Parris Island. Eight Parris Island drill instructors have been suspended based on an investigation into Tharp's death, Marine Corps officials said Friday.

It's incumbent upon staff NCOs and all Marines "to protect their institution and the future of this great organization," Estrada said.

Estrada's tough talk marked a brief interruption in an otherwise steady drumbeat of high praise.

"You are doing the Corps proud," Estrada told the gathering. "I have the utmost confidence in your abilities."

Estrada emphasized that warfighters in Iraq aren't the only ones worthy of commendation.

"Every Marine's MOS (military occupational specialty) is vitally important to what we are doing right now," Estrada told them. "Our staff noncommissioned officers are making that happen."

During the hour-long meeting, which included a short question-and-answer session after the speech, Estrada touched on recruiting goals, old Corps versus new Corps philosophies, and the war in Iraq.

Estrada thanked the men for their dedication, asking that they not undermine the success of their young, new Marines.

"Today's Marines are just as good as those of the old," he said, adding that they, like their predecessors, are "kicking butt."

Questions dealt largely with issues related to force numbers - including stop-loss, draft concerns and prior-service enlistment.

Despite rumors about reinstating the draft, Estrada told the Marines he doesn't foresee it as an option right now.

One Marine criticized the recruiting effort ---- telling Estrada that a prior-enlisted friend wanting to come back and fight was denied re-entry into the Corps. The recruiter told his friend to "go back to his wife and children," the questioner said.

The friend is now serving in the Army, he added.

Estrada said he is against resuming stop-loss, the policy whereby servicemembers are forced to stay in the military beyond their end of active service. The policy was invoked for several months before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom - and the Army resumed the policy in January amid low retention and recruiting numbers.

Estrada explained his opposition to bringing the policy back into the Marine Corps.

"Stop-loss demoralizes the troops; we don't want to lose the morale," Estrada said in response to a Marine's question about whether the Corps would follow the Army's lead on the policy.

"It ain't going to happen," he said.

Like the Army, the Marine Corps suddenly is having trouble reaching its recruiting goals. The Corps fell short of its monthly targets for signing up new recruits in January and February. January marked the first time since 1995 the Corps failed to meet a monthly recruiting objective.

Estrada said recruiting deficits are being addressed. More than 400 additional recruiters will soon be on "the street" to enlist young adults, he said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Former Marine criticizes war, recruitment <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
Denise Richardson <br />
The Daily Star Online <br />
March 10, 2005 <br />
<br />
ONEONTA - A...

[thedrifter]

Round 3 for Marines in Iraq
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By Mike Dorning
Chicago Tribune correspondent

Lance Cpl. Nicholas Renkosik spent his 21st birthday battling to take a bridge on the outskirts of Baghdad. On his 22nd, he was hit in the jaw by shrapnel from a roadside bomb that detonated near his vehicle in western Iraq (news - web sites).

Next month, the gangly, 6-foot-2 Marine from Davenport, Iowa, turns 23. And once again he is in Iraq--on his third tour of duty.

"I feel like I'm doing the right thing," said Renkosik, who could have remained in the United States because of a shoulder injury but went overseas again with his unit.

Renkosik's unit, the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, provided one of the enduring images of the fall of Baghdad, toppling a statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) before cheering Iraqis and a worldwide television audience.

The unit is once again part of a signature moment: In January, it became the first Marine battalion to return to Iraq for a third deployment, according to a Marine Corps spokesman. More are to follow.

With less than six months in the U.S. between deployments, said Cpl. Kellen Scott, 22, of West Chicago, Ill., "it almost seems like I never left Iraq and my time home was just a dream."

On the first deployment, Lance Cpl. Dusty Lansdorf's family was anxious but supportive. On the second, they were incredulous that he had to return, said Lansdorf, 22, of Oroville, Calif.

Their reaction this time: "Don't go. You're rolling the dice too many times."

The unit's tough schedule is testament to the heavy burden America's ground forces have shouldered in a fight that has gone on much longer than the Pentagon (news - web sites) planned, against more tenacious resistance than expected.

The men of "Darkside," as the battalion is nicknamed, have been present for many of the high points and low moments in a conflict that has taken plenty of unexpected turns. More than half the unit's 800 Marines have been with the unit for all three deployments.

They speak of pride in having been part of a historic moment that their children and grandchildren will read about. But they also murmur of weariness with their repeated deployments.

"They're tired. They're tired of being here," said Navy Lt. Matthew Weems, the battalion's chaplain.

During the drive to Baghdad that began two years ago this month, these men spent weeks in armored vehicles packed shoulder-to-shoulder in stifling, full-body bio-chemical gear. They weathered a sandstorm so fierce that an outstretched hand could disappear in the swirling brown air. They fought through mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire to take a key bridge.

And afterward, they were welcomed with flowers and dancing in the streets by residents of the Iraqi capital.

A year later, after American contractors' bodies were burned and hanged in Fallujah, these same Marines fought their way into the western Iraqi city, battling block by block, only to be forced to give up the ground. Higher-ups called off the offensive. It was a painful setback that ate at many of the Marines during the months of monotonous duty in the Iraqi desert that followed.

Now they are in Fallujah again. This time they encountered a city largely in ruins, after an offensive that retook the town in November. Shortly after the unit returned, the Marines were witnesses to a triumph of sorts, a small but brave stream of city residents who defied insurgent threats to vote in Iraq's first free election in half a century.

In the days and months ahead, Darkside will bear the duty of maintaining control in a place that, while quiet now, remains awash in weapons and insurgent sympathizers. Just last week, Marines discovered a buried weapons cache near Fallujah containing hundreds of rockets and some 6,000 rounds of ammunition.

They consider the deployments a sign of confidence in their unit's ability to handle tough situations, but the assignments also stir up frustration.

Most in the battalion thought they were finished with Iraq after bringing down Hussein. They were stunned in February 2004 when they were summoned back during a deployment to Okinawa, Japan, because of a deteriorating security situation.

Though the third deployment came as no surprise, its timing did. The Marines' Christmas leaves were cut by half as the battalion was rushed to Iraq nearly two months ahead of schedule because of concerns that the January elections would be disrupted.

Many in the unit said they are resigned to the likelihood that the battalion will be called to Iraq a fourth and fifth time.

Many said they want no part of it.

"How do we get through a third deployment?" asked Cpl. John Woodham, 22, of Dothan, Ala. "This will be the last time we do this. When we get back, we're done--out of the Marine Corps."

Despite a re-enlistment bonus of $18,000 for corporals and $21,000 for sergeants, Marines up for re-enlistment in the next year overwhelmingly say they plan to leave, said Staff Sgt. Michael Hunt, the battalion's retention specialist.

In many cases, Marines with months of service remaining have lined up civilian job offers or early acceptance at colleges. Often, parents anxious about their sons' safety have found jobs for them when they get out. It is something Hunt had rarely seen.

"From the colonel on down to the company and platoon commanders, everybody is concerned about who's going to be around for the next deployment, who's going to train the young Marines for the next time," Hunt said.

Living conditions are rudimentary for the battalion's line companies, positioned in patrol bases across southern Fallujah. India Company is stationed in a bombed-out soda bottling plant. Kilo Company is in a compound of houses with a hole blasted through a wall.

The room shared by the company's platoon commanders is pockmarked on all four walls and the ceiling from a grenade explosion during November's fighting.

There is one hot meal delivered every other day. Showers are available only when Marines pass through the battalion headquarters on the edge of the city, usually about once a week but sometimes less frequently, officers said.

The Marines rarely complain about their accommodations. Last year, most of them lived in tents and had no electricity.

But for warriors trained to take ground and kill the enemy, the duties of an occupying force patrolling streets are uncomfortable. And they remain frustrated with a faceless opponent who fights with roadside bombs and blends with the civilian population.

They also cite the strain of time away from family during deployments and even during the brief periods at home, which are filled with intense training schedules and extended exercises in the field to keep the unit prepared for duty.

"I have 13 years in the Marine Corps, and my wife has put me on notice: If we have another deployment, I have to choose between the Marine Corps and my wife," said Lt. Brian Sitko, 33, the battalion's adjutant, who was commissioned an officer after service in the enlisted ranks.

But the Marines remain focused and determined, their leaders say. Since the war began, 10 of Darkside's members have been killed in action and 46 wounded. The unit knows firsthand the need for vigilance.

This deployment may have given the Marines "a bad taste in their mouth," said Staff Sgt. Michael Robinson, 32, of Fayetteville, N.C.

But "they understand the mission. They accept it. And they're going to do it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Pentagon: Saddam capture not fabricated by military
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March 9, 2005
WorldNetDaily.com

Pentagon says Saddam Hussein was captured in this 'spider hole'

Was Saddam Hussein hiding in an underground bunker when he was captured, or was he caught in a house?

The Pentagon is flatly denying a report claiming the U.S. military fabricated the details of how the deposed Iraqi dictator was captured, allegedly staging the "spider hole" scenario.

"It's not true, period," Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin told WorldNetDaily.

She was referring to a story originally published by the Saudi newspaper al-Medina, and picked up by United Press International, which had quotes from someone identified as Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, a former Marine who is said to have participated in the capture of Hussein.

He was quoted as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, a day earlier than the official version of the U.S. military.

"I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced," Abou Rabeh said. "We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed."

The UPI version continued to say Abou Rabeh said Saddam himself fired at them with a gun from a second-floor window, as forces shouted in Arabic: "You have to surrender. ... There is no point in resisting."

"Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam's capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well," Abou Rabeh told the paper.

WND contacted UPI about its story, and was told "United Press International published a summary of the newspaper report without seeking Pentagon comment."

The wire service has since posted an updated version, which states:

"Pentagon officials dismissed as 'ridiculous' and untrue a report that the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was staged.

"A Saudi Arabian newspaper reported Tuesday that a former U.S. Marine, now living in Lebanon, claimed the Iraqi dictator had been captured earlier by a small team of troops, and forced into the now famous 'spider hole' to play a role in a film fabricated by the U.S. military to make Saddam look bad."

A Marine Corps captain contacted by WorldNetDaily was unable to confirm by press time if the Marine mentioned in the story was indeed in that branch of the armed forces.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Walking Wounded Face Healthcare Disparity <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
Diane M. Grassi <br />
Elites TV <br />
March 10, 2005 <br />
<br />
Our military has done the...

[thedrifter]

Engineers ready for any task
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20052287228
Story by Cpl. Jan M. Bender



CAMP HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Feb. 21, 2005) -- Whether it’s stringing out miles of concertina wire and fortifying checkpoints or busting down doors and clearing houses, the 28 Marines of 2nd Platoon, C Company, 4th Combat Engineers Battalion currently attached to 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, have hit any task put in front of them head on.

Starting off their deployment as Marines who are stereotypically thought of as heavy equipment operators, wood and metal craftsman or demolition and mine experts, the battalion they were supporting, who was in dire need of more infantry assets, quickly realized just how flexible the engineers could be.

“Little by little they created their own mission here,” said Lt. Col. Greg D. Stevens, the commanding officer of 1/23. “They are sort of a ‘Jack of all trades’. The engineers have been invaluable, they’ve proven themselves by doing everything from rewiring things here at the dam to providing dismounts for (main supply route) security and raids.”

“You would be hard pressed to find a smarter bunch of guys,” said Stevens, 42, a native of Aliso Viejo, Calif. “They bring a lot to the battlefield.”

The Marines of 2nd Platoon were activated out of Lynchburg, Va., in June 2004 and met up with the Marines of 1/23 during their pre-deployment training at March Air Force Base and Marine Corps Air Ground Training Center at Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.

For Capt. Gary W. Bilyeu, the executive officer for Weapons Company, 1/23, the engineers were a welcomed asset as well.

“For us they’ve been the go-to-guys when we need any kind of extra security or dismounts. With all our other infantry elements already tasked out, we are limited, ” said Bilyeu, 34, a native of Sanger, Texas. “They do as much work as anybody here at the Dam. Not only that, but they are good at it.”

For the engineers platoon commander, it was no surprise that his crew came to play such a major role in 1/23’s overall mission.

“Traditionally, engineers have three main jobs… mobility, counter-mobility and survivability,” explained Staff Sgt. Harry “Butch” H. Dreany, the platoon commander of 2nd Platoon. “However, being division engineers, rather than out of a combat service support element, we can roll with the infantry elements seamlessly.”

Their track record speaks for itself.

During their tour, the small team has completed more than 100 provisional infantry missions (acting as dismounts), 30 survivability missions (constructing field fortifications, bunkers and fighting positions) 20 mobility missions (breeching obstacles and reducing mines or unexploded ordnance) and 15 counter-mobility missions (emplacing obstacles that will control or deny enemy movement).

“We’ve had quite a good (operational tempo) for a platoon, usually multiple missions daily,” said Dreany, 31, a native of Fredericksburg, Va. “So far we’ve been here for 185 days and completed over 180 missions.”

But their deployment has not been without its hardships and difficult days.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 26 while attached to Weapons Company, 1/23, and acting as breech team in support of a high value target raid, one of the platoon’s humvees was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire. The ambush left 4 Marines dead and 4 others critically wounded, all engineers.

Their original tight group of 36 Marines was torn at the loss of their brethren, but with the Iraqi elections just a few short days away and mountains of work ahead of them, there was little time to mourn their loss.

Duty called, and the emotionally downtrodden engineers were forced to put it all aside and answer.

“Basically the only break they had, was the hour-long memorial service held for those lost,” recalled Staff Sgt. Michael C. Sprano, the platoon sergeant of 2nd Platoon. “Even after the pain of loosing them, we had to get up and do the same job.”

And they did just that, as they worked around the clock to build up and fortify election sites in the towns of Haditha and Al Haqlaniyah.

“We built 12 bunkers and had to fortify each one with 250 sand bags. I remember at one election site alone we laid over six (kilometers) of concertina wire,” said Cpl. Joseph A. Rouleau, a fire team leader with 2nd Platoon. “It hurt. Everybody’s mind was off somewhere else after the memorial service, but when you stay busy it kind of helps you keep your mind off of it.”

After 3 days of operating full throttle with little or no sleep, the physically and mentally exhausted Marines were given a few hours off on election day, but as soon as the polls were closed, the engineers saddled back up to tear down everything they had just constructed.

The leadership of the platoon said their triumph over this test of mettle, could be attributed to the small unit leaders of the company.

“There was an enormous amount of work to be done and no time,” said Sprano, 32, a native of Annandale, Va. “It required our Marines to not only step up, but jump up, and they have done so.”

For Rouleau, who had to fill the position of his best friend and assistant squad leader after his death, it was personal.

“Yeah I had to step up, but everybody had to step up. It took a lot from our young Marines,” said Rouleau, 21, a native of Chilliclothe, Ohio. “We called it the engineers crucible. It was tough, but we all pulled together.”

Since their loss, the Marines of the platoon have pulled together as a team to shoulder their load of missions, without the luxury of extra personnel to ease the burden.

Their dedication and tenacity has not gone unnoticed by the Marines they support.

“They are versatile, they can step outside of their (Military Occupational Specialty) in any direction. We’ve used them for just about everything,” said Sgt. Daniel W. Dance, 32, the platoon sergeant for Mobile Assault Platoon 4, Weapons Company, 1/23, RCT-7, and a native of Austin, Texas. “When you put the engineers up to bat, there is not a seed of doubt in any ones mind they’re going to hit a line drive every time.”

Nearing the end of their expected seven-month tour in Iraq the engineers of 2nd Platoon have once again adapted to needs of their command and were recently attached to Company D, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, RCT-7, to conduct operations in the Western Al Anbar Province.

As always, the engineers have maintained their “Go Get’em” attitude and have no plans to slouch their intensity in the tasks to come.

“We’re almost out of here, but not yet,” said Cpl. J. Travis Jones, a squad leader with 2nd Platoon. “Just trying to keep everyone focused, on their toes and aggressive.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 14, 2005

Soldier gets anti-war letters from 6th-graders
Education officials issue an apology

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer


New York City education officials have apologized to a 20-year-old Army private after a sixth-grade social studies class in Brooklyn sent him a batch of letters criticizing U.S. troops, the war in Iraq and President Bush.
After Pfc. Rob Jacobs received the letters in South Korea from 11- and 12-year-olds in early January, he called his father. “He was very upset,” said Rob Jacobs Sr. of Middletown, N.J.

About nine of the 21 letters were filled with anti-Iraq war diatribes and were critical of troops, accusing them of killing Iraqi civilians and even predicting very few troops would come home alive.

The soldier wanted to call the children’s teacher, but his father had a different idea — he called the New York Post, which broke the story Feb. 21 and printed excerpts from some of the letters.

In a telephone interview, Rob Jacobs Sr. said he had “two goals — to get an apology for my son and to make sure the board of education changed its policy to make sure this would never happen again to another soldier.”

He and his son are satisfied with the apology, he said.

His son, stationed at Camp Casey, South Korea, was in the field and could not be reached for comment, his father said.

But in an earlier interview, the soldier told the New York Post: “If I were in Iraq and read that the youth of our nation doesn’t want me to be there and doesn’t believe in what I’m doing, it would mess up my head.”

Michele Higgins, a New York City Department of Education spokeswoman, said the teacher, Alex Kunhardt, has taken full responsibility and has received an official letter of reprimand.

The teacher and his principal at JHS 51, William Alexander Middle School, could not be reached for comment, and it was not clear whether the teacher read the letters before they were sent to Pfc Jacobs.

Higgins provided written statements from the teacher and principal.

“I deeply regret that any letters from my class offended anyone in our military,” Kunhardt said in his written statement.

“It was never my intention to demean or insult anyone. I never meant for the words of my students to hurt any of our troops. The responsibility for this action is mine alone, and I apologize.”

Principal Xavier Castelli also apologized in a statement.

“While we would never censor anything that our children write, we sincerely apologize for forwarding letters that were in any way inappropriate to Pfc. Jacobs,” Castelli said.

The students connected with Pfc. Jacobs through a classmate’s mother, who works with Rob Jacobs Sr.

The co-worker “was mortified” when she found out about the content of some of the letters, he said.

The soldier’s oldest sister, Christine Engallena, said that when her brother opened the letters, he showed them to two of his buddies to make sure he wasn’t reading them wrong and overreacting.

“The issue is not free speech,” she said. “The kids have every right to say what they want to. Our issue is whether a teacher should send letters ... like that to a soldier 10 miles from the DMZ, rather than to a politician.”

In the wake of the incident, the family has set up an e-mail address for Pfc. Jacobs.

E-mails can be sent to Pfc. Jacobs and his family at gi_father@yahoo.com.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tampa Tanker survives rocket attack in Fallujah



by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes
2nd Marine Division


MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Corporal Richard C. Slew is lucky by anyone's standards. He survived two trips to Iraq which took him on a winding line to Baghdad and then to Fallujah. What makes him doubly lucky is that he was hit by one of the most powerful shoulder-fired rockets used today and lived to tell the tale.

"I thought it was just going to be another day of blowing up vehicles to clear the roads in Fallujah," Slew, a crewman for 2nd tank Battalion, said. The 22-year-old Tampa, Fla. native was manning a gun on an M1-A1 Abrams tank Nov. 10, 2004, supporting Lejeune units inside the city. The sun had just crossed its peak in the sky when the unthinkable happened.

"They called in air support so we had less than a minute to get out of the area before the bombs started dropping. My tank was rounding a corner when we saw weapons stacked against the side of a building," the dark-skinned Marine said.

His tank had discovered a supply point for the insurgents they had been fighting, one that the rebels weren't prepared to give over to the Marines.

"The (insurgents) opened up on us with small arms fire so we gave it right back to them," Slew said with a gleam in his brown eyes. "I was firing my M-240G medium machine gun and the turret of the tank was spinning around. I never saw what hit me."

As the M256 main gun on Slew's tank was aiming in, a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into its side. Normally a tank could withstand punishment from RPGs all day but this particular kind, the RPG-7, was made for piercing thick armor plating.

"The smoke from the explosion was making me choke when I noticed my foot felt numb and cold," he said. He looked down and didn't like what he saw. "Blood was gushing out of my right boot and soaking the leg of my trousers."

Slew's tank commander dragged his six-foot, 167-pound frame from the tank as his comrades provided security in case another rocket was headed their way.

"When my tank commander was checking me, we were all exposed. I was freaking out because of all the blood and I knew we had to get out of there," Slew said.

A corpsman from a nearby rifle company inspected Slew and advised they get him to the hospital. His tank commander put the Marine on the front of the tank as they returned to their base camp outside the city. Slew armed himself with a M-9 pistol and rode on the tank until they were in a safe area.

"They took me to the surgical unit on Camp Fallujah. The doctors said because of the shock my calf didn't expand when the shrapnel hit it. They cut the sides so the muscles could expand and adjust to the shrapnel wounds," Slew said.

From Camp Fallujah, Slew was sent to Baghdad where he caught a plane to Germany and then to Maryland. After his stay at Walter Reed Medical Center he was moved to the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital. Twenty-eight days after he was hit, he was released from the hospital to begin his recovery.

"There was a lot of crying going on when I visited my family. They just wanted to know I wouldn't be going back and that I would be alright," Slew said. He added, "The doctors said it's going to be a long-term recovery."

Slew was awarded his Purple Heart Feb. 16. Second Marine Division's assistant commander, Brig. Gen. Joseph J. McMenamin, presented Slew with the award.

"I don't have any regrets about what happened. The Marine Corps allowed me to see a lot and do a lot. They taught me to look for the good but prepare for the worst," Slew said.

After his time in the Corps comes to an end this coming January, Slew plans on attending college near Tampa.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Todd burglary trial date set <br />
By: MARGARET GIBBONS, Times Herald Staff03/09/2005 <br />
Email to a friend Voice your opinion Printer-friendly <br />
<br />
<br />
COURTHOUSE - Accused burglar Robert Coulson...

[thedrifter]

Sergeant takes on task of handling detainees <br />
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 200539113958 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Athanasios L. Genos <br />
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CAMP FALLUJAH, IRAQ (March 9,...

[thedrifter]

More than 5,000 Marines step up to help comrade

By C.L. LOPEZ
RedlandsDailyFacts.com

LOMA LINDA For the second time in several months, officials at Loma Linda University Medical Center have seen an outpouring of support for the family of a local marine in need of a miracle.

More than 5,000 marines have stepped forward in hopes of finding a compatible bone marrow donor for Marine Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu.

It's an endearing case, said Julie Humestin, director of referral development with the transplant institute at the medical center.

The Marine has been hospitalized at medical center since January, when he was diagnosed with liver failure. LeBleu was near death and a Jan. 30 transplant surgery saved his life. Marines rallied around LeBleu's family offering emotional support and advocating organ donations.

When a donor was found, the Marines waited by the family's side during the surgery and continue to be present at the hospital to visit LeBleu. Now that he is in need of a bone marrow transplant, the Marines are engaged in the battle to save his life again.

"It's one of those feelings. I am finding it hard to put into words the magnitude of what I experienced," Humestin said. "I not only saw his own company rally around the family. I saw them be able to pull together."

It's the second time the medical center has seen the Marines come together.

In September, they rallied around Jose Torres, a Camp Pendleton based Marine who was serving in Iraq when his 9-month-old son was diagnosed with a virus that destroyed his heart. Manuel needed a heart transplant to save his life. Torres's comrades stepped forward to donate blood and offered emotional support to the family.

Humestin says the Marines, including chaplains, captains and colonels have been at the hospital around the clock for LeBleu's family.

"We are going there to show our support," said Sgt. Jennie Haskamp, spokeswoman for the Twentynine Palms base, who has visited LeBleu more than a dozen times.

Humestin and nurses from the medical center were at marrow drives at Twentynine Palms last Monday and Tuesday and Camp Pendleton on Thursday and Friday as a show of support to the Marines, she said.

The Marines made history.

"They pulled together the largest bone marrow donor drive the department of defense has done in peace time," said Humestin. "They were able to do things at the drop of a hat."

Drives last week at Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center fielded 2,700 Marines who signed up to be potential donors for LeBleu. Days later, 3,000 Marines signed up at Camp Pendleton said Haskamp.

Haskamp said the Marines did everything in their power to raise awareness for donors.

"Once you join the Marine Corps, you are part of a family," she said.

That family includes several civilian employees, family members of Marines, and three Marines who drove from Arizona to sign up as marrow donors.

"We would do this for any Marine," Haskamp said of the drives.

And the Marines are not just doing the drives for LeBleu.

Each yea, more than 35,000 Americans are diagnosed with diseases for which a marrow or blood cell transplant can be a cure, according to the National Marrow Donor Program.

"The need is there every day. There are patients like Chris in need every day," said Jean Cannon public relations coordinator for the Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. "When it's someone you know, it hits home and that makes it personal."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Ovitas Delivers on Marine Corps Vision of End-to-End XML Content Management and Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals

Ovitas Will Deploy COTS Software for the Next Generation Marine Corps Enterprise Data Repository (MCLEDR). The project will improve delivery of up to date equipment maintenance and operations information to Marines in the field.

Woburn, MA (PRWEB) March 9, 2005 -- The Marine Corps is updating the way it authors, manages and delivers technical information to personnel in the field. After extensive analysis by the Marine Corps Systems Command in 2004, a team consisting of Ovitas, Inc. and partners empolis/Arvato Systems was selected to pilot the Marine Corps Logistics Enterprise Data Repository (MCLEDR). The team is deploying a suite of cost-effective COTS products built on modern IT standards and based on the “create once, use many” principle for technical information. The solution is truly end-to-end, with capabilities for managing the entire content lifecycle, from data import and collaborative authoring through electronic distribution.

The MCLEDR pilot will be built using the empolis Sigmalink content management system for workflow automation, version control and data security. Sigmalink will publish data to an Intelligent Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) that incorporates the empolis orenge intelligent search engine. Ovitas is providing system design, configuration and implementation expertise to the project, which is underway and scheduled to be completed by mid-summer.

The intent of the system is to assist the warfighter with improved technical information for maintenance, repair, and operation of equipment. The data within MCLEDR provides information on the parts required, special tools, and procedures. This will assist the field commander with predictive maintenance planning, as well as provide up to date instructions for equipment operators and maintenance technicians.

Sigmalink applies version control and security not only to documents but fragments of information – such as individual repair tasks and warnings that are defined by SGML or XML tags. These can be combined into publications that are personalized by skill set and equipment configuration, for example. The IETM delivers this data as well as legacy documents, often available only in unstructured file formats such as PDF. The intelligent search component helps the users find precise information even within legacy data.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ovitas.com or call 781 939-0750 or tollfree at 1-866-9-OVITAS.

About Ovitas. Ovitas provides expert design, development, and deployment of content lifecycle solutions. We build cost-effective solutions to fit the unique needs of our customers, using proven, highly configurable tools for content management, workflow, search and content delivery. Ovitas solutions are aimed at high priority business issues such as cost-reduction, customer satisfaction, and quality improvement for product support, equipment maintenance and operation, and other content-dependent business processes.

Ovitas is the premier North American integration partner for empolis GmbH (www.empolis.com), a division of Aravato, a Bertelsmann company. We support demanding organizations such as EADS Telecom, GE Healthcare, GE Power Systems, Invensys Production Systems, and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Visit www.ovitas.com for more information.

Contact Information
Amy Krane
Ovitas, Inc.
781 939-0750
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Ellie

[thedrifter]

Senators want tourniquets issued to troops
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press

Convinced that modern tourniquets would save lives, lawmakers are asking Pentagon and Army officials to investigate why the simple device is not standard issue for U.S. troops in Iraq - as military surgeons and leaders have recommended for more than two years.

Two senators wrote to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday, asking him to conduct a thorough and "high level" review of the issue, and requesting a timetable for outfitting the roughly 150,000 soldiers and Marines in Iraq with modern tourniquets.

The defense subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee made a similar request of top officials in the Army.

"We are deeply concerned by reports that the Pentagon has failed to identify and fulfill urgent requests for equipment essential to saving lives of our troops in the field," Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin and Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, both Democrats, wrote to Rumsfeld according to a report Thursday in The (Baltimore) Sun.

"This type of delay is disturbing during times of peace, but in the midst of the armed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is nothing short of appalling," the letter said.

The calls for an investigation followed a story Sunday in The Sun detailing how efforts to supply soldiers with the $20 medical devices have been delayed while training manuals are written and the Army conducts tests to determine the best pouch in which to put the tourniquets. Military doctors say the simple medical devices could significantly reduce deaths from extremity wounds - the leading cause of preventable death in combat.

The U.S. Central Command, which oversees combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, issued a directive Jan. 6 requiring every soldier in Iraq to carry a modern tourniquet, but compliance was left up to individual units. Many units have not acquired the devices.

Modern tourniquets, typically a nylon and plastic version of the simple cloth-and-stick device that armies have used to stop bleeding from arm and leg wounds for centuries, already are carried by Army Rangers, special operations troops, and Marines. A committee of military doctors recommended in February 2003 that every American soldier carry one.

Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey, testifying before the appropriations subcommittee Wednesday promised to provide a detailed report to the Senate. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, assured the committee that none of the nation's front-line soldiers enter combat without everything they need, and he said soldiers are trained to make improvised tourniquets out of bandages.

But he also said he was unaware that some troops in Iraq do not have tourniquets, and added, "I see no reason why there would be any shortage."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Round 3 for Marines in Iraq

By Mike Dorning Tribune correspondent

Lance Cpl. Nicholas Renkosik spent his 21st birthday battling to take a bridge on the outskirts of Baghdad. On his 22nd, he was hit in the jaw by shrapnel from a roadside bomb that detonated near his vehicle in western Iraq (news - web sites).


Next month, the gangly, 6-foot-2 Marine from Davenport, Iowa, turns 23. And once again he is in Iraq--on his third tour of duty.


"I feel like I'm doing the right thing," said Renkosik, who could have remained in the United States because of a shoulder injury but went overseas again with his unit.


Renkosik's unit, the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, provided one of the enduring images of the fall of Baghdad, toppling a statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) before cheering Iraqis and a worldwide television audience.


The unit is once again part of a signature moment: In January, it became the first Marine battalion to return to Iraq for a third deployment, according to a Marine Corps spokesman. More are to follow.


With less than six months in the U.S. between deployments, said Cpl. Kellen Scott, 22, of West Chicago, Ill., "it almost seems like I never left Iraq and my time home was just a dream."


On the first deployment, Lance Cpl. Dusty Lansdorf's family was anxious but supportive. On the second, they were incredulous that he had to return, said Lansdorf, 22, of Oroville, Calif.


Their reaction this time: "Don't go. You're rolling the dice too many times."


The unit's tough schedule is testament to the heavy burden America's ground forces have shouldered in a fight that has gone on much longer than the Pentagon (news - web sites) planned, against more tenacious resistance than expected.


The men of "Darkside," as the battalion is nicknamed, have been present for many of the high points and low moments in a conflict that has taken plenty of unexpected turns. More than half the unit's 800 Marines have been with the unit for all three deployments.


They speak of pride in having been part of a historic moment that their children and grandchildren will read about. But they also murmur of weariness with their repeated deployments.


"They're tired. They're tired of being here," said Navy Lt. Matthew Weems, the battalion's chaplain.


During the drive to Baghdad that began two years ago this month, these men spent weeks in armored vehicles packed shoulder-to-shoulder in stifling, full-body bio-chemical gear. They weathered a sandstorm so fierce that an outstretched hand could disappear in the swirling brown air. They fought through mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire to take a key bridge.


And afterward, they were welcomed with flowers and dancing in the streets by residents of the Iraqi capital.


A year later, after American contractors' bodies were burned and hanged in Fallujah, these same Marines fought their way into the western Iraqi city, battling block by block, only to be forced to give up the ground. Higher-ups called off the offensive. It was a painful setback that ate at many of the Marines during the months of monotonous duty in the Iraqi desert that followed.


Now they are in Fallujah again. This time they encountered a city largely in ruins, after an offensive that retook the town in November. Shortly after the unit returned, the Marines were witnesses to a triumph of sorts, a small but brave stream of city residents who defied insurgent threats to vote in Iraq's first free election in half a century.


In the days and months ahead, Darkside will bear the duty of maintaining control in a place that, while quiet now, remains awash in weapons and insurgent sympathizers. Just last week, Marines discovered a buried weapons cache near Fallujah containing hundreds of rockets and some 6,000 rounds of ammunition.





They consider the deployments a sign of confidence in their unit's ability to handle tough situations, but the assignments also stir up frustration.

Most in the battalion thought they were finished with Iraq after bringing down Hussein. They were stunned in February 2004 when they were summoned back during a deployment to Okinawa, Japan, because of a deteriorating security situation.

Though the third deployment came as no surprise, its timing did. The Marines' Christmas leaves were cut by half as the battalion was rushed to Iraq nearly two months ahead of schedule because of concerns that the January elections would be disrupted.

Many resigned to more tours

Many in the unit said they are resigned to the likelihood that the battalion will be called to Iraq a fourth and fifth time.

Many said they want no part of it.

"How do we get through a third deployment?" asked Cpl. John Woodham, 22, of Dothan, Ala. "This will be the last time we do this. When we get back, we're done--out of the Marine Corps."

Despite a re-enlistment bonus of $18,000 for corporals and $21,000 for sergeants, Marines up for re-enlistment in the next year overwhelmingly say they plan to leave, said Staff Sgt. Michael Hunt, the battalion's retention specialist.

In many cases, Marines with months of service remaining have lined up civilian job offers or early acceptance at colleges. Often, parents anxious about their sons' safety have found jobs for them when they get out. It is something Hunt had rarely seen.

"From the colonel on down to the company and platoon commanders, everybody is concerned about who's going to be around for the next deployment, who's going to train the young Marines for the next time," Hunt said.

Living conditions are rudimentary for the battalion's line companies, positioned in patrol bases across southern Fallujah. India Company is stationed in a bombed-out soda bottling plant. Kilo Company is in a compound of houses with a hole blasted through a wall.

The room shared by the company's platoon commanders is pockmarked on all four walls and the ceiling from a grenade explosion during November's fighting.

There is one hot meal delivered every other day. Showers are available only when Marines pass through the battalion headquarters on the edge of the city, usually about once a week but sometimes less frequently, officers said.

The Marines rarely complain about their accommodations. Last year, most of them lived in tents and had no electricity.

But for warriors trained to take ground and kill the enemy, the duties of an occupying force patrolling streets are uncomfortable. And they remain frustrated with a faceless opponent who fights with roadside bombs and blends with the civilian population.

They also cite the strain of time away from family during deployments and even during the brief periods at home, which are filled with intense training schedules and extended exercises in the field to keep the unit prepared for duty.

`My wife has put me on notice'

"I have 13 years in the Marine Corps, and my wife has put me on notice: If we have another deployment, I have to choose between the Marine Corps and my wife," said Lt. Brian Sitko, 33, the battalion's adjutant, who was commissioned an officer after service in the enlisted ranks.

But the Marines remain focused and determined, their leaders say. Since the war began, 10 of Darkside's members have been killed in action and 46 wounded. The unit knows firsthand the need for vigilance.

This deployment may have given the Marines "a bad taste in their mouth," said Staff Sgt. Michael Robinson, 32, of Fayetteville, N.C.

But "they understand the mission. They accept it. And they're going to do it."


Ellie