Islander proud to be a part of history

[thedrifter]

Islander proud to be a part of history
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 200532624315
Story by Staff Sgt. Ronna M. Weyland



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Mar. 25, 2005) -- Sitting under a palm tree, with a cool breeze similar to the Trade winds found on the beaches of Hawaii, an island native recalls experiences of his last seven months in Iraq.

During his deployment, the 30-year-old found himself in the midst of history in the making.

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, native Staff Sgt. Jason K. Texeira, Combat Service Support Group 3, Maintenance Company, Motor Transport Maintenance Platoon, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, arrived in Iraq Sept. 17, 2004, as an individual augment and information operations chief.

“I filled this billet because I wanted to be a part, so I volunteered for this IA slot,” explained Texeira. “However, I never thought I would be pushed down to the battalion level. I never thought I would be at the tip of the spear.”

After being assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif., the motor transport chief made the most out of his three-day crash course on information operations upon arriving in Iraq.

“We passed out a lot of flyers and hand bills telling people what was going to happen,” he recalled. “There were some schools set up in the refugee area and I assisted with that as well.”

Within two months, Texeira found himself crossing the Line of Departure heading to the city of Fallujah, Iraq.

“It was kind of strange,” he described. “Everyone was kind of quiet and there was a look of concern on all our faces, but everyone was very focused. Going through my mind was the thought I could be killed or someone around me could be killed.”

It wasn’t too long after entering the city before the 12-year veteran realized the battle for Fallujah was going to be serious.

“I remember hearing a crackling sound right near my head and parts of the building sprayed down on me,” recalled the 1992 Kona Waena High School graduate with a slight laugh. “That was real. Myself and another staff sergeant just looked at each other and said ‘holy smokes that was kind of close.’”

During the push to clear the city of insurgents, Texeira spent time with all the platoons within 3/1.

“I became close to a lot of those guys and there are things I will never forget. We saw a lot of stuff out there,” he said. “The bravery from these guys was all around us.”

Prior to arriving in Hawaii, Texeira was a recruiter at Recruiting SubStation Littleton, Recruiting Station Denver, Colo.

“While I was on recruiting, I heard a lot of people say this new generation of Marine Corps isn’t as tough, and I thought that sometimes too,” he remembered. “But, I know my thoughts have changed after what I have seen. I have seen some amazing things from these infantry guys. The young PFC’s (privates first class) busting into houses and not even thinking twice. It was just amazing.

“All the Marines did what they had to do and I don’t know if that comes from training or what, but it just happens…Marines do what they have got to do.”

He added the bonds and memories made will never be forgotten.

“I became close to a lot of those guys and there are things I will never forget,” he explained. “We saw a lot of stuff out there.”

Lance Cpl. James E. Swain, 20, Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton is one of the Marines he will never forget.

“I needed batteries one time and Lance Cpl. Swain shared his with me,” he recalled.
Swain, a Kokomo, Ind. native, was later killed in action during the battle Nov. 15, 2004.

“When someone got hurt or was killed I would always think about the family,” said Texeira with watery eyes.

“It made me think about my family and what it would be like for them if something happened to me,” he explained. “I know it must be hard for the families.”

With the battle over now, Texeira is hopeful for the future of Fallujah.

“We’ve done a lot of good things here after the push [battle] with humanitarian assistance trying to help rebuild the city,” he said. “The first time I went back into the city was Jan. 19, for the solatia payments. There was a total difference.

“The city went from being the most dangerous place to be, to what I believe is now the safest city in Iraq.”

Texeira will be back to Camp Pendleton by the end of the month. He hopes to be back in Hawaii by April where he plans to spend some time with his family on the Big Island and return to his hobby of surfing and going to the beach.

He is also taking a lot of experience and new found knowledge back to his Marines.

“I am going to change the way we train…show them how we operate here in a combat zone,” he said. “It is important to have the right mental state of mind.

“I feel we made a difference here and I am really proud I was a part the history made here.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Al Asad Police Academy continues success, graduates another class
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 20053267588
Story by Cpl. C. Alex Herron



AL ASAD, Iraq (March 26, 2005) -- With the goal mind of turning over responsibility to the Iraqis, a small detachment led by Marines is here doing their part.

The Al Asad Regional Police and Department of Border Enforcement Academy graduated 69 Iraqis from their police academy March 26.

The graduates endured “boot camp” style training, with six Marines acting as their squad advisors and 13 civilian police instructors to teach them the basics of police work.

“Our Marine instructors are the ones who get our ‘recruits’ ready for training,” said Chief Warrant Officer Scott Reinhardt, director of the academy and Tappahannock, Va., native. “They march the recruits to and from training, take them to chow, get them ready for bed and handle discipline.”

The civilian instructors are Americans who have a background in law enforcement and have volunteered to help the Iraqis develop their police force.

“I got sick of hearing daily how many Iraqi policemen were getting killed everyday. I felt that with my knowledge and experience in law enforcement, I would be able to assist them in their training and teach them some things that could save their lives,” said Tim Sopkovich, firearms and assistant defensive tactics instructor for the police academy.

Eager to learn, the Iraqis are striving to excel in the course to become better policemen.

“The Iraqi police officers watch and follow the instruction very closely,” said Sopkovich, an 11-year veteran of the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office SWAT team. “They want to learn. You can see the determination and the effort they put into their daily training.”

The academy is broken up into two sections. One side of the facility is devoted to the police academy while the border patrol school occupies the other. The Marines assigned to the training center serve in two different capacities at the two schools. Police instructors mainly teach the students, while the Marines mainly serve as troop handlers. At the border patrol school, the same Marines teach all the lessons in addition to their duties as disciplinarians.

“Our Marines teach the border patrol school because the curriculum covers a lot of infantry tactics,” said Reinhardt, a reservist who is an agent with the FBI. “Lessons include, patrolling, setting up checkpoints and proper weapons handling.”

For the Marine instructors, training the Iraqis isn’t a burden; they view it as a privilege to help the Iraqis in their quest for stability in their country.

“We are dedicated to our mission,” said Sgt. Michael Miller, police academy advisor and Cambridge, Mass., native. “I love this work. I know the better we train these guys and the faster we can integrate them into their role, the faster our Marines can go home.”

The instructors and advisors have a difficult task when dealing with the Iraqi culture. The language barrier is the biggest challenge they face, but the staff has learned to adapt.

“The language barrier isn’t as big a problem anymore as one might think,” Miller said. “We have the translators, but still we also pick up on key words that they often use. With that and body language we can generally get our point across.”

The students appreciate the work that the Americans have put in to train them and are excited about using the knowledge they have received.

“I will do my best to apply what I’ve learned and create more stability in my hometown for my wife and three children,” said 1st Lt. Moh`d Sattar, an Iraqi police officer who attended the course.

Many of the most recent graduates are former police officers who attended the academy to receive better training than what they have had previously.

“The training we received before was nothing compared to what we received here,” said Pvt. Waleed Kalid, Iraqi police officer. “Due to the high combat spirit of U.S. police instructors and their experience in the field, the training was a lot more in depth than anything I had received before.”

The police academy graduates understand the sacrifice they are making for a brighter Iraq, for their families and fellow countrymen.

“We understand many Iraqi policemen are getting killed, but we are here to help stabilize our country,” Kalid said. “It is our responsibility to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and it is the responsibility of everyone who is making our region unstable to quit what they are doing and protect our nation.”

Among the special guests at the graduation was Brig. Gen. Robert E. Milstead Jr., 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) commanding general who said the graduates are ready to carry the future of Iraq in their arms and considered it a great honor to participate in the graduation of these brave men.

“A free America was formed amid the chaos of war 229 years ago and today Iraq is emerging as a free and independent nation,” said Milstead. “As a child I was often told stories about the brave and heroic men who risked their lives and fought for America’s freedom. In the future, Iraqi children will hear stories about the brave and heroic men who fought for their freedom.”

The police officers will return to their hometowns and join their local police forces. According to Milstead, the many stories about the bravery of these men will be told for hundreds of years to come.

“Every one of these police officers is a hero who children will want to become when they grow up,” he said. “They have worked hard and even trained during their days off to finish sooner. Their training, combined with their experience as police officers, prepares them to meet the challenges ahead.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Robots May Operate On Wounded Soldiers
Associated Press
March 28, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pentagon is awarding $12 million (euro9.25 million) in grants on Monday to develop an unmanned "trauma pod" designed to use robots to perform full scalpel-and-stitch surgeries on wounded soldiers in battlefield conditions.

The researchers who pitched the Defense Department on the idea have prepared a futuristic "concept video" that seems straight out of a teen fantasy game, showing with full color and sound effects the notion that robots in unmanned vehicles can operate on soldiers under enemy fire and then evacuate them.

"The main challenge is how can we get high-quality medical care onto the battlefield as close to the action and as close to the soldiers as possible," said John Bashkin, head of business development at SRI International, a nonprofit laboratory that often handles Defense Department research. "Right now, the resources are pretty limited to what a medic can carry with him."

SRI researchers caution that the project remains at least a decade away from appearing on any battlefields. Surgeons will need to manipulate the robot in real time, using technology that prevents any delays between their commands and the robot's actions. The "trauma pod" has to keep connected wirelessly without giving away its position to the enemy, and it has to be nimble and hardy enough to perform under fire.

Still, some of the initial technology is already being put to use in hospitals, and the goal of the initial $12 million (euro9.25 million) project is relatively modest - researchers hope to show that a surgeon, operating the robot remotely, can stitch together two blood vessels of a pig.




SRI spearheaded the Pentagon's first such endeavor to develop a "telesurgery" system in the 1980s. The resulting robot, dubbed the da Vinci Surgical System, proved to be too bulky and too dependent on too many humans to be used in battle.

But the Food and Drug Administration approved the da Vinci in 2000 for civilian medical use and surgeons now use the $1.3 million (euro1 million) machines in about 300 hospitals worldwide to remove cancerous prostates, repair faulty heart valves and other procedures.

While sitting at a da Vinci console, usually just a few feet from their patients, surgeons look into a binocular-like monitor to view three-dimensional images transmitted from inside the patient by a camera at the end of one of the robot's arms. The doctors slip their hands into stirrups to guide the robotic arms armed with the camera and precision surgical tools.

To get something like this into battle, researchers will spend the next two years modifying the da Vinci so only a single surgeon is needed to operate the robot.

Even with this modest initial goal, the obstacles are daunting.

Right now, nurses are needed to change equipment on the ends of da Vinci's arms from, say, a scalpel to sutures during operations. That needs to be automated in the battlefield. And that's just one of many extremely complex tasks the trauma pod will need to be able to perform.

One key problem that won't be overcome in the next two years: removing the hardwired connections between da Vinci's console and its robot. That would simply require too much bandwidth, Bashkin said.

The "telesurgery" concept fits like a surgeon's glove with the government's goal of automating as much as the battlefield as possible. NASA is also interested in the project.

The Pentagon, which spent $3 billion on unmanned aerial vehicles between 1991 and 1999, is expected to spend upward of $10 billion (euro7.7 billion) through 2010. Under a congressional mandate, the Defense Department is pushing for one-third of its ground vehicles to be unmanned by 2015.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Army Won't Prosecute 17 Soldiers <br />
Associated Press <br />
March 28, 2005 <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON - Army officials have decided not to prosecute 17 soldiers involved in the deaths of prisoners in Iraq and...

[thedrifter]

Mud Wrestling Investigation Ends
Associated Press
March 28, 2005

MIAMI - Ten members of an Army military police unit should be disciplined for staging a mud-wrestling match at a U.S. military prison in Iraq, an investigation concluded. No detainees saw the episode last October at Camp Bucca, one of the largest U.S.-controlled detention centers in Iraq, officials said.

The investigation involved reservists from the Tallahassee-based 160th Military Police Battalion, spokesman Steve Stromvall said Friday from Army Reserves headquarters in Atlanta.




It is up to the Army Reserves commander, Lt. Gen. James Helmly, to decide how to discipline the three female guards who wrestled, six sergeants who encouraged them, and a soldier who let one of the women change in his quarters, Stromvall said.

He said the decision on punishment had not yet been made, but options included reprimand, reducing the soldiers' ranks, discharging them or ordering a court-martial.

The New York Daily News published photos of the incident, including images of women wrestling in bras and panties in front of a crowd of male soldiers.

A fourth female soldier who was also found to have engaged in the mud wrestling was from a different unit and her rank was reduced as punishment, Stromvall said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Coast Guard Terror Units Armed
Boston Globe
March 28, 2005

Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod - The United States is dramatically expanding its seacoast defenses by arming Coast Guard helicopters with machine guns, training security teams to rappel onto a hostile ship and take control of it through force, and deploying sensors, satellites, and surveillance cameras that feed new high-tech harbor command centers.

The buildup of maritime muscle, part of a comprehensive program detailed in the Department of Homeland Security's 2006 budget plan, stems from fears that, deterred by land and air defenses, terrorists may try to attack the nation by sea. Scenarios include smuggling in a nuclear bomb aboard a freighter or crashing an explosives-laden fast boat into a liquefied natural gas tanker, mimicking the 2000 USS Cole bombing.

To counter the threats, Homeland Security is transforming U.S. coastal defenses, from a search-and-rescue service that also policed for migrant and drug smugglers to a more militarized force aimed at stopping terrorists. Meanwhile, a U.S.-Canadian planning group is working on a cooperative maritime defense arrangement inspired by the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

"We already know that terrorists operate at sea," said James Carafano, a homeland security specialist at the Heritage Foundation and coauthor of a recent study on maritime counterterrorism. "They haven't done it here yet, but someday they will. We don't want to wait to get prepared until the day after a Cole bombing in New York Harbor."




Carafano said the economic consequences of an attack that shuts down commercial ports would be far worse than the loss of air transit after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But identifying threats is not easy with more than 95,000 miles of coastline, 361 ports, 200 daily arrivals of foreign vessels, and 76 million recreational boaters to monitor, according to Coast Guard data.

Moreover, although the Coast Guard patrolled U.S. coasts for enemy submarines during World War II, its culture for the past half-century has been largely that of a rescuer of lost fishermen and an enforcer of safety rules. At the time of Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. coastal protections included only a small number of significantly armed patrols, mostly for use against drug smugglers.

But that is changing, and New England has been among the first regions to experience the transformation.

The Coast Guard recently tested its first armed Jayhawk helicopters from its Cape Cod air station. With M-240 machine guns, armor plating, and night-vision equipment, the upgraded helicopters are now designed to intimidate, disable, and destroy a hostile vessel.

Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Jay Balda, who oversaw the Cape Cod armed helicopters project, said the new military power requires rigorous retraining of crew members to avoid harming boaters who innocently wander into a secure zone.

"We have to be sure the vessel is hostile before engaging," he said. "The best solution is to not use our armed helicopters except in situations where a Coast Guard surface vessel is there as well, so we can see better if it's a bunch of men with weapons or a couple guys who are ignoring us because they are intoxicated and being stupid."

The first armed Jayhawks were transferred from Cape Cod to North Carolina after four months of testing, but Captain Bill Peterson, the Coast Guard's head of aviation, said a permanent squad of armed helicopters will be in place soon, although he did not specify when for security reasons. The Homeland Security Department plans to add permanent squads at five more bases next year.

In North Carolina, the armed Jayhawks have been linked with a new Coast Guard security team trained to rappel onto the deck of a moving ship. The team also is trained in close-quarters combat and handling a weapon of mass destruction.

Similar waterside security teams are now based around the country, including one in Boston. Using their highly maneuverable boats with front- and rear-mounted machine guns, the team helped sweep for underwater bombs and kept boaters away from waters near the site of the presidential inauguration, the Super Bowl in Tampa, the Group of Eight summit in Georgia, and both political party conventions.

"We enforce security zones around high-value assets," said Lieutenant Michael O'Neill, operations officer for the Boston team. "Let's say it's a craft approaching an LNG tanker. We'll intercept it quickly and force them to quickly show their intent."

The coming technology is on display at the Coast Guard's recently upgraded Sector Boston command center, which got its equipment early for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

In a cluster of chilled rooms, duty watch officers sat surrounded by computer screens. A "wall of knowledge" the size of four large plasma televisions displayed maps overlaid with radar images and information on incoming vessels. Those that would be boarded were listed in red. In 2004, the Coast Guard performed 19,000 security boardings, a policy enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Other screens showed images from harbor surveillance cameras, which are capable of reading 12-inch letters a mile away and can rotate and zoom with the flick of a joystick. A "high-interest vessels" board detailed an LNG tanker docked at Everett.

Another display mapped the location of every freighter in port, using data from new transponders required of every major vessel entering U.S. waters. With a few clicks of a computer mouse, the watch officer could pull up cargo, crew, and itinerary information about each -- data that must be sent 96 hours before a foreign ship may enter the port.

This is just the beginning, said Dana Goward of the Maritime Domain Awareness directorate. In some places, tethered blimps scan farther over the horizon. Sensors are being placed on weather buoys and oil platforms far out to sea. Unmanned drones are in the works. And a $7 million satellite to pick up ship transponder signals from space will be launched next year.

"We're thinking this will increase the amount of information our command centers have available by five to 10 times," said Jolie Shifflet, spokeswoman for Coast Guard headquarters.

The Coast Guard has had little trouble getting its budget approved since the Sept. 11 attacks; annual funding has surged by 51 percent to $7.5 billion in 2005. President Bush has proposed giving it $8.1 billion in 2006.

A deep-water cutter modernization project has been accelerated, and the Coast Guard ranks have grown by about 5,000 in the past four years, to 40,000 active-duty personnel. Congress has proved willing in recent years to give the Coast Guard even more money than the president requested.

Even with budget increases, the Coast Guard recently told Congress that it has an additional $919 million in priorities that would not receiving funding under Bush's plan, including $100 million for maritime security efforts, leading some senators to contend that more should be spent.

Still, Margaret Wrightson, director of homeland security and justice issues for the Government Accountability Office, testified at a recent Senate hearing that the Coast Guard's rapid buildup has resulted in "rising costs and slipped schedules."

She called for greater oversight of its contracts.

"Such funding increases may be warranted given the condition of the Coast Guard's aging assets, and the infrastructure needed for marine domain awareness did not exist prior to 9/11," Wrightson testified. "Nevertheless, with the added resources brings added risk that too much will be attempted too fast."

But maritime defenses are forging ahead rapidly. Much of the new data accumulated through coastal defense also is flowing to the military's U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, home to NORAD, the Cold War-era air and space defense operation shared by the United States and Canada. Here a joint planning group is looking to expand sharing of sea defenses and information, an effort known as the "maritime NORAD."

Adding to the sense of urgency, in December the president issued a national security policy directive ordering federal agencies to work more closely on countering sea-based terrorism threats.

"Due to its complex nature and immense size, the Maritime Domain is particularly susceptible to exploitation and disruption," Bush wrote. "The United States must deploy the full range of its operational assets and capabilities to prevent the Maritime Domain from being used by terrorists."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Queensbury Marine serves country, Corps in Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200531985358
Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis



AL ASAD, Iraq (March 19, 2005) -- Brandon M. Mitchell has some great plans for this upcoming summer.

He's not going to spend all day at the beach. He doesn't have a cross country road trip planned. He has friends to hang out with, but they aren't going to be going to the mall or relaxing all day. The 20-year-old Queensbury, N.Y., native has better things to do.

Mitchell will spend this summer as he has spent the last two months; serving with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2 in Al Asad, Iraq.

The 2003 Queensbury High School graduate spends his days as a training clerk, overseeing various work details that maintain and improve the facilities here.

"A normal work day for me starts with an assessment of our working area," Lance Cpl. Mitchell said. "After that we do whatever needs to be done around the compound, fill sand bags and setup tents. I also work for the camp commandant, who directs what jobs need to be done."

Mitchell joined the Marine Corps in July 2003, just a few weeks after high school. Looking to find a sense of direction, he said he looked at the Marine Corps as a chance to grow and develop.

"I knew I wasn't ready to take college seriously," he said. "I didn't want to waste money on something I wasn't going to put my all into."

He went to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., and after completing basic training and Marine Combat Training, went to the Aviation Operations Course at Naval Air Station, Meridian, Miss.

During each phase of his training, Mitchell stood out among his peers. He graduated as platoon guide in both basic training and MCT and was class leader in his military occupation school.

Although he spent two and a half months learning to track flight hours, pilot qualifications and support air field operations, upon arriving to his first unit Mitchell was placed in the training department where he ensured his fellow Marines and sailors were prepared to deploy.

"Marines have always been extremely flexible," he said. Although not working in his primary field, Mitchell said he knew the job he was doing was important to the success of the unit.
Working everyday to make sure his unit was ready to deploy, Mitchell jumped at the chance to deploy when the squadron was looking for volunteers for Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06.

"I joined the Marine Corps to serve my country," he said. "Somewhere, someone on a wall or on a post has put in their time. Now it's my turn do my part ."

"He is a good Marine," said Staff Sgt. Joseph R. Arnold, unit operations chief. "He's the type of Marine you want to have in your ranks because of his 'can do' attitude. He does not accept failure, and is constantly striving for more responsibility as he hones his skills as a leader in the Corps."

Although he misses family and friends back home in New York and North Carolina, Mitchell said he knows he is here for a good reason.

"Other nations helped us while we were fighting for our independence, we are here to provide freedom to the people of Iraq," he said. "What says more about America and the American dream, than defending and upholding the freedom of another nation."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines give blood, save grandmother's life
Submitted by: MCAS Yuma
Story Identification #: 2005318113142
Story by Cpl. Michael Nease



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. (March 17,2005) -- Four Marines of Marine Attack Squadron-214 traveled to San Luis, Mexico, Feb. 26 and gave blood to help save the life of another squadron Marine's grandmother.

Lance Cpl. Martin Konferowics, maintenance administration clerk; Cpl. Santiago CastroPerez, airframes mechanic; Sgt. Andrew Carrigan, airframes mechanic; and Sgt. Isaac Werbel, powerline mechanic, all donated a liter of blood to the grandmother-in-law of 1st Sgt. William Wiseman, a quality assurance representative with the squadron.

Wiseman had already given a liter of blood to the 94-year-old matriarch of his wife Francisca's family, but the grandmother, who was in critical condition with anemia and pneumonia, needed four more. Ironically, Wiseman was the only member of the grandmother's family with the same blood type A positive f+tf-t and the hospital was out of A-positive blood.

Staff Sgt. Jose Pimentel, a maintenance controller, also went to give blood, but was turned away because of tattoos and instead assisted as a translator. According to Pimentel, Wiseman hadn't intended to ask the squadron.

"He was only calling back to let the unit know what was happening," Pimentel said. "Then our (executive officer, Maj. John Rahe) got wind of it and saw that we could help this Marine out."

Rahe spread the word and, before long, many squadron Marines with A-positive blood volunteered. Some Marines even heard about the problem at home and came in on their day off.

Although only four liters were necessary, nine Marines went to give blood in case some were disqualified. And it was a good thing they did, because five were disqualified for having tattoos. All the Marines deserve credit though, said Pimentel.

"I'm glad to see these Marines stepping up to the plate like this," he said. "They volunteered to save her without even knowing who she is. A lot of them didn't even know who 1st Sgt. Wiseman is, because he just got back from a deployment."

After passing a medical screening, the four gave blood and met the family.

"The family was real, real happy to see us," said Werbel. "There were all kinds of people there. Family members kept showing up and they were real thankful basically telling us 'thank you so much,' and then they brought us all these tacos to eat. It was awesome."

The tacos were good, but helping was its own reward, said Werbel.

"I felt so happy," he said. "Man, it felt good that I could help someone and the blood that we gave really mattered a lot."

Sgt. Maj. Derrick Christovale, VMA-214 squadron sergeant major, was impressed by the quick reaction of the squadron's Marines.

"This says a lot about Marine Corps brotherhood," said Christovale. "One Marine needed assistance, we sent out the call and the Marines were more than eager to step up to the plate and help out. Our history and traditions still hold true these Marines are still there for each other."

Although Wiseman has been on leave with his family and was not available for comment, Werbel ran into Mrs. Wiseman last week and heard that her grandmother is stable and doing well.

"She said they think it's because she has Marine blood now," he said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

1/5's Bravo goes after blast master
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200532754829
Story by Cpl. Tom Sloan



AR RAMADI, Iraq (March 26, 2005) -- Marines with 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, searched several houses in the western part of the city here March 25.

The Marines were looking for a man suspected of being a member of the jihad group Jaysh Mohamed, which means "Mohammed's Army" in English, said 1st Lt. Cole M. Clements, a platoon commander with 1st Platoon, Company B. The group is connected with producing improvised explosive devises and has been linked to several IED attacks, explained the 24-year-old Douglasville, Texas, native.

Improvised explosive devices make driving anywhere in the city dangerous for the infantry battalion, which is here conducting operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They've also been used against the Iraqi Security Force Commandos working entry and vehicle control points.

This mission required the Marines' convoy to travel one of the most infamous roads in the city in order to reach their destination.

Located in a rural area where there are few businesses and houses, "it's the most dangerous road in Ramadi," said Staff Sgt. Thomas H. Campbell, platoon sergeant, Headquarters platoon, Company B. "It's full of IEDs."

The 30-year-old from Greenville, S.C., explained the insurgents place more IEDs on the stretch of road because few Iraqis live along it. They're usually larger and more destructive, too.

"They put bigger ones there because they aren't worried about hurting their own people," he said.

Lance Cpl. Marco R. Camalich, rifleman and driver for Company B's commanding officer, knows first hand the dangers associated with the two-mile stretch of road.

"We were driving it not long ago and an IED went off," the 21-year-old San Diego, native remembered. "The shockwave moved the (humvee) and damaged it. No one was hurt, though. We pushed through and accomplished the mission."

Camalich remained focused behind the wheel and drove the humvee, limping on two blown rear tires, back to his company's firm base at Camp Junction City.

"You never want to be there very long."

Luckily, though, the Marines didn't encounter any IEDs along the road this time. Staff Sgt. David Menusa, 1st Platoon's platoon sergeant, and his Marines arrived safely and began searching 20 houses broken into two different sectors.

The 32-year-old from Tracy, Calif., tasked two of his squads with searching houses and the other two with providing security from the vehicles on the streets.

Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Michael A. Lianoz, squad leader, 1st Squad, 1st Platoon, Company B, from Los Angeles and his Marines searched several houses for the man they were after. They questioned residents in each house to find out if they knew him or his whereabouts and checked the their identification cards.

They also looked for illegal weapons and weapons caches.

The Marines providing security in the streets had company during the three-hour mission.

Scores of Iraqi children grinning from ear-to-ear surrounded the Marines keeping vigilant watch on their comrades' locations.

The children showed off for their visitors by speaking the few words of English they knew and by doing other tricks.

Sergeant Willie E. Brown, squad leader, 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, Company B, found several children who new a few numbers in English. He showed them how to count to 10 by counting on his fingers.

The presence of children is a good sign progress is being made to win the hearts and minds of the local populous, according to Cpl. Juan C. Loera, team leader, 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, Company B.

"You can tell we are making a difference," said the 21-year-old from Gilroy, Calif. "When we first got here earlier this month, they were afraid and wouldn't come out to greet us, now they are all around us. It's good that we are having this kind of interaction."

Loera and other Marines providing security gave the children pens and paper, soccer balls, sunglass and candy.

"These children will be running Ramadi in ten years," said 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Patrick C. Weaver, rifleman, 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, Company B, of Liberty Mount, Okla., while sitting atop a humvee scouring the narrow streets for threats. "It's important that we make a good impression on them now so they will be our friends later down the road."

The mission ended without incident and without finding the man they were looking for or any illegal weapons or caches.

Concluding the search mission and winding up empty-handed isn't always a bad thing, explained Clements.

He said it shows the Marines have cleansed the city of a lot of terrorist and weapons, and their efforts to keep them out are working.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/4 gets a new group of truckers <br />
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 200532711169 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr. <br />
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Camp Mercury, Iraq (March 15, 2005) -- As the...

[thedrifter]

3/8 celebrates new Command Operations Center, Sit down for lunch with Iraqi Security Forces
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200532694441
Story by Lance Cpl. Athanosios L. Genos



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 18, 2004) -- Marines with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 8 recently built a command operation center for their sister Iraqi Security Force battalion. After the successful construction by the combat engineers, members of both commands sat down for an Iraqi lunch and the ISF shared their feelings on the headway made thus far.

Meeting with the ISF battalion commander, Lt. Col. Stephen Neary, 3rd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment commanding officer, along with Regimental Combat Team 8 Executive Officer Lt. Col. Richard O. Miles; they discussed the current successes and future plans to continue the productive relationship between the ISF and battalion.

"Building the COC is a small part of what we are doing to show our commitment to the training and operations of the Iraqi Security Forces," explained Neary.

During this meeting, they toured the new command operations center, as well as all the section offices, which the Combat Engineer Battalion's built.

"The COC is the foundation for moving to battalion wide operations with intelligence, communications, administration and logistics, as well as helping facilitate decision-making and planning," Neary stated.

Following the tour of the new COC, everyone gathered in a classroom where chairs and tables were set up for the celebration lunch. The tables were laden with huge plates full of meat, vegetables and rice, that had been prepared in Baghdad and brought here especially for this occasion.

"They are very appreciative of all being done, which is helping to promote our working relationships and training," Neary said.

After the meal, they adjourned to the ISF commander's office and concluded their discussion of future plans over hot Iraqi tea.

The new command operation center is only one example of the cooperation and steps forward the ISF has taken with assistance from the battalion.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/8 teaches ISF combat lifesavers course
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005326102717
Story by Lance Cpl. Athanosios L. Genos



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 19, 2004) -- A small group of Iraqi Security Force members gathered around two corpsmen and doctor, watching attentively as the corpsmen demonstrated what they would be practicing in the combat lifesavers course.

Petty officer 3rd Class Shandon E. Torres, a Roosevelt, Utah, native, along with another corpsman and doctor began a four-day course teaching a selected group of the ISF the combat lifesavers course. The ISF is receiving the class to better enable them to take care of their own as the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment assist them in providing security and stability to their region of Iraq.

"We are teaching them a skill they have needed for a long time," explained the 2000 Union High School graduate.

Torres' day began with teaching the general first aid knowledge through lectures with the help of an interpreter. Even with a language barrier everyone was still eager to learn something new.

"They are all very thirsty for the knowledge we are teaching them because they were not allowed to learn such things under the old regime," explained Torres.

On the ISF's first day of instruction, they began practicing taking pulses, placing splints on arms and legs along with many other medical techniques.

For the Iraqis, taking time out of their personal schedule was a small sacrifice for the opportunity to learn first aid. They are the first in their battalion to be medically trained and able to help save the lives of their fellow ISF members.

Finishing the combat lifesavers course is just a small step in the direction 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment and their counterpart ISF battalion is heading in the future. As the ISF continues to learn and becomes increasingly proficient in the new skills the Marines and Sailors teach them, they will assume more responsibility in the security and stability of their region of Iraq.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Bases In Afghanistan Get $83M Upgrade
Associated Press
March 28, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - The United States is spending $83 million to upgrade its two main air bases in Afghanistan, an Air Force general said Monday, the latest indication that American forces will remain in the country for years.

Brig. Gen. Jim Hunt said the money was being spent on construction projects already underway at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, and Kandahar Air Field in the south. A new runway is being built at Bagram, the biggest Afghan airfield used by the U.S. military.

"We are continuously improving runways, taxiways, navigation aids, airfield lighting, billeting and other facilities to support our demanding mission," Hunt said at a news conference in the capital.

Afghan leaders are seeking a long-term "strategic partnership" with the United States, which expects to complete the training of the country's new 70,000-strong army next year.

It remains unclear if that will include permanent American bases in a region that includes Iran, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan and oil-rich Central Asia.




U.S. commanders have said they might reduce their 17,000-strong force this year if Taliban militants take up a reconciliation offer but forecast there will be a U.S. presence in Afghanistan for years.

Hunt said about 150 U.S. aircraft, which include ground-attack jets and helicopter gunships as well as transport and reconnaissance aircraft, were flying in and out of 14 airfields around Afghanistan. Other planes such as B-1 bombers patrol over Afghanistan without landing.

"We will continue to carry out the ... mission for as long as necessary to secure a free and democratic society for the people of Afghanistan," Hunt said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Families find ways to cope
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March 28, 2005
DIANE MOUSKOURIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Whitney Jezek-Power has never been one to sit around feeling bitter or depressed when her husband deploys.

Her husband, Lt. Col. Paul Power, executive officer of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, was in Iraq with the 24th Marine Expeditionary when the time came last November to celebrate the Marine Corps 229th birthday.

Instead of missing out on the annual event, something spouses look forward to, she found a way to organize an all-female ball. That night few sulked in front of the TV, Jezek-Power said.

"If you choose to be bitter, you'll be bitter," she said. "If you choose to be better, you'll be better."

Because she knew how difficult it would be for some of the younger enlisted wives, Jezek-Power found ways to pay for the ball.

"My husband was enlisted before he got out and went back to college," she said. "I know what it's like on both sides of the street."

Members of the Jacksonville Military Affairs Committee, a group of business owners donated $5,600 for the gala. Jezek-Power arranged for prepaid childcare through the Child Development Center on New River and found free formal gowns through the Extravgownza program at Camp Lejeune. Even the ball portraits were free, she said.

"We still had difficulties but when we're all together, we have an incredible support group," she said.

Other spouses of deployed Marines say the same.

Kerriann Revoir, whose Marine husband has deployed numerous times, said there's nothing like the support she gets here.

"We are getting ready to leave Camp Lejeune, and I can honestly say it will be like cutting my arm off," she said.

Kim Allison, who said goodbye to her husband, Lt. Brett Allison, in January, said she was as prepared as she could be with three children younger than 5. Sarah, probably her most precocious, is 4. Joshua is 2, and little Grace is 4 months.

Although her husband has deployed before, this was the first time he left her alone with three children. Her family is in Pennsylvania, so she depends on friends for comfort and help, she said.

"Some days are definitely easier than others," Allison said. "But I have friends who give me breaks watching the children, so I can attend church functions or do other things I need to do."

Nicole Mallia's husband left in January for Okinawa, Japan. He will be gone for one year and even though he will not be in harm's way, it doesn't make his absence any easier, she said.

Mallia said she and her two sons, Joshua, 8, and Brandon, 6, miss him, but they are thankful that when they watch TV, they know they won't see him or his unit, she said.

"It's hardest on the kids,"' Mallia said. "They don't understand why Daddy's not coming home after work. That's the hardest part to explain."

Anxiety and loneliness are two of the most common and possibly the most difficult feelings associated with long deployments. The youngest child in Mallia's family has had the hardest time adjusting, she said.

Brandon started acting out, throwing things and having temper tantrums when his father left, she said.

His actions are more common than most think, experts say. Teachers and guidance counselors at Onslow County Schools and Camp Lejeune Dependents' Schools are prepared to help.

Each school, whether on base or in the county, has a crisis team to help children hard hit by deployments.

For parents, feelings and emotions tend to rise and fall with the daily stress of living. But there are things family members can do to make separation more manageable.

"I try to comfort my son and let him know I understand how he feels," Mallia said. "I try to keep both boys busy writing letters or drawing pictures for their dad."

The family receives weekly phone calls on Saturday mornings and that helps some, she said.

"Knowing that Dad is not in Iraq makes it better in some ways," she said.

Compassion and understanding for spouses and children of deployed Marines extends throughout Onslow County.

Free dinners for families of deployed spouses at the New River Chapel are scheduled the last Thursday of each month.

Command Chaplain Henry Hensley said the church has offered the monthly dinners since the war in Iraq started. "And it won't stop until the last man comes home," Hensley said.

Chaplain Fred Hilder, a Navy commander, said the monthly event provides cohesiveness for families who sometimes feel isolated.

"Moms with children can talk to each other and gain support," Hilder said. "The kids have other children to interact with, children who are going through the same things they are."

The chapel also offers spiritual and religious support, Hilder said. Catholic and Protestant prayer services are available prior to the dinner for anyone who wants to attend.

"It's a time for us to remember those who are deployed, and it's wonderful support for their families," Hilder said.

Several Jacksonville churches offer free child care on Friday and Saturday nights for spouses of deployed military. The respite can be used for time alone, to take in dinner or a movie with friends, or shopping.

Community-based offerings are provided through Project CARE.According to its Web site, Project CARE - a collaboration between the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the city of Jacksonville, Onslow County and the Caring Community Committee - is enacted during a mass deployment, such as the current one sending several thousand troops stationed at Camp Lejeune and New River to Iraq.

Rather than providing direct support, Project CARE serves as a conduit between families and businesses and the community services available.

Project CARE, which shouldered a large burden when troops were first deployed to Iraq in 2003, moves into action when a family member - usually a spouse of a deployed Marine or sailor - has exhausted all other avenues for help.

"The chamber does not duplicate any services that are already being provided by other organizations or agencies," chamber president Mona Padrick said. "We take care of needs that fall outside other services."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine' parents find comfort, strength in Brenham group
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By HOLLY HUFFMAN
Bryan-College Station Eagle Staff Writer
March 27, 2005

With trepidation about the war in Iraq, a handful of Brenham parents came together two years ago to break bread and talk about their children serving in the U.S. Marines.

The seven moms and one dad met at a Brenham cafe, where they drank margaritas and shared their worries.

Where were the "kids" stationed? What were they doing? Had they written or called home recently?

Were they safe?

"Every time you hear of an American Marine being killed, you wonder," mother Gloria Gochenour said softly, pausing to calm her quivering voice. Her 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Mark Gochenour, recently arrived in Iraq after spending a month helping victims of December's Indian Ocean tsunami.

"You get together and find out it was none of ours and you feel a little better, but you feel bad for them."

Coming together, the parents derived comfort from one another, they said, and that encouraged them to keep meeting. And it prompted other parents to join them.

No longer centered around the Marines, the Brenham support group now has grown to include nearly three dozen parents representing all branches of the military except the U.S. Coast Guard. And the group now sends monthly care packages to all Brenham-area deployed soldiers.

But the monthly dinner meetings have remained a constant, the parents said.

Sometimes the group is joyous, as when one of the service members has been promoted or is returning from deployment, they said. Sometimes there are tears when the group learns another son or daughter is being sent to war.

"It's real hard to explain what it feels like. I don't think you can ever know what it feels like until your child - man or woman - has actually been deployed," said Mary Kathryn Moss as she pondered the support fellow Marine moms and dads provided during her son's wartime deployments.

Moss' son, 20-year-old Ryan Singleton, returned this month to California after spending a year in Iraq. It was his second deployment to the war-torn country in the past two years.

"You know that another mother actually knows how you feel," she explained.

It is that emotional support from fellow moms, dads and stepparents that helped the group burgeon from friendly, informal dinners to a full-fledged support system, Brenham mother and group organizer Terrie Pagel said.

Her 21-year-old son, Marine Cpl. Garner Pagel, was deployed to Iraq in August and is set to return from his tour of duty next week. The Pagel family is planning to fly to California to greet him.

Pagel said the community has pulled together to help provide snacks, books, games and other personal items to send to troops from the area.

The Brenham High School band has overseen two care-package drives for the group, and the high school's cooperative education class raised postage money for the group, Pagel said. Several area churches and small organizations also have donated to the group, she said.

"Since we've started with care packages last spring, we have had pretty much a steady stream of supplies and cash," Pagel said. "Every once in a while we get a little low, and about the time we think we're out of business, somebody pops up and helps us again."

It is that kind of unwavering support - from both the community and group members - that has helped sustain the parents, they said. That and a whole lot of faith, they agreed.

"It's not something you want your child to do, but we live in America, and everybody has the right to choose what they want to do," Pagel said of her son's decision to join the military.

"When my son chose this path - even though we didn't agree with him, mostly because of our fears - we knew we had to let him do what he wanted to do and give him 100 percent of our support," she said. "I think he's gotten 500 percent."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Troop Defends Reason for Avoiding War <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By CARYN ROUSSEAU <br />
Associated Press Writer <br />
<br />
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) --...

[thedrifter]

Touching base
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March 28, 2005
KIRSTEN A. HOLMSTEDT
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

North Carolina has the fourth highest military presence in the United States. The military has an $18 billion annual impact on the state's economy.

With 107,000 active duty personnel and a $4 billion DoD payroll, it stands to reason that the military has been doing a lot of business with North Carolina companies, right?

Not necessarily.

Take, for instance, the military's recent switch to new battle dress uniforms. On Jan. 31, 2005, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) awarded five contracts worth $233 million to companies to produce the uniforms. None of those businesses were from North Carolina, a once thriving textile state. Instead, they went to businesses in Puerto Rico, Alabama, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

"The point is, North Carolina has lost a lot of cut-and-sew apparel industry jobs," said Scott Dorney, executive director of the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC). "When the Defense Logistics Agency put out an initial solicitation for new uniforms, North Carolina companies didn't win any of the contract awards. If the NCMBC had known about those opportunities far enough in advance, we could have lined up other North Carolina companies to bid."

The scenario is just one of many that supports the DoD's spending figures, which show that North Carolina receives only 1 percent of the DoD's annual $202 billion nationwide procurement, making the Tarheel State 24th in the country.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that the DLA selected an Asheboro, N.C. apparel manufacturer to produce its combat trousers. Fox Apparel was awarded a five-year, $103-million contract, and the company will hire 200 new employees to fill manufacturing jobs.

"Sixty days ago, (few) people had heard of us or would talk to us," said John Thompson, vice president of operations for Fox Apparel. "Being a prime contractor for the military has changed my total business plan and picture of the future. Now I have companies, banks, and suppliers competing for my business. And I've taken over 800 applications for my new positions over the past two weeks."

While NCMBC wasn't involved with Fox's contract, it plans to seek similar opportunities, recruit businesses to compete, and help them expand their market and become more successful.

Funded by the state and headquartered in Fayetteville, NCMBC wants to increase military business for existing North Carolina companies, integrate transitioning military personnel and family into the workforce, and support recruitment and development of defense-related businesses in North Carolina.

Here's a recent example of how NCMBC is playing out in the business community:

The DLA posted an opportunity on a federal business Web site for a company to supply milk and dairy products to all of the military installations in North Carolina. That opportunity hit the NCMBC's new Web portal, www.matchforce.org, and then NCMBC began contacting dairy companies across the state.

North Carolina's 58 community colleges, including Coastal Carolina in Jacksonville, and their small business centers are expected to play a major role in helping NCMBC achieve its goals. Four institutions have received funding from the NCMBC to hire military business coordinators for their small business centers.

Last month, Coastal hired Jennifer Burrell as coordinator of Coastal's MBC. Her office is located in the James S. Melton Vocational Skills Center on Coastal's campus. She will work closely with the military in Onslow County to identify business opportunities at Camp Lejeune and its affiliate installations. She will recruit local businesses to compete, direct them to or provide them with business assistance resources, and assist them in registering on matchforce.org.

Equally important, the military business centers will provide one-on-one assistance for businesspeople.

"You can send people to seminars and training, identify opportunities, and recruit qualified companies, but that's only going to get them so far," Dorney said. "The one-on-one help completes the picture."

Paula Salter, who works in Camp Lejeune's contracting department, said the base has been "very proactive in setting goals for contract awards to small business concerns. More than $94 million was spent with small businesses in fiscal year 2004 (75.5 percent of dollars spent).

One North Carolina company demonstrates the potential for such assistance and success. Cisco Industrial Supply & Fasteners of Biscoe is a retailer and a wholesale supplier of hardware products and industrial supplies. In 2004, the company opened a new facility in Fayetteville because it wanted to do business with the military.

Ed Johnson, Cisco's chief operating officer, said they haven't "hit a home run" yet, like Fox has, but they're hopeful.

Cisco has begun selling more products to the government. It has also used matchforce.org to hire additional personnel.

Since Cisco is a veteran- and woman-owned company, it's in a unique position to contract with the government, which is required to do business with a variety of companies.

While Cisco is a small business, with only eight employees, Johnson believes its opportunities are great.

"NCMBC has already put us onto an opportunity at one of the Air Force bases in South Carolina to bid on a contract with them," he said. "Right now it looks favorable but the outcome is still uncertain. If that comes through, it will be a good little contract for us.

Dorney said that when NCMBC goes through the process of trying to connect military demand with North Carolina suppliers, it makes it a lot easier to find the businesses if they have already registered and made themselves known on matchforce.org.

"The more we know about your products and services, the easier it will be to match your company with a business opportunity," Burrell said.

If someone wants to do business with the military, Dorney noted, they can just walk into the small business center at their local community college.

"At the very least, (they can) find someone who says, 'I know where to call to get you the help you need.'"

The primary objective of NCMBC is not to make companies rich, Dorney added, but to improve quality of life in North Carolina.

"We also want to retain more military retirees and veterans in our state workforce. We do that by having good jobs. They'll stay if the quality of life is good."

Having served 22 years in the Army, Dorney is no stranger to moving around. He knows the importance of good jobs, quality schools, and adequate public services for family members.

"That's what quality of life is all about, and economic development drives quality of life," he said. "It's about better and higher paying jobs, and being able to leverage the military to create those kinds of jobs locally. It's all about a better place for everyone (military and civilian) to live."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Soldiers' financial protection sometimes breached
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BY DIANA HENRIQUES
NEW YORK TIMES

Sgt. John Savage, an Army reservist, was about to climb onto a troop transport plane for a flight to Iraq from Fayetteville, N.C., when his wife called with alarming news: "They're foreclosing on our house."

"There was not a thing I could do; I had to jump on the plane and boil for 22 hours," Savage recalled.

He had reason to be angry. A longstanding federal law strictly limits the ability of his mortgage company and other lenders to foreclose againstactive-duty service members.

But Savage's experience was not unusual. Though statistics are scarce, court records and interviews with military and civilian lawyers suggest that Americans heading off to war are sometimes facing distracting and demoralizing demands from financial companies trying to collect on obligations that, by law, they cannot enforce.

Some cases involve nationally prominent companies such as Wells Fargo and Citigroup, though both say they are committed to strict compliance with the law.

The problem, most military law specialists say, is that too many lenders, debt collectors, landlords, lawyers and judges are unaware of the federal statute or do not fully understand it.

The law, the Servicemem-bers Civil Relief Act, protects all active-duty military fami- lies from foreclosures, evictions and other financial consequences of military service. The Supreme Court has ruled that its provisions must "be liberally construed to protect those who have been obliged to drop their own affairs to take up the burdens of the nation."

Yet the relief act has not seemed to work in recent cases like these:

• At Fort Hood, Texas, a soldier's wife was sued by a creditor trying to collect a debt owed by her and her husband, a soldier serving in Baghdad, Iraq, at the time. A local judge ruled against her, saying she had defaulted, even though specialists say the relief act forbids default judgments against soldiers serving overseas and protects their spouses as well.

• At Camp Pendleton, Calif., more than a dozen Marines returned from Iraq to find that their cars and other possessions had been improperly sold to cover unpaid storage and towing fees. The law forbids such seizures without a court order.

• In northern Ohio, Wells Fargo served a young Army couple with foreclosure papers despite the wife's repeated efforts to negotiate new repayment terms with the bank. Wells Fargo said later that it had been unaware of the couple's military status. The foreclosure was dropped after a military lawyer intervened.

The relief act provides a broad spectrum of protections to service members, their spouses and their dependents. The interest rate on debts incurred before enlistment, for example, must be capped at6 percent if military duty has reduced a service member's family income.

The law also protects service members from repossession or foreclosure without a court order. It allows them to terminate any real estate lease when their military orders require them to do so. And it forbids judges from holding service members in default on any legal matter unless the court has first appointed a lawyer to protect their interests.

The law is an updated version of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, which was adopted on the eve of World War II and remained largely unchanged through the Persian Gulf War of 1991. But in July 2001, a federal court ruled that service members could sue violators of the relief act for damages. And the terrorist attacks in September prompted Congress to take up a long-deferred Pentagon proposal to update the old act. The revised statute, clearer and more protective than the old one, was signed into law in December 2003.

But the news was apparently slow in reaching those who would have to interpret and enforce the law.

"There are 50,000 judges in this country and God knows how many lawyers," said Alexander White, a county court judge in Chicago and the chairman of one of the American Bar Association's military law committees. "Are people falling down on the job -- the judges, the bar, the military? Probably." And broad understanding of the law "is not going to happen overnight."

Military lawyers, credit industry organizations and some state courts and bar associations have also tried to spread the word about the new law. But these efforts are not enough, said Col. John S. Odom Jr. of Shreveport, La., who is retired and is a specialist on the act. "What we need is a way to reach Joe Bagadonuts in Wherever, Louisiana," he said. "Because that's where these cases are turning up."

One reason they are surfacing in unlikely places is the Pentagon's increased reliance on Reserve and National Guard units that do not hail from traditional military towns, said Lt. Col. Barry Bernstein, the judge advocate general for the South Carolina National Guard. When these units are called up, he said, their members find themselves facing creditors and courts that may never have dealt with the relief act.

As a result, some service members heading off to war have confronted exactly the kinds of problems the law was supposed to prevent.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

AAV's 'Echo' through TRUEX 05-1
Submitted by: 13th MEU
Story Identification #: 2005325183036
Story by Sgt. Charles E. Moore



SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOGISTICS AIRPORT, VICTORVILLE, Calif. (March 26, 2005) -- Echo Company performed countless drills and rehearsals to become proficient in one thing: Amphibious Assault Vehicle-based urban warfare.


They soon found nothing could have prepared them for their first raid during the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Training in an Urban Environment Exercise 05-1.
“It was a lot more realistic than anything else we’ve done,” said Pfc. Zachary Zdroik, squad automatic weapon gunner, Echo Company. “It really kind of hit us.”

Marines traditionally train with imaginary enemies or Marine role players. Their urban training takes place in “combat towns,” which consist of cinderblock structures that vaguely resemble buildings. They often have to “play the game” and do their best to imagine a combat situation.

Special Operations Training Group changed that for the Marines. The houses were real. The role players weren’t Marines.

“The scenario was outstanding, probably one of the best,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Thuma, platoon commander, 3rd Platoon, Echo Company. “It gets the young Marines into the mindset. It gave them a better opportunity than back at Camp Pendleton.”

The Marines rode on AAV’s through former base housing here to the site of the raid. They exited the vehicles to find Arabic-speaking locals who obviously weren’t Marines.

“It a good replica (of a town). It’s a good place to train. It’s good having those real Iraqis,” said Capt. Ray J. Mendoza, commander, Echo Company. “I had to use an interpreter. That really adds to being up here.”

Iraqi natives were brought in to play the role of townspeople. 1st Lt. Nathan Chandler, executive officer, said the civilians made the training more realistic through subtle details, such as their posture and gestures.

“The women looked like Iraqi women. The guy with a gray beard looked like an Iraqi man,” Chandler said. “That’s something Marines can’t replicate.”

Two of the Iraqis gave the Marines a class on Arabic customs and courtesies. They also translated some basic phrases for the Marines. Private First Class Harrison R. Majszak, rifleman, Echo Company, said the class was “really wild.”

“We get classes on these things, but they’re from team leaders who have been to Iraq,” he said. He added that the team leaders knew some things about the culture, but the Iraqis were much more informative.

The culture class, rehearsals and a few basic phrases made the mission successful.

When asked about the overall experience Thuma simplified it in saying, “We actually did here, what we’ll do out there.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 28, 2005

Two soldiers, one Marine
killed over weekend

The Associated Press


BAGHDAD — Two U.S. soldiers were killed and two wounded by a car bomb in Baghdad Saturday and a Marine was killed in action elsewhere in central Iraq.
The bomb struck the soldiers while they were on patrol in southwestern Baghdad, the military said in a statement. It did not elaborate.

The Marine, assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary force, was killed Friday in Anbar province, which includes the restive cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the military said.

No further details were given. The Marine’s name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

View a searchable database of all fatalities at Military City’s Honor the Fallen site at www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Wal-Mart helps sell the Marine Corps <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
Submitted by: Marine Corps Recruiting Command <br />
Story by Staff Sgt. Marc Ayalin...

[thedrifter]

Posted on Mon, Mar. 28, 2005




CONFLICT IN IRAQ


Fallujah safe, troops say

U.S. troops say the former insurgent bastion Fallujah is the 'safest city in Iraq,' thanks to tough measures that remain in place four months after rebels were driven out.

BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITH

snesmith@herald.com


FALLUJAH, Iraq - Piles of rubble still line the streets here, but a few shops have opened on the main drag, schools are finally in session and a compensation program to help families rebuild made some token initial payments this month.

Four months after the assault on Fallujah, in the center of Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland, American forces working to rebuild the city say they're seeing some progress, albeit limited, in a city that's still blockaded and under a curfew.

Even a little progress is an important development in a city that's been a major test for the American presence in Iraq. Last March 31, four U.S. contractors were ambushed and killed here, setting off a battle when U.S. Marines tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the rebels who had taken control of the city.

The second battle began in November, when U.S. Army and Marine units moved through the city, destroying buildings and killing hundreds of opponents.

Now the reconstruction effort faces a problem -- how to get life back to normal while preventing another uprising. The American forces say they're insisting that the Iraqi government take the lead and they admit that the work ahead will be slow going.

A group of Iraqi men shoveling dirt and sand in a vacant lot said much about the effort. ''They're making big piles into little piles,'' joked one Marine, as he guided a group of journalists on a tour of the city this week.

The Marines could do the job in a couple of hours with a front-end loader but prefer to pay military-age men to get it done with the tools they have -- giving the men an alternative to working with the insurgents and a chance for Iraqis to lead the reconstruction effort.

''If we did everything, we could do this faster,'' said Master Sgt. Leon Brown, of the Army's 445th Battalion, a reservist from Milpitas, Calif. ``But how are the Iraqi people going to feel confident about their country or their government?''

American forces claim that Fallujah is now ''the safest city in Iraq'' -- an assertion that's impossible to verify, though it's clear that the once-terrifying insurgency has been seriously crippled, mounting only small, scattered attacks in the city.

''The city is relatively quiet,'' said Marine Col. Mark Gurganus, who recently took command of U.S. forces in Fallujah. The insurgents ``are not getting in here in the numbers that can organize or with the quantity of weapons there were before.''

CURFEW, CHECKPOINTS

He's not willing to consider lifting some of the security measures, however. The price of hastily loosening the semi-blockade or lifting the curfew would be too high, he said.

So while American forces spend $50,000 to rebuild and resupply the Jolan Medical Clinic, some women are still having their babies at home, unable to get to the clinic at night because of the curfew, according to clinic director Najim Abed.

And while Marine units adopt and help rebuild schools such as the Palestine School for Boys and Girls, some students aren't able to get through the checkpoints to make it into the city for class, said gym teacher Sulaiman A. Ali al Mohamadi.

The southern half of the city is still without electricity. Water service, though now extended to almost all areas, is limited because residents can't power the pumps that bring the water into their homes, said Navy Lt. Chris Lankford.

Only 1,000 of the 13,000 telephone subscribers before the war have had their service restored.

For businesses, the security checkpoints on the perimeter of the city are a particular hardship. Fallujah used to be less than an hour's drive from Baghdad. Now, people wait for hours in line, submitting to searches and fingerprinting. Only Fallujah residents and contractors working on reconstruction projects can enter the city.

''Baghdad is the source of the goods we need,'' said spice dealer Haji Abbas. ``I was going and coming from Baghdad almost daily. Now I can't. The checkpoints and the long lines make transportation costs extremely high and this makes my spice prices relatively high . . . and Fallujah residents need money to fix their homes. The last thing they need is a shortage of goods and high prices.''

Some are happy for a break in the violence, even at the price of their freedom.

''The security is good,'' said Thaira Thalid Abbas, 58, a mother of nine, as she waited with some 30 others for a compensation check for damage done to her home during the assault. ``We go to sleep without worrying about it.''

So far, only 40 families have received compensation payments, out of an estimated 25,000 who suffered damages. American officials say the program is being run by the local government, which is still in disarray.

THINGS `GOING WELL'

''I think it's going very well,'' said Deputy Mayor Ali Hussein. ``It will be better in the future. This is just the beginning. Maybe after two or three months everything will be OK.''

He said the security measures are an inconvenience but are still necessary.

''We don't want it to all start again,'' he said.

Others are frustrated.

''We can't do business here,'' said Ali Muhammed Hussein, as he waited with his elderly father to receive a compensation check. ``It's the safest city in Iraq because it's a prison.''

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Battalion ‘Can Do’: Seabees continue role aboard Al Asad
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005325105052
Story by Cpl. C. Alex Herron



AL ASAD, Iraq (March 25, 2005) -- Building, welding and carpentry are just some of the skills the more than 400 reserve sailors of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 use to support the units of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward). The Seabees Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24, from Huntsville, Ala. are activated sailors who came from more than 30 different reserve units across the Eastern United States.

Seabees around the globe provide responsive military construction support to military operations, construct base facilities and conduct defensive operations. In addition to standard wood, steel and masonry construction, the Seabees also perform specialized construction such as water drilling and battle damage repair. They also work and defend themselves outside their base camp and convoy through unsecured areas.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 took over the mission in a small ceremony inside the Seabees compound, March 23. The battalion’s mission is to continue the work of their predecessors and support the Marine Expeditionary Force in any way they can.

“A lot of our projects are just a continuation of the previous battalion’s work,” said Lt. j.g. Jeromy Pittmann, battalion intelligence officer and Pensacola, Fla., native. “Our biggest task is the runway renovation on Al Asad.”

In preparation for their deployment, the Seabees underwent a wide variety of training including weapons qualifications, close combat quarters and patrolling.

“We are 100 percent prepared for this deployment,” Pittmann said. “We are ready for the mission at hand because we completed all of our training and can put it to use as the situation dictates.”

Despite all of the work they have here, the Seabees also have sailors at the different forward operating bases and a small camp maintenance detachment working with Al Asad’s garrison command. The Seabees are also working on a flightline reconstruction project that will fix parts of the runway that is hazardous to aircraft.

“We are improving the quality of life at the forward operating bases for our fellow service members working there,” said Lt. Cmdr. Natasha Smith, operations officer and Nashville, Tenn., native. “We are building things like South West Asia huts at the other forward operating bases to make the lives of everybody easier.”

South West Asia Huts or “swahuts” are reinforced tents built for office spaces or living areas. They were originally called “seahuts” or South East Asia huts built during the Vietnam conflict.

The Seabees are known for their skills in construction, but this unit has compiled an all-star team, with many of their sailors working construction in their civilian jobs.

“With our average age being 38, we have a lot of experience in this unit.” Smith said. “Many of our sailors are skilled in their craft. We have a lot of sailors who are master electricians, carpenters and more who bring their expertise to the job.”

From top to bottom, the Seabees want to be here and understand how important it is to do the job correctly.

“We want to accomplish our mission and be successful at whatever comes up throughout the deployment,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy G. Kirk, administration clerk from Jacksonville, Ala. “We want to leave this place better than it was when we found it.”

With all of the skills available in the unit, the Seabees are prepared to do the best job possible in every assignment.

“The Seabees slogan is ‘Can do’ and that is exactly what we will do,” Smith said. “We are here to make things happen.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fallujah inches its way back to a new sense of normality

Recovery comes slowly as U.S. troops guard against a new uprising.

By Susannah A. Nesmith

Knight Ridder News Service


FALLUJAH, Iraq - Piles of rubble still line the streets here, but a few shops have opened on the main drag, schools are finally in session, and a compensation program to help families rebuild made some token initial payments this month.

Four months after the assault on Fallujah, in the center of Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland, American forces working to rebuild the city say they're seeing some progress, albeit limited, in a city that's still blockaded and under a curfew.

Even a little progress is an important development in a city that's been a major test for the American presence in Iraq. Last March 31, four U.S. contractors were ambushed and killed here, setting off a battle when U.S. Marines tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the insurgent forces that had taken control of the city.

The second battle began in November, when U.S. Army and Marine units moved through the city, destroying buildings and killing hundreds of opponents.

Now the reconstruction effort faces a problem - how to get life back to normal while preventing another uprising. The American forces say they're insisting that the Iraqi government take the lead and admit that the work ahead will be slow going.

A group of Iraqi men shoveling dirt and sand in a vacant lot said much about the effort. "They're making big piles into little piles," one Marine joked as he guided a group of journalists on a tour of the city last week.

The Marines could do the job in a couple of hours with a front-end loader but prefer to pay military-age men to get it done with the tools they have - giving the men an alternative to working with the insurgents and a chance for Iraqis to lead the reconstruction effort.

"If we did everything, we could do this faster," said Master Sgt. Leon Brown of the Army's 445th Battalion, a reservist from Milpitas, Calif. "But how are the Iraqi people going to feel confident about their country or their government?"

American forces say that Fallujah is now "the safest city in Iraq" - an assertion that's impossible to verify, though it's clear that the once-terrifying insurgency has been seriously crippled, mounting only small, scattered attacks in the city.

"The city is relatively quiet," said Marine Col. Mark Gurganus, who recently took command of U.S. forces in Fallujah. The insurgents "are not getting in here in the numbers that can organize or with the quantity of weapons there were before."

He's not willing to consider lifting some of the security measures, however. The price of hastily loosening the semi-blockade or lifting the curfew would be too high, he said.

So while American forces spend $50,000 to rebuild and resupply the Jolan Medical Clinic, some women are still having their babies at home, unable to get to the clinic at night because of the curfew, according to clinic director Najim Abed.

And while Marine units adopt and help rebuild schools such as the Palestine School for Boys and Girls, some students aren't able to get through the checkpoints to make it into the city for class, gym teacher Sulaiman A. Ali Al-Mohamadi said.

The southern half of the city is still without electricity. Water service, though now extended to almost all areas, is limited because residents can't power the pumps that bring the water into their homes, Navy Lt. Chris Lankford said. Only 1,000 of the 13,000 telephone subscribers before the war have had their service restored.

For businesses, the security checkpoints on the perimeter of the city are a particular hardship. Fallujah used to be less than an hour's drive from Baghdad. Now, people wait for hours in line, submitting to searches and fingerprinting. Only Fallujah residents and contractors working on reconstruction projects can enter the city.

"Baghdad is the source of the goods we need," spice dealer Haji Abbas said. "I was going and coming from Baghdad almost daily. Now I can't. The checkpoints and the long lines make transportation costs extremely high, and this makes my spice prices relatively high... and Fallujah residents need money to fix their homes. The last thing they need is a shortage of goods and high prices."

Some are happy for a break in the violence, even at the price of their freedom.

"The security is good," said Thaira Thalid Abbas, 58, a mother of nine, as she waited with about 30 others for a compensation check for damage done to her home during the assault. "We go to sleep without worrying about it."

So far, only 40 families have received compensation payments, out of an estimated 25,000 that suffered damage. American officials say the program is being run by the local government, which is still in disarray.

"I think it's going very well," Deputy Mayor Ali Hussein said. "It will be better in the future. This is just the beginning. Maybe after two or three months, everything will be OK."

He said the security measures are an inconvenience but are still necessary.

"We don't want it to all start again," he said.

Others are frustrated.

"We can't do business here," Ali Muhammed Hussein said as he waited with his elderly father to receive a compensation check. "It's the safest city in Iraq because it's a prison."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 28, 2005

II MEF takes over in Fallujah

Times staff


Officials with II Marine Expeditionary Force took the reins of Multi-National Force-West from I MEF leaders during a March 27 ceremony in Fallujah, Iraq.
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, I MEF’s commanding general, transferred authority to II MEF’s commanding general, Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson.

“I’ve never been more optimistic in my almost two years of association with this area,” said Sattler, according to a March 27 Corps press release. “The energy, the enthusiasm of the people is catapulting this movement forward. The Iraqi security forces are capable, well led and confident and that confidence flows over to the Iraqi people.”

Looking ahead, Johnson said he expects to see Iraqis shoulder more of the burden of Iraq’s security in the coming months.

“[Iraqi forces] are becoming very effective. We are going to see the emergence of the Iraqi government. Their constitution is being written, elections are being held and political decisions are being made in a democratic fashion,” Johnson said. “We are going to see their economy pick up. We are going to see opportunities for jobs and for industry. And we are also going to see the emergence of truth. For years, this country has not known truth and we will be seeing more of that.”

For the past few weeks, Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based units have been arriving in theater to relieve West Coast units, many of which are based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to begin what Corps officials call “Operation Iraqi Freedom III.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

March 28, 2005

Steps taken to avoid deployment of pregnant Marines

By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer


Babies and combat don’t mix, so the Corps is taking steps to make sure female Marines aren’t in a family way when they deploy.
Since pregnant Marines cannot deploy, officials advise commanders to make sure all female Marines within their unit take either a urine or blood pregnancy test 10 to 14 days before deploying.

“This is not a personal or unit-driven choice and all personnel concerned must comply with this policy,” officials stated in a March 18 Corpswide message.

Marines have a 12-month restricted-tour deferment option from the date they deliver a child.

“The Marine should not be pressured either way to decide whether or not to waive the deferment,” MarAdmin 133/05 states.

The message also directs commanders to make sure they know the pregnancy status of their female Marines before any live inoculations can be administered.

Inoculations such as smallpox can pose dangers to a fetus, even if the injection is given as much as three months before a woman becomes pregnant.

“Prior to receiving live virus inoculations, female Marines will be counseled concerning their likelihood of being pregnant and the risks associated with receiving these inoculations,” the MarAdmin states.



Ellie

[thedrifter]

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Proudly serving in ‘harm's way'


Special to The T&D

At about the same time Sgt. Charles H. Johnson Jr. boarded the plane that would bring his unit from Fallujah to Kuwait for the first leg of their trip back home, his baby son, Charles III, was being airlifted again to Children's Hospital in Fairfax, Va., where he has spent almost all of his 17 months of life.

Johnson left his son and family in September 2004 for his first tour of duty in Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Torn between his duty to serve his country and his need/emotional desire to be with his sick son stirred deep feelings, the likes of which he had not had to deal with in his entire life. Without a doubt, separation from family is one of war's most difficult situations to handle.

In the final analysis, he did what he had to do. And, his first correspondence to family back home after he began his assignment in Fallujah revealed how he felt about the decision he made: "I am proud to be here, serving my country so that my son and family, and indeed the entire world may have an opportunity to life in peace. I am a Marine — my place is sealed among The Few, The Proud."

Johnson, a 1988 graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School and a 1997 graduate of Claflin University, was deployed to Iraq with the First Marine Division, Civil Affairs Group, Washington (DC) Naval District. He was selected for duty with the special unit that, amid the chaos of combat, performs quietly but courageously a job no one else wants to do, ensuring fallen troops (Angels) are returned to their families.

Many Marines, according to a story by Lance Cpl. Samuel B. Valliere, a fellow Marine, believe that "anyone who fails in combat dies a hero. They believe that the Corps thrives because of its warrior culture; like the Spartans of Ancient Greece, its history is not just speckled but rooted in its almost unwavering ability to win battles."

The group laid sandbags on the roof of the old bunker where they work, arranging them to read "No One Left Behind" and "Honor, Respect, Reverence," all visual testaments of the Marine Corps' tradition of taking care of its own fallen Angels as well as those left to carry on. Johnson shared these beliefs and accepted these testaments when he decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991, serving stints of active and reserve duty since that time.

A major strategy Johnson has used to help him perform his military duties in an unfaltering manner is to keep in touch with family and friends back home. These connections — e-mails, letters and telephone calls — have proven invaluable.

"One of the very best things that the American people can do now is to keep in touch with the troops here and abroad to let them know that America cares," he says. "Ventures in 'harm's way' then become ventures for freedom and hope for peace."

Humbled by the outpouring of love and concern shown by his family and literally hundreds of other individuals and groups, Johnson regrets he is simply unable to adequately express his appreciation.

He and his son were enshrined in a special bond during this time as prayers were uttered by individuals and by churches where friends and family reside — in Orangeburg, across South Carolina and across the country — that added their names to prayer lists and carried their names on Sunday mornings.

Sgt. Johnson's family, particularly his wife, LeToya, and his parents, Charles H. and Vermelle J. Johnson, join him in thanks and thanksgiving, not just for him but for all sons and daughters who must be in harm's way as they carry out their military obligations. They serve proudly!

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Helicopter squadron has new leader



By Daily News


EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Lt. Col. Rick Mullen has passed leadership of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 769 to Lt. Col. Brian Phillips.
The change-of-command ceremony for HMH-769 Roadhogs, part of Marine Aircraft Group 46's Detachment Bravo, took place March 6.

"It is a sad moment to see a good commander leave," said Marine Brig. Gen. Harold Fruchnicht, 4th Marine Air Wing commander. "I'm happy to see another one step in and shine."

Mullen will return to civilian life, in which he is a firefighter and paramedic for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

"These Marines are some of the finest Americans I've ever had the privilege of serving with," Mullen said. "I'm very nostalgic about leaving. I'm happy I'm moving on, but it comforts me to know I'm leaving the squadron in good hands with Colonel Phillips."

The approximately 150 Marines in the squadron spent from March to October of 2004 in Afghanistan. They transported personnel, equipment, mail, cargo and humanitarian relief supplies. They also provided transportation for Marines and soldiers to remote, high-altitude mountainous locations.

Phillips said the squadron has challenges ahead.

"9-11 changed everyone's lives and it isn't changing back anytime soon," he said. "I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting dirty."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

His legacy's painted in yellow

By Peter Worthington
For the Toronto Sun

Although some are disappointed, no one should be surprised that U.S. army deserter Jeremy Hinzman's bid to be a "refugee" has been rejected.

Hinzman himself says he expected this decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board, and will launch his appeal today. It will likely enable him to remain in Canada for years like other illegals.

Looking at it objectively, it's hard to imagine a case weaker than Hinzman. His three main themes for deserting are: 1. Iraq is an "illegal" war (what's a "legal" war, one wonders?); 2. He was afraid he'd have to commit atrocities in Iraq; 3. He decided he was a conscientious objector, even though he volunteered to become a paratrooper in America's most gung-ho unit, the 82nd Airborne.

While good manners dictate that no one wants to come out and say it, it's hard to escape the stark conclusion that Jeremy Hinzman is a coward.

A Globe and Mail editorial put it gently -- and I'd agree: "A person (Hinzman) is clearly not a refugee if his only reason for desertion is his dislike of military service or fear of combat."

The army was fine when he joined 10 months before 9/11, and being a macho paratrooper gave him status until on the eve of being sent to Iraq when he ran away to Canada.

True, he served in Afghanistan -- where he was refused conscientious objector status. Perhaps out of deference to his newly found pacifism, he was relegated to kitchen duty. Safe but unheroic.

No one is sure how many U.S. deserters are hiding out in Canada. Maybe 100, maybe 200. Interestingly, their lawyers and supporters tend to be former Vietnam draft dodgers.

But these guys today aren't draft dodgers -- a qualitative difference. There is no draft in the U.S. It's a volunteer army, like ours.

These guys are deserters, and there's a certain disdain for deserters. Even during Vietnam, a draft dodger was more acceptable than a deserter, which reeks of cowardice no matter how one sugarcoats it.

That said, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, Detroit Free Press and others, Hinzman's lawyer Jeffry House came up with a novel defence on the CBC: "We don't believe people should be imprisoned for doing what they believe is illegal."

Hmmm.

A poster boy for deserters, today Hinzman is a bicycle courier. It's a far cry from the university education he says he joined the army to get -- until the shooting started.

The "cruel and unusual" punishment he thinks he'd get if he returned to the U.S. would be at most five years in prison, but more likely one year. Neither very cruel, nor unusual.

Despite Canada's meek support for U.S. policy and our opposition to the war in Iraq, Canadians are generally admiring of their own military and not enthusiastic about deserters.

Canada, with Paul Martin as PM, is different from Canada when Jean Chretien was PM and his party striving to loot the till.

Martin clearly seeks to restore damaged relations with the U.S. Despite his verbal opposition to missile defence it doesn't mean a damn thing because, under NORAD, Canada is already a partner in continental defence.

Hinzman will be an anti-war hero to those aging anti-Vietniks who came here 30 to 40 years ago, and to the CBC which viscerally dislikes our military and revels in anything anti-American.

He can attend anti-U.S. rallies and ride his courier bike on our streets and live a sort of twilight life and never amount to much. But mostly he's a sad young man whose judgment is flawed and whose courage is questioned.

Not much of a legacy.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Military Amputees Find Camaraderie
Associated Press
March 29, 2005

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - Cpl. Isaiah Ramirez endured the rigors of Marine Corps basic training and two tours of high-risk duty in Iraq.

But since his lower right leg was shot off in January, Ramirez says he'll be happy just to walk again.

Ramirez, 21, took his first steps toward that goal this month at Brooke Army Medical Center, where two dozen amputees wounded in the Iraq war have become a tightly knit group as they adjust together to life-altering injuries.

The medical center's amputee center, which opened this year, is the second such facility created by the Defense Department to treat service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I love being around here - it makes you feel more normal," said Ramirez, who grew up in Long Beach, Calif.

Ramirez was on foot patrol in Ramadi on Jan. 11 when he was hit above his right ankle by an anti-tank round. He said he was alert while a combat medic quickly performed a crude amputation on the city street.




"I've learned that I've got to stop thinking about the things I could have done," said Ramirez, who had planned to be a career Marine. "I'm just glad to be here."

Army Spc. Albert Ross sat with Ramirez recently to answer his questions while the Marine was fitted for a prosthesis. Ross is a good role model for Ramirez: He lost the same part of his right leg to a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad last summer and has recovered well enough to run a quarter-mile on a treadmill.

In turn, Ross, from Baker, La., takes inspiration from Sgt. Chris Leverkuhn, an Army reservist from Logansport, Ind.

Leverkuhn, 21, had his right leg amputated just above the knee after an improvised bomb exploded under the floorboard of the fuel tanker he was riding in. The truck's driver was killed in the Jan. 2, 2004, attack outside Ramadi.

Leverkuhn has endured three dozen surgeries with more to come. He has progressed from bed to wheelchair to walker to crutches to cane. Now he can jump foot-high hurdles and dribble a basketball around small cones on the floor.

"Half the time when I'm wearing pants, people don't know that I'm an amputee," Leverkuhn said.

The workout room is the amputee center's social hub, where patients pump out a steady stream of wisecracks and PG-rated insults between sets on the weightlifting machines.

"We all give each other a hard time, but we don't do any of that until we know a person and know how they'll take it," said Leverkuhn, who has laminated a picture of a chopper-style motorcycle to his prosthesis.

Col. Robert Granville, an orthopedic surgeon who performs amputations and subsequent operations, is constantly awed by the casual, can-do atmosphere.

"I can't imagine being a 19, 20-year-old guy and facing the life challenges they have to face," said Granville. "We attempt to empathize, but we can't."

Army 1st Sgt. Daniel Seefeldt, a 22-year veteran, said the camaraderie at the amputee center got him past the nightmares he had after losing his lower left leg to a homemade bomb in Baghdad in September.

"A lot of the reason I'm not thinking about it is being with the other amputees," said Seefeldt, 41, of Manitowoc, Wis. "We're all close, like a family. If you're depressed, you have people here to lift your spirits."

During weekend visits to see his wife and two children, Seefeldt does laundry and straightens up around the house. In late November, barely six weeks after his amputation, he cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

"I do it every year," Seefeldt said matter-of-factly, "and this year was no different."

Ramirez, whose wife gave birth to the couple's first child in late February, is months away from rattling any pots and pans. He first needs to learn how to balance himself and re-establish the rhythm of his gait.

The support he's getting at the amputee center will shore him up on his upcoming return to Southern California to see family and his old surfing buddies.

"I worried when I saw them that they would have pity for me," Ramirez said. "I want them to see me and think, 'He's doing pretty good.'"

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq May Be Secure In 18 Months <br />
Associated Press <br />
March 29, 2005 <br />
<br />
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's outgoing interior minister predicted Monday that his country's emerging police and army may be capable...

[thedrifter]

Military Begins Final Tests On Osprey
Associated Press
March 29, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - The U.S. Marine Corps said final tests began Monday on the military's Osprey aircraft, a helicopter-airplane hybrid that has been plagued by deadly crashes and design problems.

The Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft can land and take off like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. Commanders say the Osprey can haul more troops and equipment farther than existing helicopters. It was designed to replace the aging helicopters in the Marine Corps fleet.

The Osprey program has been threatened since 23 Marines died in a pair of crashes during testing in 2000. The manufactures made design changes following an investigation.




The Osprey was also grounded for a few weeks earlier this year because the coating on a part in the gearbox was wearing off faster than expected.

The Marine Corps Web-site says each Osprey costs approximately $40 million.

The Marine Corps' tests scheduled through the end of June will help determine whether the Osprey is ready for full production. The Marine Corps has ordered 360 Ospreys, the Navy 48 and the Air Force 50 for special operations.

Testing conditions will include high altitudes, extreme temperatures and desert conditions.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Philippine Rebels Threaten U.S. Troops
Associated Press
March 29, 2005

MANILA, Philippines - Communist guerrillas on Monday renewed their threat against U.S. troops on training missions in the Philippines, saying the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq prove they can be killed despite their superior military power.

The Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, accused the U.S. government of attempting to crush their insurgency by supplying weapons and training to Filipino soldiers. The rebel army marks its 36th anniversary on Tuesday.

The United States has about 100 soldiers in the Philippines as part of annual training exercises. Washington considers the communist rebels a terrorist organization, although there have been no attacks on American soldiers in recent years.

"The NPA is ... prepared to take the necessary actions against these foreign troops who, in fact, engage in terrorism under the pretext of anti-terrorism," the Communist Party said in a statement.

The guerrillas praised Iraqis for "their heroic struggle for having already killed in only two years' time more than 1,500 U.S. troops" and wounding thousands of others.




"They can be made to bleed and die on the ground, as now demonstrated by the Iraqi people and previously by the Vietnamese and other peoples," the statement said.

Later Monday, about 100 masked Communist Party members briefly paraded in a Manila street with placards saying "Armed revolution is the answer to poverty." They scattered before police arrived.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual belittled the rebel threat as an "empty boast," saying the guerrillas did not have the capability to take on the military or American soldiers, who have their own security shield.

"They can only take on very remote military detachments and police stations, which they think have less chances of repelling their treacherous attacks," he said.

He noted that American troops recently traveled to southeastern Quezon province, where the guerrillas are active, to undertake humanitarian projects.

Last year, the rebels suspended peace talks with the Philippine government to protest Manila's refusal to push U.S. and European officials to remove the guerrillas from their lists of terrorist organizations.

The military estimates that as of last year, the NPA had 8,240 men. Despite military offensives, the Communist Party said it has a presence in nearly 70 of the Philippines' 79 provinces.

In the coming years, the guerrillas said they would focus their struggle on seizing arms from government troops, including those supplied by the United States. They also threatened to deploy "hit squads" in towns and cities "to deliver lethal actions" against those who assault their activists.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

America Supports You: Singer's Support for Troops Comes From the Heart
Submitted by: American Forces Press Service
Story Identification #: 200532881220
Story by Ms. Samantha L. Quigley



WASHINGTON (March 24, 2005) -- Country singer Chely Wright has partnered with the "America Supports You" program, a Defense Department effort to recognize citizens' support for the men and women of the armed forces and to communicate that support to service members at home and abroad.

The singer said she feels the program serves as a great hub for those who want to support the troops.

"I think America Supports You is important to the troops, because it's yet another way for us lay people back here who want to reach out in some way," Wright said. "It allows us to do that, whether it be through correspondence or care packages or going to a Web site and posting a message."

She added that ASY is important because, with the availability of Internet access, service members overseas can get the message immediately that they have the support of the American people.

"I've been there with them when there's no communication, and I know what the morale is," she said. "And I've been there when the PX finally gets there ... and you can really feel the excitement. I think that America Supports You is just another way to augment the morale boost."

While Wright comes from a family with a long military tradition, she said that is not the only reason she supports the troops.

"I'm not Republican or a Democrat," Wright said. "I'm an American. That's why I support the troops."

Wright's support for the troops has deep roots.

She started performing at her local veterans hospital in Kansas at the tender age of 9. Those first performances were at the urging of her grandfather, a World War II veteran with 1st Infantry Division -- the "Big Red One."

"I'm so glad I had that early experience with the soldiers and the Marines and other people who had done their duty in Vietnam and Korea and World War II," Wright said during a March 23 interview, "because I got to understand it without prejudice of politics, without prejudice of religion.

"I was 9 and a guy told me 'My leg got shot off,"' Wright recalled. "And I said, 'Why were you there?'"

He told her he was there to protect and serve, the singer said.

What she learned from her conversations with the veterans is that war is sad and scary, she said. The latter part of that lesson was reinforced when her brother, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Chris Wright, told her he was headed to Iraq.

Before he left, he sent her a simple, round Marine Corps emblem bumper sticker.

She said she had never, ever put a bumper sticker on her car before. This one was different, though. With this one she never hesitated.

"I went downstairs and put it on the back of my vehicle,, Wright said, "a lot out of pride, but also out of fear. You know, I was, 'My brother's in a war. Wow, this is weird.'"

Wright started performing in support of the troops in 1994. But she said it's not really about the performance. It's about the time she spends talking with the troops afterward. Those appearances have made a deep and lasting impression on Wright. "It's been life-changing," she said.

Each year, she sets aside 10 days to two weeks to go overseas and perform for the troops, she said. Those shows overseas and the ones for troops here at home are all because of her profound appreciation for the troops and what they do, she said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

K-9s give 42 reasons why crime doesn’t pay
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification #: 200532522931
Story by Lance Cpl. Martin R. Harris



KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, Japan -- (March 25, 2005) -- He patrols the streets of U.S. military installations on Okinawa throughout the night; guarding, protecting, serving.

He and his partner’s only mission is to safeguard residents from an unknown enemy, whomever it may be. This defender is the military working dog.

For the Marines and dogs at the military working dog section of the Marine Corps Base Camp Butler Provost Marshal’s Office, their mission is simple; to serve and protect. The 21 military working dogs and their handlers assist military police units here with protecting servicemembers and military installations islandwide, explained Sgt. Kip L. Hogan, training chief for the military working dog section.

“Two teams, each consisting of a dog and handler, are on duty 24 hours a day,” Hogan said. “Each night we patrol a different camp on the island. We respond to calls just like a regular road unit, in addition to any incident which might need K-9-specific attention.”

There are two functional areas for working dogs, drug work and bomb work. The handlers have important responsibilities within the Marine Corps with regards to the war on terrorism and the safety of servicemembers on Okinawa, Hogan explained.

Most dogs are of the Belgian Malinois breed, which is selected by the military services because of the dogs’ intelligence, intensity and long life span, Hogan added. Each dog is basically trained for his specialty at the U.S. Army Military Working Dog School at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio.

Upon completion of the 120-day training course, the dogs are brought to Okinawa and assigned to a handler, explained Lance Cpl. Chris Diaz, a handler with the military working dog section. This is when the dogs’ real training begins.

“With a dog, there are lots of psychological issues,” Diaz said. “They are like people. It’s a relationship that takes trust, teamwork and respect, which all have to be earned. Dogs aren’t like an (M-16 A2 service rifle). They aren’t mechanical.”

Once drug dogs “hit the road” here, they can support the U.S. Customs Service at Kadena Air Base, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma or the Naha port facility, Hogan explained. The dogs are trained to find many types of drugs, paraphernalia and explosives. The dogs are also trained in routine, police-type work, which gives them the capability to work normal highway patrols.

Bomb dogs are used to search automobiles, luggage and special areas and are certified to detect explosives at or above a 95 percent accuracy rate, explained Cpl. Terry R. Donaldson, a dog handler with the section. Many times dogs are used to work at spot checks at the entrances of military installations.

Donaldson spent time with his dog while on deployment in Djibouti, Africa, and stressed the importance of having a bomb dog at the gates of military installations.

The military working dogs also help keep the bases on Okinawa safe by providing a psychological and physical deterrent to terrorists, Hogan explained.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fallujah Marines troubleshoot hard drives after arrival of II MEF <br />
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force <br />
Story Identification #: 20053268127 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Aaron P. Mankin <br />
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CAMP...

[thedrifter]

Local children bag bunny to troops in Baghdad
By TODD MCHALE
Burlington County Times


RIVERSIDE - Nine-year-old Caitlin Persichilli said she and her friends just wanted to give U.S. troops in Iraq a treat from home, especially for the Easter holiday.

So, Riverside Brownie troops 3821 and 2157 made it their mission to bring the Easter bunny to Iraq.

The girls teamed up to make 224 Easter bunny bags to send to a U.S. Marines unit based in Al Asad, Iraq.

"I thought it was important because if we sent a little bag of treats, it would make them feel a little better," said Caitlin, who helped construct, fill and pack the bunny bags for the troops.

"It was fun because we had to make all the bunny faces (to put on the bags)," she said.

Caitlin's mother and troop leader, Gail Persichilli, said the girls wanted to do something for the troops for the holiday and all agreed that bunny bags were the best idea.

"It was a little crazy," Gail Persichilli said of the two nights the Brownies came over to make the bunny bags.


She said the girls filled the bags with a variety of donated hard candy to be distributed to every member of the U.S. Marines unit in which her 19-year-old nephew from Burlington Township serves.

Lance Cpl. Richard Kerr and other members of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2 G-3, based out of Cherry Point, N.C., were deployed to Iraq in February and are expected to be stationed there for more than a year.

Gail Persichilli said she's not sure if the troops got the bunny bags in time for the holiday, but she's sure it will be a treat whenever they arrive. The bags were mailed March 11.

She said she's happy the girls seemed to enjoy doing something for the troops serving in Iraq.

"I really and truly believe it shows the girls do care," she said.

Email: tmchale@phillyBurbs.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Faster than the Flintstones
Submitted by: 2nd Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 200532944448
Story by Cpl. C.J. Yard



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (March 29, 2005) -- More than 200 Marines, sailors and soldiers here came together recently to dig 3,800 cubic yards of gravel from a quarry, log more than 100 hours of heavy equipment operation and more than 100 miles of convoy driving during Operation Bedrock, all in a mere seven days.

“All the gravel we took from the quarry will go to improve the infrastructure of the base,” said Chief Warrant Officer Michael A. Chin, heavy equipment platoon commander, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group (Forward). “Gravel is really hard to come by. Nobody will ‘deliver’ the gravel to us because they’re afraid. That’s why we had to get it ourselves from the quarry.”

Seabees and Soldiers provided dump trucks while the Marines of Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing provided convoy security. It all went well and was finished without any hang-ups, commented Chin, a Columbia, N.J., native.

“We had anywhere from 10 to 14 dump trucks rolling at any given time,” said Chin. “It was a pretty awesome sight to see when the convoy would come into the quarry and all the loaders were ready to fill the trucks.”

The Marines operating the tractor rubber-tired articulated-steering multi-purpose loaders, or TRAMs as they are known to combat engineers, were prepared to load the dump trucks as quickly as possible when they returned to the quarry to convoy gravel back to the base.

“We would time ourselves and see if we could beat our last time,” said Lance Cpl. Darrell K. Clark, who hails from Parsons, Kansas, and is a TRAM operator with the heavy equipment platoon. “When they came in, we would go at them like wildfire. We knew the faster we got them back on the road, the faster the project would be over. Our [communications] guy was timing us. He would let us know what the time was after the trucks left the quarry.”

According to Clark, the fastest time recorded loading the trucks was 13 minutes.

The operation was successful because the Marines made it successful, and even though speed was essential, safety was always paramount, said Chin. “They took great care of the gear and each other out there.”

“We weren’t originally scheduled to spend nights at the quarry after working 13-hour days, but we found it easier to get the gear up and running if we slept overnight,” said Lance Cpl. Kyle Becker, a heavy equipment operator from McCurdysville, W.Va. “We made sure to take care of the gear so that it couldn’t slow down the operation.”

The Marines had an hour-and-a-half between filling the trucks. While the dump trucks were convoying back and forth from Camp Taqaddum, the Marines operating the TRAMs built up fighting positions for the security platoon of about 50 Marines, sometimes even working at night, all while maintaining light discipline.

“We had to build a berm and fighting positions in the dark,” said Becker. “We couldn’t use the lights on the TRAMs at all.”

“We really had to use our voices and wave our hands like crazy for that one,” added Clark. “The whole operation went by very fast; it seemed like right after we got the fighting positions dug in we were tearing them down again to go home.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine General Gives an Upbeat Report on Iraq
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By Tony Perry
LA Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2005

CAMP PENDLETON - The top Marine Corps general in Iraq for the last seven months gave an upbeat assessment Monday of the U.S. mission in Iraq.

"I think in the west, we have broken the back of the insurgency," said Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, who as commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force led Marines in the western portion of Iraq, including the so-called Sunni Triangle.

Sattler said he is encouraged by improvements in the Iraqi security forces. A year ago, he said, there were few if any competent Iraqi troops; now there are 5,000, with the number growing. Sattler spoke to several hundred Marines, and his comments drew cheers from the troops, many of whom had just arrived back at Camp Pendleton.

"They're starting to stand tall, starting to take their future in their own hands," he said. "They want to eliminate these thugs, murderers and intimidators."

More than 41,000 Marines, sailors and airmen of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been in Iraq since the middle of last year. For many, it was their second deployment there.

Many of them are now home and many more are on their way, as the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., assumes responsibility for the region. Sattler was succeeded on Sunday by Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Johnson in a ceremony at Camp Fallouja, outside the city that Marines wrested from insurgent control during 11 days of combat in November.

Sattler, talking to reporters as well as the troops, said the Marines' strategy in Iraq has been to convert as many insurgents as possible to helping rebuild Iraq, capture those who refuse to change and kill those who continue to try to kill Americans and their fellow countrymen.

"Often it's an 18- or 19-year-old infantryman who has less than two seconds to make that decision: Is this person convertible or can I capture him, or do I have to kill them?" he said.

Sattler said the improvement of the Iraqi security forces has been remarkable, although other observers have been less optimistic, saying it would take the Iraqis years to provide adequate security. In the early months of the U.S. mission, Iraqi units were hurt by mass defections and lack of leadership.

"Once, we led and they watched," Sattler said. "Then we were side by side. Now they are truly in the lead."

Sattler rejected the idea that, by pulling troops into the hotspots of Fallouja and Ramadi, the Marines have deprived units along the Syrian border and the Euphrates River corridor of sufficient strength to combat smugglers and insurgents.

"We have sufficient forces to accomplish our mission," he said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

NCOA seeks members of 'Greatest Generation'
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March 29, 2005
CYNDI BROWN
DAILY NEWS STAFF

They were welcomed back with homecoming parades and the thanks of a grateful nation. But then, with time, the recognition of World War II veterans seemed to fade.

"The amazing thing, it's been so long since they've been recognized," said Randy Reichler, Camp Lejeune retired affairs officer.

And with 1,300 of those veterans dying each day, added Reichler, time is running out to honor them. That's why a veterans organization that he is involved with is stepping up efforts to single out the military members of "The Greatest Generation."

The Down East Chapter of the Non-Commissioned Officer Association is taking part in the national organization's World War II Veterans Remembrance, Honor and Legacy program. The program includes the presentation of the NCOA Patriot Medallion of Honor and Remembrance, along with an accompanying legacy statement, to all World War II-era veterans. The Down East Chapter plans to honor area World War II-era veterans during a ceremony at the May 14 Retiree Appreciation Day aboard Camp Lejeune.

"It's not an Onslow County thing. This isn't a Marine Corps thing. You don't have to have been in battle. If you're a World War II veteran, we want to recognize you," explained Paul Siverson, secretary to the NCOA International Board of Directors. "We really feel a need to honor our World War II veterans. We haven't recognized them enough for what they've done."

The Down East Chapter is in the process of collecting names in advance of the upcoming ceremony. To register, contact Siverson at 353-6513, Reichler at 451-3212, Joe Houle at 545-9995 or Mike Rooney at 340-6262.

"Our primary focus right now is Retiree Appreciation Day," said Siverson, a retired sergeant major. He said they'd like to have the names of those World War II veterans who will attend before May 1 so the legacy statements can be prepared and service can be verified. "We're not getting real picky about bringing all types of documentation. Any kind of verification you have is extra nice, but you're going to take the word of a World War II veteran. It's an honorable bunch of men and women."

The medallions are presented at no cost to the veterans. To recognize a deceased family member, survivors can purchase medallions for $30 each from NCOA. The legacy medallions, hung from a red, white and blue ribbon, are engraved on both sides. The words "The Greatest Generation" and "Valor Sacrifice Fidelity" surround an eagle superimposed over the globe on one side. The other includes "Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America" around another eagle, the American and NCOA flags and a banner reading "World War II Honor & Remembrance" above E-8 stripes. The keepsake box has images and information pertaining to the Second World War.

"There's a reason for everything done on this," said Siverson, pointing to the keepsake case. "The reason it's on a box like that, they don't want something you put in your sock drawer.

"People today don't have anything passed down from their grandfathers or even their fathers."

So far, the Down East Chapter of the NCOA has presented nine of the medallions: five during the annual Sgt. Maj. C.A. "Mack" McKinney Awards and four to World War II veterans at Britthaven of Jacksonville.

"They're so grateful," said Siverson, who was especially moved to make the presentation at Britthaven. "They were just overwhelmed. It kind of gave me the shivers, and I think it kind of made a lot of their days. They don't have anything else right now.

"It's a very exciting program. You can't help but get enthused to do it."

Especially when you're on the receiving end.

Marion Carcirieri, a retired Marine Corps sergeant major, received one of the ceremonial awards during the Mack McKinneys.

"I was so surprised. I felt like a million dollars. It really got to me," said Carcirieri. "It was just beautiful. It just took your breath away.

"It meant a lot to us."

The chapter is planning to order 500 of the medallions in advance of Retiree Appreciation Day, which also includes guest speakers, a health and information fair and fish fry. The presentation of the World War II commemoration medals is scheduled for 10:05 a.m.

"If it's from World War II, they better hurry up. There's not too many of us left," said Carcirieri, who fought at Okinawa during World War II and later served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

"It was no picnic but it was for my country. You'd do anything for that and for the flag," said the 79-year-old Jacksonville resident. "I'm glad to think today's Marines are just as gung ho as we were.

"For my country, I'd do it again."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Coping with being home
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March 29, 2005
DIANE MOUSKOURIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Most have driven by them.

The brightly colored signs proclaim, "Welcome Home," "We Missed You," "We Love You." They hang along the fence line at Midway Park across from Camp Lejeune.

Finally, after six to eight months, Marines and sailors are back on home ground. What typically follows are jovial feelings for the long-awaited reunion. But over time, those warm fuzzies can fade, and reality can make an uncomfortable comeback.

Staff Sgt. Brian Moore knows about reunions after long deployments. He's been away from his wife, Nicki, and their two children at least seven times during his military career, he said. The most recent ended in February when he returned after being in Iraq for five months.

"It's hard, more than people realize," Moore said. "When we are gone, we have only one focus and that is the job at hand."

But that can be difficult if things at home are not going well, he said.

"If our home life is disrupted, it affects us," Moore said. "We can't do our job, and that may put us in danger."

He said the key to keeping things positive is communication, the more the better. And it doesn't always have to be positive news so long as he knows things are being taken care of.

"If things go wrong, the spouses have to do it all by themselves," he said. "Even if someone is real sick or there is a death, she can't just pick up the phone and call me."

Sometimes a spouse won't speak about things that may be going wrong at home. Marines and sailors at the other end of the line can sense a problem, but they just don't know what. Moore shared a story about a young sergeant working under him in Iraq. The young man e-mailed his wife daily. They spoke on the phone often, but he began to sense something was wrong, Moore said.

"He worried about it and wondered whether she might have been having an affair or something," Moore said. "What he didn't know was that his wife had cancer, and she was afraid to tell him about it."

If the couple had had better communication, it would have been better for both parties, he said.

"I kept telling him to talk to her, don't give up," Moore said. "The biggest thing you can do is just talk."

Moore has been married 18 years. No one ever gets used to deployments.

"All the times I've been deployed, she has taken care of everything," he said. "I can't come back here and expect to take over just because I'm home now."

Coming home isn't always what people think it should be. Everyone has to make adjustments, he said.

"The attitudes of the children are usually, 'Dad's home; let's see what we can get away with,'" Moore said. "I can't come down as the tough guy, but I can't really let them get away with too much, either. So I take it easy until I can figure out what's going on."

Experts warn that homecomings can upset a family's balance if changes are made too fast, or if people have unrealistic expectations.

"A family is like any other system; when there are five and one is taken away, it finds ways to compensate," said Charlotte Wilmer, a counselor with Marine Corps Community Counseling Center at Camp Lejeune. "The same happens when the fifth member returns. The challenge is created when you integrate that fifth member."

She offers simple advice: "Patience, perspective and purpose."

"First, there should be tolerance and an understanding and appreciation of each family member," she said. "When it comes to a return, 99 out of 100 family members will tell you their loved one did not arrive on time."

Perspective comes in when marriage partners begin competing to determine who had it worse, Wilmer said. It can also be associated with understanding for each other's point of view.

"Both sides of the mission faced challenges," she said. "That kind of competition is unproductive."

Finally, each family member has a purpose.

"The purpose of the mission for active-duty military is to protect the country and fight the combat," she said. "That is the focus the military member has had for months."

The purpose of the spouse who remained home has been to maintain the family in any way they could.

"When the couple reunites, the Marine or sailor must refocus his or her purpose on the family," she said. "That does not mean the military member should not have input or a say in anything when he gets home."

Every military member is required to attend a reunion workshop. The same is available to family members stateside.

Barbara Miller isa counselor who conducts workshops on anger management, stress, family dynamics, abuse, violence and healthy communications.

Miller often conducts Kids and Reunion Workshops for families preparing for the return of their Marines and sailors. She is a counselor for Prevention and Education at Camp Lejeune.

The workshops are split into two groups, one for adults, another for children. The children are divided by age group - 4 to 5 year olds, 6 to 7 year olds, 9 to 11 year olds and 12 to 18 year olds. Each group has its own issues, Miller said.

For the younger children a puppet show features the characters Samantha, an expert and knows all about deployments; Chris, who's really shy and nervous; and Mr. Worry, who brings up all the negative things kids tend to worry about.

After the puppet show, the smaller children are led to tables filled with crayons, paper, glue and stickers. They are asked to express their feelings on paper.

One little boy sits back behind all the other children. He said he was worried about his father coming home.

"Sometimes I just cry," he said. "I think my dad will like our new baby better than me."

She said she has learned a lot from active-duty sailors and Marines. They often tell her they don't want big parties or a lot of commotion.

No matter what problem arises during a family member's deployment, the Marine Corps offers solutions.

"If you want help, we offer it, and it's all free," said Whitney Jezek-Power. Her husband, Lt. Col. Paul G. Power, is executive officer of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, "If you don't want it, you won't get it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

After Iraq, poignant reunion
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By JERRY ZREMSKI
News Washington Bureau

3/29/2005CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Marine Cpl. Joel Hight bumped into his old war buddy, Cpl. Mark P. O'Brien, at a convenience store on this giant Marine base on Monday, and the experience left Hight almost speechless.

Awkward seconds passed before Hight, glancing at O'Brien, asked: "How's your arm?"

O'Brien, of East Aurora, simply shrugged and smiled and said: "Gone."

Cpl. Mark P. O'Brien, 22, lost an arm and a leg to a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in November, but obviously, that grenade didn't wound his spirits.

Reuniting with his unit as it returned from Iraq, O'Brien and his comrades shared jokes and war stories and fewer tears than you might expect.

That doesn't mean it was easy, though, for O'Brien's buddies or their wounded comrade.

Hight proved that point. Walking out of that convenience store with O'Brien limping beside him, Hight struggled again for words and finally gave up.

"I don't know what to say," the young Marine said.

Nonplussed, O'Brien said: "I'd give the other two."

Nevertheless, O'Brien acknowledged that some things were hard for him on this day of celebration for his unit, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

"It's good to be back home, but I wish I could be walking off that bus with these guys today," said O'Brien, who flew here from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The 160 or so men of the Golf Company spent about eight months in Iraq before reuniting with their loved ones Monday. And while the unit didn't lose any men in Iraq, it fought Iraqi insurgents in the Sunni Triangle and took numerous casualties.

O'Brien's was among the worst, which might explain why several Marines greeted him nervously. O'Brien did his best to shortcut those reactions as best he could.

For example, when he saw Lance Cpl. Vince Miozza walking toward him shortly before the reunion ceremony, O'Brien said: "The last time I saw you, you were lying on top of me and I was naked!"

Miozza laughed and embraced O'Brien, and he and all the other men of Golf Company who were there knew what it was that O'Brien didn't say. They knew that Miozza laid on top of O'Brien on that awful day in Ramadi to keep his buddy from losing body heat, to keep his buddy alive.

Miozza carried a reminder of it all with him for the rest of his stay in Iraq. His dusty tan combat boots are covered with dark gray stains - stains from O'Brien's blood.

"It never comes out," O'Brien said.

Not that his mind was on such thoughts. Chatting with buddies, O'Brien talked about how he was already running - 150 yards at a time - and how he even tried skiing on a recent trip back home.

"One thing I have to ask," Miozza said. "Are you able to play the guitar?"

Sighing, O'Brien said: "Very slowly. It's kind of a disappointment. I think I'm going to give it up. But I'm getting my golf arm, so I'll just golf instead."

Such talk impressed O'Brien's buddies, who had last seen him writhing in pain, his right arm and right leg shattered, on the sultry afternoon of Nov. 7 in Ramadi, Iraq.

"He's absolutely a hero," said Capt. Jeff Kenney, who was in a nearby vehicle when O'Brien was wounded.

Sgt. Sam Pennock was there, too and he reminded O'Brien that some of his flesh burned onto the seat on the Humvee he collapsed into after getting hit.

"We never got the smell out," Pennock said.

"Really?" O'Brien asked. "Did it smell like Romance cologne from Ralph Lauren?"

Of course, O'Brien didn't have a joke for every occasion on Monday. He spent hours waiting quietly for his buddies.

As they arrived one by one, he greeted each of them with a handshake and a hug, and sometimes appeared to be on the edge of tears.

Some of his buddies - including many who didn't know he'd be there - seemed overwhelmed. Cpl. Joseph Zoleta held him tight and laid his head on O'Brien's shoulder and wept uncontrollably. And Kenney beamed when he saw O'Brien.

"It's amazing to see you," he said, shaking his head and smiling. "It's just awesome."

But for O'Brien, the most awesome moment came when he saw his good friend, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Nathan "Doc" McDonell, walking toward him.

Four and a half months ago, McDonell came to O'Brien's rescue. Fleeing enemy fire in an ambulance, McDonell reached his hand into the remains of O'Brien's right leg and found the artery that threatened to bleed him to death, and quickly tied it with a tourniquet.

Monday, the two men stared deep into each other's eyes and embraced and, for several seconds, said nothing.

Pulling away, McDonell said: "God, it's good to see you."

O'Brien smiled and said: "Thanks. You're the reason I'm here."

And with those words, McDonell - who visited at length with O'Brien later - said he had to go to rejoin the unit before it began its march to the reunion ceremony.

So McDonell marched away alone, toward his other buddies, wiping away tears.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

CAAT prowls Fallujah's alleyways on the hunt for insurgents
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20053286942
Story by Cpl. Mike Escobar



FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 25, 2003) -- With the last rays of the setting sun shining down upon his face, Lance Cpl. Jarrell Poole stands behind his HMMWV's gun turret, as his column of Marines and armored vehicles rumbles down a back alleyway.

The 22-year-old Pollock, La., native senses are numbed by the smell of gasoline and rotting garbage as the patrol combs through an unnamed street.

Despite the poor conditions and run down homes that Fallujah's residents live in, the Iraqi children seem elated as they wave and smile at the passing Marine patrol.

"People respect what we're doing here," stated the vehicle gunner with 1st Combined Anti-Armor Team Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. "I think they (the children's parents) realize we're helping give their kids a brighter future than maybe they had when they were young."

The 1999 Grant High School graduate's unit is currently helping Iraqi Security Forces provide security and stability to Fallujah's residents. To accomplish this, CAAT Marines constantly patrol the city streets both aboard armored military vehicles and on foot.

"We're always patrolling to disrupt terrorist activity here," Poole said. "Our goal is to stop them before they even start anything, and strong 'show of force' patrols keep those that don't like us away."

His situational assessment seems correct. Recently, Iraqi children approached a CAAT unit on patrol to tell them where a nearby explosive detonation device was located.

"The kids are always really good to us on patrol. They're always smiling, waving and sometimes even give us intel."

In addition to providing presence patrols, CAAT platoons are trained to set up quick vehicle check-points, known as snap VCPs. Marines manning these stations randomly stop traffic to search cars and the occupants aboard for weapons, ammunition, explosive devices and anti-Iraqi government propaganda.

Additionally, CAAT units supply the battalion with a quick reaction force capabilities by keeping a group of Marines and their vehicles ready to respond to impromptu missions.

Poole and his fellow Marines said performing these missions "is sometimes like working a 24-hour-long day."

"Even when we're off, not going out on patrol, we're still on call," stated fellow 1st CAAT Platoon infantryman Lance Cpl. Christopher C. Bradford.

Despite the long hours these Marines work, Poole remains motivated to perform his missions and serve his country in time of war.

"I know we're making a difference in the lives of the people here. I'm happy to be able to say that I was one of the guys that helped to make it happen."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Coalition officers gain understanding of capabilities, cooperation
Submitted by: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa
Story Identification #: 2005326124050
Story by Capt. Toni J. Tones



CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti (Mar. 25, 2005) -- Nine students from six diverse countries around the globe recently participated in the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Host Nation Coordinators Course.

Officers from countries within CJTF-HOA area of responsibility and coalition officers assigned to the task force came together to learn first-hand about CJTF-HOA’s capabilities and what the other nations in the region are doing to bring peace and stability to the region.

“When the participants leave here, they go home with a better understanding of the CJTF-HOA capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Russ Welsch, Host Nation Coordinators Course director. “They also have a better understanding of how we can help their country build their own capabilities. We can only provide assistance upon request of the host nation.”

The course, established in late 2004, resulted from a large-scale exercise that involved all the countries in the Horn of Africa in an attempt to practice information sharing within the joint task force to create the common operational picture.

Wanting to take the course to another level, the task force commander expressed his strategic vision of expanding the content and increasing participation. During several informal discussions with the coalition officers, Col. Steven Ngugi, Kenya coalition staff officer with CJTF-HOA in Djibouti, suggested the course travel to Kenya. Welsch and Ngugi teamed up to energize the entire joint staff to execute the plan.

The class with representatives from South Korea, Romania, Kenya, Yemen, France and Djibouti was the first to participate in the expanded content format and visited several Kenyan military facilities that participate in the Global War on Terrorism.

“Colonel Ngugi was critical to the success of the visit to the Kenyan facilities,” said Welsch. “He did an enormous amount of work with coordination of the trip in Kenya. Every detail was addressed from special group meals to briefings and demonstrations.

The group visited the School of Infantry where Kenyan Rangers participate in joint training with U.S. training officers and NCOs, seeing first-hand the capabilities that can be enhanced by shared planning and training.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Peace Support Training Center, where Ngugi was the former commandant. The center has evolved, exponentially training almost 700 military and civilian students from around the world in a variety of classes per year. The International Peace Support Operations Planners course particularly targets general officers who have United Nations peacekeeping experience and command.

The team also toured the International Mine Action Training Centre, a joint venture between the Kenyan Department of Defense and the United Kingdom. The school trains people from around the globe on the techniques of humanitarian demining.

“The contributions made by coalition forces in the war against terrorism cannot be overstated,” said Welsch. “This was demonstrated over and over during our visit to the Kenyan units on this trip. Joint and coalition operations will continue to be the key to our success throughout the 21st century.”

Upon completion of the Kenyan portion of the trip, the students returned to Camp Lemonier, Djibouti for two and a half days of lectures and briefings and a tour of the HC-130 and CH-53 aircraft that support the CJTF-HOA mission.

“This course is a unique opportunity for military officers of the region to meet one another in a neutral setting,” said Welsch. “The feedback I received from the students was extremely positive. The best thing they enjoyed most was the opportunity to meet and spend time with professional officers from another country they probably couldn’t visit.”

This course, like the previous ones, provided the basic skills necessary to become a coalition officer at CJTF-HOA and understand its capabilities.

“The exciting thing about the expanded course is that it provided students with time to establish friendships and recognize that each country is facing similar challenges,” said Welsch. “We will continue to offer the expanded course at least five times a year; each being unique in its content and location.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Devil dog diplomacy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Laura Bailey
MC Times staff writer

Marines know how to invade a country. No problems there. It’s the part that comes after the invasion — when insurgents come creeping out of their holes and friend and foe become indistinguishable — that recently took Marines and other U.S. service members by surprise.

So Marine Corps leadership, with a giant object lesson named Operation Iraqi Freedom as their inspiration, want to make sure Marines get good at the part of war that comes after the invasion.

Starting soon, career Marines will train to become mini-cultural experts by taking, among other things, a series of cultural anthropology-style courses focusing on a region’s culture, politics and history.

As part of a major initiative launched by Training and Education Command at Quantico, Va., all leathernecks are starting to get more cross-cultural training. But beginning next year, sergeants and junior officers will be expected to develop an expertise in a region of the world, ranging from the Middle East to Latin America.

“We’re not going to make everybody do a thesis in cultural anthropology of country X, but we’re going to give them enough training so that they understand the importance of culture to our future operational concepts,” said Col. Jeff Bearor, chief of staff for the command. He compared those Marines to regional area officers, or RAOs: “I like to call it RAO-minus.”

The initiative won’t be limited to teaching basic cultural do’s and don’ts, but will include complex issues such as cultural perceptions of power and religion, so Marines can gain the support of local populations and not alienate them.

Overall, Bearor said, the hope is to give commanders of deployed units their own resident culture experts when missions require interaction with local populations.

“We will have enough near-experts in the Marine Corps that when they say, ‘We’re going to country X, I need some help,’ they’ll either have those people already with them or they’ll be able to reach back to II [Marine Expeditionary Force] or somewhere else in the Marine Corps and find the guys they need,” he said.

At The Basic School, lieutenants are already taking basic cross-cultural classes. In about a year, every sergeant, lieutenant and above will begin the largest element of the culture program — online distance education courses.

Help on the battlefield

While Marines who deployed to Iraq might have felt prepared for the combat part of the war, commanders, Marines and cultural experts working with the Corps have said leathernecks were ill-prepared for the postwar stage.

War planners didn’t know enough about the Iraqi people before invading their country, said Lt. Gen. James Conway, the senior Marine commander in Iraq during the invasion and subsequent insurgency. A better understanding of the culture would have been extremely helpful, he said.

“If there is one thing we probably underestimated about the Iraqis, it was their pride,” said Conway, speaking at the Sea Air Space Exposition in Washington on March 22.

“You aid individual Marines and soldiers and those who are on the ground a great deal by immersing them in the culture so they understand how decisions are made, who is the local power, how do you access those people in an appropriate fashion so as not to somehow insult their pride,” he said.

So the Corps is stepping up to give all of its career Marines such an understanding.

While TECom officials are still working out the details, Bearor said all career Marines will be required to take three to four online courses in a specific region throughout their careers.

The courses, he said, will be a requirement and will not be tied to incentive pay or promotions. Each course will require a certain number of hours akin to one college distance learning class.

Individual Marines will decide when they do the coursework, but the Corps will expect them to complete all of it by the time they are junior gunnery sergeants or junior majors, Bearor said.

“We’re looking across the time line and asking what can we reasonably expect a Marine to be able to do,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Tom Jones, head of Training and Education Command, said the move equates to putting “culture and language training in the career force.”

“What does that mean? That means that … you’ll see every career officer and every career NCO will be aligned to a region in the world.”

The goal, Bearor said, is to give Marines a regional expertise roughly equivalent to that of a college sophomore or junior enrolled in an area-studies bachelor’s degree program.

He said the first of the distance courses should be ready by this time next year, and they will be included in the command’s education road map, a how-to guide now in development that will help Marines navigate the training and education they need for promotions down the line. Marines may also receive college credit for the courses, Bearor said.

All regions of the world will be offered, but a majority of Marines will focus on regions and subregions where Marines are now, or where they are likely to be in the next few years.

As with military occupational specialties, Marines can express a preference for a region but will ultimately go where needed, Bearor said. And leathernecks who already speak a foreign language or whose heritage is based in a foreign country will be assigned to study the corresponding region.

Beyond ‘pointy-talky’

Marines should also stand by for more language training. Currently, a few Marines have received Arabic language lessons, which Lt. Gen. Jim Mattis, the former commander of I MEF, arranged for his troops in the build-up for the second rotation to Iraq last year.

The Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based II MEF adopted the program for its Marines rotating into Iraq this spring. So far, the two MEFs have sent about 1,000 leathernecks through basic survival-level Arabic language classes. But TECom wants to relieve commanders of the burden of arranging such training for their troops, Bearor said.

“We know it’s important. Shame on us for not doing it before now. Shame on us for making the operational forces do it,” he said.

Within the next 18 months, TECom will take over and ramp up language training by sending 4,500 fleet Marines through language courses every year, he said. The courses will likely be based at the Marine’s home station.

They will include 20 days of classroom training for eight hours a day for a total of 160 hours. Bearor said Marines will come out with the ability to understand and speak at least 1,600 words and be able to function at an advanced basic level that goes beyond greetings or asking for directions to the bathroom.

“It’s more than just pointy-talky,” he said.

While most Marines will learn Arabic, nine other key languages will be assigned.

Bearor said the Corps hopes to bring instructors to Marines at home base so Marines can complete training within a month.

Culture 101

Another chunk of the effort to institutionalize cultural training is already beginning at the training schools, where young leaders in The Basic School are taking part in what Bearor calls “Culture 101” courses.

The generic cultural course teaches cross-cultural concepts that aren’t specific to a region, including how culture affects the battlefield and stability operations and how Marines can use culture as a force multiplier.

The class will soon be offered as part of the Sergeants Course.

“Every sergeant leaving the Sergeants Course and every lieutenant leaving TBS will understand the environment at least to a certain amount that they’re likely going to operate in,” Bearor said.

A final part of the effort will be the creation of the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, which the Corps plans to open at Quantico, Va., on May 1.

There, cultural experts from all regions will provide one-stop shopping for Marine commanders looking for help with pre-deployment training, as well as day-to-day training in cultural subjects.

The center is expected to begin initial operations in October, and be fully operational a year after that, Bearor said.

Changing nature of war

Military officials and cultural anthropologists alike have said that cultural understanding is more important than ever in the current era of asymmetrical warfare — in which Marines may find themselves in smaller contingencies conducting both combat and stability operations at once.

“The nature of war has changed. Before you won and lost, and then you went home. We now have a different kind of ‘know-your-enemy’ — a ‘know-your-friends’ — imperative,” said Pauletta Otis, a cultural anthropologist at the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Otis said that while the cultural piece was seriously lacking from the military’s execution of the war in Iraq, the Marine Corps has made some of the most impressive efforts within the military to get it into training.

“The Marine Corps, out of all the organizations, is aware of it and understands the importance of it,” she said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Looking slightly Marine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Mark D. Faram and Gidget Fuentes
MC Times staff writers

While the jury’s still out on the proposed new Navy Working Uniform and service uniforms for sailors E-6 and below, there’s no shortage of opinion.

Love ’em or hate ’em, the new duds — some of which bear a striking resemblance to Marine service charlies — are sparking lots of quarterdeck conversations.

For the sailors chosen to wear the test uniforms, it’s been both exhilarating and controversial. Some say they feel more “military” and “professional” as they stroll gangplanks and passageways. Others report being mistaken for German soldiers, state troopers or even (gasp!) Marines. Even worse are the tongue-lashings by old salts who think testers are wearing unauthorized uniforms. One tester said some onlookers thought he was the victim of some cruel chiefs’ mess initiation process.

Regardless of their shipmates’ reactions, the result is usually the same: intense curiosity. “They ask you, ‘How do you like it, how does it feel, do I prefer gray or khaki and do I like the collar devices more than the patches,’” said wear tester Cryptologic Technician (Administrative) 2nd Class Theresa Bolyard of Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va.

While testing will continue for at least several months, Marine Corps Times recently spent time with several wear testers and curious sailors on both coasts to find out what they’ve loved and hated about the new duds.

Surprisingly, there seems to be more to love than hate.

Khaki or gray shirts

Yeoman 1st Class Gregg Murach of Fleet Forces Command said the khaki color is “growing on me,” but he’s still unsure.

“I still like the gray shirt better, because it still differentiates between E-6 and below and E-7 and above,” he said. “It’s a tradition we’ve had in the Navy for many years, and I don’t have any problem showing myself as an E-6 — I’m very proud of what I am.”

“I prefer the blue,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kimberlyn Carroll, 37, who works in the surgery department of Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego. “It says ‘Navy.’”

To others, however, the blue evokes visions of the Air Force, auto mechanics and trash collectors.

“I was told by someone that I looked like a prison warden,” said Builder 1st Class Kimberly Silva of Norfolk. “I wish the gray had a little bit more blue in it,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Monique Wilcots of San Diego. Chief Navy Counselor Laura Jones, command counselor at Joint Forces Command, prefers the Marine-looking khaki shirt and black pant combination. She said it’s much more professional looking than the gray/black combo. She’s still wrestling with the cultural ramifications of all sailors wearing khaki, however.

“Yeah, there’s part of me that feels I earned my khaki, but in reality, the gray is really too dull for my taste,” she said. “Besides, having them wear khaki makes us all appear to be in the same service, too.”

And what about looking like Marines?

“It’s a good thing,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Othea Williams, 22, who works in the pediatrics department at Balboa.

“Khaki is better,” agreed Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Dennis Paraiso, 31, who works in Balboa’s pharmacy.

Collar devices or patches

When he was first issued the service uniform, Murach was a fan of collar devices on the gray shirt.

He’s since changed his mind.

“I actually like the shoulder patches on the gray shirt,” he said. “With the collar devices, the gray shirt looks like a [Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps] midshipman — I really don’t think it’s a very sharp military uniform.”

But for Silva, collar devices are easier to maintain and also might foster new traditions.

“I’m thinking about the cost of having to put on the rating patch and the [unit identification mark],” she said. “You could save sailors money if you just used the pin-on collar devices.”

And having collar devices would provide junior sailors with a traditional opportunity that’s currently only available to chiefs.

“You could pass your old collar devices down to someone else,” Silva said. “That would be a nice tradition.”

One downside of collar devices: They’re shiny.

“It would look better if they were black,” she said.

Blouses, belts and ties

For Silva and many other women involved in the wear test, the greatest improvement is the “overbloused” service shirt for women.

“It is fabulous. It looks more professional, it looks neater and it’s also much more comfortable,” she said. “Having to tuck such a long shirt in and belt it and make sure everything is in line … it just doesn’t work well with a woman’s body; it just never looks neat and put together.”

And while belts no longer will be an issue for women, the proposed open-faced buckle could be issued for men.

Murach said the Navy should stick with the belts and buckles it already has.

“I don’t like the open-faced buckle at all; it looks too Marine for my taste,” he said.

The current closed buckle allows the use of unit crests or warfare insignia on them, something he would like to see continue.

For both men and women, not having to wear a tie seems like a no-brainer.

“It just makes you that much more comfortable,” said Bolyard, who works in forces command’s cryptology office.

Wash and wear

Even though the new uniforms aren’t really wash and wear, they’re pretty darn close, sailors said.

“It’s best if you catch it right at the end of the dryer cycle so there’s no chance of it starting to wrinkle,” Silva said.

But even then, touching up the uniform requires only minor work.

“‘You don’t have to use a very hot iron to make them sharp again,” she said. “A very quick touch-up is all that is required.”

Murach says using a cool iron helps avoid the problems he had when ironing the black pants and shirt of the “Johnny Cash” winter blue uniform. That required a very hot iron, he said, which often scorched the fabric, giving it a shiny appearance.

Navy Working Uniform

Sixty percent of the force, mostly junior sailors, told Navy officials via the 2003 survey that they wanted a new working uniform similar to the cammies worn by either the Army, Marine Corps or Air Force.

Chiefs and officers, by and large, were happy with what they already had — khaki.

The reactions of sailors on board the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship Tarawa, therefore, were of little surprise.

“We look a lot sharper, more tactical,” said Information Systems Technician 1st Class Mary Quinones.

That feeling was echoed by Cmdr. Calvin Tanck, whose Inshore Boat Unit 24 is testing the uniforms at the Kuwaiti Naval Base.

“I was at an embassy function the other day wearing my Navy Working Uniform and an Army officer walked up to me, eyeing my uniform and told me I was the sharpest-looking officer there,” he said.

During several trips to Balboa, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Patrick Mangaran, a Tarawa crew member, heard a common thread. “You look a lot more squared away,” said Mangaran, 26.

Mangaran added that he’s noticed that his new look is drawing more respect from his subordinates and adding an air of authority to other sailors.

Gunnery Sgt. Greg Hagan, 35, who works in Tarawa’s combat cargo hold, says wearing “cammies,” whatever the color, would help unify the naval services. It’s also practical, he added.

Camouflage utilities will be a sailor’s best friend. “Whether paint or grease, they hide stains pretty good,” Hagen said.

Even those who’ve embraced old Navy traditions — like the dungarees — say they are open to something new.

“It’s hard for everyone to accept change,” said Chief Storekeeper Edwin Calma, 36, of Tucson, Ariz. “I’m really glad that the Navy came out with its own — our own — uniform. It doesn’t copy anyone else.”

Calma also touted the warrior ethos the uniform evokes. He recounted a conversation he had with his wife one morning as he readied his camouflage uniform.

“Why do you look like a snake?” she asked him. “You seem ready, on the go, to fight.”

It’s something he thinks about now when he looks at himself in the mirror.

Calma said fellow Tarawa wear-testers seem to be walking taller, more confidently and with more military bearing and presence. And some, he said, even seem to be strutting.

Wear and tear

Sailors and officers say they want a uniform that is comfortable, easy to wear and easy to maintain. Keep it simple, they say. They also want a uniform with fewer gizmos.

Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Larry Carlson, 35, said he’s put much time and effort into keeping his dungaree working uniform neat and clean. But “after a day,” said Carlson, a Tarawa sailor, “it’s shot.”

In Kuwait, the ability of the cammie uniform to take dirt and still look good at the end of the day is a big plus for the sailors operating small tactical boats.

“The pattern allows us to blend into our boats much better,” said Storekeeper 2nd Class Waldo Rosado.

His no-lower-pocket digital patterned blouse hides dirt well, unlike standard Navy dungarees or coveralls.

“It also allows us to be safe around machinery,” he said.

Pattern and colors

In informal surveys culled in San Diego from interviews on Tarawa and the dock landing ship Germantown, the woodland pattern got the majority of support. Digital, however, still got plenty of votes.

Both patterns are being tested using two color schemes — one predominantly gray, the other predominantly blue.

The difference is subtle to most people, at least until someone points out the distinction.

When pressed, most sailors and officers interviewed on Tarawa and Germantown favored the gray pattern most.

As for pattern, Quinones said she likes the digital. Others, of course, feel differently.

“I like the woodland, but for some reason, I think [the digital] blends better with the Marines” on ship, said Photographer’s Mate Airman Matthew Clayborne, 28. “I just like the look.”

In Kuwait, both Tanck and Rosando prefer the digital, saying it’s a matter of force protection.

“We actually blend into our boats better, making us less of a target,” Tanck said.

Some people have told Tarawa’s Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Nicholas Gravesande that wearing utilities means “you don’t look like sailors anymore.”

He hasn’t yet made up his mind whether that’s a good thing or not, he said.

A funny thing happens when sailors wear-test the new working uniform’s trousers: They’re forced to learn what “blousing” means, and how to do it properly.

The test uniforms use two methods: a built-in drawstring or boot bands.

“We’re not used to the blousing part,” conceded Tarawa’s Command Master Chief Michael Schanche, who preferred the drawstring cuff.

When in doubt, some gator sailors asked the green side for help.

“That’s what I did — I went to the Marines,” said Quinones, chuckling. “When they got done laughing, they helped me.”

Round or pointed covers

With headgear, it was a slam dunk:

The eight-point cammie cover wins, hands down.

While some were mixed on the digital or woodland patterns, nearly all sailors and officers interviewed on Tarawa prefer the eight-pointed cover.

In Kuwait, Tanck agreed. The round cover is too much like the Army’s.

“It just doesn’t look right,” he said. “The eight-point cover says ‘nautical’ to me because sailors and Marines have been wearing it for years — that’s one thing we should stay with.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Improvised explosives becoming more common in Iraq <br />
By Albert Eisele <br />
<br />
Mosul, Iraq -- They're one of the worst nightmares for American military personnel or anyone traveling with them on the...

[thedrifter]

March 29, 2005

Smiles, sunshine greet returning I MEF

By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Lt. Gen. John Sattler was all smiles as he stretched his hand in greetings on March 28 as a crowd of several hundred people welcomed his command back home.
The commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, Sattler was returning from Iraq after leading the 45,000-member force since last summer. The band played as Marines hugged well-wishers and camouflage-clad men and women welcomed their colleagues back from the combat zone. On this cool sunny day, it was as if I MEF had let out a deep-held breath and smiled.

“You can all be proud,” Sattler said as he stepped into one family’s reunion celebration outside the expeditionary force’s headquarters at Camp Pendleton, Calif. “He’s got bragging rights.”

Members of of Lance Cpl. Bryan Thaete’s family embraced their Marine after his six months in Iraq. And the personal welcome from the three-star general seemed to add to the triumph. “It’s a powerful impact,” said Thaete’s aunt, Lisa Silvis, of Temecula, Calif.

Thaete, 21, a radio operator by training, was part of Sattler’s personal security detachment since he landed in Iraq last October as a replacement in the high-profile unit. “I had really big shoes to fill,” he said.

Now, he’s focused on rest and relaxation with his family — at least until he returns to Iraq later this year with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company.

Sattler’s arrival marked the return of I MEF, which on March 27 transferred authority of the Multi-National Force West to the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based II MEF’s forward commander, Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson. But while I MEF is home, the force is providing several ground combat and helicopter units to II MEF for the current rotation.

During his tenure in Iraq, Sattler oversaw a force that included Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen, stretching from the country’s western borders with Jordan and Syria to the embattled Sunni Triangle and the more peaceful Najaf and Karbala regions.

Sattler commanded the force during pitched battles in November, when Marines, soldiers and Iraqi security forces assaulted into Fallujah to rout a stubborn insurgency. Last summer, he noted, “the only thing you could send into the town was a bullet.”

“Since that time, there has been steady progress” in Fallujah, said Sattler, speaking to reporters here. Subsequent operations near isolated areas in the western border area and along the Euphrates River Valley have netted large caches of weapons and ammunition in raids and patrols.

“In the west,” he said, “I think we have broken the back of the insurgency.”

Iraqi security forces continue to grow, Sattler said, noting that the 5,000 trained troops who’ve operated alongside his force will grow by about another 3,000 to 5,000 by summer’s end. But “there’s still a lot of work to be done,” he added. “I think everyone here realizes that the long road to democracy is … full of potholes.”

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

Ellie

[thedrifter]

April 04, 2005

More qualify for language bonus

By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer


Marine officials have clarified a provision that prevented leathernecks in the intelligence and signals intelligence fields from collecting a bonus for re-enlisting as linguists.
The change allows dozens of Marines to qualify for a bonus of up to $35,000 if they meet certain language requirements the Corps needs to fight in Iraq and other regions.

In February, manpower officials unveiled a new Selective Reenlistment Bonus policy in their campaign to retain more language-qualified Marines. The program offered bonuses to Marines with an additional military occupational specialty as an interpreter (8611), if they complete language training in Monterey, Calif.

But Marines in the intelligence field (02XX) and the signals intelligence and ground electronic warfare fields (26XX) were not allowed to obtain the secondary interpreter MOS and therefore did not rate the bonus. Under the revision, those Marines still can’t obtain a secondary specialty as an interpreter, but they can rate the bonus if they re-enlist with those skills, according to a March 16 Corpswide message.

“Because many of the targeted Marines for this SRB cannot hold the 8611 MOS, these Marines were excluded from the SRB, which was not the intent of the foreign language skill SRB,” MarAdmin message 128/05 states. Marines who have a language aptitude score of 2/2 or better in one of 14 languages may re-enlist with the multiple of ‘5,’ which pays a bonus of up to $30,000 for Marines in zone ‘A’ and $35,000 for Marines in zones ‘B’ and ‘C.’



Skills needed
The Corps is looking for Marines with skills in the following languages:

• Modern Standard

Arabic

• Swahili

• Persian Farsi

• Kurdish

• Arabic Egyptian

• Arabic Iraqi

• Arabic Maghrebi

• Persian Afghan

or Dari

• Pashtu

• Amharic

• Arabic Syrian

• Arabic Lebanese

• Somali

• Assyrian

Ellie

[thedrifter]

ANDREW J. BACEVICH
Uncle Sam wants you
By Andrew J. Bacevich | March 28, 2005

WHEN Richard Nixon abolished the draft a generation ago, he effectively relieved citizens of any obligation to participate in the nation's defense. Military service became strictly a matter of individual choice, one that the Pentagon promoted as a job opportunity.

ADVERTISEMENT
For the most part, privileged America looked for opportunity elsewhere. When it came to donning a uniform, members of the predominantly white upper and middle classes tended, in the formulation made famous by Vice President Cheney, to have ''other priorities." National defense became, like housecleaning and lawn care, an essential service that the affluent preferred to contract out. Although Ivy Leaguers were welcome to join up, no one much expected that they would. With few exceptions, they have not.

Less privileged Americans -- people of color along with the sons and daughters of the working class -- picked up the slack. As a consequence, the military establishment that emerged by the 1990s as a preeminent symbol of revived national self-confidence and self-esteem was in no sense representative of American society. Its members came not from the suburbs but from the farm and the inner city, not from Harvard but from Prairie View A & M. Seldom acknowledged openly but tacitly understood by all, this ignoble arrangement figured prominently in easing the divisions that Vietnam had opened up at home.

Of all the services, the US Army depended most on this arrangement. By 2000, 42 percent of Army enlisted members were minorities. Black Americans in particular had made the volunteer army a success. Although African-Americans constitute 13 percent of the nation's overall population, in 2000 they comprised fully a quarter of the Army's soldiers and a larger percentage still of the noncommissioned officer corps.

Today, under the stress of a protracted war, this bargain -- plain folk serve while the well-heeled cheer from a safe distance -- has begun to unravel. Last month, the regular Army (along with the Marine Corps) came nowhere near to filling its quota for new recruits. For the past several months, recruiting for the Army Reserve and National Guard has been in free fall. No one in a position of authority doubts that this situation will worsen in the months ahead.

Among the principal reasons for this crisis, one fact stands preeminent: African-Americans have begun to opt out. Whereas in fiscal year 2000, 23.5 percent of Army first-term enlistees were black, by 2004 that figure had dropped to 15.6 percent. Over the first four months of the current fiscal year, it stands at 13.9 percent. Nor is the problem confined to the enlisted ranks. Since 2001, black enrollment in ROTC has dropped by 36 percent. Like Cheney in the 1960s, young African-Americans today are finding that they too have other priorities.

Major General Michael D. Rochelle, who directs the Army's recruiting command, describes this trend as ''alarming." He is right. If African-Americans are no longer willing to shoulder more than their fair share of responsibility for defending the United States, then the compact that made the all-volunteer force possible becomes essentially defunct.

Ratcheting up its advertising budget, offering more lucrative bonuses, flooding strip malls with additional recruiters, and lowering enlistment standards, the Pentagon is furiously trying to manage this problem. That effort is unlikely to succeed. The all-volunteer force is beginning to come apart not for a lack of resources but because it is and was from the outset inconsistent with democratic principles and morally untenable.

According to President Bush, winning the global war on terror means that the United States must exert itself to spread the blessings of liberty around the world. If so, then those who enjoy a disproportionate share of freedom's blessings here at home ought to share in the sacrifices that such an enterprise necessarily entails. In that regard, plastering yellow-ribbon decals on the back of the family SUV or sporting ''Support Our Troops" jelly bracelets as fashion accessories just won't cut it.

Military service today is no longer a job opportunity to be coveted. Increasingly, it is becoming a trial to be endured. The immediate question posed by the crisis confronting the all-volunteer force is not whether to revive the draft. Instead the question is this: Will this democracy ensure that the burdens of war are distributed consistent with the principles of equity and justice?

Andrew J. Bacevich, professor of international relations at Boston University, is author of ''The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Comedy tour finds 3/2 laughing on Easter
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200532813191
Story by Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel



CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (March 27, 2005) -- "I didn't think anyone knew we were way out here," explained Lance Cpl. Edward P. Diaz, a squad automatic weapon gunner with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. "I never thought we'd see a show like this at Al Qa'im."

The Hack and Slash comedy tour, due to a cancellation of another venue, found its way to western Iraq to perform for the Marines of the battalion Easter Sunday.

According to Sgt. Cryst Banks, 2nd Marine Division's MWR liaison, the show only made it to Al Qa'im because of a glitch in the shows scheduling.

"The show was actually supposed to perform for another unit, but at the last minute they cancelled, so I started searching for a unit to take its place," Banks explained.

Originally, not thinking 3rd Battalion., 2nd Marines had the proper facility to hold the show due to the somewhat rural-desert environment, Banks was unsure about calling to schedule it here.

"I decided to go ahead and call the battalion to see if they wanted the show. They immediately jumped on the opportunity. 'Yeah bring them out here,' they said, so here we are," Banks explained.

The show itself was a medieval, circus-like laugh fest, filled with amazing juggling tricks, audience participation, comedic-choreographed fencing and occasional pop-culture and military-related punch lines.

John "Hack" Davis, comedian, describes the satisfaction they get while performing for the Marines and sailors in Iraq.

"Kind of the big quote for the tour is; we had a Marine come up to us who had been in a fire-fight in the morning and that afternoon he caught our show. He said he was able to relax and forget about all that was going on around him and he thanked us for making him laugh," Davis continued. "That makes it worth it for us. It's a distraction from everyday deployed life."

According to Diaz, a Fresno, Calif., native the show boosted his morale and brought the sense of being a little closer to home.

"For two hours, I felt as if I was at a comedy club back home enjoying the show with my friends. The show definitely brought my morale to a level I haven't had out here. I only hope we get more shows like it," explained the 20-year-old, shaking hands with Spencer "Slash" Humm, after the show.

Banks described this show as only the beginning of entertainment for the Marines of Camp Al Qa'im.

"Oh, there will definitely be a lot more shows coming out here, especially after the turn out for this one," he continued. "We got to see the base out here and it's more than suitable for more tours to come out, and the Marines here where an awesome audience. All lot of people showed up and enjoyed the show, so this is only the beginning."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Grand Ole Opry Announces Partnership With 'America Supports You'
Submitted by: American Forces Press Service
Story Identification #: 2005328882
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WASHINGTON (March 24, 2005) -- The Grand Ole Opry has announced its partnership with the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program, an ongoing nationwide program to showcase and communicate America's support to the men and women of the armed forces.

The partnership launches March 26 when the "Grand Ole Opry Live" program will be made available to U.S. armed services around the world through the American Forces Radio and Television Service. A live feed to American troops will allow servicemen and women to see the March 26 show from the Opry stage in Nashville, Tenn., and a return feed from Iraq will make the troops a part of that night's inaugural Grand Ole Opry Live broadcast on the military's worldwide network.

Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan, the Oak Ridge Boys and Ricky Skaggs are among the performers scheduled to appear. The program also airs nationally in the United States and Canada.

"We're especially excited that our U.S. armed forces around the world will now be able to experience America's music from the Opry stage each week via the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service as part of our constantly growing audience," said Pete Fisher, Opry vice president and general manager. "The Opry has always had a very special way of connecting country music's artists with its fans. Our America Supports You partnership further connects us with some of our most treasured fans - America's servicemen and servicewomen."

"We are thrilled that the Grand Ole Opry is joining the America Supports You team," said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense. "We look forward to working together to ensure the message that America Supports You reaches all our troops and their families. The millions of fans and friends, as well as the stars of the Grand Ole Opry, will be important in this effort."

The Opry will provide post cards to be mailed to troops to all guests attending the March 26 show, and in continued support of America Supports You, the Opry will provide public-service announcement opportunities for performers and spotlight America Supports You in upcoming broadcasts of "Grand Ole Opry Live" and on the syndicated radio program "America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend," which already is carried on the American Forces Radio and Television Service.

The partnership was a natural fit, Fisher said.

"The Grand Ole Opry is as American as apple pie and baseball," Fisher said. "One thing Americans value is freedom. It's because of the efforts of those who defend those freedoms that we have the opportunity to perform country music on the Grand Ole Opry stage."


Ellie