Casualty-hit US marines use dummies to fool rebels

[thedrifter]

Casualty-hit US marines use dummies to fool rebels
By Oliver Poole in Baghdad
(Filed: 26/04/2005)

US marines who suffered the highest casualty rate of any unit in Iraq have revealed that they were so short of soldiers that they used cardboard dummies to fool insurgents into believing that they faced more men.

Company E of the First Marine Division dressed the cutouts in camouflage shirts and placed them in observation posts to trick Iraqi rebels into thinking that they were manned.

More than one third of the unit's 185 troops were killed or wounded during its six-month tour last year in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold west of Fallujah, during which it was targeted by 26 firefights, 90 mortar attacks and nearly 100 home-made bombs.

The deception was revealed yesterday when the marines broke the corp's code of silence to detail the shortages of equipment and manpower that they blame for many of their comrades' deaths.

The marines highlighted in particular the lack of armoured Humvees, the four-wheeled-drive vehicles favoured by the US military, which the company says meant they had little protection against roadside bombs.

When the unit arrived, none was fully armoured and the unit's commanders had to find scrap metal to line the sides and bottom of their vehicles.

It was also issued with maps that were several years out of date and showed urbanised areas still to be farmland.

The unit, nicknamed the Magnificent Bastards, said it had only a handful of electronic devices that block the detonation of roadside bombs, responsible for the deaths of 13 of 21 members of the company that were killed.

Instead they had to be spotted by eyesight. "Halfway through the deployment marines began getting good at spotting little things," Sgt Charles Sheldon told the New York Times.

"We had marines riding down the road at 60 miles an hour and they would spot a copper filament sticking out of a block of cement."

A force twice the size is now stationed in the city, which has been relatively peaceful since insurgents were ejected from neighbouring Fallujah in fierce fighting last November.

The lack of adequately armoured equipment has been a continuing complaint of US troops stationed in Iraq. The unusual decision by the unit to go public is only likely to add to government embarrassment at the shortage.

The Senate last week announced an extra £140 million of spending to buy more fully armoured Humvees. But critics say the procurement system is itself flawed as it primarily relies on one small Humvee provider in Ohio.

The Pentagon acknowledged that Company E lacked enough equipment and men but said the problems were experienced by many units when the insurgency suddenly intensified last year.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

US Marines Describe Equipment and Manpower Shortages in Iraq

Some US Marines who have returned from Iraq are breaking an institutional code of silence and are speaking out about the shortages of gear and manpower in the war zone.

The Marines at Camp Pendleton, fresh back from Iraq, say they were constantly frustrated by a lack of armor and a shortage of equipment and men.

They told the New York Times that when they jury-rigged armor plates on their Humvees, the doors were so heavy they wouldn't close and had to be held shut by hand.

A vehicle shortage left some trying to hot-wire a dump truck to save their lives. And a shortage of men, they say, forced them to make cardboard cut-outs of Marines to put in observation posts.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

60 Marines get hooked up at first C4 NCO Course
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 2005425112922
Story by Cpl. Edward L. Mennenga



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (April 25, 2005) -- Sixty communications Marines attended the first II Marine Expeditionary Force G-6 Command, Control, Communication and Computer Non-Commissioned Officers Course, C4 NCO Course aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune April 11 to 29.

Evaluations from the initial training course will be used to assist in developing the II MEF Communication Training Center at Camp Lejeune, and aide I MEF, III MEF and Marine Forces Reserve in their development of a CTC.

“One of the functions of the communications training centers is to provide communications training to Marine non-commissioned officers and staff non-commissioned officers. It also serves other purposes,” said Lt. Col. Fredrick Hopewell, operations officer, G-6, and Alexandria, Va., native. “It provides a place for new equipment training to take place, sustainment training on existing systems that we have, and also to bring non-communicators and give them exposure to C4 equipment so they have the general knowledge of C4 functions.”

Supported by instructors from the Marine Corps Communication Electronics School, the 15-day course gives corporals and sergeants training in three phases: occupational specialty training; cross training in transmission, switching and data systems; and introductory training in maintenance managements, C4 systems planning and deployment preparations.

“(The course) gives you an idea how everything comes together in the big picture in a tactical environment,” said Cpl. Kellie Noble, radio operator, II MEF G-6, and Prospect, Conn. native. “I’d highly recommend if any NCOs get the chance to take it, jump on it.”

Many Marines who have already returned from a deployment wish they had the training before they deployed.

“(The training is) important because we get deployed and as a NCO we’re responsible for our non-NCOs which are going to be the operators of the equipment. They’re going to look to us for ‘what is this, how do you do this?’” said Cpl. Jarrod Evans, data security intrusion detection, 2nd Battalion 6th Marines. “It gives you a sense of security and also it gives them more efficiency. If you know your gear then you also know what other gear takes to (work) with your gear, which causes comm to stay up longer and it’s not going to go down.”

The Marines came from a variety of occupational specialties and units. Eight Marines have a background in communications maintenance, 10 Marines have a wire background, 27 were radio operators, and 15 have a data background. They came from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry point, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Marine Force Atlantic, and II MEF to cross train in their field.

The goal of the course is to expose all NCOs to an area outside their occupational specialty, but inside the communications field, by allowing Marines to remain closer to their parent commands and receive the necessary training in the rapidly changing communication and data fields. The result of the course is a well-rounded NCO who can go back to their unit and share their knowledge with junior Marines.

The course was developed as a result of after actions report from Operation Iraqi Freedom. The II MEF CTC will work closely with the C4 Training and Education Center of Excellence in 29 Palms, Calif. to deliver future C4 course selections as concepts and content develop over the next few years. The II MEF CTC will continue to focus on addressing II MEF C4 training challenges as it has trained 75 percent of its top 20 priorities so far this year.

In 2008, Regional Training Centers are planned to begin operations throughout the Marine Corps at I MEF, II MEF, and III MEF.

With the first CTC underway, Hopewell can’t wait to see the result of the training while deployed, “I’ll soon become the G-6’s ops officer at II MEF forward and I’m anxious to see the impact the training has on the unit’s ability to accomplish the mission.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tight security stunts Fallujah's growth

Stringent measures such as checkpoints, curfews are used to prevent insurgents from taking over the city.

By Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- On a sweep through southern Fallujah, U.S. Marines uncovered a suspected insurgent safe house: four Iraqi men of military age living alone in a small, unkempt dwelling with a Russian heavy machine gun, ammunition and two grenades buried in the front yard.

The Marines were handcuffing and blindfolding the men when a woman rushed to the front door: "My son is innocent!" she pleaded. "He is working here digging for the water pipes."

Outside the house, a churned-up strip of earth ran down the center of the road. An Iraqi construction engineer confirmed that the four men were among the 78 workers he had hired as part of a $28 million project to build a new sewage system in Fallujah. Still, the Marines detained the four for questioning.

"Of course, this will stop our work," said Sattar Saed, the engineer managing the project, explaining that the four men all drove heavy equipment. "If they spend a week in jail, that's a long time."

In November's U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah, dozens of U.S. troops, hundreds of insurgents and an unknown number of civilians were killed. Now, curfews, checkpoints and other stringent security measures are being used to prevent the city from falling back into insurgent hands. But enhancing security is hampering efforts to rebuild. Checkpoints choke the influx of supplies and business, ultimately slowing the creation of jobs needed to give young people an alternative to joining the insurgency for money.

"If you don't have enough people flowing in to sustain commerce, you will stunt growth," said Capt. Rudy Quiles, a Marine civil affairs officer here. Letting more people and goods into Fallujah is "a risk we're going to have to take at some point for the good of the city."

He estimated that 85 percent of people in Fallujah were unemployed or underemployed.

Col. Charles M. Gurganus, commander of the 8th Marine Regiment, which oversees the region that includes Fallujah, said the security measures have ensured that "Fallujah probably is the safest place in al-Anbar province. ... We keep a pretty tight clampdown on this place."

Many people here say they do feel safer, but resent the restrictions on their daily lives. Personal weapons are banned throughout the city. A 7 p.m. curfew keeps residents off the streets but also away from mosques for evening prayers. At night, a military escort is needed to obtain emergency medical care.

Gabshe Hamed, a mother with a large family, sat barefoot in her parlor recently, fingering worry beads. "Before, we were afraid of the Air Force planes and praying before we slept each night. Now we feel safer, but we suffer from the curfew because we can't go to the hospital." This is of particular concern to Hamed, who has a heart condition.

U.S. and Iraqi troops oversee four checkpoints on major roads, allowing in only documented residents, contractors, government officials or allied military forces. Residents describe delays at the checkpoints of four hours or more, although Marine officials say the average wait is far shorter.

The troops pull aside men of military age for an iris scan and thumbprint, building a computer database of potential insurgents.

"We have to be very careful how we repopulate the city. We paid too high a price to hand it back," said Maj. Phillip Zeman of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, a unit that patrols the southern half of Fallujah.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.




Refueling stop in Maine means hero's welcome

By Tony Perry

Los Angeles Times

BANGOR, Maine — Tired and bleary-eyed, Marines of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, based at Twentynine Palms, Calif., were finally back on U.S. soil after seven months in Iraq.

But they were still miles and hours from their families and the homecoming they longed for. Their officers told them they would be on the ground for 60 to 90 minutes while their chartered jetliner was refueled.

So they disembarked and began walking through the airport corridor to a small waiting room.

Then they heard the applause.

Lining the hall and clapping were dozens of Bangor residents who have set a daunting task for themselves: They want every Marine, soldier, sailor and airman returning through the tiny international airport here to get a hero's welcome.

The airport in this city of 31,000 has a long runway and is the first stop for many overseas military troop flights. Even if the planes arrive in the middle of the night or during a blizzard, the greeters are there.

Made up mostly from the generation that served in World War II and Korea, they call themselves the Maine Troop Greeters.

They have met every flight bringing troops home from Iraq for nearly two years — more than 1,000 flights and nearly 200,000 troops.

"Here they come. Everybody get ready," said Joyce Goodwin, 71, her voice full of excitement, undiminished by the hundreds of times she has shown up to embrace the returning troops.

As the Marines came down the corridor, the applause grew louder and was accompanied by handshakes, hugs and a stream of well wishes: "Welcome home." "Thank you for your service." "God bless you." "Thank you for everything."

Faces brightened. Grouchiness disappeared. Greeters and Marines alike began taking photographs. The Marines were directed down a corridor decorated with American flags and red, white and blue posters to cellphones for free calls to family members.

They found a table with cookies and candies. Plates of homemade fudge circulated.

"Welcome home, gunny," said Al Dall, 74, who served in the Marines during the Korean War, as he thrust his hand at a startled Gunnery Sgt. Edward Parsons, 31, of Shelby, N.C.

"This is incredible," Parsons said. "Now I know I'm really back in the world."

The greeters line the corridor both as the troops arrive and as they return to their planes to continue their journeys.

Kay Lebowitz, 89, has such severe arthritis that she cannot shake hands. So she hugs every Marine and soldier she can.

"Many of them tell me they can't wait to see their grandmother," she said. "That's what I am: a substitute grandmother."

The greeters also turn out for outbound flights to Iraq, but those are somber occasions.

"When the flights are going over, it's heartbreaking," Lebowitz said. "But when they're coming home, it's heartwarming."

The core of the Maine Troop Greeters is a dedicated group of about 30 people who have a "telephone tree" to get the word out about impending arrivals. Their numbers swell on weekends when particular brigades are due back, such as local National Guard units. Families with young children join in.

Most of the greeters support the U.S. mission in Iraq, but their purpose is not political. Discussion of politics is banned. The greeters don't want America to repeat what they consider a shameful episode in history: the indifference, even hostility, that the public displayed to troops returning from Vietnam.

"I think there's a lot of collective guilt about the '60s," said greeter Dusty Fisher, 63, a retired high-school history teacher now serving in the state Legislature.

Francis Zelz, 81, who served in the Navy during World War II, said it is a point of pride to respond even when the call comes with only a few minutes notice.

"You get a call at 3 a.m. about a flight in 30 minutes and you think about staying in bed," Zelz said. "Then you realize, no, I can't do that. That wouldn't be right."

Marine Lt. David Tumanjan, 24, of Boise, Idaho, said the Bangor greeting is both humbling and gratifying. "It shows us that what we did wasn't in vain," he said.

The greeters say their payoff is seeing the surprise and smiles on the faces of the troops. "Every flight coming home makes it like Christmas Eve," said Bud Tower, an Air Force veteran, who, at age 58, considers himself "a kid" among the other greeters.

Don Guptill, 71, who served in the Army in Korea, listened as an enlisted Marine, his eyes fixed on the carpet, talked quietly about being wounded three times.

As the call came over the loudspeaker to return to the plane, the young Marine, reluctantly, pulled something from his back pocket. It was his Purple Heart.

"He said he was embarrassed to wear it," Guptill said. "I told him: 'You wear it. You earned it. You wear it for all the guys who didn't make it home.' "


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine from Eastern Shore killed in Iraq
Bobby Guy 'was so proud to be a Marine'
/ Associated Press
04/26/2005WILLARDS, Md. -- An Eastern Shore Marine was killed Thursday near al-Karmah, Iraq, his family and the Pentagon said.

Pfc. Robert "Bobby" Guy, 26, died after being shot in the head, his mother, Ann Guy, told The (Salisbury) Daily Times. The Marines said only that Guy's death was the result of a non-hostile incident and public information officers and the Pentagon would not give details, saying an investigation is under way.

Guy joined the Marines in March of last year and joined his unit in August. He was an assault man, providing anti-bunker and anti-armor fire support. He had received the global war on terrorism expeditionary medal, global war on terrorism service medal and national defense service medal.

"He wanted to be there," Ann Guy said of her son's deployment to Iraq. "He wanted to be there, and he was so proud to be a Marine."

Over the weekend, Guy's family and friends remembered him as a good-hearted man who loved jokes and who worked for more than a year to become a Marine.

"I never saw him work at anything so hard his whole life," Ann Guy said. "He really wanted this."

At the local fire hall in this tiny Wicomico County town, just around the corner from Guy's house, a sign read: "God bless our hero Bobby Guy."

Guy graduated from boot camp in June and was a member of the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He left for Iraq in January and had been scheduled to come home in August. He was also close to being promoted to lance corporal, his mother said.

A former Parkside High School student, he left before graduating, getting his graduate equivalency diploma while living in Arkansas.

"He did make some wrong choices, and he did his best when he grew up a little bit," said Cory Perdue, a high school friend. "Going into the Marine Corps was just the next step for him improving himself."

Deborah Cox, Guy's aunt, said she remembered her nephew's sense of humor, a side of Guy that Perdue spoke about as well.

"He was very outgoing," Perdue said. "He was in trouble quite a lot, but it was just mischief trouble. It wasn't any kind of big trouble."

Friends and family said Guy was a dedicated Marine. Ann Guy remembered a conversation she had with her son about joining the Marines.

"He said 'Mom, are you going to be OK with this?' " Ann Guy said. "And I said, 'Bobby, I'm going to tell you right now, there isn't a mother alive that wants to see her son going off to war.' "

But Ann Guy said she supported him entirely when he decided to join. "He died doing what he wanted to do."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Puerto Rican Marine extends contract, deploys to Iraq
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Story Identification #: 200542634047
Story by Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan



EAST FALLUJAH IRAQI CAMP, Iraq (April 26, 2005) -- Some Marines in the Corps do their time and get out after four years. Others reenlist and stay a Marine for 20 years or more. For one Iraqi Security Forces Marine, he falls in between both categories.

Corporal Angel M. Mendez, 28, water supply, ISF, II MEF Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), didn’t choose to reenlist after his four-year tour ended, however when the opportunity arose for him to extend his contract and join his fellow Marines forward deployed, he jumped at the chance.

“My terminal leave would have started April 12,” said Mendez, a native of Aguada, Puerto Rico. “My master gunnery sergeant came to me and told me he had a quota to send a corporal to Iraq. He knew I was getting out very soon, but he also knew I had never been deployed. I thought about it for a day and then I told him I would go. It was a hard decision knowing I could get out of the Corps and go back to Puerto Rico to be with my family.”

Leaving Puerto Rico to join the Marine Corps at the age of 24 was a big change for Mendez, however, he wanted to see what life had to offer.

“Puerto Rico is like paradise,” he said with a smile. “It’s like being on a long vacation. I used to go surfing a lot and work in my dad’s bakery, but I wanted to travel and see new things. I wanted to make a difference and start a new life.”

Mendez, who has been stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., as a supply clerk, since graduating from military occupational specialty school at Camp Johnson, N.C, has wanted to deploy to Iraq since 2003, but because his unit was non-deployable he didn’t have the opportunity.

“I wanted to come help out for a long time, but I never had the chance,” he said. “I knew the people really needed help out here and I wanted to be a part.”

Although Mendez volunteered to deploy, it is not what he expected.

“Originally I was told that I would be filling an admin [administration] billet, but when I got here I was told that I would be with Iraqi Security Forces,” he said. “At first I was thinking this wasn’t what I came out here for, but after a few weeks I realized that this is an important job, and it beats sitting back at Parris Island.”

Mendez works at the East Fallujah Iraqi Camp, providing the camp with all water necessary to support the troops stationed there. This requires taking a convoy to nearby Camp Baharia and filling the trucks, before returning to the EFIC.

“I’m responsible for transporting 36,000 gallons of water on an average, daily to the EFIC,” he said. “That usually takes about three trips to Baharia, but some days I have to go four times bringing 48,000 gallons total.”

Working with foreign nationals has been difficult for Mendez, whose native language is Spanish.

“It’s difficult to work with them sometimes because of the language barrier, but after a while you can pick up basic words you need to communicate with them,” Mendez said. “That’s when they begin to trust you and they realize you are here to help them out.”

When the job is finished at the end of the day, Mendez explains the satisfaction it gives him.

“I’m tired at the end of the day, but it feels good to know that I helped them [Iraqi’s] out and made a difference,” he said, adding, “Once I’m done I go to the gym. When I’m there I can kind of forget about everything and get ready for a new day.”

When Mendez returns home after the 14-month tour, he plans on transitioning into civilian life and living one day at a time.

“I’m going back to Puerto Rico to be with my family,” he said. “I’m also going to go back to school and use the G.I. Bill [Montgomery G.I. Bill] and take it easy for a while.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine receives Navy Cross <br />
<br />
By Seth Hettena <br />
Associated Press <br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — When his platoon was ambushed in an attack by insurgents in Iraq last year, Marine Sgt. Willie L....

[thedrifter]

Two Marines from same neighborhood serve together in Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20054238410
Story by Cpl. Ken Melton



AL ASAD, Iraq (April 23, 2005) -- Marines come from all walks of life, from places all over the world. Most Marines meet others, who are from the same state, others from the same city. However, rarely do Marines meet other Marines from the same neighborhood.

Cpls. Chase H. Love, 20, and Kevin M. Doucette Jr., 21, are both field radio operators with 2nd Marines Headquarters Company and both from the same neighborhood in New Orleans.

"We grew up within walking distance of each other and never met until November," said Love. "Since then we became like brothers because we grew up in the same environment."

Doucette is 2001 class graduate of St. Augustine High School where he was a member of the band.

However, Love attended the rival school at West Jefferson High School where played football and took 4th place in state finals of track during his senior year of 2002.

"At first I thought it was cool to meet someone who knows where I'm from," said Doucette. "Soon after that we formed kind of brotherly bond because the same interests and background."

Love and Doucette both grew up in different housing projects in the same neighborhood of Gretna, La. They both dealt with same family and social issues while growing up.

"We both grew up in rough areas known for drugs, crime and violence," Doucette said. " I was raised in two separate households and have four younger brothers who looked up to me. After high school I wanted to go college but I couldn't afford. I joined the Marine Corps in hopes that it will inspire my brothers to do something good with their lives in spite of their environment."

"I was raised in a single family and when my mother passed away in January of 2002 I stayed with my older sister until I graduated," Love said. "I knew I wanted to go college and become something better, so I joined the Marine Corps knowing that I could achieve that goal and much more."

Knowing of their similar upbringings and drive to further advance themselves Love and Doucette's friendship developed into brotherhood over a short period of time before the deployment.

"People always see us around each other," Doucette said. "We helped each other get ready for the deployment. When our families came to visit us, they treated each other like they had known them their entire lives."

"I know the Marine Corps is all about family," Love said. "Doucette is like a brother to me and I'm like one to him. That really helps on these deployments, because it feels like you brought a family member with you."

Doucette's active duty tenure in service ends in July, while Love's ends August of 2006.However, Doucette has plans for his 'little brother' even after that.

"I plan building my own house on some land that my father owns and I'll be saving a spot for Love and his family near mine," Doucette added.

"It's good to have met someone like him. Even while he's still on active duty we're going to keep in touch."

"Family is there for you even when they don't have to be. It's that choice that separates friend and family relations," said Love.

"It will feel real good to have him around, while I raise my two kids. Because end the end that's what family's all about. Having those who mean the most to you grow old with you."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines Gave Eastern Shore Man 'a Purpose'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Christian Davenport
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 26, 2005; B03

Growing up, Robert Guy was "a wild child," his mother said. He fought and got caught for underage drinking. He was a junior in high school when he dropped out.

Afterward, he "just wandered from job to job," said Ann Guy, who worried about how her youngest boy was going to turn out.

Then Bobby Guy decided to join the Marines, and his parents wondered if he'd see it through. "At first I was really worried because he didn't seem to stick with things real good," Ann Guy said. "And I said, 'Bobby, this is a real commitment. It's not like you can say, I don't like this and am leaving.' "

When he graduated from boot camp, though, "I don't think that boy could have been more proud if they made him president of the United States," she said.

Yesterday, friends gathered at her Wicomico County home on Maryland's Eastern Shore to offer their condolences for Bobby, who was killed April 21 in Iraq.

It was Ann Guy's turn to be proud.

Her son, tall and blond and strong, had his life together. He had gotten his GED and found "his niche" in the Marines, she said. After his struggles, which included a collapsed marriage, he finally had "a purpose in his life," Ann Guy said.

Joining the Marines "was his way of righting all those petty little wrongs," and he planned to make a career of it, she said.

The Department of Defense said that Guy, 26, of Willards, was killed in "nonhostile action" near Al Karmah, Iraq, and that the incident is under investigation. His mother said he "was shot in the head," but she didn't know by whom. He had been in Iraq since January, said Cindy Horner, an aunt.

A private first class who served as an assault man, Guy is among the more than 1,500 service members killed in Iraq since the war began two years ago.

After dropping out of high school, he did "pretty much nothing," his mother said. He worked a construction job or two but would get restless and quit, she said. He met a woman over the Internet and got married, but that didn't last long, she said. He moved to Arkansas to follow another woman he met online.

Finally, without a career or a relationship, Bobby Guy joined the Marines just over a year ago. It was a way to improve his life. He also knew the risks -- that he was most likely going to war. His mother's cousin, whom he idealized, had lost both his legs while serving in Vietnam.

But that didn't bother him. "He was excited about it," Ann Guy said. "He wanted to go because he thought he could make a difference. He didn't like people who sat around and griped about things but didn't do anything about them."

Since news of Bobby Guy's death came Friday afternoon, friends and relatives have been streaming through the Guy home, which was overflowing with flowers, desserts and dinners.

"He was a wonderful son," Ann Guy said. "He is going to be horribly, horribly missed."

Horner said Bobby Guy was "like a brother" to her 16-year-old daughter. He always wanted to know who she was dating, Horner said, and was "very protective of her."

And when another of his cousins started talking about dropping out of school, Bobby Guy counseled him also, Horner said.

He had made plenty of mistakes and didn't want his cousin to make them, too.

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fabulous Fallujah may have a fighting chance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rusty Humphries
April 25, 2005

NOTE: Nationally syndicated talk show host Rusty Humphries is on assignment in Iraq. He is speaking with troops and reporting live to his U.S. audiences. He offers his observations to the TownHall.com audience.

Dateline: Baghdad, more specifically one of Saddam's Palaces in Camp Victory.

Before I get into what I did and saw in Fallujah, I must tell you about Saddam's "Palace." There are many more of these palaces than I thought. They are everywhere. Some are within blocks of each other. I stayed in one of his palaces that have been turned into a hotel for visiting dignitaries. I would think that (if it were real), Disney's Haunted Mansion may have been a magnificent place a long time ago, that's how the palace I stayed in was. The guy who had this place built had a lot of money and zero taste. Big ugly gold fixtures are everywhere, nice marble floors, a lot of rooms but the best word to describe it all is tacky! The military has turned this palace and others into make shift hotels. Nothing works but hey, it's better than the tent I stayed in last night. Note to Disney, once this war is over, you guys could come out here, gut this place and turn it into a great amusement park. The resort is here, there's a beautiful lake, lots of sand, and sunshine. Fix it up, I'd come back. Now, the Al-Fam Palace where we have put the multi-national HQ -- now that's a palace! Too bad Saddam's new home is smaller than his palace bathroom.

On with the good stuff, and there is plenty good to report. I took a midnight helicopter ride from Camp Victory to Camp Fallujah and was in Fallujah for 24 hours. That city has a chance, should they decide to take the opportunity. If you've ever been to Israel, and seen the Palestinian areas, you've seen Fallujah. It's amazing how similar the areas are. Dirty, dusty, garbage in the streets, graffiti as far as the eye can see. As we drove through the streets in our convoy, the resident came out to give us the thumbs up. Lining the streets as if we were in a parade - men, women, and children, all showing their support for our troops, everywhere! It was so heartwarming and was much more prevalent than I had expected. Yes, there are those who don't like us, but they aren't showing their faces. The ones who have seen the promise of a new day are out in the open and plentiful.

I've met so many wonderful members of the armed forces. I had dinner with a young man, Maj. Chris Phelps from Shawnee, Kansas. He's a Civil Affairs Team Commander. This is the kid you dream your daughter brings home. Movie star good looks, smart, funny and with a strong character. His father is a Vietnam veteran who returned to duty and is now in his unit, stationed in Iraq. He outranks his father, (Daddy drop and give me 20!). Major Phelp's job is to go out and work with the people of Iraq on a daily basis. He sees it all, and tells stories of Iraqis who thank us on a daily basis for the freedoms they are starting to see. He told me, "The Iraqis want the same thing we want in America, security, an opportunity to live, prosper, and have a good job. They want to raise their children to live in an environment that gives them the opportunity to have something better than they had."

One Iraqi I met is a young man who serves as Maj. Phelps' interpreter, Musapha. He tells me, "These guys are my heroes. They have changed the lives of so many in my family and in my country. My dreams are becoming real now. Most Iraqis have been living without any faith. Trust me, this is the truth. Saddam not only killed many people, but tried to kill the souls of the rest of us. We are now coming back; Freedom is like air, and water. We need it to survive; the American's have brought an abundance of it. I want to give thanks to the American people, thanks to everybody. You have given Iraq a chance to live and grow again."

Reconstruction is evident and everywhere. It is a success story that we should all be proud of.

Next installment -- back to Baghdad, then on to a secret country, on a secret base, with weapons that don't exist.

Rusty Humphries is a nationally syndicated talk show host of Talk Radio Network. He has been ranked by Talkers Magazine as one of the Top 10 most listened to talk-radio hosts in America. He is currently broadcasting from Iraq and reporting his findings via satellite phone to his audiences back home. Listen to the Rusty Humphries shows to hear these and other exclusives insights from Iraq. Also check out his website for pictures and audio blogs.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

CSSC-133 takes to the field
Submitted by: MCAS Yuma
Story Identification #: 200542118487
Story by Cpl. Giovanni Lobello



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. (April 21, 2005) -- Each year during the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course, approximately 2,000 Marines from units across the Marine Corps visit the station to train. These units then spread out to the various training sites in Yuma.

That is where the station's Combat Service Support Company 133 comes into play as a third-echelon maintenance support unit.

For each training exercise, CSSC-133 goes to the field to provide maintenance support for the participating units.

CSSC-133 arrived at Site 50, which is south of Welton, Ariz., in the Barry M. Goldwater range, April 1 when WTI students finished with the academic portion of the training. They will remain until April 23, when WTI ends. They were also augmented by Marines from 1st Force Service Support Group, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. The mission of CSSC-133 during WTI is to provide maintenance support to all units participating in the training evolution at sites Siphon 8, Auxiliary-2 and Canon Air Defense Complex.

CSSC-133 leaves the comforts of the air station for the duration of WTI and performs all maintenance work in a field environment. The maintenance unit also hits the field for a second WTI later in the year and for the two Desert Talon training exercises.

CSSC-133, one of the smallest units on station with about 70 Marines, also left Marines at the station to provide rear maintenance support.

The Marines sleep in general purpose tents, eat two hot meals and one meal, ready-to-eat a day. The Marines also do their laundry in the field and take five-minute showers.

"The time spent at Site 50 will help build unit cohesion," said 1st Lt. Orlando Giarratano, CSSC-133 logistics officer. "This brings the Marines together, because when we are back at the rear, everyone has their own life. The Marines here all cope with the same hardships and so they become closer. This also gives me a chance to get more involved with the Marines in the unit. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to."

This is a good opportunity for the Marines because they are gaining the experience of working in the field, said Sgt. Eric Saldevilla, CSSC-133 maintenance chief and quality control.

"The Marines are learning what it's like not being able to work in a shaded area all the time. They also deal with not always having the proper tools you might have in the shop and having to improvise with the tools at hand," added Saldevilla. "They have to work out here dealing with the weather, critters and you have to learn how to overcome and adapt. It means installing engines and transmissions in the field and having to pick up a broken truck in the middle of the night."

During free time, Marines learn additional knowledge and skills.

"Every day we hold (professional military education's) about anything that can contribute to what we are doing here land navigation, first aid, war fighting," said Saldevilla. "We try not to just sit around and watch movies and sleep. We try to do the most we can while we are out here."

In addition to PME's, CSSC-133 also takes advantage of the situation and provides Marines the opportunity to learn something new in addition to their military occupational specialties.

"We have Marines who work specifically in motor transport, and when they don't have anything to do, we let them go with other sections to cross-train. The Marines lend each other a hand, allowing them to learn something new."

"The cross-training is very beneficial, because we are able to learn more than one job," said Cpl. Joe Valadad, CSSC-133 mechanic. "Otherwise, while we are out, we would only become more proficient in our field and nothing else."

For some Marines, living in the field is a new experience. But they welcome the challenge.

"This is very different from garrison; it's a completely different world. Here we are having to work in the elements of Yuma, coping with the weather and the heat," said Valadad. "When I first found out we would be in the field for a month, I was excited and looked forward to going. This is the first time I've been in a field environment and I'm really enjoying it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine returns for quick tour of memory lane
Monday, April 25, 2005
By Jim Six
jimsix@sjnewsco.com
PITMAN -- Martin Dankanich took a short stroll through his childhood hometown Wednesday morning after he left "Heroes" restaurant on Broadway.

His wife and three kids are at his home base of Okinawa, Japan. He was here for a very brief visit.

CWO2 Martin Dankanich has been a Marine for 18 years. He's been married to the former Bonnie Rowe of Sewell for that long, too.

This is the third time he's been assigned to Okinawa but the first "accompanied" tour, one that allows the family to be with him.

He and Bonnie and their kids live in a neighborhood full of generals and colonels now, and Dankanich really likes Okinawa. The fishing is good, there are nice resorts, the people are nice. His kids are attending one of the best Department of Defense schools in the world, better than when they were living in Beaufort, S.C., while he was stationed at Parris Island, the Marine Corps' boot camp.

CWO2 stands for chief warrant officer second class. He spent about 15 years as an enlisted man and was a staff sergeant when he applied to become a warrant officer.

Now he's a range officer, a fitting assignment for a man who is a competitive shooter, who has been certified in the competitive shooting world as a "distinguished shooter."

A symposium on marksmanship, in fact, was what brought him to Quantico, Va. He added some leave time to visit a good friend in Delaware, then made a short side trip to Pitman.

The marksmanship symposium was about applying real-life shooting information, gathered on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, to how Marines are trained to shoot.

Dankanich calls it "train as you fight."

His own expertise in shooting is not specialized. He can shoot "anything with a trigger," he said.

Dankanich will be back at Quantico in July for a competition in which shooters will be aiming at targets from 200 to 1,000 yards -- using iron sights only, no magnifying scopes.

The 36-year-old Marine grew up here, went to Pitman High School, worked at Pitman Manor where he met his wife, and worked at the Broadway Theatre across from the restaurant.

As he looked around at the "hero" memorabilia on the walls of the small cafe, he tried to think of something he could send from Okinawa to display.

He has two years left on his assignment to Okinawa, but knows Iraq could be in his future.

"It's just a matter of time," he said.

Dankanich will be eligible to retire in two years, but he's not sure yet what he'll want to do then. He talked about air travel and said he often plays a game called "spot the air marshal." He said he might consider becoming an air marshal when he hangs up the eagle, globe and anchor.

As he left the restaurant, he walked across the street to look at his old place of employment, learning about the financial problems that are keeping the Broadway Theatre closed.

As he looked at the dark box office, owner Dan Munyon walked up -- not the man who owned the theater when Dankanich worked there.

They shook hands and Dankanich recalled his good old days of working at the movie house, even laughing about an episode when his girlfriend sent someone to beat him up.

Then he headed south on Broadway toward Bob's Hobbies.

"I'm going to take a little walk down memory lane before leaving," Dankanich said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Gunny faces court-martial in enlistment fraud case <br />
<br />
By Gordon Lubold <br />
Times staff writer <br />
<br />
<br />
Marine attorneys are set to begin the prosecution of a career recruiter they say ran an illegal...

[thedrifter]

April 25, 2005

The Lore of the Corps
Iraq war spurs revived interest in M72 LAW

By Keith A. Milks
Special to the Times


In the early 1960s, the United States was desperately seeking a replacement for its family of infantry-portable rocket launchers, or bazookas.
Although the weapons had served throughout World War II and Korea, new weapons were needed to meet the threat of vast Warsaw Pact-armored fleets rolling across the European plains.

To this end, Talley Defense Systems introduced the M72 Light Anti-tank Weapon. The M72 was meant to provide infantrymen with the ability to defeat most armored vehicles of that era.

The M72 was a self-contained, anti-armor weapon consisting of a rocket packed in a disposable launcher. The outer tube was made of plastic-impregnated Fiberglas and contained the trigger, arming handle and sights. The aluminum inner tube contained the warhead and firing assembly.

When closed, the weapon measured 24.8 inches. To extend the M72 to its firing length of 34.7 inches, the user simply had to remove a rear cover retaining pin, release the cover and sling assembly, and pull the inner tube from the outer. Doing so locked the LAW in the extended position, raised the sights and cocked the weapon. If necessary, an unused M72 could be collapsed back into its original configuration.

To fire the LAW, the operator depressed a rubber-coated trigger bar on top of the weapon, and when the 2.2-pound warhead exited the launcher, six rocket fins would spring out to stabilize its flight. Although its maximum range was 1,000 meters, the LAW was effective only within 200. In theory, the M72 could penetrate one foot of armor plate, two feet of reinforced concrete or six feet of soil.

Unfortunately, the weapon’s maximum armor penetration was possible only if the warhead struck its target at a perpendicular angle. This limited the LAW’s anti-armor potential from the outset.

Despite this shortcoming, infantrymen realized the weapon’s potential in the jungles of Vietnam. There, the LAW was used with great success against enemy gun positions, fortifications and light vehicles. Because the weapon weighed a mere 5.22 pounds and was issued as ammunition, an infantryman could carry more than one M72 at a time. Grunts commonly tucked one or more LAWs under their rucksack straps while on patrol.

Over the years, improved versions of the M72 were introduced, including the M72A1, -A2, and -A3, all offering improved warheads with marginally better armor penetration. But by the early 1980s, a move was afoot to find a heavier, more lethal replacement.

Eventually, the M136 AT4 entered service and the M72 series remained in use only among special-operations forces.

With the ongoing Iraq war in which Marines and soldiers find themselves fighting in urban terrain that make the AT4 impractical, there is renewed interest in the M72. With the advent of improved warheads and backblast-reducing propellants, the M72’s weight and size once again make the weapon suitable for service on the front lines.

The writer is a gunnery sergeant stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He can be reached at kambtp@aol.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Battle-Weary Marine Unit Awaits 'Taste Of Freedom'
Many Feel Pull of Home 2 Years After Hussein Fell

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 10, 2005; Page A01

FALLUJAH, Iraq, April 9 -- Two years ago, Cpl. Justin Soule rushed across the Tigris River bridge into Baghdad with the Marines who first entered the city and toppled a statue of President Saddam Hussein. During a bloody uprising that swept Iraq last April, he and his battalion fought their way into insurgent-held Fallujah before commanders ordered a halt.

Today, the infantry squad leader from Itasca, Tex., is back for a third tour in Iraq, living in a bombed-out soda factory, surviving on packaged meals and junk food and admitting that he thinks more about his own liberation than Iraq's.

"I don't really care for the desert, the flies, the dust storms, the trash on the side of the road with kids playing in it," he said as he sat on his bunk this week in the dank, 25-foot-wide room he shares with 13 other Marines. "I'm ready to get out. I'll have a taste of the freedom I've been fighting for."

Soule proudly counts himself among the "Darkside" -- the battle-weary 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines -- the first U.S. military unit to serve three rotations in Iraq. About two-thirds of the battalion's 800 men are on their third tour, having spent more time in Iraq over the past two years than at home.

Like many of his comrades, Soule is a 9/11 Marine, driven to join the corps by duty or outrage after the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.

Yet over the course of two years, fighting in Iraq has robbed these young Marines of buddies, left their bodies scarred and tired, and snatched away their innocence. Last week, the conflict stole another Marine from the 3rd Battalion, the 11th killed so far as fatalities among U.S. troops grew to 1,543.

Many Darkside Marines, feeling the pull of family and civilian life, say they don't plan to reenlist for what will inevitably mean more combat zone deployments. A far smaller number say they live for being at war and vow never to leave.

On the anniversary of Baghdad's fall, Marines described the war with stories of euphoria and helplessness, of bitterness and hope and the toll on the lives of U.S. troops.

Lt. Brian Sitko watched the glow of munitions exploding on the horizon, creating the surreal appearance of a sunrise as U.S. forces launched their invasion of Iraq in 2003. He pulled out a pen and paper and wrote a letter to his wife, then slipped it into his chest pocket.

As the Marines battled north, the possibility of death accompanied Sitko as "a daily presence, a fear you have to manage," he recalled in an interview. At war for the first time, many Marines in their teens and twenties grew up overnight, he said. "Childhood is lost, and innocence is left behind."

Officers warned the Marines to expect heavy casualties as they thrust into Baghdad. But they were surprised to find their push into the city relatively unopposed. Instead, some Iraqis offered flowers, candy and a sense of purpose to Marines who say now they were uncertain what they were fighting for.

At Baghdad's Firdaus Square, Marines from the battalion used a chain and a tank-recovery vehicle to pull down Hussein's statue, unleashing jubilation among the crowd. A portly, balding Iraqi man, sweat streaming down his face, approached Sitko to give him flowers and a hug. Sitko said he suddenly remembered an Iraq guidebook that said kissing another man on the forehead signified high respect. In an instant, he pulled the man toward him.

"I gave him a smack on the forehead," he said. "It was probably one of the more gross moments for me, but it was something I wanted to do. He lit up even more. It was so joyous."

Within hours, though, the mood gave way to chaos as looters swarmed the city.

Soule recalled looters invading a hospital that his unit was trying to guard. "We ran them off, but they kept coming back," he said. "They'd cut their arm on one side breaking into the hospital looting and then come in another door to get medical care."

The confusion made the Marines feel helpless and unprepared. "We weren't a police force. We didn't know how to deal with it," Sitko recalled.

Driving through the city in a Humvee with three other officers, he spotted a man with an AK-47 rifle in an electronics store. In an effort to protect the surrounding crowd, Sitko and the others got out of the Humvee and disarmed the man.

"They all applauded," he said. "We had cleared the way for them to loot."

When the battalion received a second call to Iraq in late 2003, many of the troops felt ambivalent. "We'd already been to a war, we were just going to a combat zone," said Lance Cpl. Michael Hinson, 21, an M-249 machine gunner from Odessa, Tex.

Yet with the insurgency in full swing, the unit faced some of its toughest battles yet. In early April 2004, it was abruptly ordered to Fallujah to take part in an assault on the city a few days after four American contractors were killed and mutilated there.

The unit pushed three blocks into Fallujah but was halted when U.S. and Iraqi officials ordered the assault aborted. The Marines say they and their commanders felt intensely disappointed.

"I believe we should have pushed through Fallujah then. We would have been a lot more successful, and there would have been a lot less bombing," Hinson said at a camp on the outskirts of Fallujah, where thousands of homes were destroyed in a large-scale offensive in November.

Soon after the Darkside arrived in Fallujah last year, one of Hinson's close friends, Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray, was killed by sniper fire. "The moment I will never forget is when our sergeant came up and said [Gray] was fatally wounded," said Hinson. "We were like brothers."

A month later, Hinson almost died as well. A bomb exploded under his convoy, hurling shrapnel into the vehicles. Hinson lost sight in his left eye. "We just heard a beep, not a boom or anything. Then it was a blur," he said. "We had nine Purple Hearts."

In January, the battalion was called to Iraq again, ordered to deploy about a month earlier than anticipated to help provide security for Iraq's elections. The news was unwelcome but not entirely unexpected -- some of the Marines say they had kept their duffle bags packed.

U.S. policymakers "didn't have the foresight of seeing that it wouldn't be an easy war. They didn't think it out," said Soule, listening to Texas country music as he took a break one recent evening in his cramped room at the gutted Fallujah soda factory.

Conditions at the camp in downtown Fallujah are austere compared with many bases in Iraq today. With the staple food still packaged meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), Soule and his buddies say they prefer to survive on cheese puffs, PayDay bars, CornNuts and other junk food sent from home.

Infrequent showers are taken by filling a black plastic bag with water, letting it warm in the sun and suspending it for a brisk splash. Lacking even a portable toilet, the Marines dispose of human waste in "wag bags" and later burn them.

Soule and others said such conditions were actually a step up from past tours. "This is the best setup we've had. This is pretty good," he said.

Pinups, race-car photos and beer ads liven up the walls of an otherwise drab room, its windows blocked by sandbags. In brief breaks between 10- to 12-hour shifts patrolling Fallujah or pulling guard duty, the Marines watch movies, play Monopoly and smoke cigarettes. The close quarters sometimes lead to arguments and shoving matches. Some Marines let off steam by hacking away at palm trees on the base with an ax.

"Problems stem from people just being tired of being over here," Soule said.

The Marines said few among them planned to reenlist. Those who did, such as Hinson, were signing up for so-called non-deployable jobs such as teaching or administration. "I don't think there's a lot of Marines who want to come back to Iraq every six months," said Cpl. Scott Rolston, who plans to return to his native Anchorage to join the highway patrol or fire department.

Family pressures are mounting on many Marines -- especially those who, like Hinson, are married and have babies on the way.

Lance Cpl. Dan Despain, 26, of St. Louis, gazes at a handful of laminated photos of his infant daughter before he beds down each night. "I've missed seeing her crawl, hearing her start talking and saying 'Da Da.' I'm not going to be the type of parent who isn't there when she needs me," he said.

Still, none of the Marines said they regretted their service in Iraq, despite what they consider missteps in a war that they anticipate could drag on for five, 10 or even 20 years.

"A lot of people made the ultimate sacrifice, but they did it saving other people," said Cpl. Shawn Rodgers, of Owensville, Mo., who plans to leave the corps for college. "It's an all-volunteer force. And whether they realize it or not, this is what you join the military to do. You either love it or you hate it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Wounded Pittsburg Police Officer Dies <br />
Officer Larry Lasater Shot While Pursuing Armed Robbery Suspects <br />
<br />
POSTED: 7:36 am PDT April 26, 2005 <br />
UPDATED: 7:57 am PDT April 26, 2005 <br />
<br />
PITTSBURG,...

[thedrifter]

Brothers serve stone throw from each other, Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200542374314
Story by Lance Cpl. Zachary W. Lester



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (April 23, 2005) -- Most Marines deploying to Iraq leave their family at home. That is not the case for one 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Marine.

Cpl. Michael J. Meermans, a Light Armored Vehicle technician with Maintenance Platoon, recently joined his younger brother Lance Cpl. Brian J. Meermans in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"I knew when my brother joined the Marines there was the possibility of him being deployed, but I never thought we'd be over here together," Michael said.

Brian, an equipment operator for CSSD-25, was excited to see his brother while deployed.

"I am glad that we are over here at the same time and able to see each other," Brian explained. "It is not everyday you can see your brother in Iraq."

As they prepared to deploy, the North Olmsted, Ohio natives really hadn't considered how closely located they would be.

"My brother left a week before I did," Michael stated. "I looked at a map after he left and I saw that we were going to be pretty close to each other.

"When we arrived in Al-Asad, I saw him for a little bit," Michael said. "Then, after I arrived here my brother showed up on a convoy. He was providing security for a 7-ton truck."

The two Marines had the chance to eat breakfast together and Michael also showed his brother around the Camp.

This is Michael's second deployment to Iraq and he is pleased how it is working out so far.

"This deployment is going well. We had a smooth change over and now we are setting up to start our mission," he explained.

The North Olmsted High School graduates' family is supportive of their sons' deployment here but would prefer it if they weren't deployed together.

"Our family thinks that what we are doing over here is a great idea, but they wish that we weren't over here at the same time," Brian stated.

According to Michael, having is brother close is a comfort on this deployment.

"I am sure I'll see my brother again. I might be on a convoy to Al-Asad or he might take another convoy here," Michael explained. "It is comforting to know that we are close to each other."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Trail renamed for fallen Marine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Kristophere' Owens
STAFF WRITER

NAPERVILLE - DuPage County Forest Preserve District President Dewey Pierotti said he hopes a trail and footbridge dedicated Monday in Sgt. David Caruso's memory will help others recognize the man's contributions to his community and country.

"Everyone who walks the path will stop by here and have a moment of solitude and will remember a great person, a great human being," Pierotti, R-Addison, said of an engraved stone that sits near a footbridge along the David Caruso Trail at Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville.

Caruso, 25, a Naperville man and a 1998 graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School serving in the Marines, was killed Nov. 9 during a firefight in Fallujah, Iraq. Pierotti led the effort to dedicate the trail and the footbridge after reading newspaper articles about the soldier's death.

Pierotti said what struck him about those stories was the pride Caruso took in caring for the forest preserves when he rebuilt a footbridge and restored a trail near Greene Valley's Thunderbird Youth Camp. Pierotti said Caruso and 15 volunteers logged more than 116 hours doing the work, which served as Caruso's Eagle Scout project.

Caruso and the volunteers had to demolish the old bridge and move two tons of gravel to complete the daunting project, Pierotti said.

Bryan Ross of Naperville, who volunteered on the project, recalled Monday the group worked several eight-hour days in during the summer to construct the bridge, made of timber and old railroad ties.

In the end, Caruso accomplished what he set out to do, Pierotti said. He added that unlike others who might tend to forget about their work, Caruso returned to the bridge to reflect on his accomplishment.

The bridge and restored trail, Pierotti said, represent one of the best efforts done by an Eagle Scout. He said dedicating the trail and bridge was the best way to ensure Caruso will be remembered.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called Caruso a real Marine who was faithful to his family, his country and God. He called the sergeant a true hero who had a big heart.

"Everyone who walks next to nature will see David Caruso," Quinn said. "He's always in our hearts."

Caruso's parents, Joe and Gloria Caruso of Naperville, said they were surprised when they learned of the Forest Preserve District's plans.

"It's an honor that they want to do this," Joe Caruso said after the ceremony.

Joe Caruso told the audience his son couldn't imagine the recognition he has received -' such as the scholarship established in David's name and the memorial that was erected at David's elementary school. The Caruso family also continues to receive countless letters from people who write about how David has affected their lives, Joe Caruso said.

Gloria Caruso said she's always taught her sons that making a difference in one person's life is more important than money or popularity.

"I think his life must have been very successful, at least in our eyes and in the eyes of God," she said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

All work, no horseplay for aircraft recovery specialists
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 200542345658
Story by Sgt. Juan Vara



AL ASAD,Iraq (April 23, 2005) -- It was so hot that even the lizards afraid to leave their holes, regardless the job had to be done and the Marines were determined despite the rising mercury.

They were slightly behind schedule, a sandstorm delayed their progress earlier in the week. So for the next few days time was of the essence. A job needed to get done and they were focused on finishing it.

Stopping only briefly for water and food the work site was a beehive of activity, working as hard and safe as they could until there was no more daylight.

They would have kept working, but the lives of aviators depend on the quality of work put into this project. Missing a few important things due to low visibility was not a risk anyone would take.

The smallest mistake could have set them back a few more hours by having to backtrack to fix the discrepancy or even worse, it could cost somebody’s life.

On the airfield here, Marines from the recovery shop of the expeditionary airfield division of Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 spaced out the expeditionary arresting gear on one of the runways and removed another set of gear from one runway and reinstalled it on a different one.

The first set of expeditionary arresting gear was spaced out to allow wide-body aircraft such as C-5s, C-17s and commercial planes to use that entire runway. While aircraft were able to use the runway before, the new location eliminates even the remote hazard it presented in its old location.

The second set was removed from one runway which is scheduled to be shut down and relocated to another.

According to Staff Sgt. Jason M. Bolyard, project manager and EAF production control chief, the expeditionary arresting gear here is the newest in use by Marine aircraft recovery specialists.

Prior to MWSS-271 coming here, representatives from the Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst, N.J., went to the “Workhorses” home station, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C., and taught the EAF Marines all there is to know about the gear.

“The gear is designed for expeditionary airfields and is mainly here for emergencies,” said Bolyard, a Chillicothe, Ohio, native. “It provides a means of bringing tail hook equipped aircraft to a safe stop whenever normal landing procedures cannot be used, and in case the airfield here is attacked we can repair 4,000 feet of the runway and still have tail hook equipped aircraft land. We wouldn’t need an 8,000-foot runway.”

The EAF warfighters worked for four days braving the blazing sun and a blasting sandstorm but finished the project with a smile on their faces.

It wasn’t easy, but at the end their hard work paid off when a representative from Naval Air Systems Command certified both sets of gear as ready for use.

“They did an outstanding job,” said Johnny Lovell, representative from the Naval Air Systems Command Expeditionary Airfield Service Unit at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz. “This is their third consecutive project and they’ve put in some long hours.”

Lovell, who was requested to come here to certify the gear, worked along the aircraft recovery specialists from start to finish, overseeing the proper installation of the gear and providing technical assistance.

“The Marines did all the work,” said Lovell, a native of Oxon Hill, Md. “They truly are the workhorses of the wing.”


- For more information about the Marines reported on in this story, please contact Sgt. Juan Vara by e-mail at varaj@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil -


Ellie

[thedrifter]

DTAS helps track, account for personnel <br />
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD) <br />
Story Identification #: 20054216930 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (April...

[thedrifter]

MEU transits Suez poised for combat
Submitted by: 26th MEU
Story Identification #: 200542312010
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Mark E. Bradley



ABOARD USS KEARSARGE (April 23, 2005) -- The Marines and Sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) passed through the Suez Canal April 22, marking a significant milestone in MEU’s deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

After spending the first month of its deployment crossing the Atlantic Ocean and operating in the Mediterranean Sea, the 26th MEU (SOC) passed through what many have come to call the “gateway to combat,” entering into U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.
"This is an AOR that is wrought with uncertainty and a full range of challenges and missions that this Marine expeditionary unit is prepared for,” said Col. Thomas F. Qualls, the 26th MEU (SOC) commanding officer.

The MEU is currently in theater reserve status, meaning the Marines and Sailors here could be called to execute a wide variety of tactical missions in support of ongoing or contingency operations.

“The inherent ability of the Marine Expeditionary Unit to be a flexible and adaptable force will certainly come into play,” Qualls said.

Until a mission call is received, the MEU will continue an aggressive schedule that includes unit training and bi-lateral exercises with U.S. allies in the War on Terror.

The significance of the Suez Canal transit was felt at all levels within the MEU as hundreds of Marines and sailors made their way to the outside of the ships to take in the many scenes of the Suez.

"The anticipation that we're actually getting to where we are going is more realistic to me now that we're seeing people and land and sand and dirt,” said an airframes mechanic with HMM-162 (Reinforced).

The more than 2,000 Marines and sailors of the MEU are currently scheduled to remain in Central Command’s AOR for approximately four months before transitioning back to their home base in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

To follow the 26th MEU (SOC) throughout deployment, log onto www.26meu.usmc.mil.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Reserve Marine works hard toward goals
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Story Identification #: 200542591435
Story by Cpl. Christi Prickett



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 25, 2005) -- ‘Whatever your goals are, go after them’ is the motto a Georgia Marine lives by to make himself work harder. The statement has clearly been expressed during his life.

Corporal Earnest K. Appiah left Ghana, Africa, with his parents and six siblings when he was 9 years old. The 28-year-old Appiah adjusted well to the new surroundings but after arriving
in America, he had to learn to speak English.

“I already knew how to speak Nkonya and Twi,” said the reservist currently assigned to Mortuary Affairs, II MEF Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force. “English is my
third language.”

While growing up, Appiah liked to play sports and focused on academics before he graduated Southwest Dekalb High School, Decatur, Ga., in 1996.

Appiah gained citizenship in the United States when he was 18 years old.

After being enrolled in the Platoon Leaders Course to become an officer while attending Georgia State University in 2000, Appiah decided he wanted to see what boot camp was like.
He chose to enlist the Marine Corps Reserves with a six year contract instead.

“I wanted to see what the hype was about Parris Island,” he said. “I think I already had discipline before I went, but I also learned from the experience.”

Appiah worked hard to earn his rank, as he was meritoriously promoted to Corporal in June 2003. He learned a lot about his primary military occupational specialty, administration, while studying for the boards and at reserve weekends.

“I think the trying and failing [on three boards] process allowed me to learn more as a Marine,” he said. “I definitely feel I earned my rank. It wasn’t just given to me.”
Appiah’s first deployment came in February 2005. He said Iraq reminds him of his homeland.

As a Mortuary Affairs specialist, Appiahs job consists of identifying remains of service members, Iraqi civilians and insurgents. Some days are better than others, he said.

“I just try to think about our mission and the families back home, who will be able to see their son or daughter,” he said. “I think about my dad and how I was able to see him before he was buried, and it makes me feel good to know I am helping other families out.”

During down time at work, Appiah is often seen giving classes to the Marines. He covers topics such as financial management, physical fitness and mortuary affairs procedures.

Eligibility for promotion to sergeant is coming up soon for Appiah, and he said he is looking forward to it.

Around his unit, some of the younger Marines refer to him as ‘officer’ or ‘lieutenant’. He said becoming an officer is an option later on down the road but he has his mind set on
becoming a pilot.

“They think I act like an officer,” he said. “I just see myself as a teacher and role model instead. I think that’s what being a sergeant is all about.”

Appiah believes noncommissioned officers should be teaching their Marines right from wrong.

“I tell them they aren’t going to be given anything,” he said. “There are proficiency and conduct marks for a reason. Someone can be great at their MOS but if they can’t be respectful and have initiative, then it will show.”

Appiah changed majors a few times while attending college, but finally decided on and finished his Aviation Management degree. He said the decision spurred from a flight he was on.

“I remember being a passenger on a flight and it was like a light bulb went off,” he said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

He is currently working on his multi-engine license which will bring him closer to becoming a pilot.

“Most people don’t think of pilots being African- American males,” he said, “Plus being a pilot is a strong title. That has pushed me to work harder toward my degree.”

With his love of travel, being a pilot is the perfect career for him to pursue after his reserve contract is over.

“I have been to several different countries like Brazil, Austria and England,” he said. “Traveling is how I witness people and how they live. I also like to see how history has shaped them.”

Appiah makes a trip back to Africa every year for a few different reasons.

“My father, who passed away two years ago, is buried there” said the Lithonia, Ga. native. “Plus, I go to see family.”

Appiah said he is not sure of his future, but whatever happens, he will work hard toward his goal.

“At the end of the day, I am happy with myself because I know I gave 100 percent to my Marines and myself,” he said.

EDITOR’S NOTE
For more information about this article send e-mail to cepaowo@cemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Payday predators <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Gordon Trowbridge and Karen Jowers <br />
Times staff writers <br />
<br />
They line the streets outside every...

[thedrifter]

In Florida, the industry has spent more than $260,000 in the last two election cycles - half of it going to the state Republican party. Republican lawmakers are pushing a bill backed by lenders that would make it harder for borrowers to challenge loan contracts in court, even when the contracts are illegal.

Cash is not the lenders' only political tool. Caskey, the Swarthmore College economist, says payday lending's growth has meant the companies have become more publicity-savvy.

"They're smooth politically," he said. "When a high-profile thing that could hurt them comes up, they quickly respond, 'Let's come up with some guidelines so we don't have this bad publicity.'"

That is just what has happened in the controversy over military customers. Stung by criticism, the Community Financial Services Association issued a set of voluntary "military best practices" for its members, which encourages them not to garnishee military wages or target deployed troops for debt collection.

Those "best practices" were drawn up by an advisory panel formed by the association and made up of retired military officers. It is co-chaired by retired Army Maj. Gen. Steve Siegfried, and its members are paid for the work they do for the association.

In an e-mail response to questions, Siegfried said he has nothing to do with the payday loan business. "I hope they never get another military customer, and CFSA [Community Financial Services Association] knows that," he wrote.

Siegfried said the advisory panel was formed to develop the voluntary "best practices," and noted all its recommendations were adopted verbatim by the payday lender association.

However, Siegfried, another retired general and a retired admiral also have visited the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society to ask the agency to soften its opposition to payday lending, according to society officials. Siegfried also gave a speech to payday lending association members, and has testified for the industry before lawmakers.

Despite intense lobbying, the industry has yet to persuade lawmakers in Georgia and North Carolina to reverse regulations that have made it nearly impossible for payday lenders to operate there under state rules.

State lawmakers in Georgia passed a law in 2004 limiting interest on small loans to 60 percent. Though most people would still consider that high, even this has forced some payday lenders out of business.

"They are not outside the gate any more," said Army Reserve Col. Russ Putnam, deputy staff judge advocate for Fort Stewart, Ga.

But some lenders in Georgia and North Carolina have skirted state rules by taking advantage of looser federal regulations.

When North Carolina's law authorizing payday loans expired in 2001, most lenders closed shop. But state regulators said ACE Cash Express - one of the industry giants - continued to offer loans by partnering with an out-of-state bank.

ACE contends the partnership exempts it from North Carolina law, but the state sued. The case is pending.

Seeking a solution

Social service agencies, legal-assistance offices and others who provide assistance to military communities say they see daily evidence of the industry's ability to dodge tougher regulation.

About 60 percent of the clients Mike Blount counsels for financial problems in the Consumer Credit Counseling Service office at Fort Hood, Texas, have taken out payday loans.

Kosse, in Bremerton, said her office sees someone every week with problems that include payday loans - and those are just the people who choose to share their stories, so they suspect they know about only a small part of the overall problem.

A sailor who came in for help last fall couldn't hide it, however: He had nine payday loans worth more than $5,000, Kosse said.

Like the other military relief societies, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society generally can't lend money specifically for payday loans, but it might try to help with other bills, and look at state laws and regulations that might help clients.

Increasing education efforts by the Defense Department, the services and the relief societies also play a role in stemming the effects of payday lending on troops, said dozens of counselors and others interviewed.

But education can only go so far.

"This requires legislation - federal and state recognition that a civilized society has boundaries," said Putnam, the military attorney at Fort Stewart.

"This is a national, federal problem … it needs to be addressed by Congress," said Abbot, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society president.

The legislation proposed by Graves to cap payday-loan interest rates deserves "rapid consideration and passage," Abbot said, citing a clear need "to control the predatory lending practices which exist."

"There is no issue more important to me."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Options awaiting you to avoid payday loans
By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer

Thinking about taking out a payday loan?

Those who try to help troops mop up the financial trouble they often fall into with such loans say their best piece of advice is this:

Don't do it.

And as Liz Kosse, director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in Bremerton, Wash., said, "Every single storefront payday loan begins with a bad check."

Unfortunately, that advice often will go unheeded by troops on tight budgets who need quick cash but have no credit history, credit cards or access to loans.

However, tests are now ongoing in the military community aimed at offering safer alternatives to off-base payday loans.

Army Emergency Relief is running one such test at six installations.

At Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Riley, Kan.; and Fort Eustis, Va., the relief society has given unit commanders the OK to approve interest-free loans of up to $500 on a case-by-case basis. They generally can be issued the same day they are requested.

"It saves everybody time," said Army Col. Dennis Spiegel, secretary of Army Emergency Relief. "More importantly, it keeps the soldier from going downtown."

He expects the program to be expanded Army-wide this fall.

The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation is testing its own version of the payday loan at Fort Hood, Texas, and Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

Troops who show military ID cards and their most recent pay stub at PFCU offices on those bases can get loans of up to $500 or up to 80 percent of their net pay, whichever is less, for a flat fee of $6.

If a service member can't pay back the loan after two weeks, it can be rolled over for two more weeks for another $6 fee, up to five times a year.

Approval takes about 20 minutes, requires no credit check and is a lot cheaper than any off-base payday lender.

Service members who use these loans commit to a schedule of free financial counseling from a nonprofit credit counseling service.

PFCU spokeswoman Mary Lynn Stevens said there have been no losses so far on loans, and the program will soon expand to other PFCU locations.

Financial experts offer a number of other tips that could help troops avoid the payday-loan debt trap:

• Plan ahead. Try to squeeze even $10 out of each paycheck to build a personal emergency fund to help cover unexpected needs.

• Talk to your bank or credit union about applying for a small loan or credit card to help you build a credit history. When used judiciously, a credit card can help you through a financial pinch. Shop around for credit before you need it to get the cheapest interest rate and lowest fees.

• If you really need a loan, always check with banks or credit unions about your potential eligibility first. If that's not an option, consider borrowing from a relative.

• Know the consequences of your financial choices. What will a loan cost you? Will you be able to pay it off fairly quickly? If not, you may find yourself paying interest on money you don't have.

"If you don't have the money today, you won't have it on payday. And now you have to pay interest on money you don't have," said Army wife Diane Barron.

• Always, before going to a payday lender, explore all other options - visit your unit or installation personal financial readiness counselor, a reputable consumer credit counseling service off base, or your military relief society (Army Emergency Relief at www.aerhq.org, Air Force Aid Society at www.afas.org, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society at www.nmcrs.org). You can also contact Military OneSource at (800) 342-9647 or at www.militaryonesource.com.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Mike McGinty, executive director of Air Force Aid Society, said it is "unfortunate" that troops feel they must turn to payday lenders.

"We're there to help," McGinty said of the relief societies.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

'On every corner'
By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer

For years, the sergeant had counseled his soldiers to avoid payday lenders. Now, he wishes he had taken his own advice.

"I fell into the trap myself before I even realized it," said the Fort Bliss, Texas, soldier, who asked not to be identified. "I'm still swimming in debt."

The cycle began late last year. "I really needed money for some household bills," he said.

It wasn't hard to find a payday lender. "They're on every corner," he said. He picked one, went in and wrote a check for $381. He got $300 in cash; the lender took the $81 in fees - the equivalent of a 704 percent annual interest rate.

"It took 10 minutes," he said.

The lender agreed not to cash his check until the next payday. But the soldier was unable to pay off his loan by then, so he paid another $81 to keep the lender from cashing the check. It snowballed to the point where he was going to other payday lenders for loans to pay the initial lenders.

He's been mired in debt for so long that he has lost track of the total amount he's forked out to payday lenders, he said.

To be sure, not everyone who uses payday loans ends up in these dire straits. An Air Force master sergeant who asked not to be identified recently visited a payday lender near Fort Belvoir, Va., to pay off a $400 debt on time.

The Check Into Cash store, tucked into a suburban shopping center, had a large wall display noting annual percentage interest rates for various loan amounts.

The master sergeant knows his rate was high - a fee of $60 on the $400, equal to an annual interest rate of 182.5 percent.

But it was the best option available, he said. He'd had a family emergency, had to leave town quickly and needed money fast.

"I don't mess with these loans on a regular basis - that interest is too high," said the master sergeant, who has taken out two payday loans in the past year.

This is the type of customer the industry holds up as an example of why its services are needed.

But counselors are seeing more people like the soldier who sank into financial quicksand. Since the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society began tracking data in 2001, it has paid about $1.5 million to help 1,824 clients with money problems directly related to payday loans.

This spring, the soldier found himself falling behind in rent and car payments, which led to trouble putting food on the table for his wife and children.

After falling into debt with payday lenders, "I felt like I was paying a school bully not to beat me up," he said. "I broke down one day and asked my chain of command for help."

Army Emergency Relief helped with some of his other bills so he could start whittling away at the payday loans. And he has talked to a local Consumer Credit Counseling Service representative to work out a long-term solution.

"It took someone to pound into my head that there is no quick fix," he said. "We may be struggling for cash, but we have a plan and ... we're going to be OK."

Setting things right has required him to take a new part-time job four nights a week. Still, now that he's getting out of the hole, he said, "I feel like someone has lifted an anvil off my chest."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Sure shot
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer

Something was unusually distressing about the mortar fire directed at Camp Gannon the morning of April 11. Since leathernecks with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, arrived at the remote post on the Iraqi-Syrian border two months ago, small and random insurgent attacks had been standard fare.

But that day's volley of fire concerned Cpl. Roy Mitros, 22, the sergeant of the guard that morning.

"It was definitely out of the norm," he said, recalling how the four mortar rounds sailed over the base and landed in a tight group inside Syrian territory.

That kind of precision was rare.

But before Mitros, of Huntsville, Ala., could finish reporting his concerns to the command center, an intense, coordinated onslaught began.

Marines at the front of the camp came under heavy fire from mortars and rocket-propelled grenades as two large, explosive-laden trucks barged inside the outer perimeter of the camp and barreled toward its front entrance.

As Marines fended off fire, one lance corporal and his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon were all that stood between the base and two speeding four-wheeled bombs.

Fifteen minutes before the mortar attacks began, Lance Cpl. Joshua Butler, 21, of Altoona, Pa., assumed his post atop an eight-sided tower at the camp's main gate.

In a nearby bunker, a group of Marines including Cpl. Anthony Fink, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, and Lance Cpls. Joe Lampe and Roger Leyton, manned an M240G machine gun. When the assault began, an RPG slammed into the bunker and the men were thrown to the ground as the bunker filled with dust and debris from burst sandbags.

As Fink and the others hit the dirt, a white dump truck packed with explosives was able to roll past their post.

Ahead lay the front entrance - and Butler's guard tower.

Butler opened fire, hammering the truck with 20 to 30 5.56mm rounds before it veered off the road and detonated with a roar, killing the driver about 30 to 40 meters away from Butler and the main gate.

The huge explosion carved a crater into the ground and a wall of white smoke filled the air. Butler was thrown into a wall in the center of the tower, with shrapnel and rubble landing all around him.

The shrapnel broke through the goggles resting atop his helmet but did not pierce the Kevlar. Butler got up to check himself and was amazed that he wasn't hurt.

As he did, a disconcerting rumble came from beyond the wall of smoke, signaling more trouble.

It was a second truck, as loud as a tank, Butler recalled.

"I thought 'I can't believe this is happening again,'" he said.

A second later, a red firetruck plowed through the smoke, speeding toward Butler's position.

"It looked like a movie. It looked like nothing I'd ever seen before," he said.

The Marines had been warned to look out for such a firetruck, and Butler knew immediately what he was seeing. Inside were two men, their faces and heads wrapped in black veils with only their eyes and their hands showing.

Unfazed, Butler went again to his SAW and sprayed 100 to 150 rounds into the truck before it veered off the same path as the dump truck and exploded some 30 meters away from Butler.

"I just held down the trigger on the front of the truck," he said. "I knew what he was doing and it was going to be big. I was just trying to stop him."

The violent explosion would deafen Marines inside the base. The blast blew doors off hinges, stone walls crumbled to the ground, and red pieces of shrapnel rained over the camp. The explosion crumbled parts of Butler's lookout post on the stone tower, leaving him with little cover.

Soon after, a third suicide bomb detonated down the road. Marines with the camp's reaction force arrived as small-arms fire continued, and Mitros sent Butler to be checked out by corpsmen.

Back at Fink's position, the assault continued from multiple directions. His Marines continued to take and return fire before a round from an M203 grenade launcher and then an AT-4 anti-tank guided missile slowed the enemy fire.

The fighting eased when a group of children left a nearby school, Fink said, and insurgents sought cover among the students. But sporadic violence continued throughout the day.

Marines were surprised at how well they fared through the morning. Three casualties were medevaced for minor injuries and returned later, but no one was severely injured despite what Mitros described as an "overwhelming" amount of accurate fire.

"I'm very proud of the guys that were on post. Nobody buckled. Everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do," he said.

"It was a combination of good training and an extraordinarily large amount of luck that day. We all just reacted to what we've been trained to do. Every Marine on that side of base pretty much stood out that day."

Butler, it turned out, was unscathed except for some hearing loss; his hearing was still fading in and out a week later.

"God was watching out for me that day. I don't know how I made it off the post that day," he said in a satellite phone interview April 20.

"I'm good. I just don't really like loud noises anymore."

Marines later discovered that the firetruck was sporting a bullet-proof windshield.

Butler isn't sure if his bullets cracked the glass and hit the driver, but said he believes the driver may have been confused by the smoke of the dump truck explosion, causing him to detonate his explosives early.

Marines said the attack showed an unusual level of sophistication.

"This is the largest one we've seen out here and the most highly organized," Fink said.

"Most of the others were just random mortars and light [AK47] fire."

Marines believe the insurgents used the mortars and RPG attacks to distract leathernecks at other posts so they could get the suicide trucks inside the perimeter of the base.

"It was definitely well-planned, well-laid out," Mitros said.

"They were definitely on target. They were doing a good job. We were very, very fortunate nobody got hurt."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Marines train Georgian military for operations in Iraq
Submitted by: Marine Forces Europe
Story Identification #: 200542634034
Story by Master Gunnery Sgt. Dwaine Roberts



Krtsanisi National Training Center, Georgia (April 23, 2005) -- About 530 Georgian soldiers, clad in new desert camouflage utilities, stood before a large crowd April 23 during the opening ceremony for the Georgian Sustainment and Stability Operations Program.

The 23rd Light Infantry Battalion is just beginning training, and after completion they will deploy to Iraq in support of the U.N. coalition efforts to foster stability and peace. During the ceremony, the Georgian 23rd Light Infantry Battalion formally met its American trainers who arrived here April 11. This new GSSOP training is a follow-on program similar to the Georgian Train and Equip Program that concluded last year.

High ranking Georgian and U.S. dignitaries and military officials attended the opening ceremony at the Krtsanisi National Training Center about 20 kilometers south of Tbilisi. The Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Okruashvili and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles made remarks and praised their joint partnership. Maj. Gen. Jack A. Davis, deputy commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe, and Brig. Gen. Richard P Mills, deputy director of operations, U.S. European Command, also attended the ceremony.

During opening remarks, U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Eric Lehman, GSSOP Task Force commander, told the Georgian soldiers, "The training you are about to begin will challenge you emotionally, mentally and physically. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians will walk with you every step of the way, treating you with the dignity and respect a professional military deserves."

Georgia is strategically critical to ongoing efforts to fight the global war on terror. The continued GSSOP program will assist the Georgian military's effort to provide capable, trained units to sustain their scheduled deployment to Iraq."

Specifically, after completing training, the 23rd Infantry Battalion and other Georgian units will deploy to Iraq in support of the global war on terrorism and Iraqi stability. Georgia is very supportive of the U.S. anti-terrorism efforts and seeks to become familiar with and participate in other UN peace keeping and stability operations.

The GSSOP Joint Task Force is composed of Marine Corps infantry and small arms trainers, a Navy emergency medical training team, Air Force communications technicians, and Army contracting and visual communications experts. British advisors are also helping train and prepare the Georgian military members for deployment.

The 23rd Light Infantry Battalion and other Georgian battalions will soon replace Georgian units already serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The units currently in Iraq were sent to help provide security to the UN mission in Baghdad.

From now through March 2006, various units in the Georgian Armed Forces will receive training in light infantry tactics, brigade level engineer, logistics, reconnaissance, and signal skills, as well as command and control training at the brigade level and above.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

13 cargo handlers charged with stealing Okinawa-bound gifts <br />
<br />
By Laura Bailey <br />
Times staff writer <br />
<br />
<br />
Thirteen civilian cargo handlers at a San Francisco airport were arrested on charges that they...

[thedrifter]

Brooklyn policeman walks Fallujah beat
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Story Identification #: 20054263321
Story by Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 26, 2005) -- “It’s the level of responsibility that gets placed in your hands,” he said in a serious tone. “In the Marine Corps you’re always taught about leadership, and you get the opportunity where a lot of things are put in your hands, and you are expected to mold and shape it. It’s a challenge.”

Responsibility and leadership are two things that come to mind when talking about Sgt. Vernon Siders, mobile training team, Iraqi Security Forces, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Born and raised in the Brevourt projects in Brooklyn, N.Y., Siders is the oldest of four children.

“It’s your typical sob story,” said the 35-year-old reservist. “We grew up without a father in the projects, and just tried to stay out of trouble. It was a rough life. I joined the Marine Corps in ’97 when I was 27 years old. Up to that point in my life, I didn’t have any discipline or commitment to anything. I felt the best way to get on track and get focused would be to join.”

Stationed here since March, Siders works with the Iraqi Police, teaching them the responsibilities of law enforcement.

“The mobile training team was put together to supervise Iraqi policemen when they go out and patrol the town,” he said. “We try to give them pointers on tactics, and show them how a basic police station is operated. It’s like on the job training for them.”

Back home Siders is a police officer with the New York Police Department as a member of the burglary robbery apprehension team.

“In my reserve unit a lot of the Marines are police officers or firefighters so it seemed like the next best thing to do,” Siders said. “In New York the police department and the Marine Corps are very closely knit. They have very good relationships between each other.”

While working as a policeman, Siders was present in New York City as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks unfolded.

“I was just getting off of a midnight shift and I was going home when we heard about the first plane striking the building,” Siders explained. “My reaction was to go right down there. We helped evacuate the people and get some kind of order. That was the longest day of my life.”

When Siders isn’t busy serving his country, he serves as a mentor to teenagers in his community.

“I enjoy working with young people,” he said with a smile. “I’m the acting youth counselor at my church. I help the teenagers get their lives focused on what they want to do. I tell them that if you don’t know what you want to do, there is nothing wrong with joining the military and getting some discipline. From there you can use that as a stepping stone to get to wherever you want to go.”

His influence on the students is evident.

“From my last group of kids three joined the Marine Corps,” he said proudly. “They see how I do things in the church and they like the way I wear the uniform.”

Siders, who has also been a disc jockey for nearly 20 years, reflects on his life and where he might be had he not joined the Marine Corps.

“If I didn’t join the Marine Corps I would either be in the entertainment industry, dead or locked up somewhere because of the people I chose to hang around with,” he said. “The Marine Corps has been a big change in my life. It’s a night and day difference. It’s given me a lot to look forward to and learn from. It’s not for everybody, but it has been a lot for me.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Marines do good in Iraq
Jim Winter
Oregon Observer Editor
OREGON --

The three Oregon natives spent seven months in Iraq as part of a 10-month deployment with the Golf Company, 2nd Batallion, 24th Marines, 4th Division.

?I saw how badly Iraqis live compared to how we live here, how much great stuff we have that they?ll never even see,? Larson said. ?When I got back, problems didn?t seem as big, because we?re not getting shot at, nobody?s dead.?

Larson guarded a main supply route near Lutafiyah, making sure it was free of improvised explosive devices and troops weren?t coming under attack. Larson also performed mortar duty, making sure his forward operating base (FOB) didn?t come under attack. If it did, he returned fire.

Sometimes, Larson went on raids to capture ?bad guys? and send them to Abu Ghraib prison.

Thompson helped set up a FOB at the previous location of an insurgent rest area. His job was to stop the flow of insurgents. When Thompson and Larson arrived in Lutafiyah, the raids were almost constant.

All of the Marines? activities weren?t military. They spent time in cities talking to people, saying hello as part of good relations.

?It was much more personalized than the media reports,? Thompson said.

Graff and 11 other Marines first went to Kalsu, the main operating base for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. For two months, Graff processed detainees, making convoy and helicopter runs to Abu Gharib to drop off detainees and help them finish paperwork.

Eventually, Graff went to Latifiyah, doing presence patrols like Larson and Thompson. He handed out candy to children and participated in good public relations.

?We wanted to show that we?re not just what everyone thinks we are, mercenaries,? Graff said. ?We?re actually human beings.?

After Latifiyah, Graff went to the same main supply route Larson was on. He manned a checkpoint just east of Rashead as a mortarman. His main job was to return mortar fire as the Marines on the supply route had no way of protecting their checkpoints.

Hardships

The company had its share of hardships while in Iraq, none more so than on Nov. 8, when Lance Cpl. Shane O?Donnell, 24; Cpl. Robert P. Barns, 22; and Lance Cpl. Brandon Ramey, 22, were killed by a buried IED just outside of Latifiyah.

?That was a hard day for everyone in Iraq; Nov. 8 sticks out in everyone?s mind,? Larson said.

?We all felt the losses from the company,? Thompson said.

Graff was still in Kalsu guarding detainees on Nov. 8. His first sargent informed everyone of the loss.

?It was a pretty hard hit when that happened,? Graff said. His commander let the troops step away from the detainees for a moment to gather their emotions. ?It was extremely tough not to take it out on the detainees, because you know you probably have some of the guys who had done this in there with you.?

Graff said troops walked to the side, shed a tear, or talked with friends about the good times they had with the deceased Marines. Graff was in Mahmudiyah when Lance Cpl. Ryan Cantafio came to the base for some rest and relaxation. Before leaving for Latifiyah, Graff talked with Cantafio. Two days later, Graff?s platoon sargeant told him Cantafio?s Humvee had been blown up by an IED.

?It was surreal. It was like ?No, that couldn?t have happened. I was just talking to that guy two days ago,?? Graff said. ?He?s gone. Stuff like that is pretty tough to deal with. You just have to look to your other Marines, share the stories and share the grief.?

Victories

Thompson insists there were many more good times than bad in Iraq. Troops spent much of their downtime talking, watching movies or playing cards. Teasing and practical jokes made the environment a little more liveable.

The national media, Thompson said, usually only reported the negatives: how many American soldiers died, how many bombs went off, the accidental killing of Iraqi civilians. Thompson said the Marines did many good things, and Larson, Thompson and Graff all had touching moments.

Larson?s team had a coreman with him. Anyone who had a medical problem and wasn?t able to get to a hospital, the coreman ?fixed them up,? Larson said. The Iraqi citizens learned to trust the Marines. They would provide the troops names of ?bad guys? and food.

?There was this four-year-old boy who had a birth defect of six fingers,? Larson said. ?Everybody in Iraq thought he was evil because of the extra finger.?

The boy?s dad asked the coreman one day to remove the finger. The Marines were the only ones who would talk to the boy. The coreman removed the finger.

?After we removed it, he hated us for about six days because he associated pain with Marines for a while,? Larson said. ?He saw how everyone looked at him after that, and he started to like us.

Thompson was deeply touched the morning of the Iraqi elections. His platoon had set up a base between two Iraqi cities. Thompson spotted a woman, probably in her 80?s, who had said she had seen British rule and the rule of Saddam both pass.

?We saw her walking through our maze you had to get through (to vote) and then walking up to the actual polling station,? Thompson said. ?She was the only woman there, and I found it unbelievably courageous that considering the Muslim culture, she voted.

?It was incredibly moving to see this person defy the past to move her country forward.?

Thompson?s unit also handed out school supplies to children of mud-hut villages.

?We gave this extra stuff we had to the kids so they could learn, so they could advance their future,? Thompson said.

For Graff, his touching moment came from an interaction with a detainee. As Graff was monitoring a line of detainees, one of them stopped and said something to him in his native tongue.

?The interpretor told me he wanted to name his next-born son after me,? Graff said. ?If we?re treating these detainees well enough that we?re respected like that, then the world is a better place.?

Criticism of the war

The Iraqi war has had its critics. Anti-war protestors claim the United States is forcing democracy on a country and is killing many innocent civilians in the process.

?The war isn?t about forcing democracy,? Thompson said. ?It?s about Iraqis? ability to live day-to-day without having to worry about a man coming to their house, taking their husband or their son, torturing him and returning him in a state he wasn?t the same.

?Everybody in the world deserves the opportunity to go to a good school, to have a job to provide for your family, to have a future for their children.?

Larson said the 70 percent turnout at the first free Iraqi election proves Iraqis want a say in their government, that they want democracy.

Graff admits there are a few Iraqis who don?t want democracy, who do ?some really bad things? to their own people.

?The people that I?ve talked to, the parents who see smiles on their kids? faces and see how happy they are, the kids who see the ink stain on their mothers? fingers and know they had a voice, they want democracy,? Graff said.

How the war changed them

Larson, Thompson and Graff all say the war has changed them.

Thompson initially signed the contract to become a Marine when he was 17. He left high school a year early to join, barely 18 years old.

?Before I left, I had my ambitions, but I wasn?t nearly as focused as I am now,? Thompson said. ?When I go to school in the fall, I?ll be able to sit down and knock that paper out, it?ll be easier, because I?ve done harder, and I?ve known worse.?

Thompson said the Marines were sent to the worst places in Iraq. Many of the homes were ?horrible places to live? with trash in the streets, children playing in discarded human waste. Thompson also got to see some of Saddam Hussein?s palaces.

?Those palaces are the exact same as our houses here,? Thompson said. ?It?s no more extravagant. You don?t notice it until you see how horribly these people live. It?s definitely given me perspective on how I?m going to live in the future.?

The living environment also made Graff appreciate what he has.

?I don?t have much to complain about anymore,? Graff said. ?I can?t look at a homework assignment anymore and say, ?Oh, this is horrible. It?s just a sheet of paper that I have to do. It?s not like I?m getting mortared.?

What now?

Thompson wants to not only complete college, but do ?exceptionally well? and live life to the fullest.

?We?re going to live in memory, in respect, in honor of what our fallen brothers have sacrificed for us,? Thompson said.

Graff will also go to college.

?You have to live the best you can. Our four fallen brothers gave up their lives, and they can?t do it anymore,? Graff said. ?You can?t just sit back and be lazy. It would be pointless if you didn?t.?

Larson is so supportive of the war, he plans on ?chopping to a new unit? and going back to Iraq in January.

He will likely go to college for at least a few months.

?I?m going to make sure I don?t take my freedom for granted,? Larson said. ?I?m going to live every day like Rayme, O?Donnell, Barns and Contafio would want me to.?

Ellie

[thedrifter]

FAST Marines fire Baharia range, keep anti-terrorism capabilities sharp and ready
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200542616235
Story by Cpl. Mike Escobar



CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq (April 26, 2005) -- Atrophy is defined as ‘a wasting away, deterioration, or diminution of something due to lack of use.’ It’s a condition Marines in Iraq won’t experience.

Lance Cpl. Brian M. Cloonan, who by trade is a designated marksmen, finds himself deployed to Fallujah to provide security for military convoys.

“As designated marksmen, our mission (normally) is to support security operations,” explained the 20-year-old member of 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion. “If our platoon were to make a hit on a building, we’d be off someplace making sure nobody gets in or out who’s not supposed to.”

The Chino Hills, Calif., further added that FAST Marines act as an anti-terrorism quick reaction force, and are among the first troops to respond to certain international crises.

Marines from 2nd FAST Company were some of the first boots on the ground during Operation Secure Tomorrow, when a task force of Chilean, French, Canadian and American troops helped bring about security and stability to Haiti after former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted Feb. 29.

“It was a platoon from our company that went down to Haiti and secured the embassy,” Cloonan explained.

However, due to the current nature of operations in Iraq, he and fellow designated marksmen are accomplishing missions different from their usual designated marksman tasks.

“Here, we’re doing a lot of convoy security,” the 2003 Ruben S. Ayala High School graduate explained. “Right now, we’re attached to (Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group). We’re all just going out on convoys as drivers, gunners … basically whatever they need us to do.”

As they perform these new tasks, Cloonan’s unit still maintains proficiency in their old ones.

Members of 2nd FAST Company practiced firing their M-14 DMR sniper rifles and adjusting their sights aboard 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment’s range.

“We’re getting a warm weather (battle sight zero) for our rifles,” Cloonan stated. “Last time we BZOed these weapons, it was 30 degrees outside.”

Marines BZO their weapons to ensure their rounds hit where they aim. Differences in breathing patterns, eyesight, and climate affect how the rounds impact the target, so troops fire several shot groups and observe where the rounds impact after each string of fire.

According to Cloonan, a round strikes lower on a target during cold weather firing.

This range also allowed the FAST Marines a chance to re-familiarize themselves with their rifles to maintain their marksmanship skills.

Operational requirements could change at a moment’s notice in the ever-changing world of insurgent warfare, so Marines like Cloonan must keep their skills sharpened to razor-edge perfection.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

State briefs: Marines honor state's first lady with award




Tennessee first lady Andrea Conte received the Marine Corps Leadership Award, recognizing her work in the areas of child abuse and victims' rights.

''The Marines are so strong and confident and so giving in all that they do,'' Conte said in a statement. ''For them to recognize me in this way, it's truly humbling.''

The leadership award is presented annually to a Tennessean whose leadership in the community, professional achievements and personal standards reflect the Marine Corps' values of honor, courage and commitment.

Past recipients include Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher.

The first lady recently completed a 600-mile walk across Tennessee, raising funds for Tennessee child-advocacy centers. Conte's work includes serving as co-chairwoman of the First Families Council, a national effort to promote the advocacy centers. She also founded and is president of You Have the Power ... Know How to Use It, a nonprofit organization that provides programs and information about preventable crimes.

— Associated Press

Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/4 completes third successful joint operation
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005427115344
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr.



Fallujah, IRAQ (April 07, 2005) -- As dawn broke over the southern half of Fallujah, the usual sight of moving cars and rushing people was replaced by tanks, concertina wire, Iraqi soldiers and Marines.

In the early hours of April 7, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment kicked off Operation Block Party here.

More than 100 Marines, side-by-side with three companies of Iraqi soldiers, cordoned and searched a targeted area of the city.

“We built obstacles and established barriers to control traffic around the area being searched,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher F. Robinson, 28-year-old platoon guide for the combat engineers attached to the battalion.

When security was in place, the combined force began searching for weapons, contraband and anti-Iraqi forces.

Teams of Marines and Iraqi soldiers moved from house to house, thoroughly searching the dwellings, sweeping yards with metal detectors and speaking with the citizens.

Despite the inconvenience and strong military presence, the citizens involved were supportive of the joint force.

“The people are very cooperative,” said Capt. Sean K. Butler, 36-year-old future operations officer for the battalion, “They want to see the insurgents out of their area, so they’re actively working with us to identify anti-Iraqi forces.”

During the 12-hour operation, the combined force captured nine suspected members of anti-Iraqi forces. They also discovered three different weapons caches containing numerous rifles, a medium machine gun, more than 400 rounds of ammunition, rocket propelled grenade launchers, hand grenades, improvised explosive device materials and anti-Coalition propaganda.

Although the captured weapons and contraband is considerably less than the amount found in the battalion’s two previous operations, the mission was considered a success.

“We got in early and interdicted before anti-Iraqi forces could acquire a great deal of weaponry,” explained Butler, a native of Mt. Shasta, Calif., “We hit two different groups of terrorists with this operation.”

Operation Block Party marks the first offensive operation inside the city’s borders since 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment arrived here from Camp Pendleton, Calif. Their previous two operations were conducted in the outlying peninsula.

Pushing forward with their goal of disrupting anti-Iraqi forces and stabilizing the city of Fallujah, the battalion will continue to conduct combined-offensive operations with the Iraqi Security Forces.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/4 gets a new group of truckers <br />
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 200542762620 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (March 15, 2005) -- As the...

[thedrifter]

Marine still burns to protect his men
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By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, April 28, 2005

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq - Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Slattery saw the face of his would-be killer.

That face now is seared into his mind, just like the hot piece of shrapnel from a roadside bomb that burned into his left arm Tuesday afternoon.

Slattery saw the man. He saw the trigger device in the man's hand. He didn't see the bomb.

"I wasn't scared. It ****ed me off. ****ed off was my first reaction," Slattery said Wednesday while recovering at a field hospital near Fallujah.

Slattery, leader of 5th Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, knew something was not right when he spotted the orange-and-white Iraqi taxi creeping along Main Service Road Michigan about 4 p.m. Tuesday. Usually the taxis zip up and down the highway.

Then, he noticed a man standing on the side of the road. At first, there was nothing unusual about the man, clad in a red-and-white checkered headscarf and traditional long-sleeved, white garment that goes to the ankles.

But the man had something in his hand.

Slattery pointed, wanting to alert the track commander and the driver of the Amphibious Assault Vehicle to what he'd spotted. But before he could utter any words into the radio, an explosion went off.

"I instantly lost all feeling in my arm," Slattery said. "Then once I was able to move my fingers, there was this extreme burning in my arm."

Just a day earlier, during a nine-hour patrol along the same stretch of highway, Slattery spoke of memorizing everything about the 25 miles of MSR Michigan that he and his Marines patrol every day.

"Most of it is just instinct," the 31-year-old Marine from Marshfield, Mass., had said about spotting the bad guy. "You have to think like them. If you see a bag on the road, you think, 'Yeah, I'd use that [to plant an explosive].'"

Any casualty stuns the Marines, said 1st Lt. Richard Lee, the executive officer of Weapons Company.

"The first thing that comes to mind is the severity of the injury. Is the Marine still alive? That's the number one issue," Lee said. "Then it's about reaction. Every Marine wants to help. We're all ready to be the hero."

Sometimes they have to sit back in the rear and just wait to hear about a Marine's status, one of the hardest things to do, he said.

At least they are in the same country and the same time zone.

Slattery's wife, Anne, is back home in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Slattery said when he called her late Tuesday night Iraq time to recount the events, she began to cry, fearing the worst. She didn't believe it was only his left arm that was injured.

The injury is not severe enough to remove Slattery from Iraq. He'll remain hospitalized for about a week and then return to his unit.

"I'd rather it was me than one of my guys," said Slattery, still groggy from the anesthesia that put him under earlier in the morning so doctors could scrape out remaining shrapnel from the wound.

"If it hit them, then I'd really be ticked off."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Combat veteran can't find work in town <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Dorsey Kindler <br />
St. Helena Star <br />
April 28, 2005 <br />
<br />
At 26-years of age,...

[thedrifter]

Marine: Money talks in Fallujah
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By FREDA R. SAVANA
The Intelligencer

Maj. Jeffrey P. Lipson doesn't sugarcoat the problems his civil affairs unit faced when it worked in Fallujah. There were immense cultural differences, language barriers and often fierce disagreement about why the American military was in Iraq.

But, he said, money often made things better.

"Business in Iraq is all about kickbacks," Lipson told the Warrington Rotary Club on Wednesday morning. Getting things built - and keeping them from being destroyed - depends on paying the right people.

Shortly after the Marines helped build a $100,000 fire hall, Lipson said it was blown up. "The local sheik was angry about who got the bid." To help smooth things over, he was paid $10,000.

"His honor was satisfied," Lipson told the 20 or so Rotary members who seemed rather surprised to hear the story.

Because money carried such sway, it was handed out frequently. Lipson said he had a 21-year-old lance corporal walk around the city streets with $1 million in cash in his backpack to pass out as needed.

Lipson, whose specialty is communications, said despite the difficulties, much good was done during his months in the beleaguered city.

Citing the opening of schools - for the first time girls were admitted - and the rebuilding of hospitals, Lipson said the United States was instrumental in creating a better Iraq.

"The single greatest thing we did was allow them to have a free and open election."

Norm Leventhal, a Rotary member who invited Lipson, said he was looking for a speaker who could talk about the "positive" things being done in Iraq.

"All we hear about are the negatives," he said. While acknowledging that "it's not a pretty picture," Leventhal said, "I know they're repairing electric grids, opening schools and doing things for the Iraqi people - and at great risk to themselves."

Freda R. Savana can be reached at (215) 345-3061 or fsavana@phillyBurbs.com.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/4 Marine turns life around in Corps
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005427113327
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr.



FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 27, 2005) -- Nothing would change his mind. Not the pleas of his parents nor the challenges that lay ahead.

Something had to change and he knew just how to do it.

Lance Cpl. Manuel Frias, a 23-year-old squad automatic weapon gunner with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, was not always the meritorious Marine he is today.

A high school drop-out at the age of 17, Frias spent nearly five years in his hometown of Los Angeles, Calif., working dead end jobs and partying.

“I wasn’t going anywhere,” Frias said, “I was becoming fat, lazy. I was totally indecisive.”

Time dragged on for Frias as one job replaced another: grocery store bagger, gas station attendant, cashier.

During the 40 or more hours he worked in a week, Frias attended continuation school in an attempt to salvage his education; but, like his work, the schools came and went.

“I started at one continuation school, then stopped, later started another,” Frias explained, “Then I turned 18 and had to start attending an adult continuation school…”

Realizing the pattern, Frias looked to find a way to turn his life around and get back on track.

It didn’t take him long to remember an idea he had struggled over shortly after dropping out of high school.

“I had been thinking about joining the Marines around the time I dropped out. I just didn’t,” Frias said.

With renewed purpose, Frias set out to enlist in the Marine Corps.

“I thought it was a good place for me to be,” Frias said.

Frias attended and graduated from Westchester Emerson Adult School early in 2004. Following is graduation he joined the Marine Corps in July of the same year.

Since then, Frias has been meritoriously promoted to lance corporal and has deployed here with his current battalion in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“The Marine Corps has made me physically and mentally stronger, more disciplined and showed me how to help myself,” Frias said.

According to Frias, he is the first Marine in his family and has won over his previously skeptical, now proud parents.

He is appreciative of the changes instilled by the Marine Corps and proud of his service as a Marine.

“Not everyone can say they’ve done what I have,” Frias said. “We’re here helping these people.”

His battalion operates in Fallujah to stabilize and secure the once terrorist ridden city for the citizens of Iraq.

Frias has completed three months in Fallujah, and is scheduled to return to the states by August.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Only regret was leaving the Marines <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Jan Jonas <br />
Tribune Columnist <br />
April 28, 2005 <br />
<br />
Barbara Winslow is a Marine....

[thedrifter]

Sergeant Apologizes For Attack <br />
Associated Press <br />
April 28, 2005 <br />
<br />
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An Army sergeant convicted of murdering two officers in a grenade attack on his comrades in Kuwait quietly...

[thedrifter]

Military releases photos of coffins
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon, under pressure from open-government advocates, released hundreds of images Thursday of flag-draped coffins of American soldiers.

The Pentagon had previously refused to release such images, which were taken by military photographers.

Nor has it allowed the news media to photograph ceremonies of soldiers' coffins arriving in the United States, saying it is enforcing a policy installed in 1991 to respect the privacy of families of dead soldiers.

The pictures were released in response to a request for all military photos of caskets containing the remains of American soldiers taken since the U.S. launched its attack on Afghanistan in October 2001.

Some critics have contended the government is trying to hide the human cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon provided most of the images without context, so it was unclear where and when they were taken and whom they portrayed.

Most of the photographs showed soldiers carrying or saluting flag-draped coffins. Some of the labeled pictures were of remains of the Columbia space shuttle astronauts, military accidents around the world and deceased veterans of previous wars, while signs in the background of a few pictures identified their location as Afghanistan.

The military obscured the faces and identifying badges of many of the soldiers pictured in the ceremonies. A Pentagon spokesman said the pictures were edited out of privacy concerns.

The photographs were released in response to a Freedom of Information request and lawsuit by Ralph Begleiter, a professor at the University of Delaware and a former correspondent for CNN.

IRAQ DEVELOPMENTS

n Iraq's National Assembly approved the country's first democratically elected government, a Shiite-dominated body that excludes the Sunni minority from meaningful positions and could hamper efforts to dampen the deadly insurgency.

n A military jury at Fort Bragg, N.C., sentenced Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar to death for killing two officers in a grenade attack in Kuwait - murders for which the defendant apologized in a barely audible courtroom statement.

n Prime Minister Tony Blair made public the secret legal advice he received less than two weeks before ordering British troops into Iraq. The advice from Lord Peter Goldsmith, Britain's attorney general, concluded there was a "reasonable case" an invasion would be legal due to Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. resolutions, although parts of the memo argued against its legality.

n The Iraqi National Assembly mourned the death of colleague Lamia Abed Khadouri Sakri who was shot to death by unknown assailants outside her Baghdad home.

n Italy might not endorse U.S. findings on the shooting death of an Italian agent by American forces at a checkpoint last month in Iraq, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said. The report absolved its soldiers of blame in the March 4 shooting.

n Two Marines testifying at Camp Lejune, N.C., on behalf of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees, praised him as a model leader who showed compassion for Iraqis.

n Ansar al-Sunnah Army, an Iraqi militant group, claimed to have shot dead six Sudanese truck drivers whom it kidnapped.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Soldier Sentenced to Death for Grenade Attack <br />
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS <br />
<br />
FORT BRAGG, N.C., April 28 (AP) - A military jury sentenced an Army sergeant to death Thursday for a grenade and rifle...

[thedrifter]

Marine speaks up about Iraq
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Michael Fitzgerald
Record Columnist
Published Friday, April 29, 2005

U.S. Marine Sgt. Jose Galvan Jr., who returned from Iraq on Monday, rose from a table in the downtown Starbucks as I arrived.

"Mr. Fitzgerald? I wore the uniform to help" -- to help me identify him, said Galvan, 27, shaking hands.

There was no trouble identifying him. Hair cut extremely close on top, shaved on the sides. Dress blue slacks, sharp-pressed, with red leg stripes. Black shoes, cruelly polished.

The combat action ribbon he earned in Fallujah.

We sat. The Marine looked at me directly with level brown eyes. "I believe they (meaning the media) are just reporting more in the negative than they are on the positive and giving the American people a bad idea about what's happening out there."

Galvan wanted to share some of his experiences with Iraqis. "They (his superior officers) told us to treat 'em with dignity and respect."

After the battle for Fallujah was over, Galvan led daily foot patrols into the city, 12 Marines and four Iraqis, armed with M14-A4s. Also candy bars and gifts mailed them by Americans.

Nine out of 10 Iraqis were cordial, Galvan said. Iraqis, "always do this," he said, giving a thumb up. "Yes, America! Yes, Bush! Yes, Marines!" Most help locate insurgents.

Admittedly, not all. "There was a guy who hated us. We're on patrol, and he's giving us mean stares. We stopped to ask him, What's your problem?' He said the Americans killed his family."

Galvan went to the man's home. Inspecting spent rounds strewn around the bullet-pocked house, Galvan pointed out they were 762 mm -- bullets from the AK-47s wielded by the insurgents, not the 556 mm rounds fired from American M-16s.

"He went from hating us to opening up to us and giving us information," Galvan said.

That is typical, Galvan said. Firefights and casualties, though widely reported, were exceptions. Equally important are military humanitarian efforts set up in Fallujah's park, give-aways of food, blankets, supplies.

Galvan was candid about civilian casualties, which many Americans assume turn Iraqis rabidly against the U.S.

When insurgents fire from buildings, "We're responding with overwhelming fire and we're probably killing more people than we need to." But many Iraqis blame the insurgents for that.

"The way it gets twisted," Galvan said, "we're targeting innocent civilians. We're not."

The insurgents are Islamic extremists from Pakistan to Chechnya, and just as foreign to Fallujans as Americans, Galvan said. Fallujans are "tired of insurgents in the city. They just want to go on with their lives."

Galvan talked about giving Iraqi kids Snickers and soccer balls. The kids scampered back one day. They said strange men had moved into the neighborhood, talking about attacking Americans.

America is winning militarily but is in a pitched battle for Iraqi and world opinion, partly because these important little victories never get reported, Galvan said.

He's probably right. If there's a car bombing in Stockton and the opening of a new school on the same day, there's little doubt which story would get biggest play. It's no different with Iraq.

It's liberal media bias, in Galvan's opinion. He's entitled to it.

Write Fitzgerald at P.O. Box 900, Stockton, CA 95201; phone (209) 546-8270; fax (209) 547-8186; or e-mail michaelf@recordnet.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Court-martial opens for Marine <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Fred Zimmerman, Stars and Stripes <br />
Pacific edition, Friday, April 29, 2005 <br />
...

[thedrifter]

Army officer acquitted of raping soldier in her barracks roo <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Samira Jafari <br />
ASSOCIATED PRESS <br />
4:17 a.m. April...

[thedrifter]

3/4 monitors population from B.A.T. cave
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20054278179
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr.



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 26, 2005) -- In an effort to quell recent attacks, Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment are pinpointing military-aged males for a population study.

Marines spend the day sorting through a long line of Fallujah citizens waiting to enter one of four entry control points (ECP) run by the battalion.

Most pass through the ECP without delay, showing their newly issued identification cards. Those without I.D. are escorted inside the compound to be questioned and given their new pass to the city.

"If all they have are the Iraqi ID's, they go to the B.A.T. cave," said Cpl. Travis E. Bennett, 23-year-old squad leader for Weapons Company and native of Mount Vernon, Oreg.

The small wooden building known as the B.A.T. cave is home to the Biometrics Automated Toolset, which Marines use to identify military aged males entering the city.

The B.A.T. facility processes more than 200 citizens a day for entry into the city. That's more than 10% of the daily rush of people, according to Bennett.

Thumb-printing, iris scans and personal information are submitted to an FBI database. This information is also used by Marine and Iraqi coalition forces within the city.

The information aids the battalion by providing a quick means of identification of citizens caught committing crimes, according to Maj. Matt O. Watt, the 33-year-old operations officer for the battalion.

"If we detain someone on the street with no I.D., we can scan their eyes or take their fingerprints to find out who they are," said Staff Sgt. Shay J. Heary, the 29-year-old 1st section leader for Weapons Co. and native of Genesee, Idaho.

After providing the information required for the database, citizens are issued a paper I.D. for entrance into the city and guided through the ECP.

All citizens who receive ID's this way, or already have proper identification, gain access through the entry control points without problems. For those citizens who don't take the proper steps, access is quickly denied.

"If they have no ID at all, they're turned away," Bennett said. "We also catch a lot of fake IDs."

The B.A.T. is just another weapon in the fight for Iraqi freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. As Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment continue the fight, insurgents have one more thing to worry about, according to Bennett.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

3/4's new engineers take over
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200542765712
Story by Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr.



CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (March 19, 2005) -- When 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, Regimental Combat Team-1, began their recent deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, they we're supported by a veteran platoon of combat engineers who assisted the battalion in many ways.

But on March 17, the tour of 1st Platoon, Charlie Co., 4th Combat Engineer Battalion ended, and 3rd Platoon, Delta Co. stepped in to fill their large shoes.

The combat engineers of 3rd Platoon, arrived aboard Camp Mercury, Iraq, March 11, to get settled into their new home.

The experienced Marines of the battalion began showing the new platoon around as soon as they arrived.

"We started taking them out on (Improvised Explosive Device) sweeps and familiarizing them with the area," said Gunnery Sgt. Dewayne E. Walters, the 35-year-old platoon sergeant for 1st Platoon. "After a few trips out, we let them lead the sweeps and attached to their teams to give advice."

The Marines of 3rd platoon, all hailing from Tennessee, learned a lot from their predecessors before taking the lead March 17.

"Charlie Company definitely helped us out," said Lance Cpl. David R. Sharp, a 23-year-old combat engineer and driver for 3rd platoon. "They passed on a lot of experience and knowledge."

Combat engineers contribute to the battalion in a variety of areas including force protection, IED detection and weapons cache discovery, according to Walters, a native of Richmond, Virg.

The Marines of 3rd platoon believe their contributions won't just benefit the Marines of the battalion, but the people of Fallujah as well.

"We're creating a safer environment for the people by removing IED's and (unexploded ordnance)," explained Gunnery Sgt. Doug I. Rines, the platoon sergeant for 3rd platoon.

A few of the Marines forming the new combat engineer platoon have experience from Operation Desert Storm, but none of them have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom before, according to the 35-year-old Morristown, Tenn., native.

Despite the lack of OIF experience, the leaders of the new engineers remain confident and optimistic about their time with the battalion.

"I feel we can adapt very quickly, and the Marines are trained well," Rines said, "...and there is a battalion of Marines around us with experience we can draw from."

The younger Marines of the platoon share Rines' enthusiasm, showing an eagerness to begin work in the city.

"I'm ready to get started and do my part," said Sharp, a native of Fairview, Tenn., "I don't know what to expect from our time here, but I'm ready to do something."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Ex-Marine Guilty Of Murdering Two Fellow Marines
Prosecutor Says Murders Result Of Drug Deal Gone Bad

POSTED: 6:27 pm PDT April 28, 2005
UPDATED: 6:47 pm PDT April 28, 2005

JOSHUA TREE, Calif. -- A former Marine has been convicted of the murder of two fellow Marines in Joshua Tree.

A prosecutor says Vernon Walker was found guilty today of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of arson, and special circumstances of multiple murder.

Walker was accused of shooting and killing Julio Vargas and Angel Wathan in Rancho Cucamonga in 2003.

Prosecutors say Walker's friend and fellow Marine, Demetrius McClendon, had set up a fake drug deal and that he and Walker killed the other Marines for drugs. Prosecutors say they then put the bodies in Wathan's car, drove it to Twentynine Palms and set it on fire.

McClendon was convicted earlier and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Walker could receive life in prison when he is sentenced June 24.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines Receive Hero's Welcome From Indiana Pen Pals
Students Wrote To Marines Stationed In Iraq

POSTED: 7:40 pm CDT April 28, 2005
UPDATED: 9:00 pm CDT April 28, 2005

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. -- Students in Rhonda Kostelik's sixth-grade class at Washington Elementary School have had a special connection to a group of Marines stationed in Iraq for the past 5½ months.

On Thursday, the two groups met, NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski reported. The Marines, members of the 2nd battalion 24th Marines were welcomed like rock stars, complete with patriotic readings and the Marine Corps Hymn.

The students wrote to the Marines, asking questions about their life in Iraq.

"Did he have any kids or did he have a wife," Andre Thurmond asked.

"What kind of equipment did they use, what kind of animals did they see, and what did they do in their free time," Destiny Presnell asked.

The letters they received in return were filled with pictures and firsthand descriptions, and became the core of Kostelnik's current events curriculum.

"I was really appreciative of this because this is better than any published social studies book," she said.

The letters came to life when the Marines visited the school -- and Kostelik's class.

"I just want to thank everybody for writing letters and sending us stuff," said Lance Cpl. Alvarado. "It really helped a lot."

The correspondence stopped for a couple of weeks in January after four of the Marines were injured in an attack. They recovered and then began writing to the sixth-graders again.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

What Went Right
How the U.S. began to quell the insurgency in Iraq



EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece appears in the May 9th, 2005, issue
of National Review.

"Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them." — T. E. Lawrence
It is time to say it unequivocally: We are winning in Iraq.

If current trends continue, our counter-insurgent campaign in Iraq will be fit to be mentioned in
the same breath as the British victory over a Communist insurgency in Malaysia in the 1950s, a
textbook example of this form of war. Our counterinsurgency has gone through the same stages as
that of the Brits five decades ago: confusion in the initial reaction to the insurgency, followed by a
long period of adjustment, and finally the slow but steady erosion of the insurgency's military and
political base. Even as there has been a steady diet of bad news about Iraq in the media over the last
year, even as some hawks have bailed on the war in despair, even as Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld
has become everyone's whipping boy, the U.S. military has been regaining the strategic upper hand.

This doesn't mean the war couldn't still go wrong. "It's not over," says a top officer in Iraq. A key
assassination, continued Sunni rejectionism, an inter-sectarian explosion, or something unforeseen —
all could still derail us in Iraq. Nor does it mean that our effort is perfect. "I give us a B minus," says
an administration official, a tough grader who is nonetheless an optimist. But it does mean that as of
mid-April 2005 we are winning, just as surely as we were losing in the darkest days of the dual
radical-Shia and radical-Sunni uprisings a year ago.

The basic approach of the Pentagon to the insurgency was right from the beginning. "The strategy
was always political as well as military," says a Pentagon official. A counterinsurgency is never
about simply killing enemy fighters the way it is — or at least seems — on a conventional battlefield.
Insurgents have an endless capacity to replicate themselves, unless political conditions are created
that drain them of support. If top policymakers always knew that intellectually, we have had to
stumble our way to finding the correct ways to act on the insight.

Based on conversations with administration officials and key combatant commanders, this is the
story of how, two years after the fall of Saddam, the U.S. has begun to win the war for Iraq . .


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine unit comes face-to-face with Iraq's dangers
Platoon leader injured in roadside bomb attack near Fallujah

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, April 28, 2005


CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Slattery saw the face of his would-be killer.

That face now is seared into his mind, just like the hot piece of shrapnel from a roadside bomb that burned into his left arm Tuesday afternoon.

Slattery saw the man. He saw the trigger device in the man’s hand. He didn’t see the bomb.

“I wasn’t scared. It ****ed me off. ****ed off was my first reaction,” Slattery said Wednesday while recovering at a field hospital near Fallujah.

Slattery, leader of 5th Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, knew something was not right when he spotted the orange-and-white Iraqi taxi creeping along Main Service Road Michigan about 4 p.m. Tuesday. Usually the taxis zip up and down the highway.

Then, he noticed a man standing on the side of the road. At first, there was nothing unusual about the man, clad in a red-and-white checkered headscarf and traditional long-sleeved, white garment that goes to the ankles.

But the man had something in his hand.

Slattery pointed, wanting to alert the track commander and the driver of the Amphibious Assault Vehicle to what he’d spotted. But before he could utter any words into the radio, an explosion went off.

“I instantly lost all feeling in my arm,” Slattery said. “Then once I was able to move my fingers, there was this extreme burning in my arm.”

Just a day earlier, during a nine-hour patrol along the same stretch of highway, Slattery spoke of memorizing everything about the 25 miles of MSR Michigan that he and his Marines patrol every day.

“Most of it is just instinct,” the 31-year-old Marine from Marshfield, Mass., had said about spotting the bad guy. “You have to think like them. If you see a bag on the road, you think, ‘Yeah, I’d use that [to plant an explosive].’”

Any casualty stuns the Marines, said 1st Lt. Richard Lee, the executive officer of Weapons Company.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the severity of the injury. Is the Marine still alive? That’s the number one issue,” Lee said. “Then it’s about reaction. Every Marine wants to help. We’re all ready to be the hero.”

Sometimes they have to sit back in the rear and just wait to hear about a Marine’s status, one of the hardest things to do, he said.

At least they are in the same country and the same time zone.

Slattery’s wife, Anne, is back home in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Slattery said when he called her late Tuesday night Iraq time to recount the events, she began to cry, fearing the worst. She didn’t believe it was only his left arm that was injured.

The injury is not severe enough to remove Slattery from Iraq. He’ll remain hospitalized for about a week and then return to his unit.

“I’d rather it was me than one of my guys,” said Slattery, still groggy from the anesthesia that put him under earlier in the morning so doctors could scrape out remaining shrapnel from the wound.

“If it hit them, then I’d really be ticked off.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Even mortars can't break up this fire team
Submitted by: 2nd Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 200542722138
Story by Cpl. C.J. Yard



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (April 27, 2005) -- “We just heard a boom and saw a flash of light,” said Pfc. Gregory Fino, a 24-year-old reservist from Pittsburgh. “Everybody’s nose and mouth started bleeding from the shock waves. It felt like hot water running down my face.”

With II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in control of operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06, Marine reserve units from across the United States are being called upon to fight alongside active-duty Marines in the Global War on Terrorism.

Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, are spending their days in Iraq at Forward Operating Base, Camp Hit.

“Being at the FOB makes you understand what you’ve got at home,” said Pfc. Shane P. Ott, a New Castle, Pa., resident. “It’s not maltreatment; it just makes you appreciate what you’ve got.”

“We’re allotted nine liters of water a day for hygiene,” added Fino. “We don’t take showers everyday out there, but we’ve got bunk beds and mattresses so nobody is complaining. At least we’re not sleeping on dirt floors and we’ve got hot food for breakfast and dinner.”

The Marines at Camp Hit eat Meals, Ready-to-Eat for lunch.

“From what I’ve been told, things have drastically improved at Camp Hit,” said Fino. “I was told that Marines were eating MREs three times a day out here until recently.”

When the fire team of five Marines, which Ott and Fino belong to, were conducting cordon and knock operations in the city of Hit, Iraq, this week they came under attack from insurgents firing mortar rounds.

“I never thought we would be hit by a mortar,” said Ott, a 19-year-old New Castle, Pa., native. “We’ve heard about it; we just hadn’t seen it. You can’t do anything about mines, Improvised Explosive Devices or mortar attacks. It’s something you know could just happen.”

The fire team, comprised of Cpl. Michael Pasquarelli, a North Huntington, Pa. native and fire-team leader, Lance Cpl. Gregory Candelario of Cabins, W.Va., and Pfcs. Adam McCann, who hails from Cleveland, Ott and Fino, are all infantry riflemen.

The Marines of the fire team have become a very close-knit family, according to Fino and Ott.

“We’re always playing jokes on each other,” said Ott. “I’ve only been with the unit since December, but we’re all basically each other’s best friends. If we’re going somewhere on base it is always the entire fire team going.”

The Marines were walking back to their Amtracs recently after finding rifles and 155mm artillery rounds when the mortars hit the ground between the Marines and their Amtracs. Pasquarelli dragged McCann into one of the Amtracs and then directed the attention of the rest of the Marines and corpsman to his team, who were seeking cover in a garage.

“It was almost like the movies…” said Fino. “Everyone thought they had shrapnel in their face, but it was just from the nose bleeds. Once we figured out what happened, we just took off running to find cover. Then another mortar round hit in pretty much the same spot.”

“Every Marine is a rifleman;” is the creed the Marine Corps has lived by since its inception in 1775. Due to current conditions in the world, an even newer creed has been adopted by the Corps; “Every Marine is a Combat Lifesaver.”

“We’ve all been given CLS classes,” said Fino. “There are designated CLS Marines, but we all know basic first aid. When we were being treated, Corporal Pasquarelli was wrapping up Marines and even one of the sergeants was in there giving first aid.”

“We knew what it was that hit the ground in the city,” said the 19-year-old Ott. It was really good the way we reacted. We could have been ambushed at any time while we were being treated at the site. I kept my [Squad Automatic Weapon] next to me the entire time. I wanted to make sure if we were ambushed I could take care of my fellow Marines.”

Except for Pasquarelli, the remaining four of the Marines were evacuated from the city to the Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon here. Three of which had to endure surgery to remove shrapnel, some still undecided as to whether the shrapnel will stay inside the Marines’ bodies, or if the SSTP will be able to remove it without doing any further damage.

“Candelario got hit the worst,” said Fino. “We could just tell because he wasn’t talking to [me and Ott]. When the [corpsman] came in I told him to treat somebody else because I knew I was going to be okay.”

“He came over to me and I told him to treat Candelario,” said Ott. “He wasn’t talking so we knew instantly something was wrong.

“The worst part of taking cover in that garage was there were three Iraqi guys in there,” continued Ott. “They were smiling and laughing at us. Once I pointed my SAW at them they ran off, but I kept an eye on them because I didn’t trust them.”

Trust is the most important quality Marines need to maintain with one another in a fire team. Not only do the Marines in a fire team rely on each other on the battlefield, but for motivation, moral support and someone to talk to in times of need.

“We keep each other motivated,” said Ott. “I mean, even after all of this, we’re all still upbeat because we’re all together. We’re not sure if we’re going to go home, but for right now we’re all together, except Corporal Pasquarelli. He is back at the FOB. If you had talked to any of us back at the FOB and the other three were wounded and here, it would be totally different.”

While back at the FOB, thinking of home, talking to families and spending time together keeps these Marines from becoming caught up in the doldrums of war.

“We usually spend time at the internet and phone centers talking to our families,” said Ott, speaking of daily activities before the explosion.

“Well, that or thinking about going home,” said Fino. “I know we’ve only been here for a little over a month, but being here you appreciate everything at home even more. I miss my family and girlfriend.”

The Marines are thankful to be alive and gave credit to the Sailors of the SSTP.

“The medical staff here is fantastic,” said Ott. “They had two docs up all night to make sure we were okay. They didn’t sleep at all.”

“And the corpsmen did a great job during the attack,” added Fino. “The entire team out there was awesome. Security was set up so the corpsmen could do their job and we were all safe. The Medevac getting us here was really fast. We realize that we were fortunate, but it was something we knew was possible going into the city.”

Fino continued, “It feels good knowing there are corpsmen and a medical staff here to take care of us and get us back into the fight.”

For more information about the Marines or news reported in this story, please contact by e-mail yardcj@cssemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

90 days in country, 3/8 remains successful
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200542811740
Story by Lance Cpl. Athanasios L. Genos



CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 28, 2005) -- Marines with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, continue to provide a strong presence here after 90 days of counter-insurgency operations.

These operations consist of searching for weapons and insurgent propaganda, rooting out suspected insurgent operatives and rebuilding the local community through civil-military programs.

Together with the Iraqi Security Forces, the battalion conducts counter-insurgency operations to neutralize the insurgents and establish a secure environment within which political, social, and economical progress is possible.

"We have been conducting combined operations with the Iraqi Security Forces since our arrival, starting with the elections of the Iraqi Transitional Government,” explained Lt. Col. Stephen Neary, commander of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

In addition to neutralizing the insurgency, the battalion works daily with the ISF to better facilitate a future turn over of responsibility.

“One of our primary goals is to turn over some of the towns we are currently patrolling together to the ISF,” explained Neary.

Another aspect of turning over the operational responsibility to the ISF is the establishment of better health care, schools, public works, fire fighting capability and a new police force. To do this the battalion utilizes civil affairs programs to compliment military, political and economical operations.

These programs are run by Marines with the 5th Civil Affairs Group here in direct support of the battalion. As they determine what projects, such as rebuilding a school, need to be done, they then contract the work to local Iraqi businessmen.

“We are here to help fix problems by finding solutions and implementing those solutions by hiring Iraqi’s to complete the needed work,” explained Maj. Mark Fuller, Team 2’s commander, Detachment 2, 5th CAG.

Over the past 90 days, the battalion’s operations have uncovered various small and large weapons caches; consisting of Surface-to-Air-Missiles, mortars, missile launchers, RPGs, pistols, rifles, machine guns and ammunition. These caches were either hidden in buildings or buried so they could be recovered for future attacks on the Marines and Multi-National Coalition Forces.

Thus far, 78 weapons caches have been uncovered resulting in the confiscation of 263 small arms weapons, 52 improvised explosive devices, 16,928 rounds of unexploded ordnance (14.5 mm or larger) and tens of thousands of 7.62 mm rounds for small and medium machine guns.

“The current insurgency is desperate but tenacious; finding these caches make it much more difficult for them to harm U.S. Forces or innocent civilians,” explained Sgt. Abel Rojas, a Marine from the intelligence section.

For these and other operations conducted here, the Marines and sailors with the battalion have earned 43 meritorious masts, 36 certificates of commendations and 64 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. There are still numerous other awards for valor and bravery currently awaiting approval and the battalion’s deployment is still a long way from its conclusion.

“Everyone likes to hear, ‘job well done’ or ‘thank you for going above and beyond or being selfless.’ We must recognize the best America has to offer,” explained Neary.

During a recent awards formation, Neary talked about commitment to excellence and the need to focus on the basics.

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” he said while encouraging the Marines to not get complacent over the next couple of months. “This, my men, is the time to shift to overdrive so you remain the hunter not the hunted.”

As Task Force 3/8 shifts into overdrive, they continue pushing forward in their mission to provide a stable, secure environment here for Iraq’s people and for the economy to flourish.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Okinawa Marine drug case goes to jury <br />
By Fred Zimmerman, Stars and Stripes <br />
Pacific edition, Saturday, April 30, 2005 <br />
<br />
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa - The fate of a Marine accused of leading a Camp Hansen...

[thedrifter]

Sent to me by Mark aka The Fontman

Haiti experience serves Marines in Iraq well
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, April 29, 2005

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq - When the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment deployed to Haiti last year, some of the junior Marines lamented that they were the "forgotten battalion," seemingly overlooked while their brethren sustained casualties in the "real war" in Iraq.

But now that the unit is in Iraq - on the outskirts of Fallujah - the Haiti deployment is viewed as a blessing in disguise. Haiti provided the perfect on-the-job training, said Master Sgt. Stewart Stout, 39, a 19-year veteran who is the operations chief for 3-8 Marine's Weapons Company.

"Haiti pushed us in the OTJ. It really did prepare us for this place," Stout said of Iraq. "We didn't come here with an inexperienced crew."

Last year, the battalion's scheduled deployment to Iraq, set for late summer, was postponed because of the impromptu deployment to Haiti in late February 2004 to quell the uprising following the ouster of former President Jean Betrand-Aristide.

When interviewed in Haiti, 1st Sgt. Tory Kitchen said his Marines' heads weren't focused on the mission. They worried more about what was going on at home in Camp Lejeune, N.C., problems with girlfriends, wives, children, money - and less on the gangs who took potshots at the Marines patrolling the capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.

"People weren't getting blown up in Haiti," Kitchen said this week in Iraq. "They are here. There is no time to goof off here. Not that there was in Haiti, but the consequences of complacency here are much higher because of the fact that here, with ... suicide bombers and the roadside bombs, there's no room for error. None."

"Every day is like the Super Bowl here," Kitchen said, "and we have to be ready every time we set foot outside of the confines of the camp."

Now Marines such as Lance Cpl. Kyle Dudding, an anti-tank guided missleman and all of 19 years old, have two combat deployments to call his own.

"In Haiti, we learned to operate in an urban environment, how to handle crowds, how to maneuver in cities," Dudding said. "But the mindset here is different. Here, we keep our eyes open a lot more than in Haiti."

Sgt. Mike Haddle, 25, said Haiti helped refine 3-8's "three-block warfare" concept.

"In Haiti, we could be operating in an area doing humanitarian aid and medical assistance, be in another area where there was rioting, while in another block, there was an all out warfare," he said.

"That prepared us for here. The [Jan. 30] elections is a good example. That was a good thing, while on the other side of town, there were … mortar attacks and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) attacks on our units. We handled it all," said Haddle, the platoon sergeant for battalion commander Lt. Col. Stephan Neary's personal security detachment.

Gunnery Sgt. Jeff Dagenhart, 35, platoon leader, has been hit by four roadside bombs since arriving in Iraq in late January. One of them sent shrapnel into his right leg. His buddy, Gunnery Sgt. Robert Bailey, 32, has encountered four as well.

As of Thursday, 137 improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have hit the five platoons of Weapons Company alone. Weapons Company primarily runs the security of the combined 50-some miles of two main service roads, Mobile and Michigan, having driven 13,500 miles each in the nearly four months here.

"Some of the younger Marines felt we were shortchanged last year, and especially when we were in Okinawa [in 2003] and all the focus was on Iraq," Bailey said. "But I personally don't think we've been forgotten at all."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Ohio’s thinnest Marine returns home
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005426132619
Story by Lance Cpl. Marc Fencil



HADITHA, Iraq (April 26, 2005) -- Third Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment briefly added a new Marine to their rolls here March 27.

Lance Cpl. Flat Stanley, hailing from Valley View Elementary in Wadsworth, Ohio, checked in with Lt. Col. Lionel Urquhart, the battalion commander, and was promptly assigned to L Company.

The new Marine’s demeanor was magnetic according to Urquhart.

“Flat Stanley was well liked by our Marines and sailors. During his time in Iraq, he never complained. His endurance was remarkable. No matter what hour of the day, Flat Stanley never appeared to be tired,” said Urquhart.

"Furthermore, no one could accuse Flat Stanley of being unfair. He treated everyone the same, regardless if the person was a private or a lieutenant colonel,” he added.

After checking in, the new Marine was issued paper digital utilities, boots, and an M-16A4 service rifle.

“Most Marines come to my supply warehouse asking for bigger gear than what they really need because they want the highest level of protection in combat. Lance Corporal Stanley demanded the smallest flak vest we had,” said Sgt. Jeff Starr, the unit's supply chief with.

According to Starr, this wasn’t the first time he had met Stanley.

The 1997 graduate of Austintown Fitch High School said, “My company received a Flat Stanley from some kids when I was stationed in Stüttgart, Germany in 2000. We took him everywhere with us. He saw Octoberfest, skiing in the Swiss Alps, and even a few dance clubs. He was a big hit with the German girls”, added the Ohio native.

A boy in Mr. Snyder’s first grade class drew Stanley. Jackson Rush drew his rendition of Flat Stanley after the class read the 1964 children’s classic of the same title.

“Flat Stanley” is a children’s book by Jeff Brown about a make-believe boy who gets flattened to the size of a piece of paper when a bulletin board falls on him one night while he is sleeping. He wakes up and travels the globe in his altered physical state in search of adventure and peril.

Mr. Snyder’s students each made a drawing and mailed them to schools around the world. This particular Wadsworth, Ohio, native answered the call to duty to become one of the few and proud.

A journal page was added to Stanley’s record book so when he returns to his class, he will have proof of his adventures.

Stanley integrated into 2nd Platoon, L Company, as a rifleman during a recent operation targeting insurgents residing in villages along the banks of the Euphrates River.

He was on deck for less than a day when it became quite apparent that he was a celebrity. The Marines of L Company, who are based out of Columbus, Ohio, all wanted to have their photos taken with him.

“I vividly remember reading the book when I was little,” said Cpl. Justin G. Leach, a rifleman with L Company. “I really wanted a picture with him, but unfortunately I was out on a combat mission while Flat Stanley was relaxing back at the dam,” continued the 23-year-old 1999 Thomas-Worthington High School graduate.

With his tour here at an end, Stanley was seen packing his bags for Wadsworth and should arrive home within three or four weeks. Though he was here only a short time, the Marines of L Company were sad to see him go.

“Of course nobody is asking kids to support a war one way or another, but we feel a lot better knowing that they stand behind the troops by doing stuff like this,” said Pfc. Michael J. Strahle, a rifleman with the 1st platoon, L Company.

“He’s just a paper doll, but we had fun taking him out and to be honest, I’m a little jealous that he gets to go home so early”, added the 20-year-old Bryan, Ohio, native.

Stanley fared well during his short tour of duty, earning a combat action ribbon, the usual campaign medals, and a meritorious mast for motivating the Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.

While he returned from combat unharmed, Flat Stanley received of a Purple Heart for a paper cut he sustained after he was stuffed into an envelope for his journey back home to Valley View Elementary.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

April 29, 2005

Corps to expand
recon community

By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer


The Corps wants you to go recon, especially now that a massive manpower reorganization has opened more opportunities in the community.
An April 25 Corpswide message encourages eligible sergeants and below to apply for a lateral move into the reconnaissance man (0321) military occupational specialty.

The Corps plans to add three new reconnaissance companies and two new force reconnaissance platoons following recommendations by the Force Structure Review Group, which developed a plan for reshaping the Corps to better meet the needs of the war on terrorism.

Some combat and combat-support units will be deactivated and the manpower will be reallocated to newly created units. By reallocating about 6,000 billets in 80 occupational fields throughout the Corps’ active and Reserve forces, as well as privatizing 1,600 others, Corps officials want to extend the time units spend at home between deployments by supplementing its number of trigger pullers.

The reconnaissance field is staffed at roughly 70 percent of its authorized personnel, according to statistics provided by Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va. In an effort to retain experienced recon Marines while attracting newcomers, the Corps is offering bonuses for those who re-enlist or transfer into the field for their second, third or fourth enlistment. However, bonuses are not payable until the lat-mover completes the Basic Reconnaissance Course.

Marines approved for a lateral move will receive orders to a reconnaissance unit where they will join a Reconnaissance Marines Awaiting Training Platoon, and then prepare for the basic course.

To be eligible, Marines must have:

• General Technical score of at least 105.

• First-class swim qualification.

• First-class physical fitness test score.

• Normal color vision and near visual acuity.

• Eligibility for a secret clearance.

They must also be free of physical impairments that keep them from prolonged training in salt-water or field operations.

The screening process involves verification of the qualifications and an additional swim test that includes 30 minutes of treading water, the recovery of a rubber rifle from a minimum depth of 10 feet, and a timed 500-meter swim demonstrating proper stroke techniques.

Marines lacking a first-class swim qualification will be able to improve their proficiency while assigned to the RMAT platoon. Those who do not meet the 105 GT prerequisite are encouraged to retake the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.

To request a lateral move, Marines should consult their unit’s career retention specialist. See MarAdmin 192/05 for more information.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

East Fallujah Iraqi Camp provides base for Iraqi units
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Story Identification #: 2005427104619
Story by Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan



EAST FALLUJAH IRAQI CAMP, IRAQ (April 22, 2005) -- Just across Camp Fallujah’s east wall is a compound known to few Marines and visited by even fewer. Although it is unfamiliar to many, it supports a mission integral to the success of the Iraqi army and Iraqi public order brigades.

The compound is known as the East Fallujah Iraqi Camp, and it serves many functions aiding in the progress of the reconstruction process for the city of Fallujah.

“The EFIC began in November of 2004 as a 60-day temporary camp for units that were working in Fallujah,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Sanders, assistant commandant, EFIC, “but it’s still here now.”

According to Sanders, the EFIC supports between 4,000 to 5,000 Iraqi army soldiers and policemen from the city of Fallujah and surrounding areas.

“The EFIC is a base that supports the Iraqi army in Fallujah and the Iraqi public order brigades, which are basically heavy duty police units, cops with AK-47s,” said Sanders, a Fort Collins, Colo., native. “We provide them with a secure rest area, training area and we feed them and get the supplies they need to them.”

Along with supporting three Iraqi tenant units assigned to the EFIC, advanced screening and an advanced school for the army is held aboard the camp.

“We do screening for the guys who want to become a Fallujah city policeman,” said Sanders. “We get about150 every two weeks. We check their paperwork, give them a physical and make them run a PFT [physical fitness test].

“They also send the soldiers here for a finishing school. After recruit training, the soldiers come here and get assigned to one of the units. They run them through about a three-week course teaching them marksmanship, small unit tactics, checkpoint tactics and other things like that. It’s basically like MCT [Marine Combat Training].”

Making sure the Iraqi army and police units get trained and have a secure base to work out of are very important, according to Sanders.

“It does a lot of good having the EFIC,” he said. “It keeps a lot of Americans from having to be in the city of Fallujah. We have about 5,000 Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets of Fallujah, instead of having Marines out there.

“The soldiers out there are doing alright. They are all motivated and they have pretty high morale,” Sanders added.

Iraqi army Maj. Husam Kadhum Hayawi, operations officer, EFIC, emphasizes the importance of the American-Iraqi partnership at the EFIC.

“We are very thankful for the Marines and the help they have given us,” he said. “They have helped us build a new army. When the Americans need the Iraqis’ help in the future, we will be ready to help them.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Portland medic ‘had to be there’
Aaron Kent’s family comes to grips with his death in Iraq
By BEN JACKLET Issue date: Fri, Apr 29, 2005
The Tribune
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Aaron Kent enlisted in the U.S. Navy, the last thing he expected to be doing was patching up wounded Marines in the urban war zone of Fallujah, Iraq.
But that’s the job he ended up with, and his father, Gary Kent of North Portland, said he never complained about it. “His words were: He had to be there for his Marines.”
Aaron Kent, a 28-year-old Navy medic born and raised in Portland, was killed Saturday when an improvised bomb exploded beneath the Humvee he was traveling in.
His sacrifice will be recognized in a military ceremony Wednesday at Willamette National Cemetery in Southeast Portland.
Kent, a graduate of Roosevelt High School, worked short-term jobs with Wacker Siltronic and the American Red Cross before signing up for the Navy in 2002. He returned to Portland for a brief leave last winter after completing a tour in Afghanistan, then shipped off for Camp Baharia, two miles south of Fallujah.
Gary Kent, an environmental engineering technician at Wacker who served in Vietnam, said he was “deeply honored” to hear condolences from Gov. Ted Kulongoski and many of his son’s friends. At the same time, he said he is having trouble accepting what has happened.
“It all seems like a bad dream,” he said.
Aaron Kent’s mother, Lara Byrns, broke into tears several times as she recalled her son’s descriptions of his experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq. She said the poverty Kent saw in both countries distressed him, and he often went out of his way to treat village kids who had no access to health care.
“He was very moral,” she said. “He loved Portland, and he loved his family. He was very proud of where he came from.”
His parents said Kent always had a knack for making people laugh, but he became a quieter person after experiencing some disturbing things in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan did change him,” Byrns said. “He was more subdued, more thoughtful.”
Gary Kent spent a night earlier this week reminiscing about his son with about 10 of Aaron’s closest friends. “They sat with me until 1:30 in the morning,” he said. “It was very therapeutic for me.”
Aaron Kent’s red 1995 Mustang still is parked in front of his parents’ home on North Bowdoin Street. Inside, they have built a shrine of flowers, cards and photographs, as well as the boots that he wore in Afghanistan. There also is a painting of a medic pulling a wounded soldier off the battlefield.
As a Navy corpsman, Kent served as a battlefield emergency medical technician. The Marines he accompanied on patrol referred to him as “Doc.” He carried surgical tape and bandages — along with his M-16.
His father, a veteran of the 101st Airborne Division, said the date April 21 always held a strong meaning for him because that was the day he was wounded in Vietnam in 1968.
“I never said anything to anybody about this, but in my mind and in my soul I just felt that if Aaron could get past the 21st, he’d be OK,” he said. “He died on the 23rd.”
Aaron Kent’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the New Hope Community Church, 11731 S.E. Stevens Road. The ceremony at Willamette National Cemetery will follow.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

N.Y. Parade Commitee donates $11,000 to Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund <br />
Submitted by: 1st Marine Corps District <br />
Story Identification #: 20054269240 <br />
Story by Cpl. Wil Acosta <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
First Marine...

[thedrifter]

MAG-16 outlasts Challenge competition
Submitted by: MCAS Miramar
Story Identification #: 2005427181025
Story by Cpl. Jonathan K. Teslevich



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (April 26, 2005) -- Ten Marines with Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, won the 2005 Miramar Challenge Cup April 22, an event that raised approximately $3,000 for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Fund Drive.

"The Miramar Challenge was an extremely successful event," said Col. Michael F. Brooker, fund drive coordinator, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. "It was conceived as a base-wide decathlon, with events containing a mixture of military and athletic skills, that would run over five days, with each team's $200 entry fee donated to the NMCRS."

Fifteen teams representing units across Miramar swam, shot, crawled, ran, ducked and dodged through a variety of events at locations around the station.

Each team included at least two members over age 35, two 20-years-old and younger and one female participant. Every team member had to compete in at least one, but not more than two, of the eight individual events.

The individual events were golf, bowling, homerun derby, marksmanship, horseshoes, physical fitness test, combat swim and basketball skills. Teams earned points in ascending order with one point for 1st, two for 2nd, three for 3rd, etc. for each event. The lowest overall score won the championship.

Going into April 22's team competition in the relay race and combat dodgeball, the Marines with MAG-16 held a slim lead over the rest of the field.

As they did all week long in the individual events, MAG-16 ran, pulled up and pushed up, before crossing the finish line together with the best time of the day.

The team effort clinched the Challenge Cup for the exhausted members of the winning squad, but the day was not done.

The most hyped-up event of the Cup still remained, and although ownership of the prize had been decided, bragging rights were definitely up for grabs as the teams walked through the gates of the basketball courts adjacent to Miramar Field #2.

Combat dodgeball was a double-elimination tournament based on National Dodgeball Association official rules.

With balls zipping past heads and roars from hundreds of waiting players and supporters, the teams attempted to bombard each other off the court. In an unlikely turn of events, the last place Marines with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, MCAS Miramar, discovered their defining event. The H&HS team dominated the competition throughout and took home what many Marines agreed was the most sought after hardware.

"It was fun competing in the dodgeball tournament; it was definitely the event people wanted to win," said Lance Cpl. Randy P. Sorensen, an administrative clerk with H&HS. "It took a lot of teamwork and perseverance to win it all."

Despite the grumbling of the losing teams, the Challenge was a success, according to Brooker.
"My favorite events were the combat swim, relay race and combat dodgeball. They are not things Marines normally do and, particularly the last two, generated a lot of competitive spirit and unit pride, which was the true focus of the Miramar Challenge Cup."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

From the rear to the front: MSSG-13 hones combat skills
Submitted by: 13th MEU
Story Identification #: 200542915499
Story by Sgt. Charles Moore



MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT TRAINING CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif (April 29, 2005) -- Marines from MEU Service Support Group 13, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit left their tactical vehicles to hone their infantry skills here, as they practiced dismounting their vehicles and assaulting, through trenches, on a fire and movement course.

The live-fire course teaches small units the fire-and-maneuver basics. It also challenges its participants to attack fortified positions, like trenches and bunkers.

“It’s not part of a traditional (Force Service Support Group) training package,” said 1st Lt. Ryan L. Miller, transportation support officer, MSSG-13.

Major Mark P. Ganotti, a “coyote,” or Marine who teaches and supervises at RCAX, added that the range, built eight months ago, was designed specifically for non-infantry units. He said the addition was in response to the trend that support line units are increasingly moving to the front lines. The course’s main objective, however, is to reiterate the Marines' basic infantry skills they may have to use fighting the Global War on Terrorism.

“It goes over all the fundamentals,” he said. “If you can fire and move, you can do anything.”

As this was a live-fire training event, the Marines spent several hours rehearsing their techniques prior to running through the range by using rock mazes to orient their fire teams with each objective.

“The 'pucker factor' was up a little bit, but we’d done our prep work,” Miller said. “It was time to do the real thing.”

As the Convoy was ambushed, the Marines quickly exited their vehicles and found cover, while both platoons returned fire. They pushed through a barrage of suppressive fires towards the objective. Once they reached the trenches, they threw simulated grenades and assaulted through.

Lance Corporal Ryan Graika, longshoreman, said the hardest part was “trying to get into a position” that provided cover, while still maintaining the ability to return fire.

“It’s kind of a reality check,” said Graika. “With the live rounds, you’ve really got to pay attention to those around you.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Former Marine/bank robber gets 5 years
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Steve Silverman
ssilverman@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- A federal judge on Friday said the gunpoint robbery of a Saybrook bank was "one heartbeat removed from murder" as he sentenced a former U.S. Marine to more than five years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm imposed a 64-month term on Landon Maupin of Bloomington. The hour-long hearing included Maupin's emotional plea for leniency and his mother's testimony about his history of substance abuse and mental problems.

Prosecutors also played a surveillance video of the Sept. 14 heist of Dewey State Bank. The video showed a man disguised in bandanna enter the bank and pull the slide back on a handgun, which he frantically waved at employees who were forced to crawl into a vault.

The gun was loaded, and Mihm emphasized that an unexpected development or accidental slip of Maupin's trigger finger could have led to a fatal shooting.

"This was a terribly violent act," the judge said.

Maupin apologized to the bank employees and expressed deep remorse before he was sentenced.

"I'm not a criminal," he said. "I want to bounce back from this and do whatever I can to redeem myself."

According to court records, Maupin made off with more than $16,000 in the robbery. Witnesses saw him drive off in a red car and police obtained his license plate number.

Maupin reportedly turned himself in after he was confronted by a family member.

Maupin, 22, enlisted in the U.S. Marines after graduating from high school, but he was kicked out after failing a drug test.

His mother, Deana Maupin, said her son had major problems adjusting to civilian life after returning home. She said he had sobbing episodes, accumulated heavy debt and spent time in an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment program. Then came the bank robbery.

"It's been a nightmare, I can't believe it," she said.

A psychological evaluation reportedly showed Landon Maupin had symptoms of depression and anti-personality disorder. His attorney, Rob Alvarado, said Maupin's mental problems must have triggered the bank robbery.

The judge acknowledged that Maupin has a history of emotional difficulties that may have worsened after getting thrown out of the Marines. But he also noted that the motive for the robbery was money to pay debts, partly because Maupin had incurred heavy gambling losses.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

McReynolds honored for support of Marines
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Linda McIntosh
COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
April 30, 2005

CAMP PENDLETON - Call her Grandma, or a fairy godmother. Sidonia McReynolds has taken many Marine families under her wings.

She wants them to have it better than her husband did when he first came to the base as a young Naval Academy graduate in 1943.

"He told me how poor they were. They had to make their own furniture," McReynolds said.

Furniture is just one of the things McReynolds collects for Marines living in San Onofre housing at the northern end of the base.

For Thanksgiving, she collected 750 turkeys and 1,020 pies for Marines. At Christmas, she gave out thousands of donated toys, and at Easter, more than 1,300 baskets full of gifts and candy.

Year-round, McReynolds collects everything from food, clothing and diapers to strollers, cribs and car seats, items that are on the wish lists of the families she serves.

McReynolds works with volunteers in a nonprofit group she founded, Friends of San Onofre Marines.

"She is the heart, muscle and body of that group," said Carmen Carlisle, volunteer program manager on base.

For her efforts, McReynolds was named 2005 Camp Pendleton Volunteer of the Year at volunteer recognition ceremony on base last week.

"We couldn't do any of this without the community," McReynolds said.

The group depends on donations from churches, civic groups, businesses and schools, mostly in southern Orange County, where McReynolds lives.

McReynolds runs the group with a board of nine volunteers, including her husband, retired Lt. Col. William McReynolds, who served in the Marines for 20 years.

She started the group in 2002 when Camp Pendleton Marines were being deployed to Afghanistan.

"We wanted to help families through rough times, especially when one spouse is deployed and the other is left behind to cope alone," McReynolds said.

For a while, the group had a small storage unit where they stocked food, diapers and supplies, and that became a meeting place for Marine wives.

"They could talk and solve some of their problems," McReynolds said.

During deployments to Iraq, McReynolds wanted to reach more San Onofre families.

She organized Christmas parties, picnics and baby showers for expectant moms.

For injured Marines on base, she collected slippers, sweat pants, socks and toiletries along with magazines and computer games.

On Tuesdays, she brings donated bread and bakery goods to the San Onofre Community Center.

"If somebody comes up to her and says they need something, she says, 'Don't worry. I'll be there,'" said Marisol Longoria, office administrator at the San Onofre Community Center.

"She'll do anything to help, day or night. You can see she puts her heart into it."

For information about the Friends of San Onofre Marines, call McReynolds at (949) 369-9929 or write to: P.O. Box 73661, San Clemente, CA, 92673-0123.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Female Reservist to Plead Guilty <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
By Richard A. Serrano <br />
LA Times Staff Writer <br />
April 30, 2005 <br />
<br />
WASHINGTON — Pfc....

[thedrifter]

Miramar Marines learn to call for fire
Submitted by: MCAS Miramar
Story Identification #: 2005427185810
Story by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (April 25, 2005) -- Marines from Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, received valuable "ground side" training when they participated as forward observers for a simulated artillery range at the Target Set, Fire Observation trainer aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., April 21 and 22.

The aviation Marines from Miramar took part in the evolution to give themselves another tactical advantage in a combat situation against an enemy.

"The Target Set, Fire Observation (training) is used to give the (trainee) a basic understanding of call for fire on all indirect fire weapons, to include mortars and artillery," said Master Sgt. Martin L. Trujillo, ground-training chief, MAG-11. "This is to
ensure that (rounds) can be placed on target by any Marine that has the knowledge to do so."

Calling for fire is just one aspect of the warfighting skills that Trujillo believes should be incorporated more widely across the Marine Corps.

"My background is infantry and this is a skill, I believe, all Marines should have," said Trujillo. "Several units I've been with previously used this training to enhance our skills. Most Marines in the aviation community don't know that (the training exists). It gives that enlisted Marine the opportunity to see what they have available to them."

TSFO training is one more skill that gives Marines the ability to save the lives of both themselves and their fellow Marines if the situation ever arose in combat.

"It is important during this day and age because most Marines do not know what type of situation they are going to come across," said Trujillo. "Especially now, with aviation Marines providing security on outposts and learning weapon systems that they've never operated before.

"Now, they are understanding the bigger picture and seeing, with facilities like this, a layered approach that they can complete the mission," the Thornton, Colo., native added. "It is one more tool in their toolbox to prepare themselves and fellow Marines to be a combat factor on the battlefield."

However, the training provides Marines with other intangibles.

"I think, overall, it gives the Marines the confidence that when they go into harm's way and even though (calling for fire) may not be their job, they can apply it to protect themselves and their fellow Marines," said Sgt. Robert L. Rodriguez, weapons instructor, combined arms staff trainer, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. "You never know when you're going to have to do your job as a rifleman outside your primary (military occupation specialty)."

"I know with anything in life, the more you know about it the more confident you feel about doing it," concluded Rodriguez. "I also know that in basic call for fire you can save your whole squad and their lives. Every Marine is a rifleman and this is a basic rifleman's skill, which is why it is important for them to learn it."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Current and former basketball stars visit wounded troops


BETHESDA, Maryland Wounded troops in the Washington, D-C area have been spending time with some well known athletes today.

Current and former stars from professional basketball spent part of the day with soldiers and Marines at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. They then moved on to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The troops they visited are recovering from injuries suffered in Iraq.

N-B-A legend Bob Lanier says visiting those who've done so much for the country is the least they can do. Brevin Knight of the Charlotte Bobcats says he draws inspiration from the wounded troops who still find reasons to smile while they recover from injuries.

The players signed autographs and took photos with the troops around a replica of the N-B-A championship trophy.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

April 29, 2005
Celebrating the Month of the Military Child Children and Domestic Violence


by National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
Special to Henderson Hall News


In recent years, increased attention has been focused on children who may be impacted by violence in the home, either as direct victims or as witnesses to domestic violence. Although mandatory reporting laws have been the primary means for protecting abused and neglected children, many States now provide additional protection for children in their domestic violence laws.

Defining Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can be defined generally as "a pattern of assault and/or coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as economic coercion, that adults use against their intimate partners to gain power and control in that relationship."1 All jurisdictions in the United States have laws that define domestic or family violence. In some States, domestic violence is defined broadly with terms such as "abuse," "harassment," "threats of harm," or "intimidation." In other States, the definition can include more specific behaviors such as burglary, criminal trespass, arson, sexual assault, or violation of a protective order. The persons protected by domestic violence laws can include spouses or former spouses, persons who live or have lived together or have a dating relationship, or other family or household members.

Approximately2 40 States,3 the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico include children as a class of protected persons in some way within their definitions of domestic violence. Most commonly, a child who is a member of the household or a child of either adult in the relationship is protected by the law. Five States (Arizona, Hawaii, Ohio, Utah, and Vermont) include child abuse in their definition of domestic violence. Four States (Arizona, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington) specifically include grandchildren as protected persons, and three States (Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) include foster children.

Exceptions

A small number of States provide exceptions for certain acts in their definitions of domestic violence. The most common exception, in seven States and Guam, is for acts of self-defense. Guam also exempts defense of others, and Delaware and Louisiana exempt acts committed in defense of a child. Three States (Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland) provide an exception for reasonable acts of discipline of a child. Verbal abuse or argument is exempted by Connecticut.

Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence

Research shows that even when children are not the direct targets of violence in the home, witnessing the occurrence of such violence can harm them. The witnessing of domestic violence can be auditory, visual, or inferred, including cases in which the child witnesses the aftermath of violence, such as cuts, bruises, or broken limbs. Children who witness domestic violence can suffer severe emotional and developmental difficulties similar to children who are the direct victims of abuse. The legal system is beginning to recognize the need to protect and care for these children. Approximately 20 States and Puerto Rico have enacted legislation that specifically includes children who witness domestic violence as a class of persons in need of legal protection.

A child is a witness to domestic violence when an act that is defined as domestic violence is committed in the presence of or witnessed by the child. In some States, the definition goes no further than that. In other States, the definition is more specific, stating that witnessing by a child occurs when the offender commits the violence "in the physical presence of the child or knowing that the child is present and can see or hear" the act of violence. Washington uses the language "within sight or sound of victim's or offender's children." Ohio law states that witnessing occurs when the domestic violence is committed "in the vicinity of a child," meaning within 30 feet or within the same residential unit occupied by the child, regardless of whether the child is actually present or can actually see the commission of the offense. Minnesota includes chronic and severe use of alcohol or a controlled substance by a parent as part of the definition of "exposed to domestic violence."

Legal Responses

In many States, a conviction of domestic violence committed in the presence of a child may result in harsher penalties. Thus, when the presence of a child during domestic violence is considered to be "aggravating circumstances," sentencing guidelines in most States mandate that such aggravating circumstances result in a harsher criminal penalty, such as a longer jail or prison term or an increased fine. Approximately eight States include committing an act of domestic violence in the presence of a child as an aggravating circumstance. An additional seven States and Puerto Rico provide for enhanced penalties when domestic violence is committed in the presence of a child.

Illinois and Nevada both require perpetrators of domestic violence to pay for any counseling that a child victim may require. In Delaware, committing domestic violence in the presence of a child is considered an act of child endangerment. In Georgia, it is considered cruelty to children. Indiana requires a noncustodial parent who is convicted of domestic violence in the presence of a child to have visitation with the child supervised for at least 1 year and not more than 2 years following the act of domestic violence.

For more information contact Marine & Family Services Counseling Services Center at 703-614-7204.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Six U.S. Marines Killed in Iraq in Two Days
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAST UPDATE: 4/30/2005 10:15:07 AM
United Press International

Six American Marines were killed in bombing attacks in Iraq during a 48-hour period, the U.S. Army said Saturday.

Officials in a statement said four American troops were killed and two others were injured when an explosive-laden truck blew up Thursday in Tallafar, 242 miles north of Baghdad.

Two more Marines were reportedly killed by a grenade Friday near al-Deira, in Baghdad.

Iraqi security sources said two people were killed Saturday when a mortar grenade fell into a residential area in Mosul, 280 miles north of Baghdad. Five other people were injured in Mosul in a separate incident involving a booby-trapped car.

Earlier, the Qatar-based al-Jazeera media group said two civilians were killed and 10 others wounded by a bomb explosion targeting a joint Iraqi-U.S. military patrol in the Zayuna district of eastern Baghdad. One of the victims was a child.

Another car exploded near a U.S. military convoy in the capital, but no casualties were immediately reported.

Officials confirmed the 12 car bombs that exploded Friday in the capital killed at least 40 people and injured 100 others.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

He's Safe at Home
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By LEE DIEKEMPER
Tampa Bay Tribune correspondent
Published: May 1, 2005

CLEARWATER - Not too long ago, Danny Eylward was a good first baseman on a very good high school baseball team.

Playing for Clearwater High in 2001, Eylward and his teammates were the last Clearwater team to play in the state high school baseball tournament.

Too often, people use military metaphors in sports ``slanguage'': The game's a ``war,'' a ``battle'' between ``real enemies.''

People who use such phrases don't know the true meaning of life, Eylward said. ``They just don't know.''

Eylward knows well how precious life is; he knows about losing close friends; he knows what it's like to fight to stay alive.

As a Marine Corps corporal in 2004, Eylward was transferred from the serenity of Hawaii to the chaos of Iraq. When Eylward arrived in the nation Saddam Hussein once ruled, he thought:

``I'm never going to see home again.''

Eylward did see home again. Several of his comrades did not. His prediction nearly became prophetic.

Eylward was almost killed. He temporarily lost the sight in his left eye and was in a coma for a week as a result of battle- related injuries.

Eylward was awarded the Purple Heart.

Baseball had always been important for Eylward. It was in his blood.

Brother Mike is a baseball player, too. He starred at Clearwater High and the University of South Florida, and now plays first base for the Arkansas Travelers, a Class AA team in the Los Angeles Angels organization.

``I was 10 times better than him, ask anyone,'' Danny Eylward said. Mike Eylward ``will even tell you.''

Danny Eylward batted .420 his senior season at Clearwater. But it wasn't curveballs that kept him from advancing. It was his attitude.

Baseball was something more for Eylward. It was a lifeline. As a youth, Eylward describes himself as rebellious, if not antisocial. Baseball kept him from roaming the streets, from possibly being on the wrong side of the law.

``I had an attitude problem. I won't lie to you - that is the truth,'' Eylward said. What college ``wants a head case playing baseball for them? It was a time of my life I was an idiot. I was mad at the world.''

His high school baseball coach, Steve McKee, heard of the bad Danny, but knew the good Danny, too.

``He had a great heart,'' McKee said. ``There was a good kid in there. ... He never gave me any trouble, aside from being a normal 16-year- old boy. ... It was always `Yes sir, No sir.' He was fun to be around.''

Danny Eylward is grateful for what McKee and the sport gave him.

``If not for baseball ... I thank God every day. I had to stay eligible to play baseball. That turned out to be the best thing for me. Baseball is what got me through high school.''

Eylward took a baseball scholarship at South Georgia College in Douglas, Ga. Whether it was being away from home or the small school he enrolled in, Eylward was unhappy. He quit school after playing baseball that fall.

Back home and not playing baseball or attending classes, Eylward had too much time on his hands. He drank too much. His surly attitude began to surface too often. In retrospect, Eylward suspects his parents' divorce may have been a factor in his behavior.

Then, eating in a restaurant with friends, Eylward noticed a Marine wearing full Corps regalia. Something clicked.

``A guy walked in in dress blues. I said to myself, `I've got to get out of here, somehow.' Next thing you know, I am sitting in Paris Island getting screamed at. What a shock that was, too, man. Right off the bus. Oh, man.

``I thought, `I should have been playing ball.' ''

After boot camp, Eylward was stationed in Hawaii, where aside from his military duties life was pretty good. His outlook had mellowed: He had focus in his life and he lived in paradise.

Even after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Eylward remained in Hawaii.

When his fellow Marines started talking about being assigned to a combat zone, ``It was, like, `Well, this is what we signed up for.' If we gotta go, we gotta go.''

With roughly seven months left in his hitch, Eylward went to the Mideast. He said he was asked - not ordered - to go to Iraq and take the 16 Marines in his squad he trained with. Those men were going to Iraq regardless of Eylward's decision.

He chose to go. It was October.

When Eylward saw his first firefight, it was unlike anything he had imagined.

``It was disgusting; it was your worst nightmare,'' he said. ``At first, you thought it was a video game. `No, this isn't happening.' People shooting at you every 20 minutes. It was like [the movie] `Black Hawk Down.' People were hiding everywhere.''

Things happened so quickly that Eylward didn't have time to become scared. It was worse when actions calmed down.

``You keep going, you don't think about things,'' he said. Later ``you sit down and you realize what is happening and you get scared.''

Eylward thought the Iraqis would be happy to be liberated from a dictatorship.

``Fifty percent of them were happy ... but you trusted no one,'' Eylward said. ``And it got worse. You couldn't take life for granted.

``We never let people get that close to us. ... They would thank you ... and you wanted to say `You're welcome.' But you couldn't trust them.''

Eylward and his crew were sent to Fallujah, with its nests of insurgents. The Marines' orders were clear: Clean out the nests. After five days of fighting, Eylward was on a rooftop about five miles outside Fallujah at a staging point for a resupply train.

While trading fire with the enemy, out of the corner of his eye Eylward saw an insurgent stand, point a rocket-propelled grenade launcher directly at him and fire.

The grenade flew over Eylward's head and landed behind him. A combination of the concussion and a wall falling on him from the grenade's explosion nearly killed him. He was unconscious.

The next thing he remembers was coming out of a coma eight days later with no sight in his left eye, though the blindness would prove temporary.

Eylward would not lie in the hospital for long. He wanted to rejoin his fellow Marines.

``I told [the doctors], `Screw my eye.' I went over there planning on not coming home,'' so he wore an eye patch and returned to his squad.

Eylward was fortunate; others were not. He saw comrades lose limbs. His best friend, Timothy Gibson, was shot dead next to him as the two tended to a fallen Marine.

For his service in Iraq, Eylward received the Purple Heart. A week before Christmas, he received another special gift: orders to come home.

Eylward now leads a civilian's life, working as a recording clerk for a Clearwater title company. He also threw out the first pitch at a Clearwater High baseball game.

His experience as a Marine changed his outlook.

``There are things you appreciate that you didn't really before,'' Eylward said. ``Like seeing your family, waking up every day.''

He is thinking about returning to school to study finance or maybe become a police officer - ``Doing something where I can work with people.''

He has adapted to civilian life, he said, but he winces when he hears people complain about petty things.

``I hear people say they've had a bad day at work,'' Eylward said. ``They don't know what a bad day is. A bad day is when you don't come back.''

In the meantime, he is an average American: ``I work hard and spend time with my family that I never thought I would see again.''

He doesn't consider himself a hero.

And he's sure baseball players aren't heroes.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Philadelphia native with a watchful eye <br />
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division <br />
Story Identification #: 200543005924 <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (April 30, 2005) -- As...

[thedrifter]

Festival salutes vets
By TONYA SMITH-KING
tsmithking@jacksonsun.com
Apr 27 2005

TRENTON - Ask Paul Mathes why he's so passionate about World War II. Then listen. And you'll never have to ask again.

His eyes well with tears when he talks about the 317 men who survived the Japanese torpedo attack of a cruiser, the U.S.S. Indianapolis, that had carried 1,200 men. Before they were rescued, survivors spent six grueling days in shark-infested waters, watching as one after another of their buddies fell prey to the blood-thirsty creatures.

Then, there was the Bataan Death March where the Japanese forced American prisoners to walk 50 miles without food or water. If they fell out, they were bayonetted. Those who survived the walk were held in captivity 40 months and made to work until they died.

''There's no way this stuff ought to be forgotten,'' said Mathes, a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. ''Other than the great flood in the Bible, this is the largest event that ever took place on this planet.''

So, for the last year, he has planned a World War II re-enactment that is expected to draw 100 or more World War II veterans from the region and other states. The re-enactment is being held at 2 p.m. Saturday in a field south of the Church of Christ as part of the Trenton Teapot Festival.

Survivors from both the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Bataan Death March will be present. Other veterans present will include seven survivors of Iwo Jima and a Tuskegee Airman. Congressman John Tanner, D-Union City, is also expected to attend.

The one-time event is being held in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the end of the war. Mathes believes it may be the largest gathering of World War II veterans since the end of the war. Veterans are expected from such states as North Carolina, West Virginia, Missouri and Illinois.

Veterans will be transported in Saturday's grand parade in vintage World War II jeeps, weapons carriers and half-tracks. Then, there will be a luncheon and awards given. such as for the oldest veteran present and the one who has traveled the farthest distance.

''The veterans are in their 80s now,'' Mathes said. ''It's kind of like you do it now, or you don't do it.''

Billy Hight of Trenton will be among the veterans attending. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II.

''I think it's a mighty nice thing, probably the last one,'' Hight said of the event. ''They're (World War II veterans) getting away from here about 35,000 a year. I appreciate what Paul's doing.''

Mathes is a self-taught World War II historian and re-enactor. His office at his home is a World War II museum. He's read all of the dozens of books on the war that line two bookshelves. Other memorabilia line the walls. He has a model ship from the period and copies of their menus and books and pictures signed by veterans.

Mathes has traveled to key places in the war such as Iwo Jima and Pearl Harbor and met key figures in the war such as two Japanese pilots who took part in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mathes was photographed with them during a trip to Hawaii in 1991.

He's not sure where he derived his passion for World War II. That passion goes back at least to age 8. Mathes is pictured at that age looking at Memphis Belle during a special trip to Memphis to see it. The plane was the first bomber in World War II to fly 25 missions and return home, Mathes said.

His father was in the military during the war but was stationed in the United States and never talked much about it, Mathes added.

Mathes might not know the source of his passion but is certain of the reason he's so passionate.

''I'm trying to keep the role of America's fighting men in World War II alive,'' Mathes said. ''I'm trying to educate the public.''

Visit talkback.jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

- Tonya Smith-King, (731) 425-9680

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Cultural learning center to open in May
Submitted by: MCB Quantico
Story Identification #: 2005427153143
Story by Cpl. J. Agg



MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (April. 27, 2005) -- Training and Education Command is planning to stand up its new Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning here in May. The center, which will begin operations in October and will be operating at full tempo a year after that, will provide a central point of coordination for preparing Marines to successfully navigate and use the “cultural terrain” in the operational environments of today and into the future.

Recognizing the critical importance of cultural awareness in today’s battlescapes, TECOM leaders plan to use the CAOCL as the engine to drive a number of cultural training concepts -- including providing operating forces with a one-stop cultural and language training resource, incorporating operational cultural training into every level of Marine Corps training and education, and developing career Marines into “micro-region near-experts.”

In the near future, every sergeant on a second enlistment, first lieutenant and captain will be assigned to study and become on-call experts in one of about two-dozen countries or micro-regions based on operational forecasts by Marine Corps Intelligence Activity.

During a cultural training seminar hosted by TECOM in November 2004, Dr. Barak A. Salmoni, an assistant professor of National Security Affairs at U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., said that an improved awareness of indigenous culture would provide a tactical advantage to Marines in the fight.

“We need to neutralize culture as a barrier to successful mission accomplishment,” said Salmoni, who trained elements of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division and National Guard on operational culture in Iraq from October 2003 to January 2004 and the 1st Marine Division from December 2003 to July 2004. “We need to understand whatever the local dynamics are in a way that permits you to not weaponize, but to maximize your understanding of the local culture and to use it effectively (with) the indigenous population. The vision is that every Marine, regardless of rank, who has interaction with indigenous populations, will receive that amount and kind of knowledge about the indigenous environment that will let him interact with civilians and security forces.”

Col. Jeffery W. Bearor, TECOM chief of staff, said culture and language training is nothing new to the Marine Corps, which has a history of accounting for local population factors into its operational readiness.

“Traditionally, the Marine Corps has been all about culture and language,” said Bearor.

Everywhere we went from the Spanish-American War through early World War II -- Haiti, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and a number of places where we had Marines on the ground working with local indigenous populations and forces -- we were there long enough to gain a good appreciation for the language and culture we were operating in.”

Bearor said TECOM plans to continue the Corps’ tradition of not focusing on culture for the sake of culture, but on a reasonable amount of operationally-focused training and education to ensure Marines and leaders are aware of the importance of cultural factors and understand their military significance and operational impact so they may make better-informed decisions.

Early Marine cultural studies were not focused on how people drink tea; they were focused on how to operate with these people who come from a different culture and background in order to accomplish the mission, be effective, be efficient and do it at the least possible cost, said Bearor. “All those things we are looking to do here.”

Bearor said these “soft skills” declined during the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, which was dominated by the technological aspects of high-end war, but have once again entered the spotlight because of their prominent role in the ongoing success of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

“Even though the early stages of the march to Baghdad (during Operation Iraqi Freedom) was high-end, big war, other aspects of the global war on terrorism really did need soft skills,” said Bearor. “As we got into Afghanistan and certainly as we moved into the current phase of operations in Iraq, what we figured out were the soft skills were going to be very important to stability and support operations.”

Bearor said the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning will have a three-pronged mission. The center will continue to develop the Marine Corps’ current persistent and predeployment training program, provide advanced culture and language training to career Marines and guarantee that cultural training figures prominently in the Corps’ schools.

“If you look downstream at the sort of warfare we will be involved in, these soft skills will be so important in the next 10, 15 or 20 years,” said Bearor. “There is nobody who wants to fight us in open terrain waiting to be overrun by our expertise in fighting the big war, [but] we have to maintain the right mix and balance of skills. More and more our enemies are going to seek to take advantage of unconventional, fourth-generation war.”

To combat the emerging threat of unconventional warfare, Bearor said cultural and anthropological knowledge, as well as language skills, will be key in winning support from local populations.

“In the future we have got to be prepared to go over early in “phase zero” -- the preparatory phase -- and help train local security personnel so we don’t have to fight the war,” said Bearor. “We’re going to need culture and language skills to have the most effect from the fewest Marines going forward. That’s how we got to (the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning).”

For fleet commanders, the CAOCL will mean a one-stop shop for culture and language training tailored to suit current operational needs. For career Marines, second-tour sergeants and company grade officers above second lieutenant, the CAOCL will mean additional training to “near expert” status in a specific country of region based upon threat forecasts by the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity.

Beginning at the Sergeant’s Course, enlisted Marines will gain cultural awareness training which will continue through a series of distance learning classes as a Marine matriculates from sergeant to staff sergeant to gunnery sergeant. With the support of the Defense Language Institute, as well as local experts like university Ph.D.-holders, Marines will also receive 160 hours of training in an assigned language.

“By the time you are a junior gunnery sergeant, you would have had enough cultural learning on a specific country or region that we can call you a near expert,” said Bearor. “We are going to give you enough training to ensure you understand enough of the language and culture, because the two are bound together, that you will be what I call an RAO-minus."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fighter jet mech shares unique perspective of war
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005429104650
Story by Cpl. C. Alex Herron



AL ASAD, Iraq (April 29, 2005) -- Every Marine a Rifleman. This phrase has special meaning for Sgt. Douglas Acero, an avionics technician serving with Marine Attack Squadron 311 from Yuma, Ariz.

In November, after the battle of Fallujah, the fighter jet mechanic was plucked from his unit here and attached to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, for two months. Many of the units here sent Marines to assist with the rebuilding of the city. Acero was one of two ‘Tomcats’ selected to augment the ground war at that time.

He was sent to Fallujah to help the city’s thousands of residents as they started to rebuild their war torn city. While with 1/3, Acero took part in patrols and raids through the city, gaining a unique view of how infantry Marines operate.

“I was able to get a look at the ‘other side,’” said Acero, originally from Sugar Land, Texas. “I was able to take part in all sorts of missions while in Fallujah. We handed out food and water while providing medical aid to those who needed it. I was able to take part in raids looking for insurgents and weapons caches.”

While patrolling the streets, Acero was reminded of his home in Texas where his mom and dad are constantly worrying about him while he is deployed to Iraq.

“When we would search homes I noticed photos on the walls and how they were organized. I realized that someone lived here, but we had [to go] through because insurgents used the vacant homes to hide their activities,” said the 2001 Clements High School graduate.

Being part of an infantry squad opened Acero’s eyes to why his job with VMA-311 is so important. Because of his work on Harriers, Marines on the ground have extra support while searching through the cities on patrols.

“Seeing the firepower of our jets is amazing,” Acero said. “If it weren’t for the mechanics who get our birds ready for action, the grunts wouldn’t have the support they need to successfully accomplish their mission. [While serving with the infantry in November], having our birds over us was very reassuring. Knowing the pilots who were in the cockpit made me feel like I had a unique perspective most aircraft mechanics don’t get to see.”

Acero said the best part of being in Fallujah with the infantry was being able to see all of the aspects of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force come together and the skills learned at Marine Combat Training work.

Born on July 12, 1982, Acero grew up around aviation. While his mother stayed home to take care of him and his younger sister, his father worked as a pilot with Southwest Airlines . Later, Acero Sr. recognized his family needed him home more so he started work as an aircraft mechanic.

“I remember being around aviation at a young age,” Acero said. “My dad would take me to work with him and I would sit and watch him and his coworkers work on jet engines for hours.”

While growing up Acero knew he wanted to serve his country, but was never sure about which service he would join.

“I always knew I would join the military,” he said. “During my four years of Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school, I caught the Marine Corps ‘bug.’ The summer after I graduated high school, I went directly to boot camp to begin my journey as a United States Marine.”

After graduating from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Calif., in September 2001, Acero reported to Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., for basic electrician school.

“The school in Pensacola taught me basic electronics,” Acero said. “It wasn’t until I reported to Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C., in April 2002 that I learned the electrical systems for the AV-8B Harrier.”

It took over a year for him to complete all of his avionics training. It wasn’t until August 2002 when he reported to his present unit, VMA-311.

While with the ‘Tomcats,’ Acero has played a part in every aspect of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In January 2003, Acero deployed with VMA-311 aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard (an amphibious assault ship used as a landing platform at sea) where the unit supported the initial war effort for six months. Upon their return, the Tomcats prepared for a deployment to Afghanistan; those orders were later changed to Iraq, and in November 2004, they returned in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“Deploying is what I signed up to do,” Acero said. “I wanted to be a part of what is going on in the world, not just watching it on television.”

Being a part of major world events is exactly what Acero has done. He has been in a unique position to see the war from the ground side and the air side. Acero has a keen understanding of how each compliments the other and he knows all Marines work together to accomplish one goal.

When Acero returns to Yuma in a few weeks he will share his experiences with a broader understanding of how the Marine Corps works. Every Marine a Rifleman isn’t just a slogan--it’s a reality Sgt. Douglas Acero lives by.


-For more information on this story please contact Cpl. Herron at herronca@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil-


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Brooklyn to rename street after heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Submitted by: New York City Public Affairs
Story Identification #: 2005429102256
Story by Sgt. Beth Zimmerman



NEW YORK (April 29, 2005) -- On a sunny afternoon in Brooklyn almost a year ago, friends and family of Lance Cpl. William White renamed the section of Pilling Street he grew up on as "Marine Lance Corporal William Wayne White Street." Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said during the ceremony, "Future young people and families will see his sign, and they will know he gave his life so you and I could live here every day."

In February of last year, the Washington Heights community gathered at the intersection of 180th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue to honor another Marine's memory. They renamed the southwest corner of 180th Street "Staff Sergeant Riayan Agusto Tejeda Street." "We want to honor his memory," City Councilman Miguel Martinez said of Tejeda, a Washington Heights native originally from the Dominican Republic. "So we all remember that no matter where you were born," continued Martinez, "there's an opportunity to serve this country."

Next week, Brooklyn service members and families will name another street after service members who fought in the war on terrorism. But unlike the streets named after White and Tejeda, who both died while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, this street will serve as a memorial for service members who have fought and who will fight in OIF. The official renaming ceremony for "Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom" Street is scheduled for May 5 in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

According to the Be Proud Foundation, a Brooklyn group that supports and recognizes Russian service members, the street renaming "will mark the first time in U. S. history that a street will be dedicated to American Armed Forces...during wartime."

"I want to honor these people now, not six (or more) years later," said Raisa Chernina, founder of Be Proud. Her organization worked with Russian American Service Members of Armed Forces (RAS) to get the street's new name approved. Marine Sgt. Alex Presman, who was medically retired from the Corps last year, started RAS with Chernina's help. Presman was a reservist with 6th Communication Battalion in Brooklyn before losing his foot in Iraq in 2003. The 27-year-old Brooklyn native is originally from Minsk, Belarus. Be Proud and RAS have stressed the importance of honoring the service members currently fighting.

"It is crucial that we do not hesitate to declare our gratitude for men and women in uniform," stated Chernina is a press release, "as they did not hesitate to risk their lives for us."

The corner of Corbin Place and Oriental Boulevard will be renamed, "Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom." The renaming ceremony starts at 11:00 a.m., and it will include Marines from 6th Comm, veterans from previous wars, and Curtis Sliwa, founder and President of the Guardian Angels, as the Master of Ceremonies.

"It doesn't matter how much money we have, or how good business is," said Chernina. "These kids, the ones serving...they're more important than anything."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

East Fallujah Iraqi Camp provides base for Iraqi units
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Story Identification #: 2005427104619
Story by Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan



EAST FALLUJAH IRAQI CAMP, IRAQ (April 22, 2005) -- Just across Camp Fallujah’s east wall is a compound known to few Marines and visited by even fewer. Although it is unfamiliar to many, it supports a mission integral to the success of the Iraqi army and Iraqi public order brigades.

The compound is known as the East Fallujah Iraqi Camp, and it serves many functions aiding in the progress of the reconstruction process for the city of Fallujah.

“The EFIC began in November of 2004 as a 60-day temporary camp for units that were working in Fallujah,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Sanders, assistant commandant, EFIC, “but it’s still here now.”

According to Sanders, the EFIC supports between 4,000 to 5,000 Iraqi army soldiers and policemen from the city of Fallujah and surrounding areas.

“The EFIC is a base that supports the Iraqi army in Fallujah and the Iraqi public order brigades, which are basically heavy duty police units, cops with AK-47s,” said Sanders, a Fort Collins, Colo., native. “We provide them with a secure rest area, training area and we feed them and get the supplies they need to them.”

Along with supporting three Iraqi tenant units assigned to the EFIC, advanced screening and an advanced school for the army is held aboard the camp.

“We do screening for the guys who want to become a Fallujah city policeman,” said Sanders. “We get about150 every two weeks. We check their paperwork, give them a physical and make them run a PFT [physical fitness test].

“They also send the soldiers here for a finishing school. After recruit training, the soldiers come here and get assigned to one of the units. They run them through about a three-week course teaching them marksmanship, small unit tactics, checkpoint tactics and other things like that. It’s basically like MCT [Marine Combat Training].”

Making sure the Iraqi army and police units get trained and have a secure base to work out of are very important, according to Sanders.

“It does a lot of good having the EFIC,” he said. “It keeps a lot of Americans from having to be in the city of Fallujah. We have about 5,000 Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets of Fallujah, instead of having Marines out there.

“The soldiers out there are doing alright. They are all motivated and they have pretty high morale,” Sanders added.

Iraqi army Maj. Husam Kadhum Hayawi, operations officer, EFIC, emphasizes the importance of the American-Iraqi partnership at the EFIC.

“We are very thankful for the Marines and the help they have given us,” he said. “They have helped us build a new army. When the Americans need the Iraqis’ help in the future, we will be ready to help them.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine leader honored with memorial
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20054283173
Story by Cpl. Tom Sloan



AR RAMADI, Iraq (April 28, 2005) -- It was an emotional time for almost everyone who attended the late Capt. Jamie C. Edge’s memorial service. Tears rolled down the faces of some of the fighting men as they paid tribute and remembered the commanding officer of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, who recently fell on the battlefield.

Edge, a 32-year-old Marine leader from Virginia Beach, Va., was killed by enemy fire while conducting a combat patrol with his men.

Navy Lt. Aaron T. Miller, the infantry battalion’s chaplain, delivered the meditation.

“The death of our friend Jamie reminds us what it means to live,” said the 32-year-old from Redlands, Calif., in his message to the Marines attending the service. “You must use his death to motivate you to carry on the job he died doing. We have given our brother, Captain Jamie Edge, to the Lord. He is at rest, and we must carry on.”

Marines who served under Edge’s command remember their fallen leader as hardworking, dedicated, professional and caring.

“He spent very long hours preparing for the next mission so that we could succeed,” Lance Cpl. Jeremiah C. Wilson, who was Edge’s machine gunner with Headquarters Platoon, Company B. “He cared about his Marines more than anything. We were his pride and joy,” added the 22-year-old from Moreno Valley, Calif.

Company B’s executive officer and first sergeant each delivered a memorial tribute during the ceremony.

“The one thing I remember about Captain Edge, best, is he was a true professional,” said 1st Lt. Stephen G. Lewis. “He fully committed himself to the mission we have here. The way to truly pay tribute to him is continue in the streets of Ramadi and meet our objective. That’s what he would’ve wanted.”

“Captain Edge was the happiest when he was with his Marines,” said 1st Sgt. Scott A. Van De Ven. “If I had to pick one word to describe Captain Edge, it would be devotion. He spent every waking moment trying to figure out how to kill the enemy.”

Captain Kelly R. Thompson, commanding officer, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was a close friend of Edge. The two men met while attending Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Va., in 2002 and later served together in the first Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“His work ethic was super-human,” said Thompson. “His efforts to ensure his Marines were trained and ready (to conduct missions) were endless.”

Thompson, a 36-year-old from Shallowater, Texas, said his late friend’s devotion to duty made him one of the finest officers he’d ever served with.

“He was fully committed to do his duty and a true believer in the cause we’re fighting for here against terrorism,” Thompson said.

According to Thompson, Edge’s exceptional character traits as a Marine carried over to his family life. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Krissy, and loving father to his two daughters, Helena and Rachel, he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq commander Tommy Franks impresses crowd
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 01, 2005
DANIEL MCNAMARA
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Jacksonville has no shortage of retired, high-ranking military officers.

Nonetheless, the book signing for retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks' autobiography "American Soldier" drew a patient but eager crowd at Books-a-Million on Saturday.

More than 350 people registered to have their book signed by the man who ran the day-to-day operations of the military in Afghanistan and Iraq before his retirement in 2003.

Known during his term as head of CENTCOM for being more reclusive than some of his predecessors - including Desert Storm commander Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf - Franks was talkative and accessible Saturday.

Doffing his four-star lapels for a baseball cap, jeans and cowboy boots, Franks joked with adults and exchanged high fives with the kids, who often brought multiple copies of "American Soldier" to be signed.

Donna Brisebois, a Jacksonville resident whose husband, Staff Sgt. Kyle Brisebois, is deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, brought her daughters, Traci, Tiyana and Kaiya to the event.

Brisebois hadn't had a chance to read the book yet, but she did give a glowing review of the general.

"He's very sweet," Brisebois said.

Steve Ryan, commander of the Disabled American Veterans and a retired Navy corpsman, had managed to thumb a few chapters before he came.

"He's just an impressive man, overcoming the adversities of his Vietnam casualties," Ryan said.

At least two of the line-waiters, Jacksonville residents Claire Chatham and Charlene Lanier, did manage to complete the 564-page volume and said they enjoyed it cover to cover.

"It's a good book," said Lanier, who came to get a copy signed for her father who served with the Navy in Korea. "It goes fast. He's a very good writer"

"It's very interesting," agreed Chatham, who was getting a copy signed for her grandson, Joe Campenelli, an enlisted soldier in Iraq.

Erica Duke, a Books-a-Million employee for the better part of two months, said she and her co-workers were relieved that the turnout was not as heavy as they expected.

"It's not as busy as I thought," Duke said.

Duke and the other 32 Jacksonville Books-a-Million employees were joined by seven employees from other Books-a-Million stores who volunteered to help handle the influx of shoppers.

"This is the first major book signing I've been to," said Hank Hughes, an assistant manager at the Rocky Mount store.

Despite the lower-than-expected turnout, sales were up Saturday.

"We seem to be doing pretty good," Assistant Manager Denise Miner said.

"At least on Tommy Franks' books," she laughed.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

26th MEU mortar teams get sharp in HOA <br />
Submitted by: 26th MEU <br />
Story Identification #: 200542954823 <br />
Story by Sgt. Roman Yurek <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
ABOARD USS KEARSARGE (April 27, 2005) -- In the heat of the...

[thedrifter]

Kids remind Marine why he's fighting



By Carol Rock, Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY -- Marine Maj. Tim McLean went back to school Tuesday afternoon to meet a group of pen pals he's only seen in pictures and drawings.
Second- and fifth-grade classes at Skyblue Mesa Elementary School in Canyon Country adopted their military alumnus from the school's Class of 1976, sending letters and goodies to Iraq, where McLean piloted a CH53E Sea Stallion helicopter during his seven-month tour.

It was clearly a case of hero worship, as students cheered the returning Marine when he walked into the room with his wife, Shellie; son Kyle, 11; and daughter Kelsey, 9. McLean is executive officer of Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and is not scheduled to return to Iraq for at least a year.

Towering over a sea of second-graders, McLean brought out his camouflage vest, complete with Kevlar plates, and let the children try it on. As each put on the 25-pound vest, they seemed both excited and surprised at the weight.

He also passed around his flight helmet, placing it on the head of Amanda Traweek, 8, prompting her classmates to shout "Army girl" and "You look like one of those space guys."

After taking several questions from the kids, McLean thanked them for their support and gave each a folder and Marine Corps sticker, then moved into the multipurpose room, where the students unfurled a blue "Welcome Back Major McLean" poster.

"It's kinda funny, because I remember eating lunch right here," he said, pointing to a spot on the floor. "I used to run out to be the first one on the tetherball poles after I ate."

Fifth-grader Lily Choi read a poem she wrote for McLean:

"The important thing about soldiers is that they are brave.

They fight for their country and are loyal.

Their families are far away. They risk their lives.

They cannot be heard above the noise of the battlefield.

They march under the intense heat.

Food and water are scarcely edible, yet they continue.

The American flag waves high over their head.

But the most important thing about soldiers is that they are brave."

"It was important for our kids to see this," Shellie McLean said. "Living at Camp Pendleton, we get so much from other schools. They write us and say, 'We know your moms and dads are at war. Thank you, and we're thinking of you.' They've been on the receiving end. It's good for them to see the giving end."

She said Tim's return to Skyblue was a trip back in time as well.

"He was so proud and excited to come up today," she said. "He had to show us where he walked to school and re-enact the paper route on the hill."

"To put a face on every one of those letters was priceless," Tim McLean said as the children returned to their classrooms. He said the massive amount of letters and goodies sent to him went a long way in the Operations Center at Al Asad air base in Iraq.

"Our coffee table was stacked," he said. "We'd never seen that much beef jerky in one place. It was way too much for me, so we shared. It made an amazing difference in morale. We wouldn't give cards or valentines to each other, but I would get the cards from the kids that would put their pictures on them and hand them out to people, telling them they were remembered.

"There are walls of all sorts of art and letters from kids like these and, if one fell off the wall, there were 10 more to replace them. It helped immensely to know the support was there at home. If we didn't have it, things would have been very different.

"When we would look at all that art, we would remember we were there to fight for our freedom and make the world a better place for you guys," he told the children.

The kids mobbed McLean when he produced a stack of book covers, clamoring for his autograph, which he printed neatly near the Marine Corps logo.

"Sign it really big" asked 10 year-old fans Kristina Destefano and Demmi Chavez. McLean followed orders, adding a big "Thanks!" across the top.

Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock@dailynews.com



Ellie

[thedrifter]

From the rear to the front: MSSG-13 hones combat skills
Submitted by: 13th MEU
Story Identification #: 200542915499
Story by Sgt. Charles Moore



MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT TRAINING CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif (April 29, 2005) -- Marines from MEU Service Support Group 13, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit left their tactical vehicles to hone their infantry skills here, as they practiced dismounting their vehicles and assaulting, through trenches, on a fire and movement course.

The live-fire course teaches small units the fire-and-maneuver basics. It also challenges its participants to attack fortified positions, like trenches and bunkers.

“It’s not part of a traditional (Force Service Support Group) training package,” said 1st Lt. Ryan L. Miller, transportation support officer, MSSG-13.

Major Mark P. Ganotti, a “coyote,” or Marine who teaches and supervises at RCAX, added that the range, built eight months ago, was designed specifically for non-infantry units. He said the addition was in response to the trend that support line units are increasingly moving to the front lines. The course’s main objective, however, is to reiterate the Marines' basic infantry skills they may have to use fighting the Global War on Terrorism.

“It goes over all the fundamentals,” he said. “If you can fire and move, you can do anything.”

As this was a live-fire training event, the Marines spent several hours rehearsing their techniques prior to running through the range by using rock mazes to orient their fire teams with each objective.

“The 'pucker factor' was up a little bit, but we’d done our prep work,” Miller said. “It was time to do the real thing.”

As the Convoy was ambushed, the Marines quickly exited their vehicles and found cover, while both platoons returned fire. They pushed through a barrage of suppressive fires towards the objective. Once they reached the trenches, they threw simulated grenades and assaulted through.

Lance Corporal Ryan Graika, longshoreman, said the hardest part was “trying to get into a position” that provided cover, while still maintaining the ability to return fire.

“It’s kind of a reality check,” said Graika. “With the live rounds, you’ve really got to pay attention to those around you.”


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Roanoke, Va., native turns life around, deploys to Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20054305128
Story by Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel



CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (April 30, 2005) -- “I joined the Marine Corps to stay out of trouble. I’d be in a lot of trouble if I stayed in my hometown, but here I am in Iraq,” explained Lance Cpl. Robert E. James, III.

The 19-year-old Roanoke, Va., native was headed down the wrong path, hanging out with the wrong crowd and ruining any chance at a college scholarship along the way.

That was until James’ father, Michael, a former reconnaissance Marine, set him straight and made a suggestion that would change James’ life after graduating from high school.

“He told me since I didn’t have any scholarships that I should think about joining the Marine Corps, and obviously I took his suggestion,” explained the 2003 William Fleming High School graduate.

The former football punt-returner now helps run the supply warehouse for 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team-2 in the western part of the Al Anbar province of Iraq, near the Syrian boarder.

As a warehouse man, James is responsible for gear issue and accountability for the entire battalion.

“When the convoys come in, I help off-load the convoy and make sure all the accounts are right in the warehouse. I issue out the gear, such as chemical lights and meals ready to eat for all the grunt companies when they go out to the field. We support the whole battalion,” he explained.

James recognizes the importance of his work here in Iraq and understands the big picture of what he does for the Marines.

“If it wasn’t for supply, people wouldn’t get things. They’d starve or die of thirst out in the field, and they wouldn’t have gear to survive out there, like flak jackets. We supply them with life saving gear,” he explained.

If a Marine’s gear is somehow destroyed or damaged, they bring the problem to James and the other warehouse clerks.

“They can bring in the unserviceable gear, and we’ll switch it out. It’s that simple,” he said.

According to his superiors, James knows his job and performs it very well.

“Lance Cpl. James is a really good Marine. He comes in, gets the job done with the least amount of headache possible. He knows that we have to support the battalion. He does really good work and it’s been a blessing working with these guys,” explained Staff Sgt. Donald R. Williams, the battalion supply chief.

Joining the Marine Corps and deploying to Iraq gives James a sense of appreciation for what he has back home and what he has accomplished so far in life.

“Being here is better than working at some grocery store, but I don’t really know- I can’t really explain how I feel about it. I know that I definitely appreciate what’s back in the states,” he explained. “I like the fact that I was able to get away from home and all of the foolish trouble. In the Corps I can travel and see the world for free.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Spouse keeps the home fires burning while husband is deployed
Submitted by: MCAS Yuma
Story Identification #: 200542617255
Story by Sgt. David A. Bryant



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. (April 26, 2005) -- With Yuma Marines deploying regularly in support of the Global War on Terror, spouses are more often finding themselves left to keep the home fires burning on their own.

A strong sense of purpose surrounds CC Vizcarrondo -- after all, she has an 11 year old and an 18 month old, both boys, to take care of while her husband, Staff Sgt. Keith Vizcarrondo, is deployed with Marine Attack Squadron-513 with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).

Looking at her ready smile, it is easy to see she is a positive, upbeat woman. Laughter is part of her life, and a little thing like her husband deploying isn't going to keep that laughter and sense of fun from either her or her children.

"I keep myself going so I'm not so gloomy, and I try to be a part of (what) the boys are doing," Vizcarrondo said. "I'm a soccer mom -- my oldest, Alfonso, participates in a lot of sports. Diego is in the (Child Development Center), so I help them out with a lot of things, such as the Easter egg hunt.

"By the time I know it, after school and homework, it's 8 p.m. already and I crawl up with a book and get ready for the next day," she added.

Before her husband left on his latest deployment, Vizcarrondo worked as the general manager of the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Yuma. The first time her husband deployed, Diego had not yet been born, so she had her work to keep herself busy, Vizcarrondo said. But for this deployment, she wanted to do something a little different.

"I thought it was time to stay with the kids, because they needed me more here than they did me working fourteen hours," the 31-year-old Las Vegas native said. "I may be working again in June; 'Mommy' just took a break from work is all. My kids keep me going -- they bring a lot of smiles."

It is easy to see how her children keep her spirits up. Alfonso is a handsome, athletic, responsible young man who loves to play with his brother and helps his mom around the house. Diego is a happy child, one to whom a smile looks like a permanent fixture on his face. Elmo is his favorite -- his stuffed Elmo is nearly his size, but he has no problem dragging him out to show his new friends -- he knows just when "Elmo's World" comes on. He can be found happily perched in front of the TV, eagerly waiting, at the same time every day.

"You have to live life as if your husband was home," Vizcarrondo said. "It's not like the old days, when you didn't have e-mail or the telephone, because they do. I try not to think so much about him being gone. We e-mail a lot and he calls when he can, and both the boys get to talk to him, too."

It is not always so easy to live that way, though, she added.

"Some days I do get mad. Sometimes I have bad days. But I get over it, I move on," she said. "If you're depressed, your life is going to be depressing. (Deployments are) part of my husband's job, and I support him 100 percent. You have to live life to the fullest, even if your husband is deployed."

It is that attitude of self-reliance that helps keep Vizcarrondo the upbeat person she is, said Elvira Leyva, a friend and neighbor of two years.

"She's a very independent person and she doesn't dwell on things," said Leyva, whose husband, Pete, is a sergeant with the remain-behind element of Marine Wing Support Squadron-371. "She gets sad, but she moves on with it. She can't wait for her husband to get home, but she has to live her life and help her kids live theirs."

Vizcarrondo is not only independent, but intelligent, outgoing and would do anything for anybody, Leyva said.

"Her husband is very lucky to have her," Leyva added. "She's much more independent than I am. She has no problem just up and saying 'I'm going to have a barbecue.' She doesn't wait until her husband comes back first. I would never try to work the grill without my husband at home."

"I look at the good things -- I have a countdown going, and I tell the oldest to just think; when you get out of school, a week later we'll be picking up your dad," Vizcarrondo said.

Knowing his wife can handle almost any situation that may arise helps when deployed, Keith said via e-mail.

"She is an outgoing, happy and charismatic person. I think that she is good at constantly making the best out of whatever situation we are in," said the 26-year-old native of Albuquerque, N.M. "I am never honestly 100 percent at ease, but I just manage to concentrate hard on work when we have it, and when we don't I think of home.

"I would like to thank my wife and two sons for the sacrifices they have made during these deployments," the AV-8B Harrier airframes mechanic said. "I love them and would not be the Marine I am without them."

The countdown continues, and Vizcarrondo is determined to continue living life to the best of her abilities until her husband gets home. For other spouses whose husbands are on deployment, Vizcarrondo lives by the advice she gives.

"Don't sit and dwell on what your husband is doing -- they are out making the world a better place," she said. "Remember to live life to the fullest; keep yourself going so you're not so gloomy. You can make it."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

The California Girls play in the Iraqi sand



by Gunnery Sgt. Shannon Arledge
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing


AL ASAD, Iraq -- Marines from the most remote locations of Al Asad made the trip to the air base theater April 22. The all-female band known as The California Girls graced the stage for a riveting performance as the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing packed the seats.

Playing a classic blend of rock and surfer type tunes, the ladies of The California Girls moved the room with their harmonious dance moves and guitar and drum solos. The blonde haired foursome played hits like Hotel California, Sweet Home Alabama, Surfing USA, and some of their original music such as Hard to Tell and You and Malibu.

Performing as a group for the past six years this was their first trip to Iraq. Their whirlwind tour has taken them to Kuwait, Tallil and Urr, Iraq, and many forward operating bases in between. Prior to arriving in this region, they had just returned from three weeks in Afghanistan.

"Coming here is rewarding," said Sandra Walker, bass player and vocals. "My father was in the Navy for 33 years. I know what it is like to be far away. The Marines here have people who love them, and this is the least I can do."

This band, along with good looks, and long legs, had the crowd of Marines shouting for more, as the music lifted spirits and boosted morale.

"Why can't there be more of this," said Lance Cpl. Victor E. Shultis, a welder with Marine Wing Support Squadron 271. "I love it, this is awesome," added the 20-year-old, Ayden, N.C., native. "They are very brave to be doing what they are doing here."

"I appreciate what the men and women are doing here," said Barbara S. Leoni, guitarist. "This is a unique opportunity as a civilian to see this." There is a lot of support for the military back home, but you really don't understand the sacrifice until you experience it."

"I love doing this," said Lisa Haze, on vocals. "This is the most meaningful event I've ever done. My grandfather served in the military, and I think it would make him proud to see what we're doing. I'm proud."

Since arriving in Iraq the ladies of The California Girls have experienced travel by convoys, helicopters and C-130 transport aircraft. The United Service Organizations sponsored the event, and made it possible for the group to be here.

"Playing for a group like this is probably the most rewarding gig I could ever do," said Max Miller, drummer. "If I can put a smile on a Marine's face I feel complete."

"I'm glad they came," said Cpl. Jerry R. Cooke, 24, of Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron 269. "I appreciate their support. We should have more events like this. A concert in the middle of Iraq can turn a bad day into a good day," added the Greensboro, N.C. native.

http://www.dcmilitary.com/marines/hendersonhall/newspics/2252_e1.jpg

Gunnery Sgt. Shannon Arledge
(Left to Right) Barbara Leoni, guitar, Lisa Haze, vocals, Sandra Walker, bass guitar, and Max Miller, drums, are The California Girls. The band entertained Marines here April 22. This performance was one stop as the band tours several locations in Iraq. The group has performed together for the past six years playing a blend of classic rock and surfer hits.


Ellie