thedrifter
12-07-05, 05:56 PM
December 07, 2005
Hagee visits Marines in ‘most dangerous place in Iraq’
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
RAMADI, Iraq — Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee dropped in on the leathernecks of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines today, in a visit to what a top commander here calls “the most dangerous place in Iraq.”
Less than an hour before Hagee’s late-morning visit, the deep thuds of outgoing artillery fire and heavy machine gun rounds echoed across the Euphrates River in the fringes of the city.
Meeting with the Marines of Combined Anti-Armor Team Black, Weapons Company, 3/7, in the dusty courtyard fronting their squad bay, Hagee applauded their efforts, telling the leathernecks to be prepared for more of the same kind of urban fighting, where separating friend from foe is difficult and dangerous.
“It’s much more demanding today because you have to be a ‘strategic corporal,’” he told them, referring to former commandant Gen. Charles Krulak’s theory that the tactical decisions made by young Marines in a single event can have much broader strategic consequences.
The Marines of 3/7 are here as part of a lager, Army-run force under the direction of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, headed by Army Col. John Gronski, commander of the Philadelphia-based 2nd Brigade, 28th Division (Mechanized). The force has been working for months to subdue Ramadi, a city that has become the epicenter of insurgent activity since the Marine invasion of Fallujah more than a year ago.
While Gronski, in a Dec. 5 interview, said the number of attacks against U.S. forces is down in recent months — the result of aggressive U.S. counterinsurgency operations that have uncovered huge caches of enemy arms and explosives, some hidden within the solid walls of houses — Marines and soldiers still encounter increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs, insurgent snipers and mortar attacks on bases here.
Gronski is pushing his forces hard to secure the city for the Dec. 15 elections and reduce attacks by al Qaida-inspired terrorists, but the ultimate solution to security for the long term will have to be a home-grown one, he said.
“I measure success by the amount of territory I can give to the Iraqis,” Gronski said, referring to the nascent Iraqi army.
He went on to say that U.S. forces might be ready to hand over all of Ramadi to the Iraqis by the end of 2nd BCT’s tour this coming summer. But if the Iraqis aren’t ready by then, they’ll most certainly be strong enough for American forces to leave the city following year, he added.
Ellie
Hagee visits Marines in ‘most dangerous place in Iraq’
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
RAMADI, Iraq — Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee dropped in on the leathernecks of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines today, in a visit to what a top commander here calls “the most dangerous place in Iraq.”
Less than an hour before Hagee’s late-morning visit, the deep thuds of outgoing artillery fire and heavy machine gun rounds echoed across the Euphrates River in the fringes of the city.
Meeting with the Marines of Combined Anti-Armor Team Black, Weapons Company, 3/7, in the dusty courtyard fronting their squad bay, Hagee applauded their efforts, telling the leathernecks to be prepared for more of the same kind of urban fighting, where separating friend from foe is difficult and dangerous.
“It’s much more demanding today because you have to be a ‘strategic corporal,’” he told them, referring to former commandant Gen. Charles Krulak’s theory that the tactical decisions made by young Marines in a single event can have much broader strategic consequences.
The Marines of 3/7 are here as part of a lager, Army-run force under the direction of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, headed by Army Col. John Gronski, commander of the Philadelphia-based 2nd Brigade, 28th Division (Mechanized). The force has been working for months to subdue Ramadi, a city that has become the epicenter of insurgent activity since the Marine invasion of Fallujah more than a year ago.
While Gronski, in a Dec. 5 interview, said the number of attacks against U.S. forces is down in recent months — the result of aggressive U.S. counterinsurgency operations that have uncovered huge caches of enemy arms and explosives, some hidden within the solid walls of houses — Marines and soldiers still encounter increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs, insurgent snipers and mortar attacks on bases here.
Gronski is pushing his forces hard to secure the city for the Dec. 15 elections and reduce attacks by al Qaida-inspired terrorists, but the ultimate solution to security for the long term will have to be a home-grown one, he said.
“I measure success by the amount of territory I can give to the Iraqis,” Gronski said, referring to the nascent Iraqi army.
He went on to say that U.S. forces might be ready to hand over all of Ramadi to the Iraqis by the end of 2nd BCT’s tour this coming summer. But if the Iraqis aren’t ready by then, they’ll most certainly be strong enough for American forces to leave the city following year, he added.
Ellie