thedrifter
01-10-06, 11:31 AM
January 16, 2006 <br />
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Marine News Breaks <br />
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2 dead in California LAV crash <br />
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A Marine and a sailor with 1st Marine Division were killed Jan. 4 when the light-armored vehicle they were riding in...
thedrifter
01-10-06, 11:33 AM
January 16, 2006 <br />
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News Briefs <br />
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Treasure hunter honored <br />
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One leatherneck’s commander in chief rewarded him for his efforts in preserving Iraqi history. <br />
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According to a Corps news release,...
thedrifter
01-10-06, 11:35 AM
January 16, 2006
Around the Corps
Compiled from military and other public sources.
Iraq
Marines find weapons caches near Fallujah
Leathernecks operating near Fallujah, Iraq, uncovered more than 70 weapons caches during a weeklong sweep dubbed Operation Green Trident, officials said Jan. 3.
According to a Jan. 4 Stars and Stripes report, Marines from 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and Regimental Combat Team 8 led the operation that focused on a village called Latifiyah, south of Fallujah. The weight of the weapons caches was more than 10 metric tons, Marine officials at Camp Blue Diamond said.
Most of the weapons were found buried in shallow pits along the Euphrates River.
The Marines found more than 1,000 artillery and mortar rounds, which often are fashioned into roadside bombs.
MSSG-22 Engineers repair roads in Hit
A group of leathernecks deployed to Hit, Iraq, kicked off this year improving the city, a Jan. 3 Corps news release said.
Engineers from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit’s MEU Service Support Group 22 have been filling potholes in an effort to improve roads in and out of the city, the release said.
“The work we do not only helps with our military operations, making roads more accessible and giving terrorists less places to hide [roadside bombs], but it shows the local townspeople we’re here to help, which will hopefully make them more receptive to us,” said Lance Cpl. Claude Baisden, an engineer with MSSG-22.
The engineers leave their base camp in the middle of the night, when curfew is enforced and the Hit roads are empty, the release said. The engineers pack potholes up to three feet deep with gravel, then cover them with concrete.
1/2 ends Operation Moon River
Marines and sailors with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, recently completed a one-day operation in Kubaysah, Iraq, according to a Jan. 4 Corps news release.
The goal of Operation Moon River, the release said, was to assess the status of essential civil services in the city and show a coalition presence in a city that has seen little conventional military in recent months.
According to the release, Civil Military Operations officers met with the city’s government and business leaders, and two patrols made their way through the city streets.
The operation is one of a series designed to counter enemy activity in Anbar province, the release said.
Japan
31st MEU takes beach during training
Troops with Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, hit the water during special operations training on Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 28-29, a Corps news release said.
The Marines used Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Crafts during their boat training, the release said.
According to Staff Sgt. Michael Roy, 3rd Platoon’s platoon sergeant, the training is part of the unit’s preparation for the MEU’s upcoming special operations capability test.
“This is the first chance we’ve had to get the boats in the water since we arrived on Okinawa,” Roy said.
Hawaii
1/3 Marines deploy to Afghanistan
Nearly 400 Hawaii-based Marines and sailors left Hawaii on Jan. 5 for their second seven-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Members of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, returned from their last combat tour in Iraq last April. They will replace 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, also based in Hawaii.
The Marines will participate in security and counterterrorism efforts underway in Afghanistan.
California
Japanese troops to train in joint exercise
About 200 members of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force were scheduled to arrive in California by week’s end for three weeks of training with Marines and sailors, a Corps spokesman said Jan. 4.
The Japanese soldiers will participate in a new exercise called “Iron Fist,” which will focus on amphibious operations, said Marine Capt. K.D. Robbins, a public affairs officer with I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.
An advance party for JGSDF had already arrived in California, Robbins said.
The Japanese soldiers will get various classes to build on their individual and small-team skills that will prepare them for the exercise, Robbins said.
“We’re going to put them through a small training package, like what a [Marine Expeditionary Unit] does,” he said.
The joint training is the first in recent times to be held on U.S. soil. “It is unique, having 200 Japanese personnel aboard our base,” Robbins said.