thedrifter
03-07-06, 03:05 PM
March 13, 2006
Fake Fallujah tests Marines’ moxie
Leathernecks’ cultural skills on trial at TRUEX
Stories by William H. McMichael
Times staff writer
NORFOLK NAVAL STATION, Va. — Several Iraqis crowd around one of the Marines who has walked into their village. None of the Iraqis seems threatening, but everyone’s talking excitedly in rapid-fire Arabic the leatherneck doesn’t understand.
“Tell them to back up,” a Marine in desert cammies says to an Iraqi police officer standing nearby. However, one woman refuses to move, leans in and continues chattering.
“They need [medical] help,” says the Iraqi officer, translating. “Who’s in charge? They want to talk to them.”
“Tell them we’re going to call the doctor right now,” the Marine says, looking a tad overwhelmed but standing his ground. But the woman continues in Arabic, in an accusatory tone: “You guys lied to us. You said you were going to bring water and food to us, and you don’t do it.”
The Marine and the rest of the squad were able to wriggle out of the tight spot. Then, they headed straight across the street from the fake village, set up in and around three abandoned buildings on the east side of Norfolk Naval Station, for a quick after-action review by an urban-warfare trainer.
The village and its actors — many of them Iraqi-Americans hired for the parts — were made available to prepare Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, for its late-spring deployment to the Middle East with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The rest of the MEU was spread out elsewhere on the naval base and at various points around the Hampton Roads area, all part of the unit’s Training in an Urban Environment Exercise running from late February through March 12.
Barely a year has passed since the 24th MEU returned from Iraq. It then deployed with BLT 1/2. But BLT 1/8 was in Iraq around the same time. All told, about 40 percent of the Marines in the MEU are newbies who’ve never walked the mean streets of Iraq, said Col. Ron Johnson, 24th MEU’s commanding officer.
They’ll need to rely heavily on those in the unit who’ve been there — about 50 percent of the Marines are about to make their second trip and 10 percent or so are headed back for a third deployment, Johnson said.
But while the mentoring is vital, nothing replaces realistic training. For instance, operating in the slow-crawling Hampton Roads traffic is good practice for convoy operations in Baghdad and other large Iraqi cities.
The MEU, roughly 2,250 strong, also is conducting patrol and guard training, practicing raids and landings with joint air support, practicing first aid techniques and mass casualty procedures, and performing community service projects throughout the region, much as they might in Iraq.
But some of the most realistic training is taking place at the naval station, where the “Iraqi village” features one-story “mud huts” (spray-painted plywood) with fabric doorways, milling villagers (role-playing Iraqi-Americans) in their robes and head scarves, hanging laundry, a large Iraqi flag over one doorway, Middle Eastern pop music blaring from a tinny loudspeaker and even the smells of cooking food.
The actors, a sort of troupe that also takes part in Marine Corps and Army training on the West Coast, seem to play their parts with enthusiasm and a high degree of authenticity.
“We care about the American soldiers’ lives,” said Behaa al-Khazeriji. “We try to teach the Marines, the Army our culture. To make it better in Iraq. To make it peace.”
The Marines, first deployers and Iraq veterans alike, said the village scenario was giving them a good head start for the work ahead.
“It’s a challenge, with the language barrier,” said Lance Cpl. Gil Durfee, who’s about to make his first deployment. “But this particular training is helping us with that.”
But it’s not quite Fallujah.
“That’s kind of hard to replicate,” said Cpl. Matthew McAuliffe, who spent time there in 2004 with Regimental Combat Team 7. “That was an intense learning experience. Taught you a lot about life.” But he praised the mock setup and said that for the new Marines, “walking around, patrolling … this can help.”
As is often the case in Iraq, the threat of violence is just around the corner in the village, in the form of Hollywood-style special effects — although not for this squad’s patrol.
Despite the vocal confrontation with the woman, the village seemed peaceful.
But after the squad cleared the village, Sgt. Michael Simon criticized what he said were the Marines’ loss of control.
“You had too many elements,” Simon said. “Everyone was scattered out. It looked like a lot of disconnect.”
And if the atmosphere is friendly, take advantage of it, said Simon, an instructor with the Urban Warfare Training Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif.
“It’s an opportunity to interact with the locals,” he said. Otherwise, “One week from now, one month from now, if something happens in this village, they’re not gonna tell you anything.”
Rudimentary language skills are a must, said Maj. Ed Sullivan, a foreign area officer with two Iraq tours under his belt.
“They’ve got to know the basic pleasantries,” Sullivan said. “Otherwise, they’ll lose control, like here.”
He recommended that Marines become familiar with the folded “Culture Smart Card” and its list of helpful phrases, issued to those who are about to deploy.
So much is being asked of these Marines.
They have to be culturally sensitive as they remain vigilant for signs of violence, all while trying to communicate in a combination of a foreign language and gestures.
At the same time, they have to note the nonverbal cues that could be saying far more than the words. Iraq will demand all this and more of the mostly very young Marines who will be walking its streets and alleyways.
That’s what this training is aimed at developing, said Lt. Col. Chris Ross of the Urban Warfare Training Center.
“It’s a thinking man’s effort that’s going on over there,” Ross said.
William H. McMichael covers the Navy.
Fake Fallujah tests Marines’ moxie
Leathernecks’ cultural skills on trial at TRUEX
Stories by William H. McMichael
Times staff writer
NORFOLK NAVAL STATION, Va. — Several Iraqis crowd around one of the Marines who has walked into their village. None of the Iraqis seems threatening, but everyone’s talking excitedly in rapid-fire Arabic the leatherneck doesn’t understand.
“Tell them to back up,” a Marine in desert cammies says to an Iraqi police officer standing nearby. However, one woman refuses to move, leans in and continues chattering.
“They need [medical] help,” says the Iraqi officer, translating. “Who’s in charge? They want to talk to them.”
“Tell them we’re going to call the doctor right now,” the Marine says, looking a tad overwhelmed but standing his ground. But the woman continues in Arabic, in an accusatory tone: “You guys lied to us. You said you were going to bring water and food to us, and you don’t do it.”
The Marine and the rest of the squad were able to wriggle out of the tight spot. Then, they headed straight across the street from the fake village, set up in and around three abandoned buildings on the east side of Norfolk Naval Station, for a quick after-action review by an urban-warfare trainer.
The village and its actors — many of them Iraqi-Americans hired for the parts — were made available to prepare Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, for its late-spring deployment to the Middle East with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The rest of the MEU was spread out elsewhere on the naval base and at various points around the Hampton Roads area, all part of the unit’s Training in an Urban Environment Exercise running from late February through March 12.
Barely a year has passed since the 24th MEU returned from Iraq. It then deployed with BLT 1/2. But BLT 1/8 was in Iraq around the same time. All told, about 40 percent of the Marines in the MEU are newbies who’ve never walked the mean streets of Iraq, said Col. Ron Johnson, 24th MEU’s commanding officer.
They’ll need to rely heavily on those in the unit who’ve been there — about 50 percent of the Marines are about to make their second trip and 10 percent or so are headed back for a third deployment, Johnson said.
But while the mentoring is vital, nothing replaces realistic training. For instance, operating in the slow-crawling Hampton Roads traffic is good practice for convoy operations in Baghdad and other large Iraqi cities.
The MEU, roughly 2,250 strong, also is conducting patrol and guard training, practicing raids and landings with joint air support, practicing first aid techniques and mass casualty procedures, and performing community service projects throughout the region, much as they might in Iraq.
But some of the most realistic training is taking place at the naval station, where the “Iraqi village” features one-story “mud huts” (spray-painted plywood) with fabric doorways, milling villagers (role-playing Iraqi-Americans) in their robes and head scarves, hanging laundry, a large Iraqi flag over one doorway, Middle Eastern pop music blaring from a tinny loudspeaker and even the smells of cooking food.
The actors, a sort of troupe that also takes part in Marine Corps and Army training on the West Coast, seem to play their parts with enthusiasm and a high degree of authenticity.
“We care about the American soldiers’ lives,” said Behaa al-Khazeriji. “We try to teach the Marines, the Army our culture. To make it better in Iraq. To make it peace.”
The Marines, first deployers and Iraq veterans alike, said the village scenario was giving them a good head start for the work ahead.
“It’s a challenge, with the language barrier,” said Lance Cpl. Gil Durfee, who’s about to make his first deployment. “But this particular training is helping us with that.”
But it’s not quite Fallujah.
“That’s kind of hard to replicate,” said Cpl. Matthew McAuliffe, who spent time there in 2004 with Regimental Combat Team 7. “That was an intense learning experience. Taught you a lot about life.” But he praised the mock setup and said that for the new Marines, “walking around, patrolling … this can help.”
As is often the case in Iraq, the threat of violence is just around the corner in the village, in the form of Hollywood-style special effects — although not for this squad’s patrol.
Despite the vocal confrontation with the woman, the village seemed peaceful.
But after the squad cleared the village, Sgt. Michael Simon criticized what he said were the Marines’ loss of control.
“You had too many elements,” Simon said. “Everyone was scattered out. It looked like a lot of disconnect.”
And if the atmosphere is friendly, take advantage of it, said Simon, an instructor with the Urban Warfare Training Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif.
“It’s an opportunity to interact with the locals,” he said. Otherwise, “One week from now, one month from now, if something happens in this village, they’re not gonna tell you anything.”
Rudimentary language skills are a must, said Maj. Ed Sullivan, a foreign area officer with two Iraq tours under his belt.
“They’ve got to know the basic pleasantries,” Sullivan said. “Otherwise, they’ll lose control, like here.”
He recommended that Marines become familiar with the folded “Culture Smart Card” and its list of helpful phrases, issued to those who are about to deploy.
So much is being asked of these Marines.
They have to be culturally sensitive as they remain vigilant for signs of violence, all while trying to communicate in a combination of a foreign language and gestures.
At the same time, they have to note the nonverbal cues that could be saying far more than the words. Iraq will demand all this and more of the mostly very young Marines who will be walking its streets and alleyways.
That’s what this training is aimed at developing, said Lt. Col. Chris Ross of the Urban Warfare Training Center.
“It’s a thinking man’s effort that’s going on over there,” Ross said.
William H. McMichael covers the Navy.