thedrifter
05-27-06, 06:00 AM
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ANGLICO Marines Based At Camp Pendleton
LOS ANGELES -- There is a special group of marines based at Camp Pendleton, who are doing some of the most complicated work of the war in Iraq. They number just 150, but their significance to the fight is tremendous. NBC4's Kelly Mack visited them during training in Oceanside.
KELLY MACK: Pictures from Iraq show what Marines from the First Air Naval Gunfire Liason Company, known as ANGLICO, are training for. The men of ANGLICO are based at Camp Pendleton, and many have wives, children and friends living in Southern California.
Their principal area of interest is in western Iraq, between Baghdad and the Syrian border. What they do, and apparently do well, is provide air and gunfire support to not only U.S. forces, but British Royal Marine commandos and the Iraqi Army.
MAJOR DAVID STOHS, ANGLICO EXECUTIVE OFFICER: That means simply directing aircraft, helicopters or jet airplanes on where to drop their bombs.
MACK: The Marines from ANGLICO returned to Camp Pendleton in March, but the Iraqi desert is not far from their minds. They are already back in four-man team training in the hills of San Diego County preparing to return to combat and leave their families in August.
CAPT. SEAN ELWARD, ANGLICO: It's tough. Obviously we'd like to be home, but it's kind of what you signed on for and what comes with the job. At least it does for me personally.
MACK: The Marines are in what they call a high tempo crunch. It's seven months in combat, six months at home, and then back to active warfare for another seven months.
STOHS: It's the busiest time I've ever seen in the Marine Corps.
MACK: And, in fact, ANGLICO has tripled in size since the invasion of Afghanistan. Using old-fashioned maps, compasses and high tech gear, the men practice calling in air support for targets about 3,000 meters away. And on command, AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters move into the arena firing their missiles.
MACK: The average Marine in this unit has been deployed to a combat zone three times, which perhaps makes him a bit older and more experienced than the average marine in any other unit.
LANCE CORPORAL DAVID DONNELLY: We got a good group of guys, solidly trained. We do whatever it takes to bring it home together.
MACK: Indeed it is a brotherhood of shared, intense experiences. Major Stoh was on an American Airlines jet coming back from an assignment in Turkey when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
STOHS: That changed my life, really. After Sept. 11, I've been deployed one, twice, three and going on four times.
MACK: These men may be young. But they have huge responsibilities that are a world away from all that is familiar.
STOHS: With the Iraqis we have to become more familiar with their culture and understand the needs of their military, which are different from our own and make sure that we help them meet their own goals in their own country.
Ellie
ANGLICO Marines Based At Camp Pendleton
LOS ANGELES -- There is a special group of marines based at Camp Pendleton, who are doing some of the most complicated work of the war in Iraq. They number just 150, but their significance to the fight is tremendous. NBC4's Kelly Mack visited them during training in Oceanside.
KELLY MACK: Pictures from Iraq show what Marines from the First Air Naval Gunfire Liason Company, known as ANGLICO, are training for. The men of ANGLICO are based at Camp Pendleton, and many have wives, children and friends living in Southern California.
Their principal area of interest is in western Iraq, between Baghdad and the Syrian border. What they do, and apparently do well, is provide air and gunfire support to not only U.S. forces, but British Royal Marine commandos and the Iraqi Army.
MAJOR DAVID STOHS, ANGLICO EXECUTIVE OFFICER: That means simply directing aircraft, helicopters or jet airplanes on where to drop their bombs.
MACK: The Marines from ANGLICO returned to Camp Pendleton in March, but the Iraqi desert is not far from their minds. They are already back in four-man team training in the hills of San Diego County preparing to return to combat and leave their families in August.
CAPT. SEAN ELWARD, ANGLICO: It's tough. Obviously we'd like to be home, but it's kind of what you signed on for and what comes with the job. At least it does for me personally.
MACK: The Marines are in what they call a high tempo crunch. It's seven months in combat, six months at home, and then back to active warfare for another seven months.
STOHS: It's the busiest time I've ever seen in the Marine Corps.
MACK: And, in fact, ANGLICO has tripled in size since the invasion of Afghanistan. Using old-fashioned maps, compasses and high tech gear, the men practice calling in air support for targets about 3,000 meters away. And on command, AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters move into the arena firing their missiles.
MACK: The average Marine in this unit has been deployed to a combat zone three times, which perhaps makes him a bit older and more experienced than the average marine in any other unit.
LANCE CORPORAL DAVID DONNELLY: We got a good group of guys, solidly trained. We do whatever it takes to bring it home together.
MACK: Indeed it is a brotherhood of shared, intense experiences. Major Stoh was on an American Airlines jet coming back from an assignment in Turkey when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
STOHS: That changed my life, really. After Sept. 11, I've been deployed one, twice, three and going on four times.
MACK: These men may be young. But they have huge responsibilities that are a world away from all that is familiar.
STOHS: With the Iraqis we have to become more familiar with their culture and understand the needs of their military, which are different from our own and make sure that we help them meet their own goals in their own country.
Ellie