thedrifter
07-11-06, 07:12 AM
July 11, 2006
Marine recalls life on Iraqi mission
By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff Writer
An occasional series featuring stories of soldiers far from home and their loved ones here.
Name, rank and age: Lance Cpl. Michael J. Howard, 21
Military Branch: Marines
Assignment: Iraq
Q. You are in Samsula on leave after completing five weeks of training at the Combat Center Mojave Viper in California in preparation for your second deployment to Iraq. There was a simulated battle at a range called Wadi al Sahara and role-playing persons creating possible scenarios you might encounter in Iraq. What did you learn?
We did live field ranges with an assault objective. The last part was support and stability operations. We learned how to interact with Iraqi role players to get us ready for our deployment.
They give us classes on how we should act and what we should and shouldn't do -- a lot of little things like "don't wave with our left hand." In that culture, the left hand is your "dirty hand." And don't show the bottoms of your feet. Don't touch the women and, if at all possible, don't talk to them. Address the man in the group and direct your questions through him. There's a lot you have to work through in order to do your job over there.
Q. What did you do during your first tour in Iraq?
I was in Iraq for seven months. I am a team leader in a platoon. I was a grenadier. I had an M-16 with a grenade launcher. We patrolled in squad-sized elements -- three to four patrols a day.
Q. What did you do on patrol?
We basically would walk through the city and let people know we were there. We would go house to house, see if people had problems, and ask if they saw any new people come into the neighborhood. We would see if they had running water and electricity. We also helped provide security for the engineers and our fellow Marines, who were actually building the schools.
Q. Did you ever have a close call?
There were times we got IED'ed (Improvised Explosive Device) -- we were just watching our area and a convoy of vehicles exploded. That's when your training takes over and you do your job. We had a couple of close calls, but my platoon didn't lose anybody.
Q. You graduated from Atlantic High School after participating for four years in the Air Force ROTC. Why did you join the Marines?
About a month after I graduated I went to boot camp. I have been in a little over two years now. It was something I had always wanted to do since I was little. It always interested me. The Marines were more of a challenge.
Q. Do you come back here to see your family?
I lived here for 19 years. I have two brothers, Darin and Johnny, and two sisters, Sarah and Kim, and my dad is Doug and my stepmom is Ronnie. I'll be home until Monday.
audrey.parente@news-jrnl.com
Ellie
Marine recalls life on Iraqi mission
By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff Writer
An occasional series featuring stories of soldiers far from home and their loved ones here.
Name, rank and age: Lance Cpl. Michael J. Howard, 21
Military Branch: Marines
Assignment: Iraq
Q. You are in Samsula on leave after completing five weeks of training at the Combat Center Mojave Viper in California in preparation for your second deployment to Iraq. There was a simulated battle at a range called Wadi al Sahara and role-playing persons creating possible scenarios you might encounter in Iraq. What did you learn?
We did live field ranges with an assault objective. The last part was support and stability operations. We learned how to interact with Iraqi role players to get us ready for our deployment.
They give us classes on how we should act and what we should and shouldn't do -- a lot of little things like "don't wave with our left hand." In that culture, the left hand is your "dirty hand." And don't show the bottoms of your feet. Don't touch the women and, if at all possible, don't talk to them. Address the man in the group and direct your questions through him. There's a lot you have to work through in order to do your job over there.
Q. What did you do during your first tour in Iraq?
I was in Iraq for seven months. I am a team leader in a platoon. I was a grenadier. I had an M-16 with a grenade launcher. We patrolled in squad-sized elements -- three to four patrols a day.
Q. What did you do on patrol?
We basically would walk through the city and let people know we were there. We would go house to house, see if people had problems, and ask if they saw any new people come into the neighborhood. We would see if they had running water and electricity. We also helped provide security for the engineers and our fellow Marines, who were actually building the schools.
Q. Did you ever have a close call?
There were times we got IED'ed (Improvised Explosive Device) -- we were just watching our area and a convoy of vehicles exploded. That's when your training takes over and you do your job. We had a couple of close calls, but my platoon didn't lose anybody.
Q. You graduated from Atlantic High School after participating for four years in the Air Force ROTC. Why did you join the Marines?
About a month after I graduated I went to boot camp. I have been in a little over two years now. It was something I had always wanted to do since I was little. It always interested me. The Marines were more of a challenge.
Q. Do you come back here to see your family?
I lived here for 19 years. I have two brothers, Darin and Johnny, and two sisters, Sarah and Kim, and my dad is Doug and my stepmom is Ronnie. I'll be home until Monday.
audrey.parente@news-jrnl.com
Ellie