fontman
07-31-06, 03:49 PM
"We have democracy now, let him speak"
LtCol Nick Marano sends this July update from the Syrian border:
It's hard to believe that another month has gone by, but it has. July has been another good month for the First Team as we continue to keep the enemy on the run in Al Qaim. Unlike other Sunni areas of Iraq, the First Team lives and patrols in the urban areas and has established a high level of trust and confidence with the locals. Your Marines and Sailors are truly winning this fight. The enemy won't just give up and walk away, but he has been forced to the edges of the society here as most locals are happy with the security situation and have had enough of the chaos and violence. They are no different from us in that they merely want to be able to earn a living and raise their families.
We began July with an important visit from the Al Anbar Governor, Maamoon Sami Rasheed al-Awani. All the local sheiks and municipal leaders attended the meeting and it gave the Governor a chance to talk about what he was doing for Al Qaim, and to listen to the concerns of the people here. This meeting gave the people here a view of what a return to normalcy here would look like under Iraqi-style democracy. These sheik meetings are always entertaining to be a fly on the wall for their theatrics, orderly chaos and emotional outbreaks. In a funny exchange, one minor sheik was complaining about an obscure issue to the Governor; everyone else attempted to shout him down. One of the most important sheiks looked at me, winked and said 'we have democracy now, let him speak.'
July was a good month for police recruitment as well. We will soon have IPs on duty in every town in the Al Qaim region. The IPs, as they are known, have proven to be a valuable resource in the fight against the terrorists as they are all locals and have a vested interest in the security of their hometowns. Every line company has had success in working with the IPs and they have expanded our ability to take the fight to the enemy before he is able to attack us or our Iraqi allies.
The enemy did not let up in July, and in fact has resorted to extreme measures as the partnership between the First Team, Iraqi security forces, local government and tribal leaders continues to grow. These enemy actions included the use of a female suicide bomber. Each time, your Marines and Sailors have proven to be more of a match for the terrorists. Every line company had heroic actions this month. Charley Company not only killed an entire IED Cell, but one brave Marine, LCpl Hiller, prevented a truck bomber from killing anyone but himself. Weapons Company has largely rolled up the entire IED Cell from last month which cost us three brave men from CAAT White. Please keep our wounded heroes and their families in your thoughts and prayers. I am hopeful that all our Marines wounded this month and in previous months will eventually make a full recovery.
We celebrated the Fourth of July with a traditional BBQ and flew the meal out by helicopter to the Company Battle Positions.
Congratulations to SSgt Escalderon, Weapons Company, who was awarded a Bronze Star this month for valor during the last deployment.
The summer heat has arrived here as in 29 Palms, thanks to Navy Seabees, all Battle Positions now have air conditioning. We have entered our fifth month here; the battalion ADVON will be assembling for redeployment one month from now, followed by everyone else two weeks later. We are on schedule to turn over Al Qaim to 3/4 on 15 September and the battalion Main Body redeployment should begin soon after. I have told the Marines here to keep their focus and not let their guard down as the end of the deployment is now in sight. I ask our families to do the same so we finish this deployment as strongly as we began.
LtCol Nick Marano sends this July update from the Syrian border:
It's hard to believe that another month has gone by, but it has. July has been another good month for the First Team as we continue to keep the enemy on the run in Al Qaim. Unlike other Sunni areas of Iraq, the First Team lives and patrols in the urban areas and has established a high level of trust and confidence with the locals. Your Marines and Sailors are truly winning this fight. The enemy won't just give up and walk away, but he has been forced to the edges of the society here as most locals are happy with the security situation and have had enough of the chaos and violence. They are no different from us in that they merely want to be able to earn a living and raise their families.
We began July with an important visit from the Al Anbar Governor, Maamoon Sami Rasheed al-Awani. All the local sheiks and municipal leaders attended the meeting and it gave the Governor a chance to talk about what he was doing for Al Qaim, and to listen to the concerns of the people here. This meeting gave the people here a view of what a return to normalcy here would look like under Iraqi-style democracy. These sheik meetings are always entertaining to be a fly on the wall for their theatrics, orderly chaos and emotional outbreaks. In a funny exchange, one minor sheik was complaining about an obscure issue to the Governor; everyone else attempted to shout him down. One of the most important sheiks looked at me, winked and said 'we have democracy now, let him speak.'
July was a good month for police recruitment as well. We will soon have IPs on duty in every town in the Al Qaim region. The IPs, as they are known, have proven to be a valuable resource in the fight against the terrorists as they are all locals and have a vested interest in the security of their hometowns. Every line company has had success in working with the IPs and they have expanded our ability to take the fight to the enemy before he is able to attack us or our Iraqi allies.
The enemy did not let up in July, and in fact has resorted to extreme measures as the partnership between the First Team, Iraqi security forces, local government and tribal leaders continues to grow. These enemy actions included the use of a female suicide bomber. Each time, your Marines and Sailors have proven to be more of a match for the terrorists. Every line company had heroic actions this month. Charley Company not only killed an entire IED Cell, but one brave Marine, LCpl Hiller, prevented a truck bomber from killing anyone but himself. Weapons Company has largely rolled up the entire IED Cell from last month which cost us three brave men from CAAT White. Please keep our wounded heroes and their families in your thoughts and prayers. I am hopeful that all our Marines wounded this month and in previous months will eventually make a full recovery.
We celebrated the Fourth of July with a traditional BBQ and flew the meal out by helicopter to the Company Battle Positions.
Congratulations to SSgt Escalderon, Weapons Company, who was awarded a Bronze Star this month for valor during the last deployment.
The summer heat has arrived here as in 29 Palms, thanks to Navy Seabees, all Battle Positions now have air conditioning. We have entered our fifth month here; the battalion ADVON will be assembling for redeployment one month from now, followed by everyone else two weeks later. We are on schedule to turn over Al Qaim to 3/4 on 15 September and the battalion Main Body redeployment should begin soon after. I have told the Marines here to keep their focus and not let their guard down as the end of the deployment is now in sight. I ask our families to do the same so we finish this deployment as strongly as we began.