thedrifter
09-11-06, 07:40 AM
Marshfield Marine chronicled war in Iraq as military correspondent By Liz Welter
Marshfield News-Herald September 11, 2006
While Americans celebrated July 4, United States Marines and Iraqi police were entrenched in a battle with insurgents to secure the safety of a Ramadi hospital.
As a Marine combat correspondent, Marshfield native Stephen Holt chronicled in pictures and print the efforts to maintain the security of the Iraq city.
"As a correspondent, you gotta go where the news is, and over July 4, it was in Ramadi," said Holt who visited Marshfield after returning to the United States after his first tour of duty in Iraq.
"I was fortunate in my deployment, because I didn't see a lot of action except for Ramadi," said Holt, 21, who graduated from Marshfield High School in 2004.
Out of uniform and sporting the Marine haircut, Holt spoke as an engaging and articulate soldier, dressed in a striped polo shirt and baggy tan shorts. But as he began to relax, Holt related, with the fresh eyes of youth, the life of a soldier in Iraq.
"People ask me, 'What is it like?' I think they want to know about and understand the Iraq people in a way they can't get from TV," Holt said.
Holt read all that he could find and asked every possible pertinent question prior to deploying to Iraq.
"The day before I left ... I was just sitting ... probably with a pretty vacant look on my face. One of the guys that had already been there, looked at me, and all he said was, 'Tomorrow, you'll know.' And he was right," Holt said.
"When you're in an unfamiliar environment, there's a fear of the unknown," he said.
Facing a life-threatening, unknown of war together forges an intense bond, he said.
"It creates a common ground between all of us, because no one really knows until they go ... .We depend upon each other. The trust is incredible."
A unique relationship was formed with the Iraqi military as well, when Holt's unit was paired with other soldiers to form a military transition team, or MIT.
"A MIT team pairs up with an Iraqi platoon so that we immersed ourselves in their culture. I think if we're open to learning and trying to understand their beliefs, then we can appreciate them as people. When you understand Arabic culture, you learn that one of the biggest things is family."
"For fun, we'd teach each other some of the things in our languages. I thought I'd learned to say, 'Hey, what's up?' but as soon as I started I knew I was going to mess up. They laughed... .There's a recognition and appreciation when we try to communicate in Arabic," Holt said.
Prior to deployment, Holt said he and the rest of his unit wondered about the food, coping with the heat while wearing 70 pounds of gear and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which are responsible for the majority of American causalities.
"Now, we're back and I know what it's like. If I go again, I know and it'll be easier," he said.
Liz Welter can be reached at 384-3131, at 800-967-2087, ext. 356, or at lwelter@marshfieldnewsherald.com.
Ellie
Marshfield News-Herald September 11, 2006
While Americans celebrated July 4, United States Marines and Iraqi police were entrenched in a battle with insurgents to secure the safety of a Ramadi hospital.
As a Marine combat correspondent, Marshfield native Stephen Holt chronicled in pictures and print the efforts to maintain the security of the Iraq city.
"As a correspondent, you gotta go where the news is, and over July 4, it was in Ramadi," said Holt who visited Marshfield after returning to the United States after his first tour of duty in Iraq.
"I was fortunate in my deployment, because I didn't see a lot of action except for Ramadi," said Holt, 21, who graduated from Marshfield High School in 2004.
Out of uniform and sporting the Marine haircut, Holt spoke as an engaging and articulate soldier, dressed in a striped polo shirt and baggy tan shorts. But as he began to relax, Holt related, with the fresh eyes of youth, the life of a soldier in Iraq.
"People ask me, 'What is it like?' I think they want to know about and understand the Iraq people in a way they can't get from TV," Holt said.
Holt read all that he could find and asked every possible pertinent question prior to deploying to Iraq.
"The day before I left ... I was just sitting ... probably with a pretty vacant look on my face. One of the guys that had already been there, looked at me, and all he said was, 'Tomorrow, you'll know.' And he was right," Holt said.
"When you're in an unfamiliar environment, there's a fear of the unknown," he said.
Facing a life-threatening, unknown of war together forges an intense bond, he said.
"It creates a common ground between all of us, because no one really knows until they go ... .We depend upon each other. The trust is incredible."
A unique relationship was formed with the Iraqi military as well, when Holt's unit was paired with other soldiers to form a military transition team, or MIT.
"A MIT team pairs up with an Iraqi platoon so that we immersed ourselves in their culture. I think if we're open to learning and trying to understand their beliefs, then we can appreciate them as people. When you understand Arabic culture, you learn that one of the biggest things is family."
"For fun, we'd teach each other some of the things in our languages. I thought I'd learned to say, 'Hey, what's up?' but as soon as I started I knew I was going to mess up. They laughed... .There's a recognition and appreciation when we try to communicate in Arabic," Holt said.
Prior to deployment, Holt said he and the rest of his unit wondered about the food, coping with the heat while wearing 70 pounds of gear and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which are responsible for the majority of American causalities.
"Now, we're back and I know what it's like. If I go again, I know and it'll be easier," he said.
Liz Welter can be reached at 384-3131, at 800-967-2087, ext. 356, or at lwelter@marshfieldnewsherald.com.
Ellie