thedrifter
12-29-06, 06:39 AM
Article published Dec 29, 2006
Company B's Christmas: Patrol 'outside the wire' leads to school
FRED DODD
Tribune Staff Writer
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq -- A small group of Engineer Company B Marines, along with a detachment of Army National Guardsmen from Minnesota, headed "outside the wire" Tuesday on a patrol and a visit to the small village of Qam.
It was unlike any other mission the South Bend Marines have been assigned so far this deployment, but the scenario seemed familiar to those who had been here during the opening months of the war.
"It reminds me of a mission in 2003 when we fixed up a school yard," said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Essex, of Noblesville, Ind. "There was some playground equipment that we repaired and painted. This reminds me of that."
Company B was again operating in a school yard -- this time at Qam's Al Adala School.
"They've got an overcrowding problem here," explained Gunnery Sgt. Todd Mansfield, of Michigan City. "They actually have to do two shifts of classes because there are too many kids to fit in at one time."Indeed, kids were everywhere. It was reminiscent of 2003 when children followed the South Bend Marines' every step in hopes of getting a treat.
"I've been giving out a lot of candy," said Sgt. Remsey Eisha, of Chicago. "There are a lot of smiles on kids' faces, which brings joy to everybody -- all of the Marines and soldiers here."
Company B also delivered school supplies, along with 20 desks and a pair of soccer goals Marines had built from scrap wood. The wooden goals replaced the rocks children had been using as goals.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Jones, of Hartford City, was invited inside a crowded classroom. He attempted to communicate with the children and took pictures with a digital camera as the students sat quietly. But when Marines appeared with boxes of chocolate bars, the class erupted into a near-riot as everyone tried to get their share.
"It's great," Eisha said. "What better day to do it than after Christmas?"As Marines and soldiers handed out candy, Mansfield inspected the building, taking measurements here and there.
"There's talk of possibly adding another building. And we're taking a look at the electrical to see if we can help them out with that."
Afterward, the convoy headed toward Lake Habbaniyah on a patrol of an area known as Tourist Town.
"It used to be a real tourist attraction," Jones said. "This entire city was built on a model of the French Riviera after Saddam checked it out. He loved the French Riviera so much that he wanted to build one for himself here. It kind of reflects aspects of that."
Now a large hotel sits empty and the village is home to refugees.While Tuesday's mission seemed simple enough -- a trip to a school and a drive through Tourist Town -- Jones explained that there are actually hours of planning and coordination for each of Company B's missions.
"Probably for every two hours of convoy there's six or seven hours, if not more, of actual planning," he said.
"There's everything from organizing vehicles, to serialized manifests with every possible bit of information you could imagine, to planning the routes, mission briefs, confirmation briefs, making sure comm (radio contact) is up, making sure the weapons function, getting the weapons ...
"All those little things make it much more difficult than just going from point A to point B. It's very complicated but it's manageable. It takes a lot of small steps and a good team to get it to work."
Editor's note: Fred Dodd is a retired South Bend Marine Corps photojournalist who's been with The Tribune since 1998. On this, his third trip to Iraq, he will be photographing and writing about the Marines of Engineer Company B, a South Bend Reserve unit, through December. For more from Dodd in the days ahead, watch WSBT-TV or go to our Company B Web page, www.southbendtribune.com/companyb.To reach Fred Dodd, send e-mail to freddodd@yahoo.com.
Ellie
Company B's Christmas: Patrol 'outside the wire' leads to school
FRED DODD
Tribune Staff Writer
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq -- A small group of Engineer Company B Marines, along with a detachment of Army National Guardsmen from Minnesota, headed "outside the wire" Tuesday on a patrol and a visit to the small village of Qam.
It was unlike any other mission the South Bend Marines have been assigned so far this deployment, but the scenario seemed familiar to those who had been here during the opening months of the war.
"It reminds me of a mission in 2003 when we fixed up a school yard," said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Essex, of Noblesville, Ind. "There was some playground equipment that we repaired and painted. This reminds me of that."
Company B was again operating in a school yard -- this time at Qam's Al Adala School.
"They've got an overcrowding problem here," explained Gunnery Sgt. Todd Mansfield, of Michigan City. "They actually have to do two shifts of classes because there are too many kids to fit in at one time."Indeed, kids were everywhere. It was reminiscent of 2003 when children followed the South Bend Marines' every step in hopes of getting a treat.
"I've been giving out a lot of candy," said Sgt. Remsey Eisha, of Chicago. "There are a lot of smiles on kids' faces, which brings joy to everybody -- all of the Marines and soldiers here."
Company B also delivered school supplies, along with 20 desks and a pair of soccer goals Marines had built from scrap wood. The wooden goals replaced the rocks children had been using as goals.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Jones, of Hartford City, was invited inside a crowded classroom. He attempted to communicate with the children and took pictures with a digital camera as the students sat quietly. But when Marines appeared with boxes of chocolate bars, the class erupted into a near-riot as everyone tried to get their share.
"It's great," Eisha said. "What better day to do it than after Christmas?"As Marines and soldiers handed out candy, Mansfield inspected the building, taking measurements here and there.
"There's talk of possibly adding another building. And we're taking a look at the electrical to see if we can help them out with that."
Afterward, the convoy headed toward Lake Habbaniyah on a patrol of an area known as Tourist Town.
"It used to be a real tourist attraction," Jones said. "This entire city was built on a model of the French Riviera after Saddam checked it out. He loved the French Riviera so much that he wanted to build one for himself here. It kind of reflects aspects of that."
Now a large hotel sits empty and the village is home to refugees.While Tuesday's mission seemed simple enough -- a trip to a school and a drive through Tourist Town -- Jones explained that there are actually hours of planning and coordination for each of Company B's missions.
"Probably for every two hours of convoy there's six or seven hours, if not more, of actual planning," he said.
"There's everything from organizing vehicles, to serialized manifests with every possible bit of information you could imagine, to planning the routes, mission briefs, confirmation briefs, making sure comm (radio contact) is up, making sure the weapons function, getting the weapons ...
"All those little things make it much more difficult than just going from point A to point B. It's very complicated but it's manageable. It takes a lot of small steps and a good team to get it to work."
Editor's note: Fred Dodd is a retired South Bend Marine Corps photojournalist who's been with The Tribune since 1998. On this, his third trip to Iraq, he will be photographing and writing about the Marines of Engineer Company B, a South Bend Reserve unit, through December. For more from Dodd in the days ahead, watch WSBT-TV or go to our Company B Web page, www.southbendtribune.com/companyb.To reach Fred Dodd, send e-mail to freddodd@yahoo.com.
Ellie