thedrifter
01-11-07, 07:09 AM
Thursday, January 11, 2007
‘‘Magnificent Bastards”
Search operations improving
By Staff Sgt. T.G. Kessler
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC)
HADITHA, Iraq - After six days of searching markets, homes and other key locations in this Euphrates River city of 30,000, U.S. Marines are reporting that security in this once insurgent-heavy region is steadily increasing.
In just under a week, Marines from the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment wrapped-up a city-wide cordon and search operation, capturing insurgents and discovering multiple weapons and munitions caches.
It was the third in a series of U.S. military-led operations to clear and hold the Haditha ‘‘Triad” region - three cities clustered along the Euphrates in western Anbar Province: Haditha, Barwanah and Haqlaniyah.
‘‘You look at the enemy attitude before we showed up, other than a few tragic incidents the enemy has been beat down to parade rest,” said Capt. Clinton Robins, Golf Company’s commanding officer. ‘‘He’s hurting but he might try to get froggy and if he does, we’ll be there to smack him back down again.”
The company has spent more than a month conducting daily patrols in Haditha in an effort to deter insurgent activity and increase security conditions in this city nestled along the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad.
Part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Golf Company is part of a surge of hundreds of additional U.S. troops into the volatile western Anbar Province in an attempt to keep the region secure and allow for the introduction of additional Iraqi security forces.
Until the addition of hundreds of Marines, the task of providing security to the Triad region has fallen on the shoulders of one Marine Corps battalion. But with more troops, comes more presence in local communities, and less chance for insurgents to operate freely, the Marines say.
‘‘We were expecting to see more enemy activity but when you look back, it makes perfect sense. If [my Marines] were coming from my direction I would go the other way [too],” laughed Robins.
So far, the extra manpower seems to be working. Coupled with an 8-foot-high dirt wall which encompasses all three ‘‘Triad” cities, the Marines can now effectively control who comes in and out of the city, a crucial measure to limiting insurgents” movement in and out of the city, the Marines say.
But beefed up security measures and an increase in American troops seems to be turning up more than hidden weapons caches. Haditha’s populace seems to be responding to the increased security measures. Not with acts of violence or complaints, but with support.
One local man here showed U.S. Marines where an improvised explosive device was buried near a road. The man used hand gestures to communicate to a patrol of Marines where the hidden bomb was.
‘‘He was trying to explain it to me but I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. I said ‘ Bomb? Bomb?” and he said ‘ yes” then ran off,” said Cpl. Greg Cantu, a team leader with Golf Company’s 3rd Platoon.
With the man’s help, the Marines were able to locate the bomb before it could cause any damage - proof that the Marines” efforts in the city are starting to pay off, according to Cantu, who added that the Marines were ‘‘thankful” for the man’s help.
‘‘I think [our efforts are] working because they are helping us now,” said Cantu, a 21-year-old from Bexar, Texas. ‘‘There are still some bad people out there that you can’t trust, (but) there are a lot more that are thanking us.”
In addition to the would-be roadside bomb, the Marines are also keeping weapons out of the hands of the enemy - in the past three weeks, Marines in the Triad region have turned up more than 30 weapons and munitions caches.
Battling long days and cold nights, Golf Company’s six-day operation resulted in several cache finds - AK-47 assault rifles, high-caliber munitions, and bomb-making material - all scattered throughout the city.
‘‘We found a couple of caches and a couple of IEDs that were about to be put together, some weapons, some mortar tubes everyday we found something,” said Cantu.
In an operation that was expected to take up to 10 days, the Marines were able to sweep through the city in just six days - an impressive feat, explained Robins.
‘‘Our searches were definitely thorough,” the Mill Creek, Okla., native explained.
Robins said that the Marines” ability to find hidden caches is further limiting insurgents” ability to attack U.S. and Iraqi forces. Each cache the Marines find amounts to fewer weapons insurgents can use to conduct small-arms and improvised explosive device attacks.
The Marines also discovered several wireless phone stations that were expected to be used as wireless command detonation devices, explained Robins.
‘‘We didn’t find a whole lot of stuff compared to other cities in the Triad. It was a little less than we expected to find,” said Robins. ‘‘The Marines would find something, I would go and look at it and ask ‘How did you find that there? What made you look there?’”
Still, the Marines say those caches they did find could potentially save lives, both U.S. and Iraqi.
‘‘The caches [we found] were small but significant,” said Sgt. Luis Rosado, platoon sergeant for Golf Company’s 1st Platoon and 27-year-old from Monroe, Pa. Rosado’s platoon discovered two caches during Golf Company’s recent sweeps through Haditha.
‘‘We took our time, we don’t overlook anything and we turn over every stone until we find something,” he said.
Editor’s Note: Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin contributed to this report. The battalion is nicknamed the ‘‘Magnificent Bastards,” and is part of a surge of hundreds of additional U.S. troops into the volatile western Anbar Province late last month in an attempt to keep the region secure and allow for the introduction of additional Iraqi security forces, according to U.S. military commanders in Anbar Province.
Ellie
‘‘Magnificent Bastards”
Search operations improving
By Staff Sgt. T.G. Kessler
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC)
HADITHA, Iraq - After six days of searching markets, homes and other key locations in this Euphrates River city of 30,000, U.S. Marines are reporting that security in this once insurgent-heavy region is steadily increasing.
In just under a week, Marines from the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment wrapped-up a city-wide cordon and search operation, capturing insurgents and discovering multiple weapons and munitions caches.
It was the third in a series of U.S. military-led operations to clear and hold the Haditha ‘‘Triad” region - three cities clustered along the Euphrates in western Anbar Province: Haditha, Barwanah and Haqlaniyah.
‘‘You look at the enemy attitude before we showed up, other than a few tragic incidents the enemy has been beat down to parade rest,” said Capt. Clinton Robins, Golf Company’s commanding officer. ‘‘He’s hurting but he might try to get froggy and if he does, we’ll be there to smack him back down again.”
The company has spent more than a month conducting daily patrols in Haditha in an effort to deter insurgent activity and increase security conditions in this city nestled along the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad.
Part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Golf Company is part of a surge of hundreds of additional U.S. troops into the volatile western Anbar Province in an attempt to keep the region secure and allow for the introduction of additional Iraqi security forces.
Until the addition of hundreds of Marines, the task of providing security to the Triad region has fallen on the shoulders of one Marine Corps battalion. But with more troops, comes more presence in local communities, and less chance for insurgents to operate freely, the Marines say.
‘‘We were expecting to see more enemy activity but when you look back, it makes perfect sense. If [my Marines] were coming from my direction I would go the other way [too],” laughed Robins.
So far, the extra manpower seems to be working. Coupled with an 8-foot-high dirt wall which encompasses all three ‘‘Triad” cities, the Marines can now effectively control who comes in and out of the city, a crucial measure to limiting insurgents” movement in and out of the city, the Marines say.
But beefed up security measures and an increase in American troops seems to be turning up more than hidden weapons caches. Haditha’s populace seems to be responding to the increased security measures. Not with acts of violence or complaints, but with support.
One local man here showed U.S. Marines where an improvised explosive device was buried near a road. The man used hand gestures to communicate to a patrol of Marines where the hidden bomb was.
‘‘He was trying to explain it to me but I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. I said ‘ Bomb? Bomb?” and he said ‘ yes” then ran off,” said Cpl. Greg Cantu, a team leader with Golf Company’s 3rd Platoon.
With the man’s help, the Marines were able to locate the bomb before it could cause any damage - proof that the Marines” efforts in the city are starting to pay off, according to Cantu, who added that the Marines were ‘‘thankful” for the man’s help.
‘‘I think [our efforts are] working because they are helping us now,” said Cantu, a 21-year-old from Bexar, Texas. ‘‘There are still some bad people out there that you can’t trust, (but) there are a lot more that are thanking us.”
In addition to the would-be roadside bomb, the Marines are also keeping weapons out of the hands of the enemy - in the past three weeks, Marines in the Triad region have turned up more than 30 weapons and munitions caches.
Battling long days and cold nights, Golf Company’s six-day operation resulted in several cache finds - AK-47 assault rifles, high-caliber munitions, and bomb-making material - all scattered throughout the city.
‘‘We found a couple of caches and a couple of IEDs that were about to be put together, some weapons, some mortar tubes everyday we found something,” said Cantu.
In an operation that was expected to take up to 10 days, the Marines were able to sweep through the city in just six days - an impressive feat, explained Robins.
‘‘Our searches were definitely thorough,” the Mill Creek, Okla., native explained.
Robins said that the Marines” ability to find hidden caches is further limiting insurgents” ability to attack U.S. and Iraqi forces. Each cache the Marines find amounts to fewer weapons insurgents can use to conduct small-arms and improvised explosive device attacks.
The Marines also discovered several wireless phone stations that were expected to be used as wireless command detonation devices, explained Robins.
‘‘We didn’t find a whole lot of stuff compared to other cities in the Triad. It was a little less than we expected to find,” said Robins. ‘‘The Marines would find something, I would go and look at it and ask ‘How did you find that there? What made you look there?’”
Still, the Marines say those caches they did find could potentially save lives, both U.S. and Iraqi.
‘‘The caches [we found] were small but significant,” said Sgt. Luis Rosado, platoon sergeant for Golf Company’s 1st Platoon and 27-year-old from Monroe, Pa. Rosado’s platoon discovered two caches during Golf Company’s recent sweeps through Haditha.
‘‘We took our time, we don’t overlook anything and we turn over every stone until we find something,” he said.
Editor’s Note: Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin contributed to this report. The battalion is nicknamed the ‘‘Magnificent Bastards,” and is part of a surge of hundreds of additional U.S. troops into the volatile western Anbar Province late last month in an attempt to keep the region secure and allow for the introduction of additional Iraqi security forces, according to U.S. military commanders in Anbar Province.
Ellie