thedrifter
02-01-07, 06:40 AM
A new meaning for home front
February 01,2007
CHRISSY VICK
Daily News Staff
On the web: To see video of troops prowling the streets of Pollocksville log on to www.jdnews.com
MAYSVILLE - Camp Lejeune 1st Lt. Steven Aguilera and his Marines jumped out of humvees in a five-vehicle convoy to establish security at an old building.
They scurried to all corners of the property, taking cover near old silos and creaking buildings. Each one inspected their areas, pointing their M-16 rifles out in front.
In less than a few minutes, the perimeter was considered secure.
Maysville Milling Co. was safe, for the moment.
While the Marines and sailors of 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, were at the company's site on U.S. 17 Wednesday, others were at Piggly Wiggly, Andy's, the Maysville Town Hall and even Maysville Elementary School. Still more were doing the same throughout Jones County, patrolling the streets of Trenton and Pollocksville and meeting with town residents.
Marines in full gear could be seen patrolling neighborhoods through the town and walking along U.S. 17. When they encountered civilians - from store clerks to town officials - the Marines stopped to talk, asking them detailed questions about what they do, how they do it and if they had seen any problems.
They did the same in Trenton and Pollocksville as a part of the civil affairs battalion's training for an upcoming deployment to Iraq in March.
"I got a lot of calls about it, but everyone was excited in town," said Maysville Police Chief Carl Baugus. "It's great for the Marines to get into the community, because they weren't just standing around on the corners. They were going in and out of businesses, interacting with people to let them know what was going on."
The battalion wanted to "get a snapshot" of what each town was like in terms of government, economy and infrastructure - similar to the task they'll face in Iraq, said Maj. Andrew L. Dietz, commander of Civil Affairs Detachment 3 of 5/10.
"It's important to interact with the man on the street because it forces Marines out of their comfort zone and helps establish a rapport with the locals," Dietz said.
The battalion's objective in Iraq is to facilitate the transition of security, government and economic functions from coalition-led operations to Iraqi government operations, he said.
"We'd like to go from doing to helping to assistance to watching," Dietz said. "We'd like to set the stage and then let (the Iraqi government) do it."
Marines of 5/10 will be based at Camp Fallujah but will initiate civil affairs in surrounding towns, much like the training in Jones County where they were based at Oak Grove Airfield outside of Pollocksville.
"We want to help speed up the transition so we can leave," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen McCloskey, a corpsman who served in Iraq in 2005, "and civil affairs is a huge part of that."
Going into local elementary schools brought memories back for McCloskey, who recalled passing out medicine to children in Iraq. To him, this week's training was a huge benefit.
"It was the most realistic thing we've encountered," he said.
Cpl. Jacob Hayes, preparing for his first deployment to Iraq, rode in the back seat of the second humvee in his convoy team. Hayes helped provide security during this week's training.
"They're getting us to interact with civilians, with people we don't know," he said. "That way we know better how to act around the Iraqis."
The Marines and sailors of 5/10 have undergone extensive training over the past six months on the Iraqi culture, including classes on language. Cpl. Steve Brevitz says that was a culture shock. But he's ready for the challenge.
After all, he volunteered for it.
"It's what I joined the Marine Corps for," Brevitz said. "I requested to go to Iraq. And this training helps a lot with giving our teams a chance to see how we work together to prepare for it. On base when we train the Marines act like civilians, but they know how we think, how we act. This is more real."
Staff Sgt. Harlan Calilao has already been a part of the real thing. He is looking forward to seeing what's changed since he was deployed with a civil affairs unit last year to the Al Anbar province.
"We helped reconstruct schools, started sewer and water treatment facilities, cleaned up the streets," Calilao said. "We set up power lines and street lights. We saw a lot of good being done and I hope we see even more good this time around."
Contact staff writer Chrissy Vick at cvick@freedomenc.com or by calling 353-1171, ext. 239.
February 01,2007
CHRISSY VICK
Daily News Staff
On the web: To see video of troops prowling the streets of Pollocksville log on to www.jdnews.com
MAYSVILLE - Camp Lejeune 1st Lt. Steven Aguilera and his Marines jumped out of humvees in a five-vehicle convoy to establish security at an old building.
They scurried to all corners of the property, taking cover near old silos and creaking buildings. Each one inspected their areas, pointing their M-16 rifles out in front.
In less than a few minutes, the perimeter was considered secure.
Maysville Milling Co. was safe, for the moment.
While the Marines and sailors of 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, were at the company's site on U.S. 17 Wednesday, others were at Piggly Wiggly, Andy's, the Maysville Town Hall and even Maysville Elementary School. Still more were doing the same throughout Jones County, patrolling the streets of Trenton and Pollocksville and meeting with town residents.
Marines in full gear could be seen patrolling neighborhoods through the town and walking along U.S. 17. When they encountered civilians - from store clerks to town officials - the Marines stopped to talk, asking them detailed questions about what they do, how they do it and if they had seen any problems.
They did the same in Trenton and Pollocksville as a part of the civil affairs battalion's training for an upcoming deployment to Iraq in March.
"I got a lot of calls about it, but everyone was excited in town," said Maysville Police Chief Carl Baugus. "It's great for the Marines to get into the community, because they weren't just standing around on the corners. They were going in and out of businesses, interacting with people to let them know what was going on."
The battalion wanted to "get a snapshot" of what each town was like in terms of government, economy and infrastructure - similar to the task they'll face in Iraq, said Maj. Andrew L. Dietz, commander of Civil Affairs Detachment 3 of 5/10.
"It's important to interact with the man on the street because it forces Marines out of their comfort zone and helps establish a rapport with the locals," Dietz said.
The battalion's objective in Iraq is to facilitate the transition of security, government and economic functions from coalition-led operations to Iraqi government operations, he said.
"We'd like to go from doing to helping to assistance to watching," Dietz said. "We'd like to set the stage and then let (the Iraqi government) do it."
Marines of 5/10 will be based at Camp Fallujah but will initiate civil affairs in surrounding towns, much like the training in Jones County where they were based at Oak Grove Airfield outside of Pollocksville.
"We want to help speed up the transition so we can leave," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen McCloskey, a corpsman who served in Iraq in 2005, "and civil affairs is a huge part of that."
Going into local elementary schools brought memories back for McCloskey, who recalled passing out medicine to children in Iraq. To him, this week's training was a huge benefit.
"It was the most realistic thing we've encountered," he said.
Cpl. Jacob Hayes, preparing for his first deployment to Iraq, rode in the back seat of the second humvee in his convoy team. Hayes helped provide security during this week's training.
"They're getting us to interact with civilians, with people we don't know," he said. "That way we know better how to act around the Iraqis."
The Marines and sailors of 5/10 have undergone extensive training over the past six months on the Iraqi culture, including classes on language. Cpl. Steve Brevitz says that was a culture shock. But he's ready for the challenge.
After all, he volunteered for it.
"It's what I joined the Marine Corps for," Brevitz said. "I requested to go to Iraq. And this training helps a lot with giving our teams a chance to see how we work together to prepare for it. On base when we train the Marines act like civilians, but they know how we think, how we act. This is more real."
Staff Sgt. Harlan Calilao has already been a part of the real thing. He is looking forward to seeing what's changed since he was deployed with a civil affairs unit last year to the Al Anbar province.
"We helped reconstruct schools, started sewer and water treatment facilities, cleaned up the streets," Calilao said. "We set up power lines and street lights. We saw a lot of good being done and I hope we see even more good this time around."
Contact staff writer Chrissy Vick at cvick@freedomenc.com or by calling 353-1171, ext. 239.