thedrifter
02-27-07, 06:13 AM
Area native's efforts in Iraq earn him the Bronze Star
By Bryan McKenzie
bmckenzie@dailyprogress.com | 978-7271
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Lessons learned and properly applied have earned a local Marine the Bronze Star for developing successful security measures during the Iraqi elections in December 2005.
Maj. Andrew Warren, 33, received the award last month for meritorious service while serving as operations officer with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5 of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
Warren’s infantry unit provided security and stability in the insurgent-rife city of Fallujah. He received the award for developing successful counter-insurgency actions in which Marines went into the community to combat, capture and thwart terrorists.
“When your mission is to provide security and stability, you judge your successes differently than when you are in a traditional military engagement,” Warren said. “A lot of times you judge your success by what didn’t happen rather than what did. It’s hard to explain to someone that your effort was successful because only two car bombs went off when there were supposed to be 10.”
Warren, who grew up in Woodbrook and Ivy Farms, is stationed in Norfolk, training other Marine units for deployment to Iraq. His unit served in Fallujah for eight months, during which 12 of its Marines were killed. His Marines captured 80 insurgents, as well as weapons stockpiles. He also supervised training of Iraqi troops and joint missions with Iraqis and Marines.
The most visible assignment, however, was providing security and stability for 47 polling places in the country’s election.
“Counter-insurgency isn’t something you do from the base or a tank or a Humvee. You have to get into the community and develop a relationship so you know what’s going on,” Warren said. “You have to be in the neighborhoods, know the population, understand the dynamics and know what makes the insurgents in the area tick. Until you understand those things, you can’t successfully defeat an insurgency.”
Knowing the population and building rapport was the first step.
“Human relations cannot be underestimated. Your credibility personally and the credibility of the Marines truly make a difference,” Warren said. “In the Iraqi culture, interactions with each other and the importance of family are paramount. Family is where they put their trust.”
Using intelligence from the community, Warren designed security measures to protect the polling places. The measures were designed to keep a low American profile.
“We didn’t have the manpower to provide security at every polling place so we had to use the intelligence to determine on which polling places to concentrate our efforts,” he said. “We wanted this to be an Iraqi event and, if it went right, they would rightfully get the credit. If something went wrong, we had to be there to address the situation.”
Insurgents, Warren said, often strike symbolic targets, and the nation’s free election was just such a target. At the same time, the Marines were aware of the election’s symbolism. For Warren’s Marines, voter safety hinged on how well they and previous Marine units had worked their way into the Fallujah community.
“The [Department of Defense] and the Marines have adapted pretty well to the differences between insurgent-style hostilities and more traditional combat,” Warren said. “We had a lot of help adapting from the unit that was there ahead of us, and we learned from their lessons.”
Warren received his medal at a ceremony in January with another Marine. Rear Adm. Richard O’Hanlon presented the awards.
“It’s an honor to have [Warren] in this unit,” Marine Col. Michael Naylor, Warren’s commanding officer, told reporters.
“[He] performed above and beyond what you would normally expect out of somebody.”
Warren is a 1991 graduate of Albemarle High School and a 1995 graduate of Virginia Military Institute. He has served twice in Afghanistan, as well as in the Balkans and other deployments. He plans to stay in the military for some time and says he enjoys his job. For Warren’s father, John, it’s no surprise.
“I’m a 30-year Navy veteran and when he was younger I’d take him [to Navy bases]. He really liked the military, but as he got older he sort of got away from it,” the elder Warren said. “When he was in high school the track coach talked to him about attending VMI and he did. When he graduated, he took a commission in the Marine Corps.”
Warren’s father said his family is proud of the major, although they do worry when he’s deployed.
“You have a lot of sleepless nights and you try to put [the danger] in the back of your mind but it’s there all of the time,” he said. “Still, we’re really proud.”
Ellie
By Bryan McKenzie
bmckenzie@dailyprogress.com | 978-7271
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Lessons learned and properly applied have earned a local Marine the Bronze Star for developing successful security measures during the Iraqi elections in December 2005.
Maj. Andrew Warren, 33, received the award last month for meritorious service while serving as operations officer with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5 of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
Warren’s infantry unit provided security and stability in the insurgent-rife city of Fallujah. He received the award for developing successful counter-insurgency actions in which Marines went into the community to combat, capture and thwart terrorists.
“When your mission is to provide security and stability, you judge your successes differently than when you are in a traditional military engagement,” Warren said. “A lot of times you judge your success by what didn’t happen rather than what did. It’s hard to explain to someone that your effort was successful because only two car bombs went off when there were supposed to be 10.”
Warren, who grew up in Woodbrook and Ivy Farms, is stationed in Norfolk, training other Marine units for deployment to Iraq. His unit served in Fallujah for eight months, during which 12 of its Marines were killed. His Marines captured 80 insurgents, as well as weapons stockpiles. He also supervised training of Iraqi troops and joint missions with Iraqis and Marines.
The most visible assignment, however, was providing security and stability for 47 polling places in the country’s election.
“Counter-insurgency isn’t something you do from the base or a tank or a Humvee. You have to get into the community and develop a relationship so you know what’s going on,” Warren said. “You have to be in the neighborhoods, know the population, understand the dynamics and know what makes the insurgents in the area tick. Until you understand those things, you can’t successfully defeat an insurgency.”
Knowing the population and building rapport was the first step.
“Human relations cannot be underestimated. Your credibility personally and the credibility of the Marines truly make a difference,” Warren said. “In the Iraqi culture, interactions with each other and the importance of family are paramount. Family is where they put their trust.”
Using intelligence from the community, Warren designed security measures to protect the polling places. The measures were designed to keep a low American profile.
“We didn’t have the manpower to provide security at every polling place so we had to use the intelligence to determine on which polling places to concentrate our efforts,” he said. “We wanted this to be an Iraqi event and, if it went right, they would rightfully get the credit. If something went wrong, we had to be there to address the situation.”
Insurgents, Warren said, often strike symbolic targets, and the nation’s free election was just such a target. At the same time, the Marines were aware of the election’s symbolism. For Warren’s Marines, voter safety hinged on how well they and previous Marine units had worked their way into the Fallujah community.
“The [Department of Defense] and the Marines have adapted pretty well to the differences between insurgent-style hostilities and more traditional combat,” Warren said. “We had a lot of help adapting from the unit that was there ahead of us, and we learned from their lessons.”
Warren received his medal at a ceremony in January with another Marine. Rear Adm. Richard O’Hanlon presented the awards.
“It’s an honor to have [Warren] in this unit,” Marine Col. Michael Naylor, Warren’s commanding officer, told reporters.
“[He] performed above and beyond what you would normally expect out of somebody.”
Warren is a 1991 graduate of Albemarle High School and a 1995 graduate of Virginia Military Institute. He has served twice in Afghanistan, as well as in the Balkans and other deployments. He plans to stay in the military for some time and says he enjoys his job. For Warren’s father, John, it’s no surprise.
“I’m a 30-year Navy veteran and when he was younger I’d take him [to Navy bases]. He really liked the military, but as he got older he sort of got away from it,” the elder Warren said. “When he was in high school the track coach talked to him about attending VMI and he did. When he graduated, he took a commission in the Marine Corps.”
Warren’s father said his family is proud of the major, although they do worry when he’s deployed.
“You have a lot of sleepless nights and you try to put [the danger] in the back of your mind but it’s there all of the time,” he said. “Still, we’re really proud.”
Ellie