thedrifter
06-29-07, 05:58 AM
Clods of dirt fell from the sky, pinging off the helmets of the combat engineers of Engineer Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward). A wave welled up from the site of an explosion, distorting the ground before the Marines.
The combat engineers sealed off the entrances to the city here in support of a recent operation June 17-19.
According to 1st Lt. Rano J. Mariotti, a platoon commander with the company, the purpose of the operation was to keep insurgents from being able to traffic weapons and improvised explosive device making materials.
Lacking the access points to the city, insurgents will be denied free movement around the area.
“Over the last couple of months, Karmah has had an increase in enemy activity,” said Mariotti, a Bartlett, Ill., native.
Engineer Company designated two teams, a light and a heavy team, to use their demolition and heavy lift capabilities to destroy multiple culverts and passageways. They also placed more than 50 concrete barriers in conjunction with concertina and barbed wire to block roads and bridges.
“It will be very difficult for insurgents to place IEDs now,” said Capt. Walter G. Carr, company commander of Engineer Company. “All civilian traffic will have to go through this route. They’ll have an interest in keeping the routes clear themselves.”
Carr, a Tiston, Ga., native, said he had very few worries about the operation.
“I was a little worried about collateral damage, but (the engineers) did everything right,” he said. “They did an exceptional job.”
He added that although this is a typical operation for the engineers, it was on a much larger scale then they were used to.
“The amount of preparation and work we did in three days was amazing,” said Chief Warrant Officer Oscar M. Moore, a platoon commander and Chicago native with the company. “We had a lot of coordination and support from all the units in the (area of operations).”
Mariotti said he feels his biggest asset during this counter-mobility operation, and the deployment overall, has been his Marines.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he began. “I have a lot of Marines with combat experience and it helps a lot to have them around.”
Using Karmah as foothold, coalition forces will be able to instill security in another region of Al Anbar Province in hopes of one day turning it over to Iraqi Security Forces.
The combat engineers sealed off the entrances to the city here in support of a recent operation June 17-19.
According to 1st Lt. Rano J. Mariotti, a platoon commander with the company, the purpose of the operation was to keep insurgents from being able to traffic weapons and improvised explosive device making materials.
Lacking the access points to the city, insurgents will be denied free movement around the area.
“Over the last couple of months, Karmah has had an increase in enemy activity,” said Mariotti, a Bartlett, Ill., native.
Engineer Company designated two teams, a light and a heavy team, to use their demolition and heavy lift capabilities to destroy multiple culverts and passageways. They also placed more than 50 concrete barriers in conjunction with concertina and barbed wire to block roads and bridges.
“It will be very difficult for insurgents to place IEDs now,” said Capt. Walter G. Carr, company commander of Engineer Company. “All civilian traffic will have to go through this route. They’ll have an interest in keeping the routes clear themselves.”
Carr, a Tiston, Ga., native, said he had very few worries about the operation.
“I was a little worried about collateral damage, but (the engineers) did everything right,” he said. “They did an exceptional job.”
He added that although this is a typical operation for the engineers, it was on a much larger scale then they were used to.
“The amount of preparation and work we did in three days was amazing,” said Chief Warrant Officer Oscar M. Moore, a platoon commander and Chicago native with the company. “We had a lot of coordination and support from all the units in the (area of operations).”
Mariotti said he feels his biggest asset during this counter-mobility operation, and the deployment overall, has been his Marines.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he began. “I have a lot of Marines with combat experience and it helps a lot to have them around.”
Using Karmah as foothold, coalition forces will be able to instill security in another region of Al Anbar Province in hopes of one day turning it over to Iraqi Security Forces.