thedrifter
07-09-07, 06:58 AM
Marine's e-mails tell service story
West Chester Twp. sergeant shares his experience during his third tour in Iraq.
By Matt Cunningham
Staff Writer
Monday, July 09, 2007
WEST CHESTER TWP. — Marine Sgt. Stephen Schlau, 2005 Lakota West graduate and West Chester Twp. resident, is one month into his third tour of duty in Iraq.
On June 1, he was promoted to sergeant, and is now the vehicle commander/assistant section leader of a section in the Marines' Second Tank Battalion.
"We have made great progress so far," wrote Schlau from Iraq last week. He noted his section has completed about 20 missions and has captured or killed several of the snipers who have fired on them.
"Well, the first month is almost finished with," he wrote, "and I am still alive ... Good times."
"He's doing a lot of growing up, from a leadership point of view," said Schlau's father, Tom.
He noted that Schlau, with two previous tours under his belt, gives advice to his superiors on local nuances that affect mission planning.
"He knows the area like the back of his hand," his father said. "It's really cool that they listen to him and he can use that experience."
In an early June e-mail, Schlau made mention of the constant threat he and his section faced.
"I have been on patrol for a week now," he wrote, "and really the only thing I can tell you that CNN isn't is the firsthand sniper threat here in the city (and) the never-ending roadside bombs — however hard coalition forces may try — will never go away."
But an e-mail he sent at the end of June expressed a different tone.
He wrote that the small militias in his area of operations were turning against al-Qaida forces, and that one militia brigade had formed for the express purpose of protecting locals from the foreign insurgents.
"Units have been working with them and it is definitely going to change how the outcome of this war will be," he wrote. "It has taken three deployments, but I actually see progress being made over here and I am proud to be a part of it."
Schlau is scheduled to return from Iraq in October or November.
His father said his son intends to enroll in college after his tour.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or mcunningham@coxohio.com.
Ellie
West Chester Twp. sergeant shares his experience during his third tour in Iraq.
By Matt Cunningham
Staff Writer
Monday, July 09, 2007
WEST CHESTER TWP. — Marine Sgt. Stephen Schlau, 2005 Lakota West graduate and West Chester Twp. resident, is one month into his third tour of duty in Iraq.
On June 1, he was promoted to sergeant, and is now the vehicle commander/assistant section leader of a section in the Marines' Second Tank Battalion.
"We have made great progress so far," wrote Schlau from Iraq last week. He noted his section has completed about 20 missions and has captured or killed several of the snipers who have fired on them.
"Well, the first month is almost finished with," he wrote, "and I am still alive ... Good times."
"He's doing a lot of growing up, from a leadership point of view," said Schlau's father, Tom.
He noted that Schlau, with two previous tours under his belt, gives advice to his superiors on local nuances that affect mission planning.
"He knows the area like the back of his hand," his father said. "It's really cool that they listen to him and he can use that experience."
In an early June e-mail, Schlau made mention of the constant threat he and his section faced.
"I have been on patrol for a week now," he wrote, "and really the only thing I can tell you that CNN isn't is the firsthand sniper threat here in the city (and) the never-ending roadside bombs — however hard coalition forces may try — will never go away."
But an e-mail he sent at the end of June expressed a different tone.
He wrote that the small militias in his area of operations were turning against al-Qaida forces, and that one militia brigade had formed for the express purpose of protecting locals from the foreign insurgents.
"Units have been working with them and it is definitely going to change how the outcome of this war will be," he wrote. "It has taken three deployments, but I actually see progress being made over here and I am proud to be a part of it."
Schlau is scheduled to return from Iraq in October or November.
His father said his son intends to enroll in college after his tour.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or mcunningham@coxohio.com.
Ellie