thedrifter
10-09-07, 01:01 PM
There’s less violence on Fallujah’s streets these days, but there are still some insurgents bold enough to try to sneak weapons through one of the city’s numerous checkpoints. As the threat remains, so do the Marines who regulate inbound traffic by searching for contraband on possible smugglers. Due to the sensitivities of Arabic culture, this task, at times, requires a woman’s touch.
In order to search women, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), provides a temporary Female Search Team upon the request of 2nd Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 6. They can provide their support for up to five days at a time.
Cpl. Valarie J. Ward, an armorer with the battalion’s Headquarters Company, served in Iraq on a prior tour, but stayed on base. She said she feels she has helped sustain the city’s stability during this deployment by serving with the search teams.
“We’re helping,” said the Phillipsburg, Kan., native. “If it wasn’t for us, somebody could’ve been sniped.”
Ward is referring to an incident in which a woman was found to have a rifle scope wrapped with her baby in a blanket as she passed through an entry control point. The search teams have also discovered copper wire used to make improvised explosive devices, unusual amounts of U.S. money and even a man.
“He was dressed as a woman with a package on his tummy,” said 2nd Lt. Haley N. Katz, a battalion watch officer who has participated on the search teams. “He tried saying he was pregnant.”
Consequences for the smugglers depend on the situation. If an item is confiscated, an onsite legal representative rules whether or not the individual can be reimbursed.
In the case of the cross-dressing man, the search team turned the subject over to the proper authorities.
“The (Iraqi Police) took care of him,” said Katz, a Friendswood, Texas, native. “The male Marines are out there running the ECP, but we give as much control as possible to the IPs.”
Katz said the search teams have taken options away from smugglers and kept weapons out of the hands of the enemy.
“If we weren’t out there searching women, they would exploit that,” she said. “I think it’s a matter of operational necessity.”
This deems the search teams a priority, said Katz. To ensure the Marines remain proficient, they review searching techniques, basic Arabic language skills, and intelligence updates once a month.
“It’s efficient,” Katz said of the training. “We get everything done that we need to get done, that’s for sure. All the girls work together to keep each other updated on everything going on.”
Katz said the operational tempo increased for the search teams during September as they prepared for the Ramadan holiday. Search teams were sent almost every day, which is difficult to do continually because they just don’t have enough women to support it.
“Right now, it’s kind of sporadic. We want to keep them guessing,” Katz said. “They never know when we’ll be out there.”
The demand for female search teams also rose when classes at a local university started. Many buses brought young Iraqis through the entry control point to continue their education. The female Marines said they noticed some of the young women they searched seemed to be westernized.
Katz told of a young woman she thought stood out.
“She had a pink headscarf, pink watch, pink purse, pink shoes, pink eyeliner and she looked fabulous,” said Katz. “Whether or not they choose to wear a pink headscarf, it’s great they feel free enough to have that choice.”
When a search team is sent to work to preserve these freedoms, it is usually a new combination of females. One team member from Baton Rouge, La., said this offers an interesting work environment.
“I enjoy interacting with Marines who do other jobs,” said Lance Cpl. Ceciley D. Crowley, an administrative clerk with the Headquarters Company, CLB-8, 2nd MLG (Fwd). “It’s good to hear another side and see what other Marines do. I’m all about different experiences.”
In order to search women, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), provides a temporary Female Search Team upon the request of 2nd Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 6. They can provide their support for up to five days at a time.
Cpl. Valarie J. Ward, an armorer with the battalion’s Headquarters Company, served in Iraq on a prior tour, but stayed on base. She said she feels she has helped sustain the city’s stability during this deployment by serving with the search teams.
“We’re helping,” said the Phillipsburg, Kan., native. “If it wasn’t for us, somebody could’ve been sniped.”
Ward is referring to an incident in which a woman was found to have a rifle scope wrapped with her baby in a blanket as she passed through an entry control point. The search teams have also discovered copper wire used to make improvised explosive devices, unusual amounts of U.S. money and even a man.
“He was dressed as a woman with a package on his tummy,” said 2nd Lt. Haley N. Katz, a battalion watch officer who has participated on the search teams. “He tried saying he was pregnant.”
Consequences for the smugglers depend on the situation. If an item is confiscated, an onsite legal representative rules whether or not the individual can be reimbursed.
In the case of the cross-dressing man, the search team turned the subject over to the proper authorities.
“The (Iraqi Police) took care of him,” said Katz, a Friendswood, Texas, native. “The male Marines are out there running the ECP, but we give as much control as possible to the IPs.”
Katz said the search teams have taken options away from smugglers and kept weapons out of the hands of the enemy.
“If we weren’t out there searching women, they would exploit that,” she said. “I think it’s a matter of operational necessity.”
This deems the search teams a priority, said Katz. To ensure the Marines remain proficient, they review searching techniques, basic Arabic language skills, and intelligence updates once a month.
“It’s efficient,” Katz said of the training. “We get everything done that we need to get done, that’s for sure. All the girls work together to keep each other updated on everything going on.”
Katz said the operational tempo increased for the search teams during September as they prepared for the Ramadan holiday. Search teams were sent almost every day, which is difficult to do continually because they just don’t have enough women to support it.
“Right now, it’s kind of sporadic. We want to keep them guessing,” Katz said. “They never know when we’ll be out there.”
The demand for female search teams also rose when classes at a local university started. Many buses brought young Iraqis through the entry control point to continue their education. The female Marines said they noticed some of the young women they searched seemed to be westernized.
Katz told of a young woman she thought stood out.
“She had a pink headscarf, pink watch, pink purse, pink shoes, pink eyeliner and she looked fabulous,” said Katz. “Whether or not they choose to wear a pink headscarf, it’s great they feel free enough to have that choice.”
When a search team is sent to work to preserve these freedoms, it is usually a new combination of females. One team member from Baton Rouge, La., said this offers an interesting work environment.
“I enjoy interacting with Marines who do other jobs,” said Lance Cpl. Ceciley D. Crowley, an administrative clerk with the Headquarters Company, CLB-8, 2nd MLG (Fwd). “It’s good to hear another side and see what other Marines do. I’m all about different experiences.”