thedrifter
02-13-08, 01:16 PM
As violence in Fallujah tapers off, U.S. troops find themselves risking their own safety
By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, February 13, 2008
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marine Sgt. Leodir Santos has had a peaceful and largely uneventful third deployment to Fallujah with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
But as security improves here, his ingrained training and infantry instincts are sometimes clashing with his unit’s new mission in this city, one that saw a marked decrease in violence during the past six months.
As part of this push toward normalcy, Marines are trying to help people, no longer keeping them at arm’s length. Concertina wire is coming down, Marine-Iraqi interaction increases daily and other initiatives are under way to demilitarize this former battleground.
But to help Fallujah progress, Marines are sacrificing some of their own security.
Last month, for example, a Company L convoy was rolling down a Fallujah street when a black car began weaving between the vehicles in the convoy. Was it simply a brazen driver, or something more sinister?
“All of a sudden out of nowhere it crosses the road,” said Santos, of Huntsville, Texas. “Maybe he just wanted to get on the other side.”
The driver of the lead Marine vehicle banked a hard left and the mysterious black car sped off.
No one can exactly say what that driver’s intention was that day — whether it was to harm Marines or get to a destination faster. But such too-close-for-comfort interaction with the populace is the new reality for Marines on the ground.
The Marines are taking more risk in a delicate balance between force protection and progression for Fallujah.
Some Marines here said this seems to run counter to their training.
“It’s kind of scary,” Santos said. “The civilians are getting cocky with it.”
The new way of doing things can be nerve-wracking, said Cpl. Jason Slavin.
“I hate that in certain areas they drive by us, especially when you see the same car pass you four [expletive] times,” said Slavin, of Albuquerque, N.M. “We have to take the good with the bad.”
This is the inevitable cost of seeing progress in the city, said 2nd Lt. Marco Rossi, who commands Lima Company’s 3rd Platoon.
“At some point, it was going to have to get to this level,” he said.
Letting locals get closer is the next step in Fallujah’s recovery and the end of the Marine mission here, according to Maj. Robert Rice, the battalion’s executive officer. While Marines must be prepared to deal with any threat, a more open posture and demeanor on the street is part of helping the locals go forward, he said.
“For the city to mentally move forward … you’ve got to take away the scars of war,” said Rice. “There are paradoxes out there.”
Company L commander Capt. Steve Eastin said he understands that what Marines are being asked to do in Fallujah can be “counterintuitive” to their infantry training, but maintaining the locals’ loyalties requires those people seeing the Marines each day and interacting with them.
“You can’t protect forces so much that you turn the people against them,” Eastin said.
It’s important for Marines to think rationally in the situation and not give free rein to their emotions about potentially dangerous scenarios, he said. But they also must avoid getting complacent about the security risks that still exist.
“They understand everything in context,” Eastin said of his men. “And the context here is everybody’s trying to live their lives, and not everyone’s trying to kill us.”
Bringing the population closer actually protects the Marines because extremists are trying to win back that population and avoid indiscriminate Iraqi deaths, Rossi said. An empty street with no locals is a sign that something may be coming.
“We use the people as security,” he said. “If we’re with them, we likely won’t get attacked.”
And the locals know that if the Marines are hurt, their lives may be inconvenienced, said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Wright of 3rd Platoon.
“There’s a certain level of compassion they’ve built for us,” said Wright, of San Jose, Calif. “They may not really like us, but they don’t want to see us hurt.”
Eastin realizes his Marines are walking a tenuous line between their own protection and the resurrection of Fallujah.
“The second somebody gets killed, I’m going to have some serious challenges,” he said.
Ellie
By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, February 13, 2008
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marine Sgt. Leodir Santos has had a peaceful and largely uneventful third deployment to Fallujah with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
But as security improves here, his ingrained training and infantry instincts are sometimes clashing with his unit’s new mission in this city, one that saw a marked decrease in violence during the past six months.
As part of this push toward normalcy, Marines are trying to help people, no longer keeping them at arm’s length. Concertina wire is coming down, Marine-Iraqi interaction increases daily and other initiatives are under way to demilitarize this former battleground.
But to help Fallujah progress, Marines are sacrificing some of their own security.
Last month, for example, a Company L convoy was rolling down a Fallujah street when a black car began weaving between the vehicles in the convoy. Was it simply a brazen driver, or something more sinister?
“All of a sudden out of nowhere it crosses the road,” said Santos, of Huntsville, Texas. “Maybe he just wanted to get on the other side.”
The driver of the lead Marine vehicle banked a hard left and the mysterious black car sped off.
No one can exactly say what that driver’s intention was that day — whether it was to harm Marines or get to a destination faster. But such too-close-for-comfort interaction with the populace is the new reality for Marines on the ground.
The Marines are taking more risk in a delicate balance between force protection and progression for Fallujah.
Some Marines here said this seems to run counter to their training.
“It’s kind of scary,” Santos said. “The civilians are getting cocky with it.”
The new way of doing things can be nerve-wracking, said Cpl. Jason Slavin.
“I hate that in certain areas they drive by us, especially when you see the same car pass you four [expletive] times,” said Slavin, of Albuquerque, N.M. “We have to take the good with the bad.”
This is the inevitable cost of seeing progress in the city, said 2nd Lt. Marco Rossi, who commands Lima Company’s 3rd Platoon.
“At some point, it was going to have to get to this level,” he said.
Letting locals get closer is the next step in Fallujah’s recovery and the end of the Marine mission here, according to Maj. Robert Rice, the battalion’s executive officer. While Marines must be prepared to deal with any threat, a more open posture and demeanor on the street is part of helping the locals go forward, he said.
“For the city to mentally move forward … you’ve got to take away the scars of war,” said Rice. “There are paradoxes out there.”
Company L commander Capt. Steve Eastin said he understands that what Marines are being asked to do in Fallujah can be “counterintuitive” to their infantry training, but maintaining the locals’ loyalties requires those people seeing the Marines each day and interacting with them.
“You can’t protect forces so much that you turn the people against them,” Eastin said.
It’s important for Marines to think rationally in the situation and not give free rein to their emotions about potentially dangerous scenarios, he said. But they also must avoid getting complacent about the security risks that still exist.
“They understand everything in context,” Eastin said of his men. “And the context here is everybody’s trying to live their lives, and not everyone’s trying to kill us.”
Bringing the population closer actually protects the Marines because extremists are trying to win back that population and avoid indiscriminate Iraqi deaths, Rossi said. An empty street with no locals is a sign that something may be coming.
“We use the people as security,” he said. “If we’re with them, we likely won’t get attacked.”
And the locals know that if the Marines are hurt, their lives may be inconvenienced, said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Wright of 3rd Platoon.
“There’s a certain level of compassion they’ve built for us,” said Wright, of San Jose, Calif. “They may not really like us, but they don’t want to see us hurt.”
Eastin realizes his Marines are walking a tenuous line between their own protection and the resurrection of Fallujah.
“The second somebody gets killed, I’m going to have some serious challenges,” he said.
Ellie