thedrifter
02-14-08, 07:09 PM
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Reporter's Notebook:
Lima Marine latest in family line
Born at Pendleton, lance corporal now in father’s old unit
By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, February 15, 2008
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Some Marines will tell you that unit ties run in their blood. Twenty-year-old Lance Cpl. Thomas Fuentes of Los Angeles can literally claim blood ties to Company L of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Fuentes’ father was in Company L from 1987 to 1993.
In a way, Fuentes was born to be a Marine Corps grunt.
“I was born at Camp Pendleton,” he said proudly.
His assignment almost didn’t happen. As his boot camp platoon was being assigned companies, Fuentes said he thought he might get stuck in Kilo Company.
“I barely made Lima, by just one guy,” he said.
He was relieved when his instructor barked, “Fuentes! Start a new line for Lima Company!”
Fuentes said he always enjoyed his dad’s military stories as a kid and plans on staying in the Marines.
“Whenever he would talk about it, it was the coolest thing,” Fuentes said. He said he wants to make a career in the Corps. Will his dad get a grandson in Lima as well?
“Hopefully,” Fuentes said, smiling.
Trash bins ignored
Marines in Fallujah with the 3-5 are doing civil affairs-type work as security has improved in the area. Recently, orange trash bins were placed throughout the city in the name of getting locals to stop littering.
So far, it has been a learning process in a city where trash is everywhere.
During a recent meeting with community leaders and Marine commanders, Mukhtar Hamid Hussein Zedan al Jumalyi said that old habits are hard to break, and maybe that’s why the trash bins stand empty.
“The kids say, ‘Whatever, that’s what we used to do,’” he said through an interpreter.
Another leader suggested an ad campaign featuring stickers that pleaded with residents to “clean up your city.”
“We need money to make the stickers,” Hamid said.
Company L commander Capt. Steve Eastin wasn’t entirely sold on the plan.
“We just don’t want the trash from the stickers littering the city,” he said.
‘The ultimate war game’
Perhaps a sample from Wu-Tang Clan’s seminal 1993 debut said it best: “The game of chess is like a sword fight. You must think first before you move.”
That analogy may only require a slight tweaking for Petty Officer 3rd Class Preston McCambry, a corpsman stationed at Camp Riviera near Fallujah with two platoons from 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines.
“It’s the ultimate war game,” the 26-year-old Dayton, Ohio, native said recently as he presided over his chessboard at the base’s lounge. “The [pieces] have different MOS’s, strengths and weaknesses. But they all have the same mission, to capture the opponent’s commander.”
McCambry brought his own board with him on this second deployment to Iraq and plays fellow sailors and Marines every chance he gets. The board occupies its own spot near the Ping-Pong table.
McCambry said he’s been playing for 12 years, first picking up the game while at a hospital waiting room.
“I saw a guy playing it and asked him to show me how to play,” he said.
Once he had the basics down, McCambry started perfecting his game via “Virtual Chess” on Nintendo 64.
“From then on I was playing the game and I just got spun up on it,” he said.
McCambry is a member of the U.S. Chess Federation and subscribes to Chess Life magazine. He said he has played in various tournaments and hopes to become skilled enough to be eligible for the illustrious invitation-only tournaments.
“I like that there’s no luck involved,” he said. “It’s strategy and tactics. You don’t have to roll a dice or depend on a domino.”
McCambry asked to give a shout out to Sara Walsh, the founder of Bull Dog Chess at Camp Lejeune, N.C. She helped organize tournaments to get Marines into the game.
“I was stationed at Lejeune for three years,” he said. “Those were most of my tournament wins.”
Ellie
Reporter's Notebook:
Lima Marine latest in family line
Born at Pendleton, lance corporal now in father’s old unit
By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, February 15, 2008
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Some Marines will tell you that unit ties run in their blood. Twenty-year-old Lance Cpl. Thomas Fuentes of Los Angeles can literally claim blood ties to Company L of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Fuentes’ father was in Company L from 1987 to 1993.
In a way, Fuentes was born to be a Marine Corps grunt.
“I was born at Camp Pendleton,” he said proudly.
His assignment almost didn’t happen. As his boot camp platoon was being assigned companies, Fuentes said he thought he might get stuck in Kilo Company.
“I barely made Lima, by just one guy,” he said.
He was relieved when his instructor barked, “Fuentes! Start a new line for Lima Company!”
Fuentes said he always enjoyed his dad’s military stories as a kid and plans on staying in the Marines.
“Whenever he would talk about it, it was the coolest thing,” Fuentes said. He said he wants to make a career in the Corps. Will his dad get a grandson in Lima as well?
“Hopefully,” Fuentes said, smiling.
Trash bins ignored
Marines in Fallujah with the 3-5 are doing civil affairs-type work as security has improved in the area. Recently, orange trash bins were placed throughout the city in the name of getting locals to stop littering.
So far, it has been a learning process in a city where trash is everywhere.
During a recent meeting with community leaders and Marine commanders, Mukhtar Hamid Hussein Zedan al Jumalyi said that old habits are hard to break, and maybe that’s why the trash bins stand empty.
“The kids say, ‘Whatever, that’s what we used to do,’” he said through an interpreter.
Another leader suggested an ad campaign featuring stickers that pleaded with residents to “clean up your city.”
“We need money to make the stickers,” Hamid said.
Company L commander Capt. Steve Eastin wasn’t entirely sold on the plan.
“We just don’t want the trash from the stickers littering the city,” he said.
‘The ultimate war game’
Perhaps a sample from Wu-Tang Clan’s seminal 1993 debut said it best: “The game of chess is like a sword fight. You must think first before you move.”
That analogy may only require a slight tweaking for Petty Officer 3rd Class Preston McCambry, a corpsman stationed at Camp Riviera near Fallujah with two platoons from 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines.
“It’s the ultimate war game,” the 26-year-old Dayton, Ohio, native said recently as he presided over his chessboard at the base’s lounge. “The [pieces] have different MOS’s, strengths and weaknesses. But they all have the same mission, to capture the opponent’s commander.”
McCambry brought his own board with him on this second deployment to Iraq and plays fellow sailors and Marines every chance he gets. The board occupies its own spot near the Ping-Pong table.
McCambry said he’s been playing for 12 years, first picking up the game while at a hospital waiting room.
“I saw a guy playing it and asked him to show me how to play,” he said.
Once he had the basics down, McCambry started perfecting his game via “Virtual Chess” on Nintendo 64.
“From then on I was playing the game and I just got spun up on it,” he said.
McCambry is a member of the U.S. Chess Federation and subscribes to Chess Life magazine. He said he has played in various tournaments and hopes to become skilled enough to be eligible for the illustrious invitation-only tournaments.
“I like that there’s no luck involved,” he said. “It’s strategy and tactics. You don’t have to roll a dice or depend on a domino.”
McCambry asked to give a shout out to Sara Walsh, the founder of Bull Dog Chess at Camp Lejeune, N.C. She helped organize tournaments to get Marines into the game.
“I was stationed at Lejeune for three years,” he said. “Those were most of my tournament wins.”
Ellie