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thedrifter
03-19-08, 06:16 AM
Area officials see how Marines prepare for their deployments
March 19, 2008 - 12:49AM
HEATHER GALE
THE DAILY NEWS

Area elected officials made a quick trip to "Iraq" on Tuesday to see how Marines prepare for deployments.

Mayors from surrounding towns, Onslow County commissioners and Jacksonville City Council members toured the Military Operations in Urban Terrain training facility at Camp Lejeune - set up to look like Iraq - to get a first-hand look at what the Marines face every day.

Master Sgt. Ruben Carreras, MOUT instructor, said it is important to have the officials tour the facility.

"The importance of (having the officials here) is to make better relationships with the community, as well as to give them an understanding of what we do, instead of them thinking we just got out there and kill people," he said.

Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips was impressed by the facility and said civilian officials need to understand what the Marines do since they are an integral part of the community.

"These are our citizens that are preparing to go off to Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "It is important to know what they are doing and to know that they are well being prepared to face the mission that they are going on."

Col. Richard Flatau, commanding officer of Camp Lejeune, said having visit from the elected officials on base fosters mutual understanding.

"We obviously border a number of local communities and ... have an inherent understanding of what goes on in the cities and counties from being citizens," he said. "The public doesn't necessarily have the freedom to come on base, wander around and see what is going on, so this is an opportunity for them to come here and gain an understanding."

The MOUT facility recently hired actual Iraqi people to role play and teach the Marines about the language barriers, the culture and customs, Carreras said.

"The role players are going to do the same thing that the Marines would encounter in the hostile environment," he said.

The role players act in all roles - civilians, insurgents, military police, Iraqi police, National Guard and interpreters with the Marines, Carreras said.

Dave Alwatan, an American Iraqi hired to role-play at the facility, said it is valuable for the Marines learn the culture.

"The United States Marines are really good people and we try to help them before they go to Iraq," he said. "The way (the Iraqi people) treats women and how they treat their children there (is very different than in America)."

Alwatan said the best thing the Marines can do while in Iraq is respect the culture.

"People are very strict about their religions and females," he said. "Those are the two very important points."



Contact city and county government reporter Heather Gale at hgale@freedomenc.com or 910-353-1171 ext. 8464.

Ellie