thedrifter
09-14-03, 08:32 AM
Retired general joins Marines on road to Baghdad
September 14,2003
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The first thing Ray Smith wants to do is set the record straight.
Smith, a retired major general and former Camp Lejeune commander who lives in Jacksonville, wants to clarify the title of a book he wrote with former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West.
"The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division" isn't completely accurate, says Smith, who was on the ground with troops during the war in Iraq.
"We spent time with 16 different units in 18 days," Smith says. "At no time were we with a unit that didn't have elements from Camp Lejeune."
The first-hand account of the Marines' part in Operation Iraqi Freedom has just been released by Bantam, four months after President Bush declared major combat over. The book includes elements from all three active and the one reserve Marine division involved in the campaign.
"Even though the book says that it was the 1st Marine Division, it was augmented by Marines from every division," says Smith, who served in Vietnam and commanded troops in Grenada and Beirut.
For example, members of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment from Twentynine Palms, Calif., were with the 2nd Assault Amphibious Vehicle Battalion from Camp Lejeune. The 1st Marine Regiment was working with Camp Lejeune's 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment was aboard vehicles from 3rd AAV Battalion with a company from Camp Lejeune's 2nd Tank Battalion.
"There were plenty of units from 2nd Marine Division," Smith says.
And that, Smith adds, illustrates the beauty of the Marine Corps in action.
"The greatest single strength of the Marine Corps is how they task organize on the fly," Smith says. "It means just what it says - we can organize for the task - because the commonality of training and doctrine throughout the Marine Corps. We expect to do that."
Smith left Jacksonville shortly before the war began. Once in the Persian Gulf, he traveled from Kuwait to Baghdad and back. About halfway to Baghdad, a Marine commander gave Smith and West a yellow Nissan from a captured Iraqi general, and suddenly they were no longer hitchhikers. Gas was a problem because the Marines were only using diesel.
From March 27 until they returned to Kuwait on April 13, they drove roughly 1,900 kilometers in about 18 days.
"We had to hustle for the gas," Smith says. "(The Nissan) had a pair of 35-gallon gas tanks. Sometimes we had to siphon gas from destroyed vehicles, sometimes we could buy it, and once a (Navy construction battalion) topped us off."
Seeing is believing
The trip to Iraq was an eye-opener for Smith, who retired from the Marine Corps in August 1999 after a stint as Lejeune's commanding general.
He marvels at the change in Marine Corps tactics over the past several decades that directed them to discover and exploit enemy weaknesses, rather than simply massing overwhelming firepower to destroy strongholds head on.
"In the past, not only would they not seek out the weakest point, but they would specifically try to take the strongest point," Smith says.
"Maneuver warfare is part of the gradual evolution of military tactics," Smith says. "There is a natural spreading out of troops due to the effective range and rate of fire."
Smith says the Iraqi soldiers were not as timid as some have written, but they succumbed to newer tactics in a fast-paced war.
"A good part of the reason the Iraqi regular army didn't fight is that we outmaneuvered them," Smith says. "There were six regular divisions and two Republican Guard divisions on the road from Basra to Baghdad. The plan was to destroy the first one by the Kuwait border, bypass five others and go between the two Republican Guard divisions.
"With our superior air power, bypassing them was as good as destroying them," Smith says. "They couldn't chase us because our air was all over them as soon as they moved."
Movement on the ground was different than expected. There were some roads, but most of the terrain in that area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was not really desert.
"It was mostly swamps with a lot of canals," Smith says. "Narrow dikes of packed down dirt were some of the only ways to get from one road to the other."
Everywhere there were huge drainage ditches that blocedk the advance of military vehicles. Even using scissor-type portable bridges had limited success, because there was always another ditch a couple of hundred yards away.
"We're pretty sure it's the longest linear campaign in Marine Corps history without getting back on ships," Smith says. "It's also the furthest from the sea in history."
Work pays off
The book opens with elements of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment going after an oil pumping station known as The Crown Jewel. The job for advancing Marines was to prevent the Iraqis from torching the rigs - avoiding an environmental disaster and protecting billions of dollars in oil.
Behind a tanned and rugged face, Smith's blue eyes get a faraway look as he explains what happened.
This first assault was one troops had rehearsed. They spent several months in the California desert during the fall of 2002 at a mock-up of the site under the watchful eyes of oil company technicians.
"They worked on it so hard that when it was over, it was kind of a let-down," Smith says. "I was so proud of those guys and even proud of the whole system for letting them do their jobs. They didn't have someone looking over their shoulder."
Smith crossed into Baghdad on April 10 with that same group of Marines.
"By pure coincidence, we rejoin 1/7 who took the jewel on the first day. Cpl. Shane Ferkovich gets the call to kick in the door to the palace and Tariq Aziz's house. The first and the next to last chapter are very good.
"We got into a couple of real good fights while with (3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment)," says Smith of chapter seven, "The Making of Veterans."
Smith likes chapter nine the best. It's called "Run and Gun" and includes action with 2nd Tank Battalion on Route 6 south of Baghdad. It happened on April 4, while President Bush was visiting Camp Lejeune as a show of support for the families of fallen troops. Marines in tanks, armored vehicles and Humvees engaged Iraqi defenders as Cobra attack helicopters buzzed overhead.
"They had constant contact with the enemy for about 40 kilometers," Smith says. "Second Tank Battalion was the lead battalion for the (West Coast's) 5th Regiment, and they were the lead regiment for the 1st Marine Division. Second Tank Battalion covered about 170 kilometers and punched through a Republican Guard Division in less than 48 hours.
"These were young Marine tankers with no previous combat experience, and they would say to me, 'It ain't even fair, sir'," Smith says. "I'd say, 'That's just the way we want it.'"
The book was dedicated to 1st Sgt. Edward M. Smith of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment who was killed in combat south of Baghdad.
"Bing's son knew him well," Smith says. "He was a former reconnaissance Marine, and we spent time talking with him the night before he was killed.
"Fox Company was attached to 2nd Tank Battalion," Smith says. "The troops actually complained that they were not getting enough trigger time because of the tanks' extended range."
Smith says he's pleased with how the book came together.
"The book includes a unique perspective, because most military history is written by younger guys looking back over what was done, or by contemporaries who might be tempted to exaggerate," Smith says. "This is a couple of old-timers witnessing about the generation after them. It's written in the first person and almost entirely is what we saw and observed ourselves.
"Mostly we were pretty damned impressed with them," Smith says. "The bottom line from the book, this generation upheld the Marine tradition very well."
There will be a book signing at Camp Lejeune from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=Details.cfm&StoryID=16032&Section=News
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
September 14,2003
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The first thing Ray Smith wants to do is set the record straight.
Smith, a retired major general and former Camp Lejeune commander who lives in Jacksonville, wants to clarify the title of a book he wrote with former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West.
"The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division" isn't completely accurate, says Smith, who was on the ground with troops during the war in Iraq.
"We spent time with 16 different units in 18 days," Smith says. "At no time were we with a unit that didn't have elements from Camp Lejeune."
The first-hand account of the Marines' part in Operation Iraqi Freedom has just been released by Bantam, four months after President Bush declared major combat over. The book includes elements from all three active and the one reserve Marine division involved in the campaign.
"Even though the book says that it was the 1st Marine Division, it was augmented by Marines from every division," says Smith, who served in Vietnam and commanded troops in Grenada and Beirut.
For example, members of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment from Twentynine Palms, Calif., were with the 2nd Assault Amphibious Vehicle Battalion from Camp Lejeune. The 1st Marine Regiment was working with Camp Lejeune's 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment was aboard vehicles from 3rd AAV Battalion with a company from Camp Lejeune's 2nd Tank Battalion.
"There were plenty of units from 2nd Marine Division," Smith says.
And that, Smith adds, illustrates the beauty of the Marine Corps in action.
"The greatest single strength of the Marine Corps is how they task organize on the fly," Smith says. "It means just what it says - we can organize for the task - because the commonality of training and doctrine throughout the Marine Corps. We expect to do that."
Smith left Jacksonville shortly before the war began. Once in the Persian Gulf, he traveled from Kuwait to Baghdad and back. About halfway to Baghdad, a Marine commander gave Smith and West a yellow Nissan from a captured Iraqi general, and suddenly they were no longer hitchhikers. Gas was a problem because the Marines were only using diesel.
From March 27 until they returned to Kuwait on April 13, they drove roughly 1,900 kilometers in about 18 days.
"We had to hustle for the gas," Smith says. "(The Nissan) had a pair of 35-gallon gas tanks. Sometimes we had to siphon gas from destroyed vehicles, sometimes we could buy it, and once a (Navy construction battalion) topped us off."
Seeing is believing
The trip to Iraq was an eye-opener for Smith, who retired from the Marine Corps in August 1999 after a stint as Lejeune's commanding general.
He marvels at the change in Marine Corps tactics over the past several decades that directed them to discover and exploit enemy weaknesses, rather than simply massing overwhelming firepower to destroy strongholds head on.
"In the past, not only would they not seek out the weakest point, but they would specifically try to take the strongest point," Smith says.
"Maneuver warfare is part of the gradual evolution of military tactics," Smith says. "There is a natural spreading out of troops due to the effective range and rate of fire."
Smith says the Iraqi soldiers were not as timid as some have written, but they succumbed to newer tactics in a fast-paced war.
"A good part of the reason the Iraqi regular army didn't fight is that we outmaneuvered them," Smith says. "There were six regular divisions and two Republican Guard divisions on the road from Basra to Baghdad. The plan was to destroy the first one by the Kuwait border, bypass five others and go between the two Republican Guard divisions.
"With our superior air power, bypassing them was as good as destroying them," Smith says. "They couldn't chase us because our air was all over them as soon as they moved."
Movement on the ground was different than expected. There were some roads, but most of the terrain in that area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was not really desert.
"It was mostly swamps with a lot of canals," Smith says. "Narrow dikes of packed down dirt were some of the only ways to get from one road to the other."
Everywhere there were huge drainage ditches that blocedk the advance of military vehicles. Even using scissor-type portable bridges had limited success, because there was always another ditch a couple of hundred yards away.
"We're pretty sure it's the longest linear campaign in Marine Corps history without getting back on ships," Smith says. "It's also the furthest from the sea in history."
Work pays off
The book opens with elements of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment going after an oil pumping station known as The Crown Jewel. The job for advancing Marines was to prevent the Iraqis from torching the rigs - avoiding an environmental disaster and protecting billions of dollars in oil.
Behind a tanned and rugged face, Smith's blue eyes get a faraway look as he explains what happened.
This first assault was one troops had rehearsed. They spent several months in the California desert during the fall of 2002 at a mock-up of the site under the watchful eyes of oil company technicians.
"They worked on it so hard that when it was over, it was kind of a let-down," Smith says. "I was so proud of those guys and even proud of the whole system for letting them do their jobs. They didn't have someone looking over their shoulder."
Smith crossed into Baghdad on April 10 with that same group of Marines.
"By pure coincidence, we rejoin 1/7 who took the jewel on the first day. Cpl. Shane Ferkovich gets the call to kick in the door to the palace and Tariq Aziz's house. The first and the next to last chapter are very good.
"We got into a couple of real good fights while with (3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment)," says Smith of chapter seven, "The Making of Veterans."
Smith likes chapter nine the best. It's called "Run and Gun" and includes action with 2nd Tank Battalion on Route 6 south of Baghdad. It happened on April 4, while President Bush was visiting Camp Lejeune as a show of support for the families of fallen troops. Marines in tanks, armored vehicles and Humvees engaged Iraqi defenders as Cobra attack helicopters buzzed overhead.
"They had constant contact with the enemy for about 40 kilometers," Smith says. "Second Tank Battalion was the lead battalion for the (West Coast's) 5th Regiment, and they were the lead regiment for the 1st Marine Division. Second Tank Battalion covered about 170 kilometers and punched through a Republican Guard Division in less than 48 hours.
"These were young Marine tankers with no previous combat experience, and they would say to me, 'It ain't even fair, sir'," Smith says. "I'd say, 'That's just the way we want it.'"
The book was dedicated to 1st Sgt. Edward M. Smith of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment who was killed in combat south of Baghdad.
"Bing's son knew him well," Smith says. "He was a former reconnaissance Marine, and we spent time talking with him the night before he was killed.
"Fox Company was attached to 2nd Tank Battalion," Smith says. "The troops actually complained that they were not getting enough trigger time because of the tanks' extended range."
Smith says he's pleased with how the book came together.
"The book includes a unique perspective, because most military history is written by younger guys looking back over what was done, or by contemporaries who might be tempted to exaggerate," Smith says. "This is a couple of old-timers witnessing about the generation after them. It's written in the first person and almost entirely is what we saw and observed ourselves.
"Mostly we were pretty damned impressed with them," Smith says. "The bottom line from the book, this generation upheld the Marine tradition very well."
There will be a book signing at Camp Lejeune from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=Details.cfm&StoryID=16032&Section=News
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: