PDA

View Full Version : 22d MEU (SOC) provides gift of water to Afghan villagers



thedrifter
05-21-04, 12:47 PM
22d MEU (SOC) provides gift of water to Afghan villagers
Submitted by: 22nd MEU
Story Identification #: 200452163657
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks



FORWARD OPERATING BASE PAYNE, Afghanistan (May 21, 2004) -- In an region as arid as Afghanistan, water is the most precious commodity of all.

Villages and towns spring up around sources of water, and when these dry up, the only alternative is to dig down, but lack of resources for the impoverished Afghan populace frustrates or makes impossible such endeavors.

To help the people of Afghanistan with this life-threatening situation, the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) is integrating well-digging projects with its hunt for Taliban and anti-coalition militia.

At a village near Forward Operating Base Payne, the base of operations for Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines, the MEU's ground combat element, work is continuing far ahead of schedule on a well that will not only provide drinking water for the local populace but will also be used to support nearby orchards and fields. The project is the first of its kind since the MEU's arrival in the region several weeks ago.

"These people have absolutely nothing," said Lt. Col. Asad A. Khan, commanding officer of BLT 1/6, who meets regularly with local village elders to determine their needs and garner information on enemy activity. "For years they've suffered at the hands of the Taliban and are only trying to survive."

BLT 1/6's contribution to the local village extends far beyond the water the well will produce. By hiring local labor and contracting for supplies from local businesses, the effort is providing a boost in the area's deflated economy.

According to Khan, the villagers need to see a demonstration of commitment on behalf of the United States and the Afghan government if the Taliban and ACM are to be denied the foothold they've enjoyed with the rural populace in recent years.

"We have to come in here and show them something," said, the MEU's ground combat element. "We have to make a tangible difference in their lives."

This is the first of many civil affairs projects the MEU is planning to undertake as it conducts combat operations as Task Force Linebacker alongside Combined Joint Task Force 76.

In addition to BLT 1/6, the 22d MEU (SOC) consists of its Command Element, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266 (Reinforced), and MEU Service Support Group 22. The MEU is operating as Task Force Linebacker alongside other elements of Combined Joint Task Force 76.

For more information on the MEU's role in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, visit the unit's web site at www.22meu.usmc.mil.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200452164532/$file/Well_Fixing-Pipe_Low.jpg

Afghan workers connect pipes that will be used on a newly-constructed well near Foward Operating Base Payne, the base of operations in south-central Afghanistan for Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines, the ground combat element of the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). Built with local materials and labor, the well is the first of many civil affairs projects the MEU plans to undertake in Afghanistan. Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/DD984843BE68230D85256E9B003A50D5?opendocument

Ellie

thedrifter
05-21-04, 09:45 PM
Mail reaches Marines even during combat operations
Submitted by: 22nd MEU
Story Identification #: 2004519233950
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks



FORWARD OPERATING BASE PAYNE, Afghanistan (May 20, 2004) -- For a Marine infantryman fighting in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan surviving on a mix of adrenaline, fear, and Meals-Ready-To-Eat, a quick note from home can do wonders for morale.

Understanding that basic human need, leaders in the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) have placed the timely and uninterrupted flow of mail high on their list of priorities, and a small team of Marines from the MEU work tirelessly to meet this objective.

Sgt. Carroll Mitchell, of Roanoke, Virginia is the postal chief for MEU Service Support Group 22 and senior postal clerk in the MEU. Along with Sgt. Jason Jones, of Caryville, New York, Mitchell is the first link in the chain that gets letters or packages into the hands of its intended recipient.

"The most mail the MEU has received in one day is seven pallets, or around twenty thousand pounds," said Mitchell, who works with Jones at Kandahar Air Field's central postal station. "We sort all the mail by MSE [major subordinate element] and arrange for its pick up."

When Mitchell and Jones finish sorting the mail, postal clerks from the MEU Command Element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines, and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266 (Reinforced) arrive to pick up the mail that has been conveniently sorted and stacked in bright orange bags.

"I receive the mail from postal and break it down by companies," said Lance Cpl. Dytrick Whiters, of Atlanta, Georgia, a BLT 1/6 administrative clerk who doubles as the unit's postal clerk. "I then push it out to the FOB [forward operating base]where the battalion is."

Whiters, who usually works alone, sorts and forwards to FOB Ripley on average up to two thousand pounds of mail a day. For Marine Medium (Reinforced), Cpl. Josue Valdez, of Austin, Texas, handles the mail while Marysville, Ohio native Cpl. Ryan Shuster takes care of the Command Element.

"The most difficult thing is knowing where everyone is," explained Shuster, who's on his second consecutive float with the 22d MEU (SOC). "Between our core staff, augments, and attachments, I have to either keep the mail here at KAF or send it up to FOB Ripley."

After sorted by the individual MSE postal clerks, the mail is collected and flown to FOB Ripley in the heart of Afghanistan's Oruzgan province via helicopter or KC-130 transport plane. Once there, another MSSG-22 postal clerk, Cpl. Robert Guy, of Muskegon, Michigan, once again distributes the mail to the MSEs who get it to the Marines at the FOB or out in the field via the next resupply convoy.

Despite the hard, time-consuming work involved in getting the mail delivered, the postal clerks derive a certain, behind-the-scenes pleasure from getting the mail out to the Marines.

"We never keep the mail a minute longer than we have to because we know how important it is," said Whiters. "It feels good to know I'm helping boost the morale of the Marines out there in the fight."

The 22d MEU (SOC) is in Afghanistan conducting combat and civil military operations as Task Force Linebacker for Combined Joint Task Force 76 in the Oruzgan province.

For more information on the 22d MEU (SOC)'s role in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, visit the unit's web site at www.22meu.usmc.mil.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004519234325/$file/Mail_Sorting_Low.jpg

Marines from Alpha Co., Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines, the ground combat element of the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), sort the piles of mail that arrived at their location via a resupply convoy. Despite being in the middle of a combat operation in south-central Afghanistan, the Marines received their mail mere days after it arrived in country. Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/2924F731F3CC31D585256E9A001420A1?opendocument


Ellie