3rd LAR switches commands, missions multiple times

[thedrifter]

No injuries, 64 IEDs rendered safe
Submitted by: 2nd Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 2005298275
Story by Cpl. C.J. Yard



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 7, 2005) -- The fact that it was done without any injuries to his Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, himself or Marines from Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment stands in mute testimony to Gunnery Sgt. Burghardt’s superior skill, training, professionalism and valor, read the summary of awards submission.

Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt, a team leader with EOD, Headquarters and Service Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group, recently returned from a tour in Iraq. While there, he approached 64 Improvised Explosive Devices, discovered and cleared an IED manufacturing house, destroyed 1,548 pieces of ordnance, two heavy machine guns, a 60mm mortar and a recoilless anti-tank gun that fires a 73mm fin-stabilized, rocket-assisted high-explosive anti-tank projectile, without a single injury.

For his actions, Burghardt, a Fountain Valley, Calif., native, was awarded the Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device. Nicknamed “Clark Kent,” by his team, he became the second in his family to receive the award. His father, Josef Burghardt, received three Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts while serving in the Marine Corps during Vietnam.

Burghardt was attached to Regimental Combat Team-7. The Talon, a robot used to defuse bombs, broke down during the second call Burghardt’s EOD team received.

Even without the technology Burghardt and his team were forced to push on. He gave great credit to his team for their willingness to trust him and never question him.

“I had a great team. They knew that we had a job to get done and this was the way we had to do it,” he said. “I would never put my team in any danger, though.”

Burghardt is not the only Marine on the team being awarded a medal.

“My team members are also being recognized for what we did,” said Burghardt. “Staff Sergeant Victor Levine is receiving a Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device and Sergeant John Camara is getting a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with combat distinguishing device.”

In only six hours, along a treacherous 13-kilometer stretch of Alternate Supply Route Lincoln RCT-7, the EOD team was able to identify 26 IEDs and render them safe. The IEDs ranged from multiple IEDs daisy chained together to improvised rocket launchers.

Convoys traveling along the supply route had been facing heavy insurgency, Burghardt said. “We found fighting positions, dug out holes, machine guns and you could see where they had been sleeping. All they had to do was man their posts, but it’s hard to hide a battalion on the move in the middle of the desert. They knew that we were coming and they wouldn’t succeed in holding us back.”

Burghardt said the team was searching for IEDs now, which is something the team doesn’t normally do.

“I was sitting on top of a [light-armored vehicle] looking for what I call a ‘trail of ants,’” said Burghardt. “As soon as I saw one I would get the vehicle to stop and take my Ka-Bar and wire cutters and approach the IED from a different angle and render it safe. Then my team would come in and blow it up.”

Burghardt described a “trail of ants” as what looked like somebody had tried to hide wires by burying them. He would find the route the insurgents had taken to place the IEDs and then low crawl along their footsteps until he found the receiver.

According to the summary, these actions prevented the injury or potential loss of life of numerous RCT-7 Marines moving along the route to the assembly area. Further, the assault element was able to go into the attack on time as a direct result of the actions of Burghardt and his team.

The summary continued to read, April 23, Burghardt and his team were called back to Alternate Supply Route Lincoln to clear four more IEDs, some of which had been placed in the same location within the past 12 hours. Despite the fact that some of the IEDs were probably secondary devices aimed at killing Burghardt and his team, they proceeded to the site and destroyed the IEDs.

Despite his award, the modest Burghardt feels that he was just doing his job. “I’m supposed to be great, that’s why I’m the team leader,” he said.

After returning from their deployment, Burghardt and his team put together training packages with the real-world experiences they gained while in Iraq for Marines and Sailors getting ready to deploy.

“The combined effort of all of us at EOD Platoon put together realistic training packages for deploying units and EOD members based off real EOD responses in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Burghardt.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

OIF, OEF Veterans Wanted As Special Recruiters
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2005 -- The Army is asking Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans to volunteer for a new mission.

However, this time the mission is not overseas, but right in their own hometown as part of the Special Recruiter Assistance Program.

The Army wants OIF and OEF veterans to go to their local communities to talk about life in the military and their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. This, official say, is an effort to raise awareness about the military, while at the same time encouraging young adults to join the Army.

"That has always been a goal of the Army as far as enlisted accessions is concerned," said Alphonsa Green, senior Army recruiting policy and programs manager. "The more people know about the military, the higher the propensity across the country for our youth to join."

"We want to provide our veterans an opportunity to give a first-hand account of their experiences," he added. "But at the same time, we want to raise awareness so that we can get more volunteers."

The Army sees the program as way of helping reach its recruiting goal of 80,000 Regular Army soldiers for fiscal 2005, and 22,175 for the Army Reserve.

According to Army Recruiting Command statistics for the current fiscal year, the Army recruited 22,246 soldiers for the active Army and 4,597 for the Army Reserve, as of Jan. 31.

Through the program, OIF and OEF veterans will get up to 14 days of temporary duty at a recruiting station near their hometown. There, they assist with recruiting activities, speak at college and community events, and participate in interviews with local media.

"We ask them to talk about service to country, 'I'm doing this, and here's why,'" Green said. "We ask them to mention the various occupational specialties that we offer. We ask them to talk about leadership, discipline and our core values -- all of that coupled with their experience."

About 300 soldiers have signed up for the special recruiting program, with some 35 veterans having already completed duty, Green said.

The Army Recruiting Command, which administers the program, encourages enlisted soldiers age 25 or younger in stateside units, who have served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, to apply online at the USAREC Web site.

However, officials said they should wait until their units return stateside before applying. Those approved for the program will receive acceptance by e- mail.

Green said a similar recruiting program is being made available for Army officers as well.

He said the program may serve another purpose as well: to dispel "negative rumors" about military service.

Green noted there is lot of "good news" not being reported about the military and what soldiers are doing in theater. "This program will show the positive side," he said.

For those considering SRAP, Green, a retired Army sergeant major who served 15 years as a recruiter, said that recruiting duty is not the "tough assignment" that most soldiers consider it to be.

"Once you learn the business, and learn it's a people's business," he said. "And once you learn to communicate effectively with the audience, it's not as big of a task as one would think."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Military Advisers 'Embed' in Iraqi Units
By John Valceanu
American Forces Press Service

ARABIAN GULF REGION, Feb. 10, 2005 – U.S. forces will use an "advisory, assistance and embedding" strategy to help prepare Iraqi forces to provide security and ensure stability within their own borders, according to a senior military officer in the region.

Small teams, each composed of about 10 U.S. servicemembers, will be attached to Iraqi units at the battalion level and above, the officer said today, speaking on background.

A top priority for coalition forces in Iraq over the next year is to do "all we can to make sure the Iraqis understand that ultimately they have to be responsible for their own security," the officer said. "We can help the Iraqis to develop their own indigenous security forces that are capable doing the job by refocusing and reshaping their current forces."

The U.S. troops will be embedded in the Iraqi units, and they will advise and assist Iraqi leaders. They will train and fight alongside the Iraqis and help facilitate operations with other U.S. and coalition units operating in Iraq, the officer said.

Such tactics are nothing new. Special operations forces have used similar approaches for decades. What makes the situation in Iraq different, according to the officer, is that conventional troops, such as infantry or artillery soldiers, will serve as advisers.

"This is a fundamental shift in the way we approach the issue of training Iraqi forces," the officer said. "We are going to take people who are trained and experienced in military operations and ask them to be trainers. It's not going to be a totally smooth transition, but we can make it work."

The teams of advisers will be made up of senior leaders. They will work at the battalion, brigade and division levels, providing "like-leadership" support. For example, an Iraqi lieutenant colonel battalion commander will be paired up with a U.S. lieutenant colonel adviser, according to the officer.

At the national level, members of an advisory group will advise and assist the newly elected Iraqi government as it establishes a national command authority and a clear-cut chain of command over its military units, the officer said.

Accomplishing this large and complex task is going to require an open mind and flexibility on the part of the trainers.

"We have to keep in mind that this is not a static model. It's got to be dynamic, and we have to be flexible," the officer said. "The end state we envision is to not have a need for U.S. advisers at all."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

North Korea Poses Double Threat, Rumsfeld Says
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service

NICE, France, Feb. 10, 2005 – With regard to nuclear weapons, North Korea poses a two-fold threat, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

During a news conference at NATO's informal meeting of defense ministers, the secretary said that country has had a behavior pattern of being one of the world's leading proliferators of ballistic missile technology.

North Korea's proliferation pattern makes it a "worrisome" threat, Rumsfeld said, noting the country also has a history of violating international agreements.

The second aspect of the threat, he said, stems from North Korea's leadership. "Given their dictatorial regime and the repression of their own people, one has to worry about weapons of that power in the hands of leadership of that nature," he said. "I don't think that anyone would characterize the leadership in that country as being restrained."

The secretary was careful to point out that he can't confirm authoritatively that North Korea has nuclear weapons. "I'm told that today in the press they indicated they do, but they've indicated other things from time to time that haven't necessarily proved out," he said.

Rumsfeld said some intelligence reports indicate the claim is true. "I know there are countries whose intelligence (estimates) say that they have them, and they say that they have them, and they may have them," he said, "but I don't want to confirm that because I just can't do that."


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq Veteran Convicted of Killing Wife
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) -- An Army reservist was convicted of killing his wife, who had hailed him and other soldiers as heroes in a letter to the editor while he was serving in Iraq.

The jury found Matthew J. Denni, 39, guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting death last March of his wife, Kimberly, 37. He had been charged with first-degree murder, but he testified he was in a rage because she had been having an affair, and the jury decided the crime was not premeditated.

Her body was found in May in a footlocker in Denni's van after her brother reported her missing. Prosecutors said her husband had conceiled her body for two months.

The night of the shooting, the couple had argued and Kimberly Denni said she was going to going to her boyfriend's house, Denni testified. "I just thought, `No, you're not.' I reached down, opened the drawer and pulled out the gun," Denni said. He said he had not planned to kill her.

A supply sergeant based at Fort Lewis, Denni served several months in Iraq before he was sent home in October 2003 after he was accidentally shot in the leg. He said he had been unable to sleep and had nightmares because of the stresses of war and collapse of his marriage.

In September 2003, Kimberly Denni had written to The Columbian newspaper, referring to a plan to release an action figure based on President Bush's appearance aboard an aircraft carrier that May, declaring declaring major combat operations in Iraq to be over.

"If they want action figure heroes, it's time they look at who the heroes really are," she had written. "I wish people could understand that the soldiers are in Iraq because it's their job, but many don't want to be there."

Denni faces 15 to 23 years in prison when he is sentenced March 10. The Dennis' daughter, who was 7 when her mother was killed, is in the care of a relative.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Troops in Iraq welcome proposal to boost death benefits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Terry Boyd, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, February 10, 2005

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WILSON, Iraq - American soldiers in Iraq say they welcome the proposals to nearly double some death benefits.

Increases are "long overdue" for survivors' benefits such as the death gratuity, "because $12,000 barely covers the cost of a funeral," said 2nd Lt. Kenneth Rivard, 3rd Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, from the Tennessee National Guard.

The Department of Defense is proposing to raise the death gratuity to $100,000 from $12,420 currently, and the maximum life insurance caps to $400,000 under Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, from $250,000. The DOD would pay for the first $150,000 in life insurance for all troops in combat zones.

One point of debate separating defense officials from Congress and military leaders is who should be eligible.

Officials from all four services testified in Congress earlier this month that they would prefer to see death benefits extended to all active-duty personnel and reserve forces, not just those in war zones.

Death benefits are a hot button issue: "Rush Limbaugh talks a lot about how soldiers get a fraction of what a civilian would receive" in death benefits, said Rivard, 32, a married information technology employee in Nashville, Tenn., in civilian life.

The conservative talk-show host has criticized payouts to the families of firefighters and civilians killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which averaged $1 million, compared to the small amount paid to the survivors of soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But in an informal poll of soldiers at FOB Wilson, just slightly more than half said they believe only those in combat zones should be eligible for the increased death payout.

The odds of getting killed increase exponentially when you step into a combat zone, said Sgt. Roy Scott Hammons, with the 3rd Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, from the Tennessee National Guard.

The proposed death benefits should be made available mainly to soldiers in combat zones, said Hammons, 44, from Jackson, Tenn. Only select personnel outside war zones, such as submariners and special operations troops "who undergo very, very hazardous training," should be included, Hammons said.

The proposed death benefit increases are projected to cost about $459 million the first year, then $280 million in 2006, with retroactive payouts to the beneficiaries of soldiers killed on or after Oct. 7, 2001.

It remains to be seen how many soldiers would take advantage of the proposed increases.

Only about 9 percent of newly enlisted soldiers are married, according to Army data. However, that figure increases to 42 percent by the end of the first enlistment.

Rivard encourages his soldiers with dependents to buy the maximum coverage, which costs about $16 a month for the current $250,000 in coverage, he said. Yet only slightly more than half of the 3-278th RCT soldiers interviewed at FOB Wilson said they're paying for the maximum SGLI coverage.

One of those with maximum coverage is Cpl. Michael Henley, 28, who is single. Just because he has no children doesn't mean he doesn't have any obligations.

"If something happens to me, it'll put my goddaughter through college," Henley said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marines must battle for hearts and minds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times
Posted February 10 2005

AL QAIM · The mission was humanitarian: Marines were taking free sheep to impoverished villagers and candy, T-shirts and toys to their children.

Before it was over, the mission would serve as a real-life tutorial in the tactics and morality of the daily gunbattle between Marines and insurgents in this barren stretch of desert along the Syrian border.

A seven-vehicle convoy of heavily armed Marines had ventured overland to buy sheep from Bedouin shepherds. Marines jokingly called the effort Operation Mutton.

What better way to convert hearts and minds than to distribute woolly mammals in a region where a family's wealth is measured by how many sheep it owns?

At first it appeared the Marines had met their match. Bedouins were expert hagglers long before the United States was a country or had a Marine Corps.

Two Bedouins, owners of a flock nibbling on desert grass, said they had no sheep to sell. We have no need for money, they said, standing beside their mud huts and barefoot children. The session seemed destined to fail.

Chief Warrant Officer Dan Sierra, working through a translator, found the soft underbelly of the Bedouin culture: hospitality. Bedouins are famed for never turning away a request from a traveler.

Sierra had the translator make one last plea: We have come all this way to buy your sheep, please do not reject us. The Bedouins looked at each other and, as an icy wind blew in from Syria, they decided to humor the rich Americans.

A deal was struck: five sheep for $350 and several boxes of shoes. The sheep were loaded into a trailer. A bahhhhh-ing sound mixed with the rough roar of the Humvee engine.

Off the convoy went to al-Ubadey, a farming village near the Euphrates River where the Marines have supported the health clinic and the Navy is working to improve the water system.

Respects were paid to the mayor, a dignified figure in black gown and gold brocade. The local imam, an aging and blind cleric of great influence, was given a fat sheep. If he said thank you, no one heard it. Toys, candy and trinkets were given to the children.

A small knot of men in their 20s stayed aloof, looking disapproving. Even as Marines maintained a tight cordon and watched for trouble, a festive feeling prevailed.

"This is something I never thought I'd be doing, driving around Iraq and giving away sheep," Lt. Josh Watson said. "They never told us about this in supply school." The sheep having been distributed to families picked by the mayor, the initial leg of the midafternoon return trip to the Marines' main base was over rutted off-road trails to avoid detection by insurgents.

The going was slow and bumpy. Within a few miles of the camp, the convoy switched to a paved road.

A car traveling toward the Marines slowed but refused to stop, causing the Marines to wave their arms in the air and warn the driver to pull over. Suicide cars have taken a toll.

Suddenly, from the opposite side of the road, came a tremendous explosion beneath one of the Humvees, followed by small-arms fire, probably from AK-47s.

"Here we go!" Sierra shouted into his radio. Sierra had been concerned that the hourlong stop at al-Ubadey had given insurgents time to spot the Marines and plot an attack.

Later, the Marines would disagree whether the explosion was from a roadside bomb, a rocket-propelled grenade or both. But its power was undeniable. The blast and fireball flattened all four tires on the Humvee and ripped shrapnel holes in its side, windows and trunk. A Marine gunner was knocked unconscious.

The Humvee was one of the newly armored ones. If the explosion had struck one of the thinly protected Humvees used in the assault in 2003 on Baghdad and Tikrit, Marines inside probably would have been killed.

Marines yelled that a triggerman dressed in black was visible in the window of a farmhouse about 100 yards away. A Marine squeezed off four shots from his M-16.

Their vehicles pushed rapidly through the "kill zone." Dismounted Marines spread out to return fire if the insurgents opted to stand and fight. The injured Marine was rushed to the base, where Navy doctors determined he had suffered a concussion but no other injuries.

Towing the crippled Humvee slowed the rest of the convoy to a crawl. Marines scanned the horizon and prepared to respond to a possible second attack. There was no small talk.

Even before the convoy made its way to the base, the injured Marine was aboard a Black Hawk helicopter on his way to a trauma center near Baghdad for further examination and a reassuring telephone call to his wife.

Once back at the base, Marines reported that Iraqis in buses had seemed overjoyed by the attack. A detailed debriefing was held. It was not the first convoy attack for most of the Marines; none thought it would be his last.

One Marine said he could have taken a shot at the farmhouse, but from his angle there were children in the front yard and a woman taking clothing down from a line in the back. He declined to shoot.

Officers had not yet appeared at the debriefing. An unofficial mini-debate ensued among young enlisted about whether the Marine should have fired at the farmhouse.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

3rd ID Troops Reach Out and Touch
American Forces Press Service

CAMP LIBERTY, Baghdad, Feb. 9, 2005 – During their first rotation in Iraq, the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division here had difficulty staying in touch with loved ones back home.

These days, numerous methods of communication are in place to help them let their families know they're doing fine.

Internet access, long distance phone lines, and video teleconferencing are just a few ways a soldier deployed in Iraq can stay in touch with people back home.

"When I first arrived here, I didn't know what to expect," said Capt. Elzie Mitchell, Headquarters Support Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. "I suspected a few AT&T phone centers, but not decent Internet or video teleconferencing to be available in Iraq."

The new facilities and areas set up in the many forward operating bases throughout Iraq now come with AT&T phone centers and Internet cafes, making loved ones just a dial tone or the click of a button away.

"Being able to contact your family is a great thing to have when you have a long deployment ahead of you," Mitchell said. "Just sending your family an e- mail or a phone call to let them know you're alright and alive makes them feel good and helps make the stay not so bad here," he said.

A relatively new tool communication tool, the VTC had been available for a few 3rd ID soldiers. Now it will be more available for use by those in the various forward operating bases in Baghdad after 1st Cavalry Division redeploys.

"It's a pretty good tool to allow soldiers to see and hear their loved ones over a large monitor from the States," said Chief Warrant Officer Eugene Gardner, Headquarters Company, 1st Cavalry Division.

"It [the VTC] has been used for soldiers who've had kids born while they've been deployed as well as graduations and promotions," Gardner said. "If there is an available time slot, soldiers can be scheduled anytime, day or night, as long as they give at least a 48-hour notice."

For the soldiers of the Marne Division, the availability of phone lines and Internet since their last deployment have changed immensely.

"The Internet access has grown considerably since the first rotation," said Sgt. Ronald Coleman of the division's Headquarters Support Company, Special Troops Battalion. "It's not real fast like back home, but it's far better than what we had.

"It makes life easier for the soldiers in Iraq and does wonders for morale," he said.

"During the first deployment, you sometimes waited an hour in a huge line to get on a phone for just a few minutes," Coleman said. "Now there are more phone centers and Internet cafes and the VTC is more available The stay won't be so bad this time around," he said.

In addition, Morale Welfare and Recreation centers also provide access to computers with web cameras, allowing soldiers even greater access to loved ones back home.

(Based on a story by Army Pfc. Ricardo Branch of 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs.)

Ellie

[thedrifter]

General says Marines will reduce Iraq presence
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By ROBERT BURNS
AP MILITARY WRITER
Feb. 10, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Marine Corps will shrink the size of its ground combat force in Iraq this spring, with the Army making a corresponding increase, the Marines' operations chief said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Jan Huly, the deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, said in an Associated Press interview that the Marines will draw down from about 33,000 to about 23,000 when a fresh contingent headed by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force is fully in place in Iraq in March.

"This has been planned all along," he said. He said it does not suggest the Marines are too taxed by commitments around the globe, including duty in Afghanistan and training at home.

Overall, the U.S. force is scheduled to drop by March or April from the current 153,000 to the 138,000 level that prevailed before a buildup late last year in advance of the Jan. 30 elections. Much of that temporary increase was achieved by extending the tours of Army units. The Marines also added several thousand, and they are now getting ready to return home.

Huly said that for planning purposes the Marines expect to maintain their force level in Iraq at about the 23,000 level "for the foreseeable future." He declined to define that more precisely.

A former deputy commander of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Huly said he has seen no evidence that the fast pace of deployments since the start of the Iraq war - with Marines spending seven months in Iraq, then returning with only seven months' break at home - is hurting recruiting.

"So far it's not breaking their spirit, their morale or their will to fight," he said.

In fact he thinks the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are a plus for attracting and retaining Marines.

"My 35 years in the Marine Corps have shown me that that's why young men and women join the Marines - to go do that kind of stuff," he said. "Most of them would rather be going back to Iraq than sitting around at Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton shooting blanks. They make more money over there. It's more exciting."

The Marines say they are on track to meeting their recruiting goal for this year, although in January they fell short of their monthly target for the first time in almost 10 years.

More than 450 Marines have died in the Iraq war. Marines bore the brunt of the fighting in Fallujah last November when U.S. forces attacked the city to eliminate a stronghold of the insurgency.

Huly said the Marine Corps is holding up well under the strain, although the Corps is operating its vehicles and aircraft at a faster pace than officials had budgeted for before the war began.

"I think the strain on the equipment will probably show up before the strain on the people does," he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

5th Civil Affairs Group prepares for deployment
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 20052816739
Story by Sgt. Russ Meade



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 7, 2005) -- About 193 Marines with the 5th Civil Affairs Group participated in combat training Jan.31 to Feb. 3 at Landing Zone Quail in preparation for deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The CAG is made up of Marines from 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 3rd Civil Affairs Group, and members of the active, Select Marine Corps Reserve and Inactive Ready Reserve.

The general mission of the CAG is to provide civil-military operations support to the Marine Expeditionary Force or other Marine Air Ground Task Force in order to reduce friction between the civilian population and the MEF or other MAGTF. Once their deployment is over the 5th CAG will cease to exist.

The Marines who do not have the civil affairs military occupational specialty, are going through a 10-day CAG course that started Feb.7. Upon completion the Marines will receive the CAG billet.

The combat training they received included convoy operations, first aid, NBC, land navigation, communications and security and stabilization operations.

Lance Cpl. Jonathan Higham is a radio operator with the 3rd CAG. Higham, who is from Orange County, Calif., works as a civilian in the warehouse at Cotsco. "I came into the Marine Corps to do something meaningful. I am only 19 and wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity to deploy," he said.

Higham said he enjoyed the convoy operations the most.

"The weather was cold, but I stayed motivated throughout the entire week. All of the training was good to go, but I think the convoy ops prepared us the best for possible combat," said Higham.

Sgt. Aaron Eader, a motor transport chief from Annapolis, Md., said this training really opened the eyes of the younger marines.

"The convoy ops training showed how fast things can happen and what the effects can be. I think it surprised us all," he said. "This type of training showed us that everything does not come from the top. The lower ranks have to step up and lead too."

Col. Steve McKinley, commanding officer, 5th CAG, said the CAG's purpose is to improve the quality of life of the Iraqi people.

"We are going to change Iraq one block at a time," he said.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. Soldiers Foil Hand Grenade Handoff to Child
American Forces Press Service

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Feb. 10, 2005 – U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, foiled an attempt by a terrorist to coerce a child into accepting a hand grenade in Ramadi today.

The soldiers, currently assigned to the 1st Marine Division of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, were conducting a patrol in the northeastern sector of the city when they observed a blue 4-door sedan with three military-aged males pull up near their position.

The driver exited the vehicle and approached a child, estimated to be 10 years old. The two exchanged words and the adult gave the child a hand grenade. The child and the adult exchanged possession of the hand grenade several times.

One of them dropped the grenade after U.S. soldiers fired a warning shot in the direction of the terrorist. The child ran away as the adult returned fire with a handgun.

The patrol fired disabling shots into the vehicle to prevent the terrorists from escaping as the adult jumped into his vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. A brief firefight ensued, which resulted in one terrorist being killed and two terrorists being wounded.

The patrol evacuated the wounded to the medical facility at their forward operating base. The unit recovered the grenade from the scene, but was unable to locate the child.

There were no U.S. casualties.

"The incident demonstrates the ruthless disregard that the insurgency has for the citizens of Iraq," said Marine Maj. Phill Bragg, division information operations officer.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

New Trauma Registry Captures Valuable Wartime Data
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Feb. 10, 2005 — A new registry being established here is helping track casualty information from Iraq and Afghanistan to give senior leaders the concrete information they need as they make decisions about everything from what protective gear troops will use to how to better deliver combat casualty care.

The Joint Theater Trauma Registry is ensuring that decision makers have more than anecdotal evidence to guide their decisions that directly affect troops on the ground, explained retired Army Col. L. Harrison Hassell, director of the registry system.

The registry captures details about wounds received and the medical care provided from combat support hospitals, aboard ships and aircraft and throughout the course of their treatment, as well as the results.

This shows medical care providers what treatments were most effective as they apply those lessons learned to other patients with similar wounds, Hassell explained. "A lot of the focus is on life-saving measures at the point of injury," he said. Medical care providers call this the most important stage of the patient's treatment and ultimate recovery.

The data collected in the registry demonstrates the effectiveness of new medical devices and techniques, such as one-armed tourniquets, Hassell said. "You really want to know are you having an impact with a new device you have developed? Is it saving lives?" he said.

The registry also helps medical instructors better tailor their training for the theater, he said.

But the data has longer-term implications as well, Hassell said, helping planners look to the future as they conceive the next-generation combat support hospital and better methods of evacuating patients from the battlefield.

In addition to improving the quality of trauma care, the registry is providing concrete data about a full range of issues of interest to military leaders and decision makers, such as the effectiveness of the new Kevlar helmet and the impact of roadside bombs on the force.

"This is data that affects people fighting right now," Hassell said. "It's helping answer the question, 'What should we do to protect them, and if they are injured, to save them?'"

The Army's Soldier Support Center in Natick, Mass., is studying the data as it strives to improve body armor systems and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is evaluating the amputation data as it works on futuristic limb regeneration concepts.

Monthly reports that summarize the data collected so far have whet the military's collective appetite for more information. "It's like a feeding frenzy," Hassell said. "They all want more."

But providing more information and speeding up its delivery aren't as simple as it might seem. It's a slow, labor-intensive process that involves sorting through files of hand-written notes from weary battlefield healthcare providers, extracting the critical details, translating them into medical codes and entering them into the database.

"It's painfully slow," Hassell acknowledged, emphasizing that until all the data is collected and up-do-date, it offers only a partial view of the big picture.

But in the meantime, the database is providing combat trauma care information never before available, and certainly not while the war was still under way. In the past, medical data from the theater was never collected, and inpatient records were retired to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis as soon as each patient left the hospital.

Hassell said the emerging registry is already beginning to pay off in terms of supporting medical improvements, logistics and operational planning, force modeling, casualty forecasting, training and research and development.

"It's helping ensure that when decision makers or policymakers go forward, they're making decisions based on the best data available," he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

HMM-365 Marines lead during successful deployment
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 20052804249
Story by Cpl. Paul Leicht



AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 08, 2005) -- Quickly approaching the end of their deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the Marines of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365, Marine Aircraft Group 16, are preparing to return home with a real sense of accomplishment.

Day and night HMM-365 played a vital role in the success of the overall 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing mission with recent operations supporting the successful Iraqi elections Jan. 30.

"This squadron has the amazing ability to come together as one to accomplish any mission that is tasked," said Cpl. Jason W. Tracoma, operations chief and training non-commissioned officer, HMM-365, and a native of Powhatan, Va.

Proud of their achievements, other Marines in the squadron are going home knowing they did their jobs to the best of their ability.

"The past six months have been outstanding," said Lance Cpl. Jason Martinez, avionics technician, HMM-365, from Salem, Ore., who also was deployed to Iraq during OIF I. "We have done a lot compared to our last deployment over here. We've flown between 600-700 hours a month, which is about three to four times what we normally do per month."

Supporting everything from VIPs to troop movement and transportation of passengers and cargo, including movement of election materials and monitors, the 'Blue Knights' have let nothing come between them and their mission at hand.

"Even up to this point we have managed to make mission, launching pretty much all of our aircraft out every night for the last three days," added Martinez. "We have never dropped a mission due to maintenance. That is truly exceptional."

Driving through the daily routine of hard work and time off, Martinez said the second time here has been easier for him because he is now more used to being away from friends and family for long periods of time.

"Living in tight quarters with a lot of people and knowing that a lot of your basic liberties are going to be gone for a while will help you get through matters; whereas, I see a lot of new people have a little more trouble adjusting to that," said Martinez.

Working as a team and laying a foundation for HMM-365's success, the squadron's experienced NCOs have helped their fellow Marines get through the daily deployment routine.

"One of the things I have passed on to others is to do your job and keep your head down," said Cpl. Michael A. Hoopai, avionics electrician, HMM-365, from Madison, Ind., who has been with the squadron for almost three years. "This is also my third deployment and my second time to Iraq so I have learned a lot that others have benefited from, but still I find myself learning more from others as well."

More senior NCOs said in addition to passing down lessons learned, much of their success could not have been possible without a daily regimen of activities, as well as contact with friends and family back home.

"It's important to relax too and read, work out or just do something to decompress before the next work day," said Staff Sgt. Clarence A. Brewer, avionics staff non-commissioned officer-in-charge, HMM-365, and a native of Gainesville, Ga., who is near the end of his third deployment in four years. "Emailing with friends and family a lot and getting tons of packages too helps keeps our spirits up. The support we have had from people back home has simply been great."

For those about to deploy for the first time, Brewer said, while they might not see the end product, the work they do right here on base is good for the whole country of Iraq.


"Looking back I will feel relieved to be home again, but at the same time I feel like we accomplished something significant, especially with the elections and how well they went," said Brewer. "We have done a lot to support that and I am pleasantly surprised that the elections went over as well as they did. It's a good step in the right direction."

By late January 2005 with only a few weeks to go before the long trek home, the CH-46 squadron flew approximately 3,500 flight hours, more than 2,100 sorties, transported 9,565 passengers and lifted more than 632,000 pounds of cargo across the Iraqi desert.

Living by their 'Second to None' motto, day in and day out, the Marines of HMM-365 will be leaving Iraq knowing they are an integral part of freedom and something larger than themselves.

"My OIF II deployment with the Marines of this squadron has been a memorable one," said Tracoma. "I consider it a real privilege to be a part of this team."

Ellie