Marine Corps News Room

HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Tribal leaders have espoused an unwavering optimism since November, when thousands of U.S. Marines fought fierce opposition to quell this troubled border city that was a haven for insurgents and smugglers.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=36684&archive=true

By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Amid the recent calm, the new city leaders have gathered regularly to sip tea and denounce the violence that gripped their city for years. They talked about ways to open a police station, to rebuild the city and create a working government.

But the two suicide bombers last week that targeted the newly opened police station — which killed five police officers and injured more than a dozen — will force local leaders here to do more than simply talk.

“This will be the last chance for our town — don’t lose it,” Farhan Tkehan, the mayor, told a meeting of tribal sheiks last week. “We cannot say nothing has happened. We cannot say there are no terrorists in our city now.”

In this hardscrabble town on the banks of the Euphrates River and near the Syrian border, the suicide bombers have shattered the tentative peace and confirmed fears that insurgents remain in the region. The attacks mark the start of the latest chapter of life in Husaybah, where an ongoing struggle has evolved from outright war to a bloody tribal battle between longtime neighbors, and then to a simmering mix of scattered attacks and something resembling stability.

Security is undoubtedly better than it was a couple of years ago. Lance Cpl. Allen Caruselle, 20, went on daily patrols in the fall of 2004, when the tribes of Husaybah appeared united in their hatred of the Marines.

“It was the wild, wild west,” said Caruselle, of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, which returned here for a second tour in March.

Caruselle recalled that the Iraqi soldiers they were working with abandoned their camp and fled the city in 2004. Children often made gun-shooting motions with their hands and fingers. And soldiers braced for a gunfight every time they left their gate.

Caruselle’s battalion saw at least 15 Marines killed during its seven-month deployment in 2004. By comparison, the battalion has lost three Marines since arriving in March, Marines said.

The Marines first tried to tame the region in early 2004, mounting a large operation and scouring the city that had become a haven for insurgents. But shortly after the large units of U.S. troops left the area, the insurgents returned and continued to attack the contingent of Marines that remained.

In the summer of 2005, the alliance of local tribes and out-of-town insurgent leaders began to fracture. The Marines began to see and hear gunbattles between the tribes, as some locals turned on the insurgents and allied tribes.

Many residents fled as the violence between local tribes, insurgents and Marines grew.

“It was a big problem, the tribes all had AKs and they were fighting in the streets,” said Adnan Habash Abrahim, who moved with his family to a desert village about 50 miles south of Husaybah, where they spent several months living in tents and waiting for the violence to ebb. He returned in December.

By the summer of 2005, Husaybah was effectively off limits to the Marines, who retained a patrol base on the city’s edge, but often took mortar fire and rarely entered the city.

“Husaybah was just this black hole, you couldn’t go into it,” said Lt. Col. Robert Jones, the executive officer of Regimental Combat Team 7, which controls western Anbar province.

In the fall of 2005, the Marines began to take advantage of the area’s tribal dispute. U.S. forces armed and trained fighters from the Abu Mahal tribal militia, the Khatab Al Hamsa. Dubbed the “Desert Protectors,” hundreds of tribal militiamen helped the Marines mount a massive force that conducted a house-by-house search of the city.

The troops faced resistance for several days, but eventually saw most insurgents flee, leaving behind one last gauntlet of roadside bombs and booby-trapped homes.

This time, however, the Marines did not pack up and leave. Instead, they set up a network of small, platoon-sized patrol bases throughout Husaybah and nearby villages. From those outposts, they patrolled on foot, met with locals and began recruiting a local police force that would prevent insurgents from returning.

“History shows us that in order to be successful in counterinsurgency, you have to be among the people,” Jones said.

In the first six months, the strategy has been mostly successful, making the Husaybah and Qaim region one of the calmest and safest in all of Anbar province.

“It’s not the foreign fighter freeway any more,” said Lt. Col. Nick Marano, the battalion commander for the 1-7. “Before the operation it was much more of a broad-based insurgency. Now, it’s more of a freelance type of activity.”

Marano said he is not surprised that some attacks have resumed since the sweep last November.

“Anytime there is a big operation, the bad guys either scatter or they pick up shovels and pretend they’re farmers. It always picks back up,” he said. “You’re going to have a base level of violence here until the whole country settles down.”

Posted by sr at 7:30 PM | Permalink

Culinary specialists assigned to the amphibious transport dock USS Ogden (LPD 5) are cooking four daily meals aboard Iraq 's Al Basrah (ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) Oil Terminals for the Sailors assigned to Mobile Security Detachment (MSD) 71.

http://newsblaze.com/story/20060530163442tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stor%20y.html

Source: U.S. Department of Defense

While serving as an afloat forward staging base (AFSB) for Commander, Task Group (CTG) 158.1 in the Northern Arabian Gulf, Ogden sent the cooks to live aboard the oil terminals to supplement MSD 71's previous daily routine of "meals on keels."

Previously, nearby coalition ships in CTG 158.1 would cook food aboard ship and transport the "meals on keels" to the oil terminals by small boats. Unfortunately, the food would often arrive cold and scrambled from the rough waters.

"The meals they were getting were cold and sloppy," said Cmdr. James Hruska, Ogden 's commanding officer. "So we took a look and decided we could actually cook on site. Some of our cooks volunteered, and they went over there on a seven-day rotation."

Now Ogden cooks like Culinary Specialist 1 st Class (SW) Creesencio Villanueva Jr. spend a week living and cooking on the platforms. A Navy culinary specialist for nearly 18 years, Villanueva has cooked on four ships and other shore commands before but never in a kitchen of this size.

"Cooking for 30 people instead of cooking for 700 people is a lot different. The only problem is the oven," Villanueva said. "It's a small one and it cooks so slow, so you have to start early just to get your products done on time."

Villanueva wakes up at 4:30 each morning on ABOT to start making the days' meals. There are several freezers of food to use in the creation of his daily meals, like beef and broccoli with rice.

"I volunteered for this because I want to gain experience on the platforms," he said. "To see what they do and what it is like over here."

In addition to experiencing life aboard the oil terminals, Villanueva has also greatly improved the quality of life for the MSD 71 Sailors working and living there.

"It has definitely improved morale amongst the crew members here," said Lt. Cmdr. Kenny Miller, Mobile Security Detachment 71's office in charge. "I think they like the idea of a fresh cooked meal that just came from the stove or out of the oven and hasn't been bounced around, mixed up or possibly dumped over during the course of lifting it onto the terminal. I see that as definitely a good measure of improving the quality of life on board the platforms."

"The meals are prepped a lot better," added Master-At-Arms 1 st Class (AW) Billy Carver, the leading petty officer for ABOT. "[The cook] can actually see what we need. He takes control of the stores. We have better stores than we've had since we got here. It's been more organized and the guys have gotten fed a lot better and there's not been as much waste in the process as well."

Despite cooking for a crew of thirty in a kitchen designed to cook for five, Villanueva said he's looking forward to the rest of his time here, cooking up good meals and some very content Sailors.

"They're so thankful for us being here," said Villanueva. "Compared to what they had before, it's a lot different now."

Posted by sr at 7:02 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Wednesday he was troubled by allegations that U.S. Marines had killed unarmed Iraqi civilians and that, "If in fact laws were broken, there will be punishment."

http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2006/05/31/403774.html&cvqh=itn_bush

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

It was Bush's first public comment on allegations that Marines killed about two dozen unarmed Iraqis in the western city of Haditha last November.

Bush said he had discussed Haditha with Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "He's a proud Marine. And nobody is more concerned about these allegations than the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is full of honorable people who understand the rules of war."

"If in fact these allegations are true," Bush said, "the Marine Corps will work hard to make sure that that culture _ that proud culture _ will be reinforced. And that those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished."

The president was asked about the Iraq allegations during an Oval Office photo opportunity with the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

"I am troubled by the initial news stories," Bush said. "I'm mindful that there's a thorough investigation going on. If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment."

The killings at Haditha, a city that has been plagued by insurgents, came after a bomb rocked a military convoy on Nov. 19, killing a Marine. Residents said Marines then went into nearby houses and shot members of two families, including a 3-year-old girl.

At first, the U.S. military described what happened as an ambush on a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol, with a roadside bombing and subsequent firefight killing 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine. The statement said the 15 civilians were killed by the blast, a claim the residents strongly denied.

Military investigators have evidence that points toward unprovoked murders by Marines, a senior defense official said last week.

If confirmed as unjustified killings, the episode could be the most serious case of criminal misconduct by U.S. troops during three years of combat in Iraq. Until now the most infamous occurrence was the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse involving Army soldiers, which came to light in April 2004 and which Bush said he considered to be the worst U.S. mistake of the entire war.

Once the military investigation is completed, perhaps in June, it will be up to a senior Marine commander in Iraq to decide whether to press charges of murder or other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday there is no firm date for release of the investigative report. But he said he suspects it will come out in "a matter of weeks, not a matter of months" and include photographic evidence.

Posted by sr at 6:58 PM | Permalink

These military volunteers are “gr-r-reat!” which is why their pictures are featured on boxes of cereal in your commissary.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1836595.php

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer
May 31, 2006

Five military community volunteers are featured on special edition boxes of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes that began shipping to commissaries worldwide in May. They’re available while supplies last — only in commissaries.

These volunteers received the National Military Family Association’s Very Important Patriot Award for 2005: Army National Guard wife Michele Canchola; Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Caraway; Air Force husband Robert Davison; Marine Sgt. Clinton Firstbrook; and Air Force son Chris Zaehringer.

Besides getting their mugs on these cereal boxes because the Kellogg Co. is one of the sponsors, the winners each received $1,000 and a trip for two to Washington. Other sponsors are Coca Cola, The Clorox Co., H.J. Heinz Co. and Tyson Foods.

If you’re interested in nominating an outstanding volunteer in your military community, the deadline is June 15.

This marks the sixth year that military community volunteers have shared billing with Tony the Tiger in commissaries.

Posted by sr at 1:05 PM | Permalink

Battery includes Lehigh Valley troops. They'll go overseas in 4 months.

An area Marine Reserve unit departs today for North Carolina to begin training that will culminate in an imposing mission: security detail at an American military base in one of Iraq's most volatile provinces.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b5_5deploy-1rmay31,0,6966451.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed

By Daniel Patrick Sheehan
Of The Morning Call

An area Marine Reserve unit departs today for North Carolina to begin training that will culminate in an imposing mission: security detail at an American military base in one of Iraq's most volatile provinces.

The Reading-based unit — Battery I, 3rd Battalion, 14th Marines — is an artillery battery, but will be trained over the next several months for a host of new duties: among them, securing the military convoys that frequently are targeted by the improvised bombs of the insurgency.

About 150 Marines, including many from the Lehigh Valley, will train at bases in North Carolina and California prior to their rotation in Iraq's Anbar province, which is expected to begin in late summer and last seven months. The unit has deployed to the Middle East once before, assisting the liberation of Kuwait in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

''I am anxious and ready to serve my country,'' said Cpl. Michael Walsh of Fogelsville, 25, who started working as a state trooper in April and will soon patrol far more dangerous highways in Iraq's desert heat. Inspired to enlist after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Walsh said he and his fellow Marines are ''ramped up'' for their first overseas assignment.

''They just want to get over there and serve their country,'' said Walsh, who is based at the state police barracks in Fogelsville.

Anbar, a desert area in the west of the country, has been a hotbed of insurgent activity. About 1,500 American troops were moved to the province from Kuwait this week to help with security in the fledgling days of Iraq's new permanent government.

Gunnery Sgt. Michael Weber of Northampton, a 19-year Marine veteran inspired to enlist by a recruitment commercial aired during an early 1980s Super Bowl, was part of the battery's 1991 Gulf War deployment. He has already begun instructing his fellow Marines in what to expect.

''The temperatures go upward of 115, 120 degrees every day,'' said Weber, 38. ''You have a lot of gear with you, 40 or 50 pounds. You need to be in good physical shape, which of course these guys are.''

Walsh is single, but Weber will leave behind his wife and three children, ages 9, 6 and 3. The silver lining to deployment these days is that communication is immensely more sophisticated than in earlier wars. A letter will reach a soldier in less than a week, compared to two to three weeks or more during the Gulf War. Troops also have access to e-mail and instant messaging. Those technologies weren't available 15 years ago.

Maj. Jim Thomas, the battery's peacetime wartime support officer in charge, said he and other battery personnel will remain in Reading to assist reservists' families.

''That's a very important issue,'' Thomas said. ''If the Marines know their families are taken care of, they'll be able to concentrate fully on the mission at hand.''

Posted by ph at 10:43 AM | Permalink

About 150 Marines from Battery I left this morning for training. The unit is reporting for duty with its parent command, the 3rd Battalion 14th Marines. For most of the Marines, it will be their first deployment.

(At the bottom of this article is information about PA's Military Family Relief)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/wgal/20060531/lo_wgal/9296893

About 150 Marines from Battery I left this morning for training. The unit is reporting for duty with its parent command, the 3rd Battalion 14th Marines. For most of the Marines, it will be their first deployment.

"I'm going to miss my family, my daughter Valderez and Xavier. I'm wishing for Godspeed to get back here in a smoothly manner, safe -- none of my Marines injured," said Cpl. Sean Cave.

The Marines will serve as military police in Iraq's Al-Anbar province.

Military Family Relief

Applications are being accepted for Pennsylvania's new military Family Relief Assistance Program.

Service members or their families with immediate financial needs resulting from their military service can apply for grants of up to $2,500.

Posted by ph at 10:36 AM | Permalink

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (May 30, 2006) -- The Corps’ top officer recently stated that the Marine Corps is headed in the right direction in the future of war fighting, and will stand up its first, fully operational distributed operations-capable battalion by next year.

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/2006695943

May 30, 2006; Submitted on: 06/09/2006 05:09:43 AM ; Story ID#: 2006695943

By Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin, Regimental Combat Team7

Gen. Michael W. Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, said the Corps recently completed a year-long test of the new concept to “make sure we have the right education and the right off-the-shelf equipment.”

Distributed Operations is a concept designed to put more tactical-level decision making authority, equipment and education to Marine small-unit leaders, thus enhancing and expanding combat capabilities of smaller-sized Marine units.

Under the concept, squads will be able to perform tactical functions normally performed by platoons, platoons can perform functions of a company, and so on.

The concept puts more than just expanded decision-making authority to small-unit leaders, it also provides them with the education and equipment to get the job done, according to Hagee.

“I can tell you the future of Distributed Operations is bright,” said Hagee to hundreds of Marines and sailors of Regimental Combat Team 7 in an air hangar at this sprawling U.S. military airbase in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province May 30.

“We have squad leaders, sergeants, in the United States Marine Corps who can control air (assets), and they are doing a great job,” he said. “They (squad leaders) can also coordinate fires.”

The test bed Hagee spoke of involved a Marine rifle platoon, which received six months of advanced training and equipment on the new war fighting concept before spending another half-year operating as a D.O. platoon in Afghanistan.

“When I visited the Army general, he told me that platoon was equivalent to a rifle company, because of how they could coordinate fires and the (physical) effects that they could have because of the training and equipment that they had,” said Hagee.

Under the concept, “Maneuver units will operate in disaggregated fashion with companies, platoons and even squads dispersed beyond the normal range of mutually supporting organic direct fires but linked through a command and control network,” according to 'A Concept for Distributed Operations,’ the Marines’ initial document on the concept, published last year.

Bottom line – under the Distributed Operations concept, smaller units, such as platoons and squads, will be less dependent upon and able to operate further from headquarters elements. D.O. units will also be able to strike enemy forces more quickly by making tactical decisions normally made by higher headquarters, such as calling for fire and coordinating air strikes.

“The ultimate goal is to have every battalion in the Marine Corps D.O. capable,” said Hagee. “We believe we’ve got the education right, we believe we’ve identified the right equipment. We’ve given them more lethal equipment.”

The commandant’s visit was part of a tour of Marine bases late last month in western Al Anbar Province, Iraq, and came on the heels of several allegations of Marines killing civilians in Al Anbar Province. Hagee, and the Corps’ top enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. John Estrada, also visited Marine bases in the U.S. to reinforce the Corps’ core values – honor, courage and commitment.

In an earlier statement, Hagee said the allegations were concerning and should also concern all Marines.

In a Pentagon press briefing with reporters, he stated - "As commandant, I am gravely concerned about the serious allegations concerning actions of some Marines at Haditha and Hamdaniya. I can assure you that the Marine Corps takes them seriously."

During the visit here, Hagee spoke at length about the hardships of combat, and the importance of upholding honor on and off the battlefield.

“Honor is more than just telling the truth,” he said to Marines and sailors, who wore the signature tan, digital-patterned camouflage uniforms. “It’s also believing in and upholding the three basic values our country was founded on – respect for human life and dignity, respect for telling the truth, and respect for other people’s property.”

Hagee shared experiences he had as a platoon and company commander in Vietnam, where he, too, experienced indirect fire, death, and booby traps. He encouraged Marines to talk about combat-related stressful situations before they happen to avoid making decisions based on emotion.

“The first time you should consider what you should do in that kind of a situation should not be on the battlefield in that situation,” he said. “You need to talk about it before hand. Talk about it in a setting like this, but in a much smaller setting, led by corporals and sergeants, staff NCOs (noncommissioned officers) and lieutenants.”

The large majority of Marines and sailors serving in Iraq and elsewhere are performing superbly and making the right decisions every day, the general said. He also stated that America has a Marine Corps because the American people want a Marine Corps, an “organization that stands for something. They want an organization that has high values.”

“The most important thing is we do the right thing, which, as I’ve said, and I think its fair saying again – 99.9 percent of the Marines do everyday, then I think we’re going to be O.K.,” said Hagee.

Posted by ph at 8:57 PM | Permalink

BANTUL, Indonesia (AP) -- U.S. Marines joined an international effort Tuesday to deliver aid and medical equipment to some 200,000 Indonesians left homeless by a devastating earthquake, as hopes faded of finding more survivors.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INDONESIA_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME

By EN-LAI YEOH
Associated Press Writer

Two U.S. Marine cargo planes carrying a mobile field hospital landed in Yogyakarta, closest to the quake area in central Java, after cracks in the airport runway were patched.

A disaster assistance response team from the U.S. Agency for International Development is being readied and the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, which has extensive medical facilities, is en route to the area, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.

The United States also increased its aid contribution to $5 million.

The United Nations said at least 21 other countries have joined the effort to help those left homeless by Saturday's magnitude-6.3 quake, which killed nearly 5,700 people.

As medical aid began to arrive, the threat of a health crisis appeared to be easing.

At two hospitals in Bantul, the hardest-hit district, parking lots and hallways that were filled with hundreds of injured in the days after the quake were clear, with most patients now being treated in beds.

Workers removed a tent from the parking lot at Yogyakarta's largest hospital, Sardjito, that had been used to shelter patients

Posted by sr at 8:39 PM | Permalink

The new Purple Heart stamp is out.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1835874.php

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer
May 30, 2006

In a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery marking the re-issue of the Purple Heart Definitive Stamp, Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson also presented the Purple Heart medal to two soldiers, Spc. Michael Hilliard and Spc. Ian Wagner.

Hilliard and Wagner are both being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for combat wounds.

The U.S. Postal Service first issued a 37-cent stamp with the Purple Heart medal image in 2003. It is a photograph by Ira Wexler of one of two Purple Heart medals awarded to James Loftus Fowler, a Marine lieutenant colonel wounded in Vietnam in 1968. The new stamp, which went on sale nationally May 27, shows the same image of George Washington on a purple background within the heart-shaped medallion. But it reflects this year’s increase in postage to 39 cents.

“I told the crowd we should make this a perpetual stamp, just like the American flag stamp,” said Jim Randles, national commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. “As the American flag is the symbol of the freedom we enjoy, the Purple Heart is a symbol of the cost of that freedom.”

“This stamp will be a daily reminder of the extraordinary valor of our service members,” Nicholson said, according to a press release about the May 26 ceremony. Nearly 100 Purple Heart recipients were invited by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to sit in a VIP section to watch the ceremony.

The Purple Heart was created by George Washington in 1782 for soldiers in the Continental Army. The medal is now presented to service members wounded in combat, as well as to the next of kin for veterans who die in combat.

Postal Service officials say customers have 30 days to get the “first day of issue postmark” by mail. To do this:

• Buy new stamps at a local post office, by telephone at (800) STAMP-24 (800) 782-6724, or at the www.usps.com/shop.

• Affix the stamps to envelopes of your choice and address the envelopes (to yourself or others).

• Place these envelopes in a larger envelope addressed to:

Purple Heart Definitive Stamp

Postmaster

Special Cancellations

1435 N. Quincy Street

Arlington, VA 22210-9700

Posted by sr at 8:07 PM | Permalink

Those who ‘did their job’ honored at Memorial Day ceremony in New Bern

http://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=28072&Section=Local

May 30,2006
SUE BOOK
SUN JOURNAL STAFF

Hilda Pope of New Bern hadn’t planned on attending the Memorial Day event at the National Cemetery. Something just tugged on her heartstrings early Monday.

But when she arrived at the walled field with rows of simple white stones marking 716 graves, her feet took her straight to the monument for the soldier whose contribution touched her life most personally.

“My father was gone for three years and fought in five major battles in World War II,” Pope said.

Her father, Carl Pope, fought in the European theater during some of that war’s most intense battles 21 years after “the war to end all wars.”

“There were no superlatives, no metals. He just did his job and made it through,” she said, also recalling a young lost love who did not return from the war in Vietnam.

New Bern’s National Cemetery — one of 123 across the country — also has a tombstone to mark his contribution, though he remains missing in action.

Clearly all wars have not ended, and keynote speaker Sgt. Maj. Terry Jessup, now enlisted commander at Cherry Point, pulled three tours of duty in the country’s current war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Talking tough about the patriotism and bravery of the all volunteer fighting force the United States now mounts, Jessup said “no one says they do it because of the pay.”

He recalled “the smell of blood and guts” from war zones and watching young men and women die of massive injuries from improvised explosive devices.

“I haven’t shed a tear yet,” he said. “And my female Marines were tougher than me. They do what they do with great pride, and they are good at what they do.

“I married a Marine and we have two children. My son is going to Iraq. And my unit is going back for a fourth tour,” he said, with a little crack in his voice, quickly covered by applause from the more than 300 attending, including Gold Star Mothers Mabel Harris and Thelma Ware.

Andrea M. Becton, Craven County Veterans Council chairperson and a veteran, called forward area officials and representatives of veterans organizations who placed wreaths by the cemetery’s American flag.

“We remember; we are grateful; and we live and work today for the same ideals for which so many Americans paid the supreme sacrifice,” Becton said. “The spirit of our war dead lives forever with us.”

Her remarks were followed by a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps by a contingent from Cherry Point.

Ed Fetzer, of the Sons of the Confederacy, read the Gettysburg Address, and Bryan Slater, of the Sons of Union Veterans, led those attending in the Pledge of Allegiance, continuing the irony of Memorial Day’s origin as Defenders Day following the Civil War.

“It’s always a good feeling to be here,” said Jimmy Sanders, mayor of Havelock, which had a 10 a.m. ceremony by the Harrier in front of City Hall.

“It’s such a beautiful day, and with the thousands of things all these people could do, here they are. It’s a great day,” Sanders said near a tent set up for Monday’s program.

Just a few feet from the tent was the headstone for Chris B. Heath, a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant.

Heath lived from 7/15/26 to 7/23/76 and fought for his country in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. His contribution is summarized on the grave marker with three words: “A hard worker.”

Posted by sr at 7:56 PM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 30, 2006) -- As the sun goes down, a convoy pushes across the treacherous roads of the Al Anbar province performing combat operations under the cloak of the settling darkness.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/547021C42DAE33208525717E0018F815?opendocument

Submitted by: 1st Marine Logistics Group
Story Identification #: 200653003243
Story by Cpl. Daniel J. Redding

Vehicle after vehicle drive on as their machine gunners scan the desert landscape with a steady eye, staying on the lookout for anything suspicious.

Towards the front end of the convoy, the scout vehicle spots something suspicious further down the road. The vehicle commander immediately assesses the situation and radios an alert to the rest of the long trail of vehicles fading into the darkness behind him. Everyone is now aware of the possible threat.

With an ever-present danger from roadside bombs and enemy ambushes, being able to pass this type of information throughout a convoy is extremely important in this insurgent-plagued region west of Baghdad.

With around 300 convoys and other trips successfully conducted throughout the Fallujah area, Marines with the Communications Platoon of Combat Logistics Battalion 5 are running strong, if not better than ever, said Platoon Sergeant Sgt. LaRoyce M. Broom.

The battalion directly supports the Marine infantry unit in the Fallujah area, Regimental Combat Team 5, by making daily re-supply runs to the different camps and outposts scattered throughout the city and its surrounding communities.

Communication is critical for convoy commanders like 2nd Lt. Autumn D. Swinford, a 24-year-old native of Fredericktown, Mo.

"The more information that I have, and the ability to pass that information, can completely change a situation," said Swinford, the officer in charge of 1st Platoon, Combat Logistics Company 115.

Having a communications Marine by her side "makes it so much easier to make decisions on the spot," Swinford said.

The communications platoon has been providing Marines for an average of three convoys a day since it arrived at Camp Fallujah in late February. Each convoy relies heavily on their communications capability and always makes sure they have a Marine who specializes in communications along for the ride.

Some Marines in the company have been on 40-plus convoys in the last three months, said Gunnery Sgt. Raymond E. Adams, Communication Platoon's chief.

When a convoy heads outside the security of camp, a communications specialist will be with it to help the Marines monitor their ability to communicate not only within the convoy but also to ensure the gear is working and relaying information back to the base. This ability allows Marines to call for assistance for situations like encounters with improvised explosive devices, or vehicle repair should one of their armored trucks break down.

If the convoy is large enough, the platoon will send additional communication Marines in case major needs arise, such as malfunctioning radios, Broom said.

For Broom and his Marines, their mission is a success every time a convoy returns to the safety of camp.

There are "a lot of lives" directly affected by how quickly and efficiently a communications Marine receives and relays pertinent information, said Lance Cpl. Michael J. Valentine, serving his second tour in Iraq.

While out on missions personnel within the unit must be kept up-to-date, and the convoy must be in constant communication with other units operating in the area to avoid any confusion, Swinford said.

There is a strong foundation of experience in the platoon, said Broom, given that more than a dozen in the company have deployed two or more times.

Broom, a 25-year-old native of Dallas, is currently on his fourth deployment, having served more than 26 combined months in this area.

Some of those who deployed previously served elsewhere in Iraq under different commands. This collection of varied knowledge aids the platoon, Broom said.

"The experience (we have) makes the operations go a lot smoother," he said.

Serving her first tour in Iraq, Sgt. Diana V. Fabian has handled the responsibility of keeping communication lines open for upwards of 30 convoys so far this deployment. Two of those convoys have endured improvised explosive device attacks.

As the favored weapon of the insurgency, IEDs are bombs often buried on the treacherous roads Fabian and her fellow Marines travel on a daily basis.

Not deterred by the dangers, the 20-year-old Chicago native says her primary motivation each time out is supporting those Marines who serve on the frontlines.

Email Cpl. Redding at daniel.redding@cssemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil.

Posted by sr at 7:47 PM | Permalink

CAMP FUJI, Japan — U.S. Marines and sailors in Scottish kilts?

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=36653&archive=true

By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Welcome to the inaugural Camp Fuji Highland Games, an event steeped in Gaelic traditions that featured a 35-pound hammer throw, a caber toss using a 100-pound tree trunk and “kilted” mile relay. And ye cannah leave out the “putting the stone” contest — similar to the shot put but carried out with a 22-pound rock from Scotland — and a “weight for height” showdown in which competitors had to heave a 46-pound mace-like object over a bar several feet above their heads.

With bagpipes playing all day in the background, Fuji units also locked up Friday in soccer, wrestling and a tug-of-war.

Even the weather was Scottish — cool and windy, with gray clouds offering only an occasional glimpse of majestic Mount Fuji, still capped with snow.

“They asked for volunteers. I was like, ‘Highland Games? What is that?’” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathon Giittinger of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, a Port Hueneme, Calif.-based unit that’s wrapping up a six-month deployment to Camp Fuji. “Figured I’d go out there and get it done.

“We had a few practice sessions, but this is my first time. I thought it would be like the strongman competitions. But this is a little different. It’s not all strength. There’s technique to this stuff.”

Col. J.J. Tabak, Camp Fuji’s commander, came up with the idea to stage the games, according to Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Royall, the senior medical department representative at the base health clinic, who was a key organizer along with Marine Corps Community Services.

“The Scottish started it as a way to get everybody in the community involved,” said Royall, who’s competed in Scottish Highland sports before. “For Marines new to Japan and maybe away from the States for the first time, this opens up their eyes to a lot more than Camp Fuji.”

The Marines and sailors even talked a little smack in the days leading up to the games, Royall said.

“Marines are competitive and aggressive by nature,” he said. “Everybody was talking back and forth to each other. But they’re having fun wearing the kilts and learning about the traditions of Scotland. It’s a good time out here.”

Maj. Darin Morris, Camp Fuji’s executive officer, said organizers might expand the Highland Games next year to include other U.S. bases on the Kanto Plain. A contingent from Itazuma Garrison, a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force installation next to Fuji, took part in soccer, wrestling and the kilted run Friday morning.

The Japan Scottish Highland Games Society, which will hold its games this fall in Tokyo, provided Camp Fuji with the proper equipment for Friday’s event, Royall said.

Lance Cpl. Aaron Burton of Headquarters Battalion Camp Fuji is among a handful of Marines who can clear 13 feet in the “weight for height” event.

“It was kinda difficult to get involved in something Scottish because I’ve got an Irish name,” he quipped. “The tosses are difficult and pretty tough, but it’s a blast.”

Posted by sr at 7:22 PM | Permalink

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military has moved 1,500 troops from Kuwait into Iraq to beef up security in troubled Anbar province, the military said Tuesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/30/iraq.main/index.html

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Terrorists and insurgents have control of parts of Anbar, Iraq's largest province, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said last week.

"The situation in al Anbar province is currently a challenge but is not representative of the overall security situation in Iraq, which continues to improve as the Iraqi Security Forces increasingly take the lead," Lt. Col. Michelle Martin-Hing, a military spokesperson, said Tuesday.

The U.S. announcement said the deployment would be "short-term."

There are roughly 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Posted by sr at 3:01 PM | Permalink

New York, N.Y. - It’s not everyday the son of an American country music star finds himself in combat, but it happens.

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,99087,00.html

Marine Corps News
Paul Kane
May 30, 2006

Lance Cpl. Johnny Conlee, a grunt with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines aboard the USS Kearsarge, is the son of country music great and respected vocalist John Conlee.

The elder Conlee is a music legend with 19 songs that hit the Top Ten and five in the Top Five for country music. Among his most popular were “Rose Colored Glasses,” “Common Man,” “Domestic Life,” “I’m only in it for Love,” and “Lady Lay Down.” The Conlee family operates a farm in Tennessee.

More recently, John Conlee collaborated with two songwriters and recorded a music video called, “They Also Serve,” as an ode to military families.

“We did this video for all the members of the military and their families. It was our humble hope that they’d find it uplifting,” said Conlee while visiting his son in New York City during the Fleet Week celebrations saluting the naval services.

The music video "They Also Serve" is a tribute to military families and spotlights how “those who serve” in the armed forces and “those who wait” at home deal with their experiences. The music video was nominated by Country Music Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Award for the Favorite Patriotic Song.

Conlee’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Conlee, recently returned from a tour in Iraq on combat operations against insurgents around Fallujah, and providing security for the December 2005 Iraqi elections.

“We know firsthand what it means to have a loved one serving,” Conlee the military father remarked on his own family’s experiences with having a son deployed. The senior Conlee served in the Army National Guard of Kentucky from 1967-1973.

“We were happy and relieved to have Johnny back from Iraq last month. It’s a sacrifice to serve and to be among those who wait. But it’s important to the country and we are very proud,” said the elder Conlee.

Lance Cpl. Conlee’s tour in Iraq was not without event.

In December 2005, while on a mission in Anbar Province, his unit was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device that wounded him and several other Marines. Lance Cpl. Johnny Conlee was awarded the Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds received in combat.

He said it was not easy to tell his family, but he called home immediately: “Dad, there’s no right way to say this, but I’ve been wounded. I’m okay.”

But Conlee the Marine was undeterred and went back out on patrol the very night he was wounded. “I’m definitely going to stay a grunt. I love it,” said Lance Cpl. Conlee.

Posted by sr at 12:49 PM | Permalink

On May 29, President Bush signed the Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities (HERO) Act, which amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow service members to still exclude their military compensation from federal income tax, but also contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) while serving in a combat zone tax exclusion area.

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060530-13137.html

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
May 30, 2006

Military compensation earned by members of the armed forces while serving in combat zone areas is excluded from federal income tax. Enlisted members and warrant officers exclude all such military compensation. Commissioned officers exclude up to the maximum enlisted pay plus imminent danger pay for the months they serve in a combat zone tax exclusion area.

The HERO Act is retroactive to tax year 2004. Therefore, members who did not make an IRA contribution during 2004 or 2005, because they were not eligible due to combat zone tax exclusion, have until May 28, 2009 (three years from the date of enactment) to make a contribution to an IRA for those years.

Posted by sr at 12:42 PM | Permalink

RED BANK — A young Marine who almost made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield in Iraq got a heartfelt "thank-you" Monday from people helping him on the road to recovery.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060530/NEWS/605300328/1004/rss01

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/30/06
BY LARRY HIGGS
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

Lance Cpl. Jeremy Trakimowicz of Manchester walked into Red Bank Elks Lodge 233, a feat that family members said was a testament to the modest young man's will to recover from injuries he suffered in combat. Originally, he wasn't supposed to be up and walking by this point, said his father, Peter.

"He is coming along fantastically," his father said. "His therapy is going great, and his speech is better,"

Trakimowicz, 27, was severely wounded on the left side of his head when a roadside bomb detonated in Fallujah on June 24, 2005. He is assigned to the 6th Motor Transport Battalion of Red Bank.

To help with his recov-ery, the Red Bank Elks and the borough Policeman's Benevolent Association Local 39 held fundraisers, including one at the PBA ball on Friday at the Oyster Point Hotel. On Monday, they presented a $14,560 check to the young Marine.

Patrolman Mike Furlong, PBA president, said members of the local just wanted to help him.

"Whether you agree with the war or not, you've got to support these guys," Furlong said. "We're not in it for the "thank-yous.' We just wanted to help. God bless these guys who are over there. "

Jeanne Cuje, president of the Elks Ladies Auxiliary, added a $100 check on behalf of that group.

The money "is nothing compared to what you've given us," Cuje said during the ceremony. "I can only think of what wonderful veterans we have. God bless this wonderful young man."

Kessler Institute therapy

After he was wounded, Trakimowicz was taken to a military hospital in Germany and then to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, said his sister, Tara Reilly of Neptune City. Now he is undergoing rehabilitation at the Kessler Institute in West Orange, which the military is paying for, his father said. The funds raised by the Elks and PBA are covering his other expenses.

"A lot of this stuff, the Marines are taking care of," Peter Trakimowicz said.

Elks trustee Jim Campbell, also a Marines veteran, said that is their way.

"Marines take an oath: We are — to ours — always faithful," Campbell said.

For Trakimowicz, his recovery is measured by each day and each bit of progress he makes in rehabilitation.

"I'm doing better. I feel good," he said.

His immediate focus is on what he's doing now in speech therapy, rather than plans for the future.

"All I'm thinking about is I have to do my speech," he said. "There is still a lot to do. I need to learn speech."

Trakimowicz joined the Marines after graduating from New Jersey City University with a degree in psychology and minor in philosophy. After graduation, he lived in Jersey City and Hoboken briefly before enlisting about two years ago, said Jeff Reilly, his brother-in-law.

"I always wanted to be a Marine. I thought about it when I was in college," Trakimowicz said.

His father is a Vietnam veteran and served in the Army.

"I can't say enough about what they've done for Jeremy. I am totally shocked," Peter Trakimowicz said. "What the Elks and the PBA did is amazing."

The Elks and PBA aren't done.

"This is the first installment," said Elks trustee Howard Kramer, after Donald Schlachter Jr., exalted ruler, presented the check.

Trakimowicz's smile gave away his reaction.

"It's really nice. I came inside and saw all the people, I feel really great about it," the Marine said. "Everyone's really helped out."

Posted by ph at 9:01 AM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 29, 2006) -- Country music superstar Toby Keith performed a Memorial Day concert here for nearly 4,000 service members both live from the Fallujah Chapel and via the internal computer-based broadcast system here May 29.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7BE5185DB7FA89298525717E005CA4BF?opendocument

Story by Cpl. Lynn Murillo

The fans cheers erupted into a roar as the patriotic songwriter and performer stepped onto the small stage at the chapel. Keith opened the hour-long acoustic show with his crowd pleasing hit “I Love This Bar,” bringing the Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen a little piece of America. He played new songs, as well as a few classics like “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and “Beer For My Horses.”

This is Keith’s second visit here. The first was in 2004 just after Marines took over the camp. He played two other venues on Memorial Day as part of the USO’s Toby Keith Tour.

“You can’t appreciate what (service members) do until you see it,” said Keith. “Everybody is so good at what they do and when you come here, you can really understand why America is the number one fighting force in the world.”

The country singer expressed a special satisfaction in lifting troop morale and honoring his father, a vietnam veteran.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, was in the front row for the concert and sang along as Keith sang “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” from his 2003 album “Unleashed.”

Hagee said he enjoyed the concert and was happy to welcome the superstar known as the bad boy of country music to the headquarters for Marines operating in Al Anbar Province.

Longtime fans might consider the performance a way to take their minds of the serious business of war fighting.

“It was an honor to meet him,” said Sgt. Cassie L. Lucero, 28, from Phoenix, an administrative clerk with I Marine Expeditionary Force’s command element.

“I am a huge fan of anyone that supports us,” Lucero said. “The morale boost he just gave everyone here makes me proud to be out here serving my country.”

Lance Cpl. Joseph W. Hanson, of Greybull, Wyo., also a self-proclaimed “big fan,” was elated with Keith’s performance.

“I think it is awesome that he would come out to the middle of Iraq to give us a concert,” said Hanson, a weather observer with I MEF. “If he is spending his Memorial Day out here with us, it means a lot,” adding, Keith could be anywhere this weekend.

Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, commanding general of Multi-National Forces West, presented Keith with a Ka-bar fighting knife and a personalized guitar strap made from a desert-digital camouflage pattern as a token of gratitude for his time and effort. Zilmer jokingly told Keith that he hopes to see the guitar strap in one of Keith’s upcoming music videos. The crowd laughed as Keith smiled, shaking Zilmer’s hand and agreeing to his request.

Keith and his crew are on a five-day tour of Iraq, entertaining troops at several forward operating bases in the next few days, demonstrating their continuing pride and support for service members here.

Posted by ph at 9:17 PM | Permalink

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (May 29, 2006) -- Marines and Sailors serving in Iraq’s western Al Anbar Province were treated to a musical performance by one of Coalition Forces’ greatest supporters – Toby Keith.

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/20066245644

Submitted by: Regimental Combat Team7
Story Identification #: 20066245644
Story by Cpl. Antonio Rosas

The avid backer of America’s fighting forces paid a visit to the Marines of the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 1st battalion, 7th Marine Regiment at the Marine’s base of operations near the Iraq-Syria border May 29, 2006.

The Marines were able to take a break from providing security and stability to the towns along the Euphrates river alongside their Iraqi Security Forces counterparts to enjoy the show.

The battalion is about 11 weeks into a seven month deployment in Iraq.

“The show was awesome,” said Sgt. Jeremy L. Goss, 29, a motor transport non-commissioned officer with the battalion. “It was great that he took time to show his appreciation to the military for what we are doing out here.”

Keith played an hour-long show under his latest United Service Organization Tour, which caters to U.S. service members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany.

The Oklahoma native said it was simply his way of giving thanks to the men and women of America’s military.

“I appreciate everything that you do,” said Keith to the standing crowd of more 1,000 Marines, sailors and soldiers. “Anyone who wears the uniform for the United States has my respect.”

Keith, who has made it his priority to visit Marines and soldiers in far-off corners of Iraq, at military bases such as the one at Al Qa’im, expressed his gratitude to the hundreds of singing fans by playing several of his hits, such as, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”

The Marines who operate in this region of the Euphrates River valley are spread through out a number of battle positions inside the Iraqi cities and towns where they train and mentor the fledgling Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police.

The Marines said the show was a good break from the everyday responsibility of teaching Iraqi soldiers and police how to provide their own security.

For some, such as Lance Cpl. Jason W. Lippert, the live performance was a chance to “get lost in the music,” and not have to think about the war or missing his loved ones.

“It was something different for those of us who are working everyday away from our families,” said the 20-year-old Livermore, Calif., native. “It was a chance to get away from work.”

For those who did not attend the performance, the day was business as usual in this northwestern corner of Iraq – foot patrols alongside Iraqi soldiers and police officers, in towns like Ubaydi and Husaybah, where two new police stations were recently opened.

Meanwhile, Marines from the local Police Transition Team, a group of Marines and soldiers here responsible for mentoring and advising the new police forces, conducted a recruiting screening for new Iraqi police officers to help bulk up local police forces.

Despite two recent attacks on the police in Husaybah, 65 Iraqis were showed to the drive, waiting in lines to be screened by the Marines and Iraqi police for service as a police officer.

Keith made it a point to congratulate the efforts and hard work of the southern California-based unit by meeting with fans before and after the show and signing autographs.

“I have nothing but respect for all of you,” Keith told a small group who gathered around the singer during a photo opportunity.

Posted by sr at 7:34 PM | Permalink

HUSAYBAH, Iraq(May 29, 2006) -- Despite two recent suicide bombings on a new police station here, one Iraqi police officer in this Iraq-Syria border town says his men are undeterred in their duties and are ready to work on their own.

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/05B1370C675B6A678525717E003C17B9?opendocument

Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story by: Computed Name: Cpl. Antonio Rosas
Story Identification #: 200653065622

"Ahmed," a 45-year-old police captain, is one of several new police officers in this city of 50,000 who has endured two attacks on the city’s district police headquarters which has resulted in the deaths of five police officers and injured eight others.

The first attack occurred a week ago when a man walked to the police station and detonated a vest bomb, killing five policemen and wounding five others.

Several days later, the station was attacked again – this time by a vehicle bomb which detonated prematurely, killing two of the vehicle's passengers and wounding another. Three policemen were wounded in that incident.

The attacks came just one month after the opening of the police station.

Despite these attacks the Iraqi cops are undeterred in their duties, said Ahmed.

“It is a lot safer in Husaybah now,” said Ahmed, who recalled more violent times in the city before coalition forces conducted a large-scale operation to rid the city of insurgents last November.

Now, officers are conducting independent operations – regular foot and vehicle patrols through the city, often times without a large U.S. Marine presence to back them.

“I can walk the streets and not be scared for my life,” he said.

The handful of U.S. Marines assigned to work with and mentor the fledgling police force agree. They say the police reacted appropriately during the bombings, rushing to the scene to treat the wounded and secure the area.

Even off-duty police came in to assist, according to the Marines.

“They got out into the street pretty quick and they were doing everything they needed to do to take care of their people,” said Staff Sgt. David J. Perry, the team’s operations chief. “They were immediately setting up roadblocks and checking people out.”

Now, just days after the second bombing, the police officers continue to show up for work and are receiving cooperation from the locals every day – a sign of progress towards stability in the region, according to the transition team.

“They’re still doing a good job, just a little more alert now,” said Maj. Robert C. Marshall, officer-in-charge of the police transition team here.

The police force was stood up earlier this month after its officers graduated from a six-month officer training camp.

Ahmed was born and raised in Husaybah, a city which has been relatively quiet in recent months, until the two suicide attacks.

Ahmed recalled more violent days in the town – kidnappings, beatings, and murder.

Before becoming a police officer Ahmed spent three years as an interpreter for coalition forces, a dangerous occupation at the time, he said.

“I saw Husaybah fill with terrorists every day and no one could do anything about it because they would be killed, said Ahmed. “I couldn’t continue to work as a translator because they would kill me if they found out about my work.”

It didn’t take long for insurgents to learn of Ahmed’s occupation as a translator. They kidnapped him, and for eight days, he was handcuffed and beaten because he had helped the Americans, he said.

“They just came in and threatened everybody,” he said.

The only thing that saved his life was his family’s determination to seek retribution for his disappearance, according to Ahmed.

That is precisely the fighting spirit Ahmed claims that the people of Husaybah currently have in their new police force.

Unlike many Iraqi soldiers who often serve outside of their hometowns, the police here are all local men – more incentive for them to keep the neighborhoods crime and terrorist-free, said Ahmed.

“If I see a terrorist, I will kill him,” said Ahmed, matter of factly.

The police conduct regular security patrols alongside Marines and for the most part, work independently, according to the Marines who work alongside Iraqi Security Forces here.

“They are providing law and order in their city and are abiding by all Iraqi laws,” said Marshall.

“These guys take initiative and they are motivated despite the violence against them,” said the Denver native. “They really care about being police officers and are not in it just for the paycheck.”

Marshall noted that the police officers here worked nearly two months without seeing a paycheck. It was only until last week when they were finally paid.

The Marines of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment – the Marine unit assigned to provide security and assist Iraqi Security Forces in the Euphrates Valley region in northwestern Al Anbar Province – have also watched the police officers evolve and begin to take the lead in security operations.

“The Iraqi police are doing their job well and they are trying to match the job that the Marines and Iraqi Army are doing of providing security,” said 2nd Lt. Chris J. Jamison, a platoon commander with Company B.

Patrolling the area and providing security is a step-by-step process, said Jamison.

“Teaching the police to do that job is tough but they are motivated and they are starting to do things they way we do,” said the 24-year-old from North Great River, N.Y.

Jamison and his Company B Marines conducted foot patrols with the new officers for two weeks to establish a presence in the community and introduce the policemen as a new element of Iraqi Security Forces.

Jamison noted that there is an added sense of security for his Marines when patrolling with the Iraqi police because the officers know the area and the people.

“They live here. They know who doesn’t belong,” said Jamison.

Now that Ahmed is working in his hometown after years of serving alongside Marines and soldiers far away from his family in Baghdad, he feels he finally has a job he can be proud of – keeping his city safe.

“I see my family every day now and I am working in the city where I am from,” said Ahmed.

When asked how his neighbors felt about his decision to become a policeman, Ahmed said that people look up to him and help him everyday. He said the people here want their police to enforce the law.

Furthermore, local tribal sheiks have pushed for the Iraqi police to take over responsibility of keeping the people safe, said Ahmed.

The sheiks maintain regular communication with Marine commanders and have applauded their new police force, he said.

Ahmed knows that the Marines eventual withdrawal from Iraq is dependent on the success of his police officers’ ability to maintain security in the town on their own.

But progress is steady, and the Iraqi police are ready for the responsibility of protecting their city, said Ahmed.

“We will sacrifice ourselves to keep the bad guys out,” he said.

U.S. government and military officials have stated that Iraqi Security Forces should be ready to spearhead security operations throughout Iraq by year’s end.

Posted by sr at 7:20 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON -- Next Memorial Day, visitors to the D.C. area will have a new way to pay tribute to Marine Corps veterans.

http://www.nbc4.com/news/9289178/detail.html

POSTED: 5:30 pm EDT May 29, 2006

Anyone who has traveled down Interstate 95 past Quantico in recent months can't miss the distinctive architecture of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, scheduled to open in November.

The building is a 210-foot spire slashing at a steep angle into the sky.

Gen. George Christmas and Gen. Jerry McKay said the goal is to make the museum a national treasure. The museum will be filled with artifacts and interactive exhibits that bring the Marine experience to life.

Still under wraps but airborne in the atrium is the first helicopter to fly in Korea in assault landings and a Harrier jet. But unlike many museums, the planes and ships will be manned by life-size figures cast in the likeness of actual Marines. Some 220 were selected to have their faces duplicated for the exhibits.

Beyond the atrium, interactive exhibits range from boot camp to the Vietnam-era siege of Kai Sahn. Visitors enter the "landing zone" through the body of a helicopter.

The museum restaurant will be styled as a mess hall.

Most of the $54 million raised has come from private contributions, including a large part from Marines. Future plans for the 135-acre site include a hotel and a trail in the woods leading through a memorial park to a chapel.

Posted by sr at 7:14 PM | Permalink

ZANESVILLE - Every day is Memorial Day for Kathy Godwin.

Every day Kathy mourns the death of her son, Marine Cpl. Todd Godwin, 21, who died from injuries received during enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq on July 20, 2004.

http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/BA/20060529/NEWS01/605290304/1002&template=BA&template=printart

Monday, May 29, 2006

Todd was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

An explosive device went off just 25 yards from Godwin, a 2001 graduate of Zanesville Christian School, and six other marines. Shrapnel hit Todd in the neck and he died instantly.

Todd was awarded the Purple Heart for his valor.

Being a scout sniper was Todd's dream, Kathy remembers.

"The last picture I have of him is on the very Humvee he was killed on with his scouting sniper partner," Kathy said. "He loved doing what he was doing. He felt it was an honor to do something for his country."

The wife of Sgt. Juan Davila, Danielle, wrote on the Web site's memorial page that her husband fought along side Todd and he will forever be "honored for his bravery and sacrifice."

A father of another Marine who served with Todd, Kenneth Halal, said his son, Mike, was also lost in Iraq after Todd's death.

"I can vividly remember Mike writing home telling me about the loss of your son and how it upset him," Halal wrote. "That message home instilled the fear that I may lose my eldest son."

His fear was reality when he did lose Mike, but his grief does not keep him from praying for the dedicated soldiers and servicemen that remain behind to fight for freedom.

A neighbor, Ang Rosta, remembered Todd as a "true gentleman."

"He was a quiet person and a very courteous man," Rosta said. "He was never any trouble and used to help with chores around my house."

Rosta tied a yellow ribbon around a post in his front yard and kept a U.S. flag flying on his property when he heard of Todd's deployment to Iraq.

Kathy said as a parent she feels, as do many parents who have children in the armed services, grateful to a nation for wanting to remember and pay tribute to their children on Memorial Day.

"We're forever proud of them," Kathy said. "The bottom line at the end of each day is we miss them. We love them. We are so very proud of them."

Kathy was told by members of Todd's unit, their battle cry became "For Godwin."

"He would have liked that," Kathy said. "He wanted to make a difference. I think he did."

Posted by ph at 2:48 PM | Permalink

SNOHOMISH -- A year ago here in the foothills to the Cascades, Brian and Shellie Starr began Memorial Day as they always had. It was the start of summer, a weekend of camping, cookouts and catching up.

Brian drove to his office. "I had all these errands to run," Shellie recalls.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/271987_starr29.html?source=rss

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Monday, May 29, 2006
By MIKE BARBER, P-I REPORTER

With their son a Marine serving in Iraq, the thought crossed her mind to attend a memorial for a Marine from Lynnwood who had been killed in action in 2004.

"I thought maybe I should go to it, but I had no time," Shellie recalls. "Later that morning, the Marines made time for me."

Returning from a noon lunch with her daughter and an exchange student, she received two Marine Corps casualty officers at her front door. The Starrs' 22-year-old son, Cpl. Jeffrey Brian Starr, had been killed in action in Iraq at 1:30 a.m. Seattle time.

A sniper found the shoulder opening of Starr's armored vest. The 7.62 mm bullet ripped across his chest and into his heart. He fell instantly.

"The cliches of it being a parent's worst nightmare are true," Shellie says. "I don't remember last summer at all. The fog didn't begin to lift until September."

When it did, however, Jeff Starr's last memorable words would resonate with others, from his family, girlfriend and close buddies to the nation's most powerful newspaper and the president of the United States.

'Just another patrol'

It was 12:30 p.m. Iraq time when Jeff Starr stepped into a Ramadi alley. He was leading his team with Iraqi security forces on patrol. One by one the squadron of 13 men took turns crossing the small, exposed alley that paralleled a notoriously dangerous street.

On his second deployment a year later, he thought he was going to die. His squad was trapped behind enemy lines in Fallujah. He called the April 13, 2004, firefight a nightmare straight out of the movie "Black Hawk Down."

A rocket-propelled grenade knocked out the squad's amphibious landing vehicle, or "track," behind enemy lines. In a running firefight, scores of determined insurgents hurled bullets, RPGs and themselves to wipe the Marines out. Ammunition was dwindling. The battle raged from afternoon to dusk, when rescuers finally slugged their way in.

A year later, Starr and his team were facing danger again. One of Starr's men, Steve Rivera, wrote Starr's parents about their son's last moments.

Normally, there were signs of impending danger, Rivera said. "Mothers would usher their small children inside, shopkeepers would close their doors, etc. But that day there wasn't a hint of that. Small children would run up to us and beg us for candy, soccer balls, pencils, etc. It was just another patrol."

Starr checked the alley both ways and started across. Midway, he turned to check on the man behind him. A single shot rang out. Starr fell.

Fellow Marines dragged him from the exposed street. They tore off his flak jacket, and helped a Navy corpsman who was working on Starr. They kept trying to revive him long after it was apparent he was gone. Other Marines raced house to house to find the sniper. Only a 7.62 mm shell casing was found on a roof.

Rivera was 15 feet away when Starr fell.

"I remember thinking when I saw Jeff go down two words. 'TWO DAYS! Two F%$*ing Days!' because that's the amount of days Jeff had left before he would have been off the line awaiting a ride home."

Yet, Rivera told Starr's parents: "Jeff passed something on to me. Something greater than him or me.

"Jeff had dreams, ambitions and goals; he had a bright future. But more than that, he had principles and ideals he lived by. It's those principles that allow us the freedom we enjoy today. I want you to know that I carry those same principles in my heart, and wherever I may be sent, I will hold them more dear than my own life."

Strength in numbers

Twenty-three-year-old Emmylyn Anonical of Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood was immersed in finals week at the University of Washington on Memorial Day last year.

She was worried, too, about her boyfriend at war in Iraq. Starr usually phoned, messaged her or e-mailed every couple of days. Anonical last spoke with him five days earlier on his birthday, May 25.

The two were excited he was coming home after four years in the Marines. He would enroll at Everett Community College. Marriage was an unspoken reality.

"My sister was in town from California. We went for a walk at Green Lake that morning, and I said I was a little worried about Jeff, and I would call Shellie later and see if she heard anything," Anonical recalls.

"Then I got a phone call from Jeff's friend, Adam. He said, 'Have you heard from Shellie?' He sounded weird."

Moments later Shellie phoned and broke the news.

"I wasn't expecting it. I was so sure he was going to come home," Anonical remembers. "I was home alone, and I freaked out. I didn't know what to do."

Shellie Starr knew what to do. "She already had sent Adam to get me to take me back to Snohomish to be with them."

This year she won't be alone, either. Starr's best friend in the Marines flew out with his girlfriend to spend the weekend with her.

"It's been tough. It's a week I don't know what to do with myself," she says.

Words touched a nation

Before his last deployment to Iraq from Camp Pendleton, Calif., Starr stored his personal effects in his little yellow Hyundai that fellow Marines teased him was a "scoop of puddin'." He parked it at his uncle's home in California.

Two months after his death, Starr's belongings were at his parents' home in Snohomish. Brian Starr was overcome with emotion when he booted up his son's small computer.

"Dear Emmylyn" began a letter. Jeff Starr had written it and meant it to be found if he died in Iraq.

Anonical and the Starrs shared parts of the letter, in which the Marine spoke of his belief in the war, with the Seattle P-I and The Herald in Everett. The rest was a personal message to Anonical.

The Starrs found themselves in an unwanted political controversy after The New York Times picked up the story on the letter but didn't quote Starr's support of the war. Conservative pundits had a field day pointing out "sins of omission" in the story and that it misrepresented Starr's reasons for rejecting a $24,000 re-enlistment bonus last year to return to civilian life.

His plan had always been to spend four years in the Marines. Meeting Anonical only strengthened that conviction.

While Brian and Shellie are on different sides of the political fence, they were united in their determination to clarify their son's feelings about serving in the war and leaving the Marines.

At one point, a White House speechwriter phoned the couple seeking permission for President Bush to quote from Starr's letter.

In November, Bush was visibly moved when he closed a speech at the Naval Academy and began to quote Starr.

"If you're reading this, then I've died in Iraq," the president read. "I don't regret going. Everybody dies, but few get to do it for something as important as freedom."

'He was my first love'

When she first read her boyfriend's letter, Anonical says: "It was almost like a shock. I could hear his voice saying everything.

"Reading that part about going on with my life is hard. He was my first love, and I can't imagine experiencing that again. Everyone says, 'You're young and will find someone again.' At the same time, I don't want to.

"I feel I have had this great love with Jeff, and I'm lucky for that. And if it doesn't happen again, it doesn't happen. A lot of people married for years don't have the kind of love that we had."

She decided to share her letter, however, sensing it spoke importantly and deeply to personal sacrifices.

"I could have spent the rest of my life with him."

The two met on an outing with a group of friends while he was home on leave in mid-2003. They sensed a connection when they danced the rest of the night together.

A long-distance relationship blossomed after Starr returned to Camp Pendleton, each cautiously aware that military life was tough on relationships. That fall Starr invited her to fly to Las Vegas and accompany him to the formal Marine Corps Birthday Ball on Nov. 10.

"I flew down to be with this guy I really didn't know, who I hadn't seen in three months, to a place I had never been, and it just seemed so natural," she recalls. "It was crazy."

Starr, a romantic, swept her off her feet with flowers, rose petals, poetry, even a song he had researched and rehearsed.

"It was perfect. I was blown away," she says. "He was sweet, loving and trustworthy."

Starr's return to war the next year tested and solidified their commitment.

"In Fallujah when he got caught in that house behind enemy lines in 2004, he wrote me an e-mail a month afterward. He said he knew I was something special. He told me that when he was in that house the one thing he thought of was he had to get back to me. That meant a lot to me. I felt the same way."

Mourning, and celebrating

Each day at 2:30 p.m., Starr's watch alarm goes off. His mom and dad, who unpacked it with his other belongings they received last August after he was killed, wonder why he had set it for that hour.

In Iraq where he set it, the alarm would have sounded at 1:30 a.m. Did he set it to call his girlfriend? Or to prepare for the mission on which he died?

Times and dates took on raw significance in the year since his death. The family skipped Christmas and went to Hawaii. Anonical's Christmas gift to them: a tribute site to their son at MySpace.com.

In the last week, the Starr family has mourned and celebrated.

Shellie left balloons at Starr's grave for his 23rd birthday last Thursday.

The Starrs celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary Saturday.

They were in Loma Linda, Calif., to celebrate the graduation of their daughter, Hillary, from medical school. She'll be coming closer to home, too, to serve her residency in family practice in Tacoma.

Today, they will return to Snohomish and gather privately in Jeff's memory.

After Starr died, his younger sister, Emily, carried a quilt made from his shirts to all her high school tennis games. Her brother had promised he'd attend them and cheer her on. She won all but one for him.

Shellie says she is "still engaged" in watching news of the war as she did when her son was in Iraq. She is now forming a non-profit chapter of Gold Star Families, made up of those who have lost loved ones in war, with Myra Rintamaki, mother of Cpl. Steven Rintamaki, the Marine killed in Iraq in 2004. It was his memorial service Shellie Starr thought of attending last Memorial Day.

"Memorial Day takes on more meaning because we understand, unfortunately, the sacrifices behind the day."

The Starrs are spearheading an effort to build a climbing wall in their son's name at the Snohomish Boys and Girls Club.

"I can't see Jeff as a park bench," his mom says with bemusement.

Anonical and Starr's friends meet at the Starr home once a month. "Emmylyn decides when," Brian says.

They meet in the downstairs day room to toast and remember him. The room would have been his bedroom had he made it back from the war and started college. It's filled with Starr's keepsakes, medals, photos and other memorabilia.

"We love to talk about Jeff," Shellie says.

LETTER HOME
The following letter was written by Marine Cpl. Jeff Starr to be opened by his fiancée, Emmylyn Anonical, if he was killed:

Dearest Emmylyn,

I'm writing this for one reason only. On April 13th, 2004, I thought I was going to die. My only regret is that I hadn't spent enough time with you. That I hadn't told you everything I wanted to. Being in Iraq for a third time, I don't want to feel that way again because it was the worst feeling ever. So this letter is in case I won't ever get the chance to tell you.

Obviously, if you are reading this, then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this; that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going. Everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq; it's not to me. I'm here helping these people so that they can live the way we live, not to have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators, to do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark.

I don't want to leave you behind. I saw myself marrying you, having a family and growing old together. Unfortunately, I won't get to experience those things. I know you are crying and, sorry to say, but I'm glad to have someone as beautiful and special as you to cry for me. I'm only asking that you don't cry for very long. This is what has happened and there is nothing that can be done. Don't ever forget me and remember that there are good men out there who will love you as much as I do. Find the one that makes you happy. You deserve this.

I'm sorry that I won't be able to see you again. I'm sorry I won't be able to see you graduate college. I'm sorry I won't get to kiss you or hold you again. I'm sorry I won't get to feel your touch or your hand in mine again. I'm sorry because those were the best moments in all my life. I really love you, not the puppy love or the college love. Not the love you say because you feel it's time in the relationship to say it.

I really, really loved you. Everything about you.

Well, I can't type forever. I know you want to read more but I thought simple and to the point would be easier.

I love you with all my heart.

Goodbye, my Love.

(Reprinted with permission from the Starr family and Emmylyn Anonical.)

Click on photo for descriptions and credits.

Posted by ph at 2:16 PM | Permalink

Let’s be clear, this Memorial Day will be very difficult for thousands of families, friends, and military teammates of those American warriors who have died during the last year. Many of these heroes leave behind very young families and all have grieving mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and others. This will the first Memorial Day since their loved one’s death and it will no doubt be a very difficult day.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=112416

Col. Jeff Bearor, USMC (Ret)
Author: Col. Jeff Bearor, USMC (Ret)
Date: May 29, 2006

With the pain, though, there will be pride and a sense that the sacrifice was not in vain. For these families know better than any of us the sense of accomplishment, selflessness, and willingness to place the safety of the nation, and of their teammates, above their own that was in the hearts of the fallen. Families will read and re-read letters and emails. They’ll recall phone calls and look at video clips. The sense of loss will be great. But also great will be the realization that our country produces young men and women of stout heart and valiant character who volunteered to carry freedom’s flag. What a legacy they leave!

Memorial Day for me has always been a day both to celebrate and remember: celebration that our country produces people willing to fight and die for something they believe in but can’t touch and remembrance that freedom has a very real cost that must be paid over and over again. As I stop to celebrate another Memorial Day, particularly one when we find ourselves again at war, I think about all those ordinary but extraordinary Americans around the world in harm’s way.

I was lucky to serve my country for more than 30 years in uniform. I am amazed at the quality and spirit of the young people who volunteer today to serve our country, even in time of conflict. They are young (the average age of a