Marine Corps News Room

Devin Chambers (from left), Ben McCorkle and Pacheco Perez, new Marine recruits departing for basic training, pose for a photo.

SAN DIEGO - An opportunity to get an education, to see parts of the world they’d only heard about or serve their country attracted 16 passengers here last evening aboard American Airlines Flight 1961, and ultimately, to 13 weeks of boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

http://www.dcmilitary.com/stories/083106/southpotomac_20060831001.shtml

Thursday, August 31, 2006
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

The 16 Marine Corps recruits, most from Texas, displayed the expected range of emotions as they boarded their flight at Dallas⁄Fort Worth International Airport, leaving behind civilian life to become Marines. Nervous laughter rippled through the group as the airline attendant called out their boarding sections, although most tried to retain a level of nonchalance as though they were taking a bus ride to the local mall.

Nineteen-year-old Devin Chambers, from Marietta, Okla., sat in seat 32B and explained that he’s always wanted to be a Marine. After a year at Murray State College, an endeavor he said he didn’t really enjoy, he felt ready to give his dream a shot.

''It doesn’t really scare me,'' Chambers said of the prospect of deploying to Iraq after he’s finished his training as a Marine Corps engineer. ''The odds (of getting hurt) are about the same as driving in a car.''

For Ben McCorkle, 18, from Wichita Falls, Texas, the opportunity to serve in Iraq was actually the big drawing card that led him to enlist immediately after high school. ''I want to go,'' he said from his seat in the last row of the plane. ''That’s why I chose infantry.''

McCorkle said he figures he’ll go to college after serving in the Marines, tapping into the educational benefits he’ll earn through his military service. ''I’ll do college later in life,'' he said. ''For right now, I need the discipline and structure first.''

Twenty-one-year-old Pacheco Perez, McCorkle’s seatmate and one of the oldest members of the group, said he, too, was attracted to the Marines because he wants to go on to college to study either computers or medicine.

Born in Queretaro, Mexico, and now a legal resident of the United States living in Dallas, Perez said he hopes to smooth the path toward U.S. citizenship, too. He said he chose the Marines because he’s heard it’s the toughest of the military services. ''I want to prove to myself that I can do it,'' he said. ''I know it will be hard, but it will help me grow.''

Perez expressed more trepidation about his mastery of the English language than anything the Marines might throw at him in basic training. ''I’m a little nervous about it, but I’ll do okay,'' he said.

Like his fellow recruits, Perez said he’s not overly concerned that he’s likely to end up deploying to Iraq in the not-too-distant future. ''I’m not really nervous because I know they’re going to train me for that,'' he said, adding that he’s also putting a lot of stock in his faith. ''God will take care of me,'' he said. ''I’m sure of that.''

Still sporting the long blond hair he knows will get buzzed off minutes after arriving at the recruit depot, McCorkle acknowledged that a bit of old-fashioned patriotism also attracted him to the military. ''Freedom isn’t free,'' he said. ''And if I can have it, then everyone else should, too, right?''

It’s the same patriotism McCorkle said he felt when his entire high school class and their guests gave him a standing ovation at his high school graduation ceremony. ''My friends are all supportive,'' he said. ''They think it’s awesome.''

McCorkle admitted that his mother is ''extremely nervous'' about his decision and his father also has some misgivings but is ''proud to have a son who’s a Marine.''

Chambers said his family is ''a little sad'' that he’s leaving, ''but happy too, and proud of me.''

Perez said his mother is sad to see him shipping off to basic training but pleased at the doors the Marine Corps will open to him. ''She’s sad about the separation, but recognizes that it’s a good thing for me,'' he said.

Like his fellow recruits, Chambers said he found strong support among his friends, many who already serve in the Marine Corps. They’ve shared stories about what he will soon encounter in basic training, but Chambers said he’s not worried. ''I’ve heard a lot,'' he said. ''But I’ve been playing football since third grade, so I’m used to getting yelled at.'' He said he’s looking forward to seeing how he performs during ''the Crucible,'' the last, difficult rite of passage that recruits must endure before graduating from basic training.

As the group arrived in San Diego, they had directions to call a phone number and to gather together and await their bus ride to boot camp and their new lives as Marines.

''All of us are pretty excited,'' McCorkle said. ''I think we’re ready.''

Posted by sr at 10:39 PM | Permalink

COMBINED ARMS TRAINING CENTER CAMP FUJI, Japan (Aug. 31, 2006) -- When heavy fire power is needed quickly, combined anti-armor teams are the ones who are called to action. The CAAT provides heavy fire power at a moment’s notice in the heat of battle. Two combined anti-armor teams and a sniper element with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion Landing Team, spent a day conducting various live-fire exercises here Aug. 31.

http://192.156.19.109/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/78DD8C486FC17511852571E100207B72?opendocument

Aug. 31, 2006
Story ID#: 20069615447
By Lance Cpl. Kevin Knallay, 31st MEU

“Our goal was to sharpen our immediate action drills, heavy machinegun skills and target suppression,” said 1st Lt. Juan R. Plascencia, a CAAT platoon commander.

A CAAT is a mobile assault team consisting of humvees mounted with weapons such as M2 .50-caliber machineguns, M240G medium machineguns and tube launched optically tracked wire guided (TOW) missiles according to Sgt. Freddie Cavasos, a CAAT section leader. The team’s purpose is to be a very mobile unit with a large amount of firepower to counter threats from enemy armored personnel and vehicles.

Through the exercise, the team fired their machineguns while mounted on humvees while the sniper element employed their M40A3 sniper rifles and M82A3 .50-caliber special application scoped rifles.

“Working with the snipers was a new learning experience for us,” Plascencia said. “The training exercise was more productive because their involvement allowed us to participate in more scenarios.”

During one scenario, snipers would find targets and request permission to fire upon them; however, the snipers were not allowed to engage their targets until a CAAT team was in place for support to provide suppressive fire. Once the simulated engagement was finished, the Marines were extracted out of the site.

As the teams progressed through the scenarios and provided suppressive fire with crew-served weapons, the training became more difficult as they engaged undersized targets. This allowed the Marines to improve their accuracy throughout the course, explained Staff Sgt. Robert A. Chute, the platoon sergeant of CAAT-1.

“The smaller targets at this range work for our benefit,” said Chute. “We need to be precise and accurate in firing. It’s essential for us to function properly and do what needs to be done. It may be frustrating for some of the gunners, but it makes them try harder.”

Great effort was put into teamwork during the scenarios, which allowed personnel to improve unit cohesion.

“Small unit leadership really shines during training like this,” Cavasos added. “Guns are going off and everyone is screaming, but it’s the leaders that control the confusion and get the task done quickly.”

“There is a great burden of responsibility lying on the shoulders of these Marines and sailors to support the line companies with heavy firepower,” Cavasos said. “Whether if they are old blood or new blood, the training was helpful for preparing the entire platoon for whatever mission they get handed.”

Marines and sailors of the BLT, arrived to Camp Fuji, Japan Aug. 23, to conduct training for heavy weapons, maneuvering and tactics until Sept. 14 when they are scheduled to return to Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan.

Posted by sr at 09:50 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. -- The Marine Corps activated its second non-training squadron flying the MV-22 Osprey, the tiltrotor aircraft that can take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane.

http://www.wral.com/news/9772559/detail.html?rss=ral&psp=news

August 31, 2006

Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 quit flying the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in December to begin training to fly and maintain the craft long-delayed by fatal crashes and rising costs.

"The Osprey is the present and it is the future," said Lt. Col. Karsten Heckl, the squadron's commanding officer. "This airplane is going to be phenomenal."

Heckl said he'll start the squadron with 50 Marines and reach full strength around November. The squadron will have all its aircraft around February, Heckl said. The unit then will begin a six-month period of further training to prepare for deployment.

Heckl praised the new aircraft's range and fuel efficiency. He said during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, his squadron flew CH-46 choppers to evacuate casualties. Some Marines died from injuries because those helicopters could not perform at the level of the Osprey, Heckl said.

The Osprey can carry more cargo then the CH-46 and fly five times farther at speeds around 300 mph.

The aircraft has been in development since 1986. Flights were stopped for about 18 months after a pair of crashes near Tuscon, Ariz., and Camp Lejeune killed 23 Marines.

Last summer, the Osprey passed its operational evaluation. In September 2005, the Pentagon approved the aircraft for full-scale production. The Marine Corps plans to buy 360 at about $71 million apiece.

The first deployable Osprey squadron was established in March. There are about nine aircraft and 250 people in the New River-based squadron.

The aircraft is scheduled to deploy sometime next year.

___

Information from: The Daily News, http://www.jdnews.com

Posted by sr at 09:45 PM | Permalink

HADITHA, Iraq (Aug. 31, 2006) -- Marines who knew Staff Sgt. Jason C. Ramseyer will tell you that he loved three things – his family, his Marines and going to the gym.

Ramseyer, 28, died April 21, 2006, in the western Al Anbar Province of Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near him.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/55E57C04DBE4E7AB852571DB00415B7E?opendocument

Aug. 31, 2006; Submitted on: 08/31/2006 07:53:52 AM ; Story ID#: 200683175352
By Sgt. Roe F. Seigle, Regimental Combat Team7

To honor the fallen warrior, Marines from Ramseyer’s unit, the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, which arrived in Iraq in March, dedicated the make-shift gym in the Marines’ headquarters – the Haditha Dam – in honor of the Lenoir, N.C., native.

In a simple ceremony Aug. 20, 2006, the Marines named the gym “Ram’s Dam Gym.” The small gym, which consists of various workout benches, free weights, televisions and a radio, features new equipment and enclosure around the facility.

Since the Marines’ arrival in Iraq, they have honored their fallen by naming facilities after them. The Marines assigned to the battalion’s Weapons Company named their forward operating base “Camp Lueken,” after Cpl. Eric Lueken, 23, who also perished in a roadside blast, just one day after Ramseyer was killed.

On the highest level of the Haditha Dam, the Marines’ communications shop at the dam was named after Cpl. Andres Aguilar, 21, who died in a vehicle accident April 2, 2006. Aguilar, from Victoria, Texas, and Lueken, from Dubois, Ind., were both assigned to 3rd Battalion.

The Marines hung a plaque near the gym’s entrance, officially commemorating it to Ramseyer’s memory.

A partially completed painting of Ramseyer is just below the plaque.

“Staff Sgt. Ramseyer loved his job and the gym,” said Sgt. Michael Ferguson, 23, who served as a platoon sergeant on the Jump CP, the battalion commander’s personal security element, with Ramseyer. “He went to the gym every chance he could get.”

Ramseyer was the platoon commander for the battalion’s Jump CP. He was hand-selected by Lt. Col. Norman L. Cooling, the battalion’s commanding officer, for this position – a duty his Marines say he performed with consummate professionalism and unparalleled valor.

Ramseyer was responsible for providing security to the commanding officer and his staff. He and his Marines served as a quick reaction force that was equipped to respond to combat situations on a moment’s notice.

He frequently traveled Al Anbar Province’s roads, and was exposed to small arms fire and roadside bombs.

Although Ramseyer, a nine-year veteran of the Marine Corps, was a common site in the dam’s gym, Marines say they will remember him as a family man who would never put his Marines in a dangerous situation that he was not willing to put himself in first.

“His Marines respected him because he treated them, regardless of rank, with the respect and dignity they deserved. He was a great friend and a great Marine,” said Gunnery Sgt. Michael Kiernan, 33, company gunnery sergeant for the battalion’s Weapons Company. “We all miss him.”

Kiernan wears a “Hero Bracelet” on his right wrist bearing Staff Sgt. Ramseyer’s name - something he said he “will never take off.”

Ferguson said he and Ramseyer would often have competitions on the bench press and motivated each other to keep physically fit.

“When we were not on missions, we were in the gym,” said Ferguson. “He knew how to motivate all his Marines. He was a true leader and it is just not the same without him.”

Now, as long as Marines are in Iraq and living in the Haditha Dam, they will be reminded of Ramseyer every time they enter the gym, said Ferguson.

Marines here agree that the naming of the gym was the best way they could honor Ramseyer because he spent most of his off-time in the gym.

“We all miss him,” said Ferguson. “Now we will be reminded of his sacrifices every time we go to the gym. He will never be forgotten.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, descriptions, and credits.

Posted by ph at 08:57 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Aug. 31, 2006) -- For the first time since the beginning of the war in Iraq more than three years ago, Marines in the individual ready reserve face the possibility of pulling their uniforms out of their closets, dusting them off and stepping off with their packs for another deployment.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/C3C24722F8853758852571DD00443043?opendocument

Aug. 31, 2006; Submitted on: 09/02/2006 08:24:48 AM ; Story ID#: 20069282448
By Pvt. Andrew S. Keirn, MCB Quantico

The Marine Corps was authorized by President George W. Bush July 26 to activate as many as 2,500 Marines back into service.

Individual Ready Reserve Marines will begin receiving involuntary activation orders to report for a year of active duty beginning in October, said Lt. Col. Francis P. Piccoli, public affairs officer for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. He added that each activation will last around 12 to18 months.

According to Piccoli, during the past couple years the number of volunteers to fill requirements for the IRR has had a steady decline but the requirements have stayed the same. This has made it necessary to issue involuntary activation orders, he added.

The IRR has approximately 60,000 Marines. Only approximately 35,000 of those Marines will be affected. Marines in their first or fourth year of their IRR status will not be considered for activation, said Piccoli.

Marines who receive involuntary activation orders to report for active duty service will be used in support of the Global War on Terrorism in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.

Each Marine called up will receive ample time to prepare once notified. They will be notified five months in advance before reporting for active duty and “by giving them sufficient future time before having to report, we allow them to get their affairs in order,” Piccoli said.

A Marine can request a delay, a deferment or an exemption from the IRR activation. A Marine can request a delay if he can report but may not be able to make it on the exact date required. A Marine can also request a deferment to another rotation if a situation arises such as a spouse’s death or they can request an exemption if a circumstance forbids the Marine from being able to deploy now or in the future.

There have been reports that low recruitment levels have initiated the IRR activation.

“The reason for the activation is not due to a recruiting problem,” Piccoli said. “According to the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, recruiting goals are consistently being met. This is more about meeting the requirements that come to the Marine Corps to fill joint and Marine Corps billets in support of the Global War on Terrorism. The Marine Corps is looking at grade and MOS requirements and then trying to match them up with the positions needed to fill.”

Military Occupational Specialties needed are broken down by rank. From the officer ranks, the most needed MOSs are infantry, logistics, intelligence, artillery, staff judge advocate, communications and engineers. On the enlisted side, aviation, infantry, intelligence, motor transport, logistics, communications, linguists and military police are the most needed specialties.

“These folks are filling forward deployed positions,” Piccoli said. “We’re not calling them up to fill positions in places such as Quantico-they are not needed there.”

This initiative has an open ended window and it will continue indefinitely. The Marine Corps is planning to have three rotations during a minimum time frame of two years.

“This is not just for the reserve side of the Marine Corps,” Piccoli said. “The Marine Corps operates with a total force mentality. This is just another indication we mean business. Whether it is the reserve or active components, we’re coming together to get the job done.”

Posted by ph at 05:03 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (Aug. 31, 2006) -- “Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.”

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Red Lion 98 and 99 in midair collision over West Field with 48 total souls! Losing control of A/C!”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/220DB678F45D729F852571DC007629B4?opendocument

Aug. 31, 2006; Submitted on: 09/01/2006 05:30:39 PM ; Story ID#: 200691173039
By Lance Cpl. Edward C. deBree, MCB Hawaii

Those were the words that blasted over the radio call received by the air traffic control tower at Marine Corps Air Facility here, Aug. 25.

Those words all set the tone for Marines and Sailors assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 who were participating in a mass casualty/mishap drill at West Field.

The drill served to prepare HMH-363 squadron members for their upcoming deployment to Iraq where they will deploy in support of Operation Iraq Freedom and to teach them how to save lives and their aircraft.

“We had three goals that we wanted to achieve during this drill,” said Navy Lt. Peter Lombardo, flight surgeon, HMH-363, Marine Aircraft Group 24. “We wanted the corpsmen and combat lifesavers to practice combat casualty care. We wanted the squadron to practice ready room mishaps, and we wanted the MAG aid station to conduct a mass casualty drill – all of which we accomplished.”

Aircraft Rescue Firefighters arrived on scene to extinguish fires on the two aircraft and to help transport crash victims to a safe area where they could be examined and treat the wounded.

“We extinguished the flames on the two aircraft and quickly went into the medical aspects of our jobs,” explained Staff Sgt. William B. McCormick, section leader, Section Two, ARFF. “We were able to recognize the injured and the dead.
“Our main priority was to find the people who needed the most help.”

Marines and Sailors identified and treated 39 Marines, all role players assigned to HMH-363 and MAG-24. The hospital corpsmen and combat lifesavers treated ailments such as broken limbs, open wounds and head trauma.

“The combat lifesavers performed admirably,” said Lombardo, a native of Guam. “This training will prepare them well for any mishap that might occur.”

The Marines and Sailors went through classroom training to learn how to treat patients – which can be challenging enough, he added.

“To get out there and actually apply what you have learned is invaluable,” Lombardo continued. “They’ve proven that they can treat any major combat injury.”

Combat lifesavers are trained to treat wounded personnel in a combat situation until a hospital corpsman is available to tend to the service member’s wounds.

“We need to expand combat lifesavers in the unit,” said Lombardo. “It’s good training for anybody to have. We need to train as many Marine combat lifesavers as we can

Posted by ph at 04:56 PM | Permalink

BOULDER - A Marine visiting home on leave from Iraq remained missing Wednesday night, one day after he injured his head in a climbing accident.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4957832,00.html

By John C. Enslin, Rocky Mountain News
August 31, 2006

About 40 searchers with dogs, horses and a helicopter scoured the steep trails and creek beds in Eldorado Canyon State Park, five miles south of Boulder.

Lance Hering, 21, of Boulder, had been "bouldering," or freestyle climbing, with friend Steve Powers, 20, also of Boulder, when Hering fell about 10 to 15 feet. Hering slid another 30 feet down a steep slope before coming to rest, Powers told Boulder County sheriff's deputies.

"It's very ironic that he survived all the combat that he saw and that he's injured here at home doing the thing he liked to do best," said his father, Lloyd Hering, who was at a command post waiting with his wife, Elynne, for news about their son.

Hering was unconscious for about four hours after the fall, according to Powers, who remained with his buddy.

Later, Hering came to, but he appeared to be disoriented, Sheriff Joe Pelle said. "Lance was described as what I would call 'loopy,' " Pelle said near the command post that had been set up outside the park's visitors center.

"He knew Steve and he knew he was hurt, but he would keep repeating things," Pelle added.

Neither man had been wearing a helmet, the sheriff said. The pair used fabric torn from Hering's black T-shirt and fashioned a bandage for his head wound.

Hering fell about 10 p.m. Tuesday. When he began to regain consciousness about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Powers said, he decided to get help.

"Steve told Lance, 'I need you to stay here. I'm going to get help,' " Pelle said.

It took Powers about 90 minutes to two hours to hike back down the trail. The 911 call to sheriff's deputies came in around 5:15 a.m., Pelle said.

Deputies quickly assembled a rescue team that returned to the point where Hering had last been seen on a trail that runs between Eldorado Canyon and Boulder County's Walker Ranch Open Space Preserve.

"They found Lance's climbing shoes - he's wearing sneakers. They found some blood and they found a water bottle," Pelle said. "They couldn't find Lance."

Searchers from Rocky Mountain Rescue, the Boulder Emergency Squad and the Boulder City Park rangers took part in the daylong effort.

Deputies also utilized five dogs and three horses, plus a helicopter that the sheriff's office had hired. Hering is described as about 5 feet 8 inches tall.

His parents were at the command post fielding calls from relatives and friends, and helping authorities to make calls to area hospitals on the chance that their son had wandered out of the park.

"He's in terrific physical condition," his dad said. "He's a very determined, very self-reliant young man. He's not in the habit of calling for help. I wished he'd stayed where he was.

" 'Lance, if you're out there please make yourself known. Don't be embarrassed.' My gut feeling is he'll get out. He's tough."

The search ended at 8 p.m. and was to resume at dawn. Pelle said he planned to keep a small crew of deputies on the trails in case Hering wanders out on his own.

"Your heart bleeds for the parents. They're brave people," Pelle said. "I hope we can deliver for them."

Hering's parents said their son had returned from Iraq about a month ago, and he had returned to his Boulder home during the last week. Hering is familiar with the area where he fell because he had climbed it when he was attending high school in Boulder, his parents said.

"He's a very self-sufficient person," his father said. "It would be like him to hike out and try to take care of his wound. We're afraid he might be confused in walking around."

Posted by sr at 02:09 PM | Permalink

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Thanks to a special lady from Rhode Island, a quadriplegic Marine from Wisconsin will receive heartfelt cheers -- and a set of keys -- when he's wheeled on the field at halftime of the Naval Academy-University of Massachusetts football game.

http://www.projo.com/southcounty/content/projo_20060830_davcol30.343fba2.html

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Former Sgt. Jason Wittling, of Mason, Wis., will be on the 50-yard line Saturday, Sept. 9, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., to take the keys to a specially equipped van.

With a Marine escort, and a general or two at his side, Wittling will receive the $60,000-van courtesy of Wheels for Warriors, a division of the North Kingstown-based Operation Support Our Troops, which is supported by donations and in-kind services from the public.

"There are a lot of good people on this earth and they seem to find me," said Mary Kay Salomone, who heads Operation Support Our Troops out of her home in North Kingstown.

Salomone comes from and has an Army family (a son is in Iraq and another served there). She launched Operation Support Our Troops soon after the start of the war in Iraq. Now a national organization, she mails tons of comfort items each year to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She started Wheels for Warriors two years ago after visiting severely wounded servicemen and women at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The war in Iraq, of which Salomone is no fan, has produced at least 8,000 severely injured service members, she said, with many missing limbs from the explosive devices the Iraqi insurgents used against the Americans.

Wheels for Warriors gave out its first van in April. Sgt. Wittling will be the second recipient of America's generosity.

Wittling was injured on May 3, 2003, when he and a group of Marines were blowing up a cache of captured RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). They had set their charges, and attempted to make a quick getaway in their HMMWV (High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), better known as the Humvee.

As the Humvee sped around a corner, the Marines were suddenly confronted with an embankment they didn't know was there. The Humvee rolled over. Sgt. Wittling suffered a broken neck.

"He has a little movement in an elbow and a wrist," Salomone said. "But he's not going to get better."

Jason Wittling, 32, lives in Mason with his wife Maureen and their two children, Cody, 9, and Emily, 6. Mason is in rural northwestern Wisconsin. "There's Jason, the family and the moose," Salomone said, with a laugh.

But, she noted, the rural setting provides a serious reason for her board awarding the Wittlings the van. It's a long, long way to rehab and doctors' appointments.

The van cost Wheels for Warriors $38,000. It paid for such "extras" as leather seats, making it easier to slide Jason in and out of the van. The van will also have a DVD player for those long trips.

"Jason and the two kids can watch movies while Maureen does the driving," Salomone explained.

Wheels for Warriors may also have to shell out $22,000 for the van's wheelchair lift.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs normally pays for wheelchair lifts, but the VA has lost Jason's paperwork, Salomone said.

She said dealing with VA is "a nightmare."

"If the VA doesn't come up with the $22,000, Wheels for Warriors will pay and hopefully get reimbursed some day," Salomone said. "I'm not going to take the van away from this kid."

Referring to Jason's case as "one small case," Salomone asked, "What's happening to the rest of our vets. They are making it so difficult for veterans to get what they deserve. That's a disgrace."

Said Salomone: "The VA is underfunded, understaffed and overtaxed, but that's not the fault of the young soldier or the young Marine. A wounded veteran should not have to wait six, ten or eleven months for something he's entitled to."

While Wheels for Warriors' fundraising efforts produced the first two vans -- and has a third that's on the way -- the flip side is what others provide.

Jason Wittling and his family will be spending a week in the Annapolis-Washington area. Hotels are donating the rooms for their stay.

They'll be flying first class -- thanks to Northwest Airlines and one of its pilots.

Steven Middleton, who heads the Wheels for Warriors board, is a 1974 Naval Academy graduate. He graduated with the Northwest pilot. He contacted the pilot to see if he could get the Wittlings' tickets.

Northwest agreed to fly Mr. and Mrs. Wittling. The pilot said he would send Salomone a check for the other two seats. She expected $600. He sent $5,000, and told her to put what's left over in the van fund.

Salomone said Annapolis was picked as the delivery site because of the connection between the Navy and the Marine Corps. Naval Academy graduates can opt to be officers in the Marine Corps.

And, she said, "The Marines are part of the Navy. They're close to the Navy guys."

On the Friday before the game, the Wittlings will have lunch with the midshipmen. Then, Salomone said, "They'll get their van Saturday in front of the whole stadium."

A Marine general will stand with the Wittlings on the 50-yard-line, and the commandant of the Marine Corps may also make an appearance, scheduling permitting.

In Washington, the Wittlings have asked to visit Arlington Cemetery and the Marines' Iwo Jima monument.

"They will have a Marine escort the whole time," Salomone said. "The Marines are taking care of one of their own."

With help from an Army brat in North Kingstown.

Donations can be made to Wheels for Warriors, PO Box 404, North Kingstown, RI 02852.

Dave McCarthy is the Journal's South County regional editor.

Posted by ph at 09:32 PM | Permalink

A photograph of Weimortz exchanging a handshake with an Iraqi child was featured in a magazine.

Cpl. David G. Weimortz was killed in Iraq on Saturday, just days short of his 29th birthday, when a roadside bomb went off while he traveled in his Humvee.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/15385625.htm?source=rss&channel=thestate_local

By JASON RYAN
jpryan@thestate.com

The Marine and Irmo native was on patrol in Al Anbar province, nearly 45 days into his second tour of duty in Iraq as an assault man.

This tour was to be his last before the Marine was to return home in February and study law, his father, Terry Weimortz, said.

David Weimortz is the 41st member of the U.S. military with S.C. ties to die in the Iraq war and the second this month.

Saturday, 29-year-old Marine Sgt. John Paul Phillips was buried in Moncks Corner. He died Aug. 16 in a Texas military hospital of injuries suffered in March near Fallujah.

Weimortz graduated as a golf standout from Dutch Fork High School and then from the University of South Carolina, where he majored in history.

Weimortz was stationed at Camp LeJeune, N.C., but kept a room at his sister Kelly Weimortz’s house in Columbia, his father said Monday from his home in Crestview, Fla.

Before leaving for Iraq in mid-July, Weimortz visited family and friends, including playing a round of golf with his father.

“I kissed him, gave him a hug and that’s the last time I saw him,” Terry Weimortz said. “He died like a man. He’s a hero as far as I’m concerned.”

Weimortz said that though his son claimed his Christian faith had prepared him for death, he was still scared of the upcoming mission in Iraq where he was trained to fire heavy weapons that can destroy tanks and bunkers.

“What was so eerie was that he started giving me things,” Terry Weimortz said, listing a pair of sunglasses, a Tommy Bahama shirt and a uniform.

As a boy, he played many sports, his father said, and his first word was “ball.”

“He was 6 feet 6 inches, 225 pounds — solid man,” Terry Weimortz said.

After college, he worked for a publisher in Raleigh, for a car dealer in Charleston, and modeled products at NASCAR races before enlisting.

Weimortz joined the Marines in March 2003 and graduated from boot camp at Parris Island. His commendations included the Iraqi Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal, said Marine spokesman Lt. Barry Edwards.

In June 2005, Weimortz was attached to the headquarters section of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, and participated in Operation Sword.

The operation aimed to drive out insurgent fighters in Hit, located along the Euphrates River in the Al Anbar province.

A story published by Infoline Marine, an online service of Marine Corps public affairs, quoted Weimortz as saying the troops also tried to connect with the local citizens and show they were liberators, not conquerors.

The publication featured a photo of Weimortz exchanging a handshake with a local child outside Camp Ripper in Iraq.

“We not only flushed out insurgents, but we also helped the people so they can build the infrastructure of their society,” Weimortz said in the story.

Fighting in Iraq’s most volatile province helped him put life at home in perspective, he said.

“From the simplest things such as getting milk, to being stuck in traffic, or even going to college football games, it all comes to the surface and you realize how fortunate you are,” Weimortz said.

Weimortz also believed his efforts would help the Iraqis.

“This entire operation reminds me of a Boy Scout saying, ‘Leave your camp better than you found it,’” Weimortz told the publication. “Not only will I leave this base in better shape and more secure, but we will have left this country in a greater shape for their future.”

Weimortz joined the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division in June.

Terry Weimortz said his son warned him before his redeployment not to expect as many e-mails during this campaign because of his remote location.

Terry Weimortz also didn’t expect the hysterical call from his daughter on Saturday telling him of David’s death.

“She’s suffering, I’m suffering his mother’s suffering. It’s just unbelievable.”

Weimortz is also survived by his mother, Fran Fellers of Irmo, a stepbrother, Jody Weimortz Harley of Lexington, and a grandmother, Helen Asbill of Aiken.

Staff writer Chuck Crumbo contributed to this report. Reach Ryan at (803) 771-8595.

Click on photo for credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 09:45 PM | Permalink

VMFA-251 to deploy.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/6528D2E9F0EEFFFA852571DB003E3401?opendocument

Aug. 29, 2006; Submitted on: 08/31/2006 07:19:25 AM ; Story ID#: 200683171925

By - MCNews, MCNews

ARABIAN SEA (Aug. 29, 2006) -- Marines assigned to the "Thunderbolts" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 prepare to deploy to Al Asad, Iraq, from the flight deck aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Enterprise and embarked Carrier Air Wing One are currently underway on a scheduled six-month deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

Click on photo for description and credit.

Posted by ph at 09:17 PM | Permalink

Marine Cpl. Rowdy Zane Burney's hands, face and eyes were blasted with shrapnel May 6 when the Humvee he was riding in was blown up by a bomb hidden under a road in western Iraq.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1156843173222100.xml&coll=2

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
KENT FAULK
News staff writer

The driver, a friend, was killed and three other Marines were injured.

After recuperating for a month at his camp, the Cullman County native hit the road again. He could have stayed at camp with the Purple Heart that he was awarded. But he chose to go back out despite lingering health problems from the blast and a plea from his mother.

"I want to be with my platoon ... because that's my family out here," Burney said in a telephone interview from Iraq.

Burney, 21, is a combat engineer with Charlie Company second platoon Combat Logistics Battalion 5. The unit fills road craters caused by improvised explosive devices and builds things such as checkpoint stations and temporary housing for infantry.

Burney mans the .50-caliber machine gun on a Humvee turret while his platoon travels to and from work sites.

Burney, who arrived in Iraq in March, said he was going out with his platoon on four or five such convoys a week until that day in May. The convoy was heading along a road in Al Anbar Province to repair two bomb craters. Ahead of the convoy were large vehicles that sweep the road for bombs.

But as Burney's vehicle passed, someone hidden nearby triggered an IED - five 122 mm mortar rounds bundled together and placed in a culvert under the road.

"As soon as it blew up, the Humvee stood straight up, and I hit my face off the .50 caliber," Burney said. "As it came back down, it threw me out of the turret, and I hit the road about 20 feet in front of the Humvee."

The vehicle's front end and turret were blown off. "Marines in the convoy behind us say they saw shrapnel and pieces of Humvee fly at least 40 to 50 feet high," Burney said. With shrapnel in his face, eyes and hands, Burney crawled toward the Humvee, where his lieutenant was leading the effort to get everyone out of the vehicle.

His friend, Lance Cpl. Leon B. Deraps, who was driving the Humvee, was killed. The lieutenant and two other Marines also were injured.

Burney was treated in the medical facility at Abu Ghraib prison and then taken to the Camp Fallujah hospital, where he was checked out by doctors and released to his barracks to recover.

A month later, still with a burst left eardrum and a right thumb that he couldn't fully move, Burney decided he was ready to rejoin his platoon on missions.

"I begged him not to go back out," said Becky Burney, his mother. But she wasn't surprised by his decision. "He's been that kind of person his whole life. ... He believes in helping his buddies," she said.

Burney admits that first convoy back with his platoon in early June was tough. "All you could think about is being blown up again," he said.

In recent days, Burney's platoon hasn't been going out as often as it prepares to return in seven days to Camp Pendleton, Calif., where it is based.

Burney still has 1½ years to go on his hitch with the Marines.

When he gets home, Burney wants to go to school and become a diesel engine mechanic. He said he's been home less than 60 days since he enlisted 2½ years ago.

"I miss my family more than anything," Burney said.

His mother said her son plans to visit his family in Good Hope in October. When he returns home, Burney will have the Purple Heart he was awarded for his combat injuries.

"I'd give it back if I could have my friend back. I'd give anything to change that day," Burney said.

E-mail: kfaulk@bhamnews.com

Posted by sr at 09:11 PM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 29, 2006) -- Marines from 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion kicked over the hornet’s nest during Operation Rubicon in Mushin, Iraq, west of Habbaniyah. What they found underneath was a lot deadlier than a stinger.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/63A8DE2BFB3A5148852571DB0031F96B?opendocument

Aug. 29, 2006; Submitted on: 08/31/2006 05:05:51 AM ; Story ID#: 20068315551
By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva, Regimental Combat Team 5

They battled insurgents in running gunfights lasting nearly an entire day and scored hundreds of weapons finds in a several-day operation.

Recon Marines, working in support of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, uncovered hundreds of weapons, artillery and mortar rounds, improvised explosive device-making material, small arms and ammunition.

In all, they recovered more than 500 mortars rounds, nearly 100 artillery rounds, more than 130 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 120 grenades, 22 mines, 10 mortar tubes, 20 rifles and machine guns, 18 sets of body armor and various other items including binoculars and bayonets.

“This area was definitely an insurgent stronghold,” said Cpl. Brandon M. Stair, a 25-year-old team leader from Utica, Ohio, assigned to the battalion’s B Company. “They had stuff for the long fight and they had stuff for tomorrow. There were initiator systems ready to go.”

Recon Marines found themselves in the thick of the hive from almost the moment they set foot into their operating zone.

Soon after inserting, they found a lone berm, which Marines scanned, according to Stair. They got a hit indicating something was buried underneath. They didn’t dig far to find buried weapons.

“It was big,” said Sgt. Joshua D. Cross, a 26-year-old team leader from Forestville, N.Y. “It was about 12-feet long and two-feet wide. It had a disgusting amount of stuff.”

Among other weapons, Marines uncovered rocket-propelled grenades and a complete mortar system at the first cache site. It was a sign of things to come.

Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth A. Westgate, a platoon sergeant for B Company, said all his team leaders are second-tour veterans for Iraq. They’ve learned to read the land and find the sites that harbor weapons caches. Their experience paid out.

“The whole platoon can walk and pick out sites,” said Westgate, a 35-year-old from East Wareham, Mass. “They’ve gotten to that level of ability where about 50 percent of the time, they’re right.”

Later that same day, Cross’ team uncovered another large cache site. This one was buried in a 250-gallon water container. It took them well into the night to get all the insurgent weapons out.

“We couldn’t reach down that far to get it all,” Cross explained.

So, he improvised. He stripped off all his gear and jumped into the buried container to get the last few pieces.

“I ended up sitting down inside and handing stuff up,” Cross said.

The mission continued, and that platoon set up a firm patrol base in their sector only to come under intense fire within a couple hours. Rocket-propelled grenades and mortars slammed into their patrol base. Insurgent machine gun fire raked the walls. Marines returned fire in a withering hail of bullets and pounded the attackers with artillery, sending insurgents fleeing.

“For the first day, it was non-stop,” Stair said.

The firefights started about 10 a.m. and lasted in running gun battles until nearly sunset.

“I thought it was going to be a long haul the first day,” said. Cpl. Peter H. Garguilo, a 21-year-old platoon communicator from Naugatuck, Conn. “It was pretty heavy fire. You knew these guys were going to stick around for a fight.”

Still, cache sweeps continued. These finds, however, were more than Marines expected. Marines moved to another location to start sweeping again. They didn’t get far.

“We thought we’d cover a lot more distance,” Stair said.

“We didn’t make it 100 meters and we started finding stuff,” Westgate added. “We had a problem.”

Westgate said the amounts of munitions they were uncovering was greater than the ability they had on hand to destroy it. They called in explosive ordnance disposal teams to assist.

The area was so littered with caches that they accidentally uncovered some. A demolition charge on one cache site ended up catching fire to some reeds. As the reeds burned, four or five more caches exploded in the flames.

“They just blew themselves up in the next 200 yards,” Westgate said.

Garguilo manned the radios for the platoon reconnaissance operations center. The information, he said, was overbearing. Teams were uncovering caches so quickly they were getting swamped trying to track them all.

“We had trouble in the ROC trying to keep up with the stuff coming in,” he said.

Cross said his team had to shorten their patrols. They simply couldn’t move as far as they planned without having to stop and dig up more buried weapons.

“We’d plan to patrol for two hours and six hours later, we’d end up coming in,” he said. “We pulled in some of the guys from 81’s Platoon to help. You’d get so smoked digging, you didn’t know your name.”

Marines from 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment’s Combined Anti-Armor Team and 81 mm Mortar Platoon assisted the Recon Marines. The task was becoming much bigger than they could have imagined.

It was while combining efforts with CAAT Marines a vehicle struck a mine, killing one Marine from the CAAT section and wounding several others. It came on the heels of Recon Marines setting a time-charge on one of the cache sites. The fuse was burning and Marines were wounded laying in the blast zone.

Westgate explained Recon Marines rushed to the site to find several Marines nearby the wrecked humvee. They dragged the wounded Marines to a nearby ditch. The humvee was burning and munitions stored inside were beginning to explode. The fuse on the cache site was also still burning.

Recon Marine again grabbed the wounded and carried them to another ditch, further away. The blasts from the humvee and cache site sent debris and shrapnel flying in all directions.

“In many instances, we feel we were lucky to be alive,” Westgate explained. “There was so much stuff going on and so much stuff blowing up all around us.”

The blasts didn’t slow the Recon Marines, though. They continued their hunt.

Another cache yielded 500 blasting caps, each one capable of setting of a single IED. Another, mortars. In yet another was a stash of modified-silenced insurgent sniper rifles. Still, Marines found something they hadn’t yet seen. They’ve been operating primarily in Zaidon, south of Fallujah, where they came across their fair share of buried weapons. But not like this.

“Every cache was a separate set-up,” Westgate explained. “We usually find just mortars or just guns. These had a mix of everything.”

Stair said it appeared as if insurgents staged the weapons so they could easily fall back from one to the other. Some were found just thrown into the high grasses edging farm fields. Others were buried. Caches appeared to have weapons stored for bigger fights, and others bore 155 mm artillery shells with detonation cord and explosives already rigged so they could be placed along roads.

“You could tell that most of this stuff was still fresh,” Stair explained. “These guys were staging stuff.”

Marines even found AK-47 assault rifles in pristine condition.

The cache finds kept coming. They uncovered anti-aircraft guns at one more site. Then Marines found more rocket-propelled grenades. More than 50,000 rounds were captured. Stacks of artillery shells were gathered.

“The engineers would turn on the metal detector and it would go off almost immediately,” Westgate said. “Wherever the engineer went, we got a hit.”

“It was slow moving,” Cross added. “We could only make a couple hundred yards progress and we were finding more stuff.”

By the third day of constantly uncovering cache sites, Marines were cursing the mission they could have only hoped would be so successful.

“I knew we’d be busy, but not like that,” Cross said. “It was a straight-up kick-in-the-nuts.”

Cross said Marines knew immediately they put a dent in insurgents’ abilities to carry out attacks against Marines and Iraqi Security Forces. The areas they once considered a safe haven to hide weapons and refit are now the stomping grounds for Marines and soon for those Iraqi soldiers and police who will take over. Cross talked to one local man who told them operations were wreaking havoc on insurgents.

“He was real grateful for what we were doing there,” Cross explained. “That’s gratifying to hear that kind of result. We put a hurting on them. We slowed them down for a couple of months.”

Stair said this most recent operation was rewarding more than many of the others. He said Marines could see an immediate result. Every mortar, artillery shell and mine they dug up saved Marines’ lives. They are weapons no longer in the insurgents’ hands and the area is no longer under insurgent control.

“We’ve cleared 144 houses before and saw no result,” Stair explained. “I felt better coming off of this operation more than any other.”

“We poked that hornet’s nest a little bit,” Cross said. “We poked it with a two-foot stick.”

Click on photo for MORE pictures, descriptions, and credits.

Posted by ph at 09:04 PM | Permalink

Lance Cpl. Randy Lee Newman, of Bend, died Aug. 20 of injuries from an improvised explosive device in the Al Anbar province of western Iraq. He was 21.

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060829/NEWS05/608290324/1010&nav_category=

To View/Sign Guest Book:
http://www.legacy.com/fitchburg/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=18977374

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Des-chutes County Fairgrounds.

Mr. Newman was born May 25, 1985, in Bend to Jerry and Ramona (Dahm) Newman.

Mr. Newman served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq for nearly seven months. He was a member of Christian Life Center. He enjoyed muscle cars, sports, wrestling, hunting and fishing.

Survivors include his parents and two brothers, Dan and Ken.

Memorial contributions may be made to Mountain View ROTC or the Mountain View wrestling program.

Autumn Funerals of Bend is in charge of arrangements.

Posted by sr at 03:45 PM | Permalink

Adam Galvez 1985 ~ 2006 Beloved hero, son, brother, nephew, uncle, grandson and Marine Cpl. Adam Galvez, age 21, ended his tour of duty in Iraq on August 20th, 2006.

http://www.legacy.com/SaltLakeTribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=19047252

To View/Sign Guest Book:
http://www.legacy.com/SaltLakeTribune/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=19047252

He was born in Loma Linda, California on April 2, 1985. He lived in Hemet, CA. until he was seven when his family moved to Salt Lake City. He attended West High School and graduated in 2003 from Horizonte in Salt Lake City Utah. He served in the United States Marine Corps assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division as an LAV mechanic, driver and scout. He was stationed in Twentynine Palms, California and deployed to Iraq in March of 2006. Adam enjoyed playing baseball, skateboarding and snowboarding but more than anything, he loved to work on cars. Visitation is open to the public on Tuesday, August 29th from 5-8 p.m. at McDougals Funeral Home located at 4330 S. Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City, UT. Services for Adam Galvez will be held Wednesday, August 30th at 2:00 p.m. at Calvary Chapel located at 460 West Century Dr. (4350 South), Salt Lake City. He is survived by his parents Tony and Amy Galvez of Salt Lake City; brother, Travis Galvez; sister, Sarah Galvez; nephew Drew; and nieces Rilee and Jaye; grandparents, Tom and Anne Gierhart and Eugene Garber, all of Salt Lake City, Utah; and many uncles, aunts and cousins. We express deep gratitude to our friends, local churches and the community for the sincere love, care and support that you have shown us through this difficult time. We say a very special thank you to Adam's friends for being part of his life. We deeply appreciate the United States Marine Corps for allowing Adam to proudly serve his country and for providing support and strength to his family during this time. Another Marine has reported for duty. Semper Fi.

Posted by sr at 03:33 PM | Permalink

CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (Aug. 28, 2006) -- After befriending Marines and sailors serving in this region of Iraq, a 12-year-old Iraqi girl who is in need of a kidney and liver transplant is now in a life-or-death struggle.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/B7769DC647677AE5852571D800487E01?opendocument

Aug. 28, 2006
By Cpl. Antonio Rosas, Regimental Combat Team7

Hadael Hamade, a young Iraqi girl from Karabilah, Iraq, a city of about 30,000 near the Iraq-Syria border, desperately needs life-saving surgery in order to live, according to U.S. Navy physicians who have treated her on occasion in recent months.

The girl befriended Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment – the U.S. military unit assigned to provide security in this portion along the Euphrates River – months ago when the Marines were on patrol in the city.

“When we first saw Hadael several months ago, she was walking,” said Navy Lt. Mark D. Rasmussen, an anesthesiologist with the surgical suite here. “Now she can’t move much. The Marines needed to carry her from her house to the humvee, and from the humvee to the surgical suite here.”

Since then, U.S. military forces here have regularly checked-up on the girl, evaluating her condition.

Hadael’s father, Ahmed, a 46-year-old school teacher, sought the aid of Marines and sailors, stating that doctors in his country cannot help his daughter, according to Navy doctors here.

After losing four children to kidney disease, he’s not ready to let his 12-year-old daughter suffer the same fate as her brothers and sisters, he said.

“If I need to go to outside of Iraq to help my daughter, I will go,” said Ahmed through an interpreter. “I will do anything to help my daughter stay alive and I am thankful for anyone that wishes to help me in any way.”

But that’s not enough to save the girl. She needs immediate surgery, and regular medication, to sustain her. That procedure and follow-on care, though, could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars – money Hamade’s family doesn’t have, and medical treatment Iraqi doctors are unable to provide, according to Ahmed.

Hadael recently received medication which doctors say will prolong her life a bit, medicine donated by several U.S. non-government agencies.

But the medicine is a temporary fix to a much larger problem. Without a kidney transplant and further treatment, Hadael will die, according to Navy Capt. H.D. Elshire, the officer-in-charge of the Marines’ medical facility at their camp at this border city – headquarters for the southern Calif.-based battalion.

The surgery is just the start, as Hadael will require life-long medical care if the kidney-liver transplant is successful. That, the Marines say, will require a life-time of medication, and plenty of funding to purchase that medicine.

“If she doesn’t get it soon, her chances of survival are pretty dismal,” said Elshire, 55, a Huntington Beach, Calif. native. “There is no help for her here in Iraq as the doctors in Baghdad don’t have the resources to help her.”

Hamade’s case has recently garnered attention in the U.S. after several non-profit organizations and a congressman from California learned of her situation. Her case was first brought to their attention upon the death of a Marine killed here, who just days before his death vowed to help the girl by bringing it to the attention of his chain-of-command.

Lance Cpl. Aaron W. Simons, a rifleman with the Marines serving in Karabilah, met the dying girl during a midnight security patrol through the city, according to the girl’s father.

Simons befriended the family and wanted to help Hadael’s father find help for his daughter, according to Simons’ best friend, Cpl. Ian Kutner, who also visited the family several times.

“I remember the young Marine (Simons) and how he was interested in getting help for my family,” said Ahmed. “I am very sorry for his death. Without him I would have never gotten help for my daughter.”

Several months ago, Hadael had become very ill in the middle of the night and her father ran out into the street for help. He knew the Marines were near-by, said Ahmed. A few days later she was taken hundreds of miles east to a medical center in Baghdad, but the doctors there could do nothing for her, he said.

“She was evaluated, and they (doctors) basically said, ‘The prognosis is too poor, you’re too sick,’ and they sent her home,” said Lt. Col. Larry White, director of a civil military operations center for the Al Qa’im region.

Due to a lack of medical resources in this region capable of handling cases of this nature, four of Hadael’s siblings have died from the very same hereditary kidney failure now claiming her life, said Ahmed.

The disease, called “Oxalosis,” began in Hadael’s liver, where it limited her liver’s metabolizing capabilities. That began a chain reaction of deterioration, affecting her other organs - specifically her kidneys, causing permanent kidney failure. The disease has caused Hadael to appear small for her age, ill-appearing and has zapped her energy – she is too weak to walk, U.S. doctors say.

The disease is prevalent in the Middle East and is the leading cause of renal (kidney) failure in Iraq, according to Elshire.

Nevertheless, concern for this region’s healthcare system have been expressed. The governor of Al Anbar Province, an area roughly the size of South Carolina, made a pledge to improve local medical resources in the area, including the construction of a new hospital, when he made a tour of Al Qa’im last month.

Ahmed has sought the aid of the Americans because professionals in Iraq have already given up on saving his daughter’s life, he said.

When Ahmed learned that his daughter had the same disease his other children died from, he took her to the local hospital in the nearby city of Husaybah, where doctors there told him that they could do nothing for her. He went to Baghdad where Iraqi doctors gave him the same story – they could do nothing.

Without treatment, Hadael’s health began deteriorating. That is when Ahmed sought the help of the Marines.

“She is alive right now because of the Americans,” said Ahmed. “My other children died because there is no medicine here in Iraq.”

Of the few U.S. medical centers with the facilities to handle special circumstances like Hadael’s, two have turned her case down, according to White.

“They’re explanation was that aside from the fact that the cost of treatment would be extreme…this would put this girl and her family through a tremendous ordeal to get them to the States and transplanting organs and still might have pretty low odds of success with the case,” said White, a 39-year-old from St. Paul, Minn.

“Their point is that, do we put these people through this? Do we spend this kind of money on a case that in all likelihood is not going to be successful?” he said. “That’s the hard calculus that they made.

Hadael has enough medicine for the next six months, thanks to donors in America. Now, a permanent solution is a race against time – finding an answer to her problem may take years – something her family can’t afford, according to the medical personnel here.

“She needs a kidney-liver transplant now,” said Elshire. “The longer they wait for a donor, the less chance she has of living.”

Even if Hamade receives a financial sponsor and medical institution willing to perform the surgery, there is also the likelihood that her whole family may have to relocate outside Iraq for her to receive the long-term follow up care that she will require, according to White.

For now, Hadael will make regular trips to the Marines’ base to receive her weekly medicine which is intended to raise her blood count, until a solution can be found through the work of non-profit organizations around the world.

The Marines say they will continue to visit Hadael’s family from time to time.

“Hadael doesn’t move around much because she is tired all the time,” said Kutner when he and other Marines visited the girl recently. “Other than sit in the living room watching T.V., she can’t do much.”

Hadael’s father says she doesn’t play with the other kids in her neighborhood and doesn’t smile much anymore, although when the Marines come around she smiles a bit more.

Staring at his daughter as she lies on a green stretcher, receiving medication inside the Marines’ medical facility in Al Qa’im, Ahmed says that now, “all that is left to do is wait.”

Email Cpl. Rosas at rosasa@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 09:51 PM | Permalink

AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 28, 2006) -- More than 30 years have passed since the first EA-6 Prowler flew into combat during the Vietnam War. Today, it continues to provide lifesaving electronic warfare support to U.S. service members during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/3D3F12E3825E0DED852571D90028D450?opendocument

Aug. 28, 2006
Story ID#: 200682932557
By Cpl. Jonathan K. Teslevich, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), reached the milestone of 3,000 combat flight hours during a mission high above the Iraqi desert in Al Asad, July 13.

According to the official Marine Corps fact file, the Prowler is normally assigned to assault support and attack strike missions in hostile territory. The Prowler's mission is to defeat deadly anti-aircraft systems and collect electronic data on the battlefield.

The Prowler dominates the electronic battlefield and the safe return of thousands of aircraft and crews makes obvious the need to field the aircraft. The EA-6B exhibited its abilities during conflicts in the Middle East and Balkans, where aircraft losses were much lower when it was in the air.

While the capabilities of VMAQ-2's Prowlers may be unmatched in the aviation world and though the squadron recently made its own entry in the history books, they might as well be 34,000-pound paperweights without the Marine maintainers and aircrews who keep the "Death Jesters" airborne daily.

"This is a really old aircraft. It is amazing we can fly the amount of flight hours that we do," said Capt. Mark S. Gombo, an electronic countermeasures officer and Purke, Va., native. "The amount of maintenance hours is unbelievable, but the fact is, we continue to fly this airplane. I am and a lot of others are impressed with the people who built this airplane and those maintaining it."

The engineers and assembly line workers at Grumman Aircraft Corporation, which manufactured the EA-6B, were commended by several VMAQ-2 Marines for their quality design and construction.

However, the people receiving the most praise from their superiors in the squadron are the "Death Jesters'" maintainers.

"The maintenance department has busted their butts, adapted and overcome supply issues, a nonstop flight schedule and a difficult work environment," said Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan L. Falcon, maintenance control chief and a Fayetteville, N.C., native. "These aircraft were left here by VMAQ-1 and have been in Iraq for nearly a year, flying in a sandy environment that is not good for them. I'm not surprised though that (the Prowlers) go up. It all goes back to the maintainer."

Although the maintainers take pride in the recent milestone, safety has been the focus of their efforts.

"I try to do everything as safely as possible and follow all the publications and guidelines, because there's no point in accomplishing 3,000 flight hours if someone gets hurt along the way," said Lance Cpl. James R. Elmore, a power plants mechanic and Houston, native. "I imagine that any aircraft takes a lot of work, but to accomplish 3,000 hours with this one, means a lot to me. I always sit down to watch them take off, and it's a good feeling to watch something I put a lot of work into go in the air."

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions

Posted by sr at 09:04 PM | Permalink

DIJIBOUTI, Africa (Aug. 28, 2006) -- At the top of the world, cloaked in ice and blinding snow, rest more than 100 permanent residents of Mt. Everest’s “Dead Zone.” They wait there at 26,000 feet like castle guard, their stunned silence an unspoken warning to passing travelers concerning the thin air that lays claim to new residents each climbing season -- including 11 souls this year. Those lucky enough to pass through their frozen neighborhood, unscathed en route to the summit, generally have three common characteristics: safety, stamina and Sherpas, or guides.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0EB84E0520150C5A852571D8005E5949?opendocument

Aug. 28, 2006
Story ID#: 2006828131032
By Cpl. Jeffrey A. Cosola, 24th MEU

For Marines waging war on the front lines of the Global War on Terrorism – and in the mountain ranges where madmen hide – safety, stamina and “sherpas” are also key ingredients to their mission’s success. Recently, in Dijibouti, Africa, Marines with Alpha, Charlie and Weapons companies, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), participated in a mountain assault course taught by the MEU’s assault climbers, a group of Marines trained to scale challenging terrain and “guide” a follow-on force to the fight.

Lance Cpl. Patrick Kanaley, a squad automatic weapon gunner and assault climber instructor with 2nd Platoon, Charlie Co., said that the purpose of the course is to teach infantry Marines sporting a “full combat load” the basic skills needed to move through a pre-established course and reach the top of the mountain ready to engage the enemy. Kanaley, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., explained that in addition to the information taught in the course, safety is paramount, because “people’s lives are hanging on ropes.”

“The idea is to move quickly, but to move up and down safely,” added Kanaley, whose job as a MEU “sherpa” could ask him to negotiate any difficult terrain in support of a raid force ranging from platoon-sized to battalion-level invasions. “This is a good course and gives the guys a general idea on how to use these installations.”

Course instructors set up three rope-climbing stations on a rocky slope – simple, fixed and semi-fixed – to give the Marines a hands-on class illustrating the techniques they’ll need to know for mountain combat. Cpl. Victor Rodriguez, a team leader and course instructor with Charlie Co., and a native of Brownsville, Texas, said the idea was to have them “go through the systems” that were set up for them in order to “become familiar and gain experience.”

“Our job, as assault climbers, is to make their job easier in getting up the mountain and getting to the fight,” said Rodriguez. “We show them how to get through.”

Ascending a mountain in full combat gear is a task that demands a great deal of stamina, a feat that Lance Cpl. Richard Gosch, a machine-gunner with Charlie Co. and a class participant, said was the toughest part of the course. Gosch said that climbing the unstable incline in Dijibouti’s searing heat gave each of the Marines an appreciation for the endurance needed for sustained operations in mountain warfare.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to do this in a mountain environment,” said Gosch. “I didn’t realize how tough climbing the actual mountain is on your body. After this we’ll be better prepared.”

For now, Marines are probably safe in the knowledge that they’ll most likely never scale Mt. Everest in pursuit of a fight. However, as madmen and jihadists continue to run out of places to hide, the day may come where – armed with safety, stamina and their “sherpas” – Marines will turn a battlefield “Dead Zone” into a high-altitude graveyard, complete with the stunned silence of terrorists who thought they were safe.

Click on any picture for credits and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 08:44 PM | Permalink

Programs help prepare, support families through deployments

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- As members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit here make last-minute preparations for their upcoming deployment, Staff Sgt. Danny Sava and his family are getting their own affairs in order so they're ready for another long separation.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/releaseview/A82F676C27386B15852571DA0041CA6C?opendocument

United States Marine Corps, Public Affairs Office
American Forces Press Service; Donna Miles
Release # 0830-06-0758
Aug. 28, 2006

The Sava family - Danny, a seven-year Marine, his wife of two years, Julia, and their children, Anthony, 10, and Alyssa, 18 months - offer insights into what a "typical" military family faces during deployments and the importance of the services the military provides to help them.

Less than three weeks before Danny and 2,300 fellow Marines leave here for six months of duty as U.S. Central Command's theater reserve, the Savas told American Forces Press Service they've got a handle on their family affairs.

Sava, the 15th MEU's data chief, is drawing up a list of details and contact information for Julia. The family bill-payer, he set up automatic online payments and is making sure she knows where to find his will, power of attorney, Social Security card and other important documents. "We're trying our best to get everything together and get squared away," Julia said.

The Savas already have endured one deployment as a family - when Danny was in Iraq and Julia was experiencing a difficult pregnancy until Alyssa's birth two months before her daddy's homecoming. The family lived off base during the last deployment, and Julia's doctor warned her not to drive. Fortunately, her parents didn't live far away and were able to pitch in when she needed it. "That's what kept me going," she said.

Danny made his presence felt at home the best he could by calling whenever possible, sending frequent e-mails and photos and picking up souvenirs for Anthony during port calls. "Frequent communication let me know he was OK and gave me peace of mind," Julia said. "It made a big difference."

Now that they have one deployment under their belts, the Savas say this time they pretty much know what to expect.

With the family now living on base and Julia serving as a key volunteer for the 15th MEU's family support network, they're hoping the deployment will go a bit easier than the last one. In her volunteer role, Julia will serve as a conduit between the unit and other Marine spouses, keeping the information channels open and helping steer families to any help they might need during the deployment. "We pass information to them and let them know what's going on," she said.

A vast volunteer network is just one part of the array of resources and services Camp Pendleton offers its 18,000 families to help them cope during deployments, explained Veronica Largent, assistant branch manager for the base's Family Team Building and Community Support effort.

The program has grown by leaps and bounds since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the launch of the war on terror and the corresponding acceleration in the Marines' deployment cycles.

The program's offerings span the full deployment cycle, from pre-deployment briefings to prepare families for what's ahead to support groups during the deployment to a Warrior Transition Briefing that helps redeploying Marines transition back to their roles at home, Largent explained.

In addition to committing more resources to family support, the Marines are fine-tuning their support network to make it more proactive to families' needs, she said.

For example, "family readiness officer" was once an additional duty that rotated between Marines as they came and went. Now the base has hired full-time civilian employees, such as Bill Bonney, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's family readiness officer, to bring experience and continuity to the job.

The base also established task-organized response teams, made up of professional counselors and other family experts, to bring families together and assist them through bumpy spots during deployments. "It was an opportunity to bring spouses together and allow them to vent and express their concerns, with counselors able to take that discussion and steer it in a constructive way," said Lisa Stehle, team leader for the base's LINKS program.

The program, better known for its acronym than its full name -- Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills program -- has proved to be invaluable in bringing Marine families into the fold of the base support program, officials said. They describe LINKS as "Marine Corps 101," an eight-hour workshop that teaches families about the Marine Corps, how it's organized and what services it provides. "It's the single most important program we have," said Bonney, noting that this knowledge empowers family members to tap into programs offered to help them.

Like many family support programs here, LINKS is run by volunteers who shoulder the largest share of the load in taking care of families. Last year alone, this network of Marines, spouses, military retirees, base civilian employees and members of the local community, clocked 180,000 volunteer hours, said Emily McKinley, the volunteer program coordinator.

In addition to steering families toward the resources and services offered to help them, Camp Pendleton's programs aim to ensure they understand the family dynamics that take place before, during and after a deployment, explained Deborah Smith-Porter, a readiness support coordinator and key volunteer trainer.

"There's an emotional cycle of deployment, and a lot of times spouses don't realize that," said Smith-Porter, a Marine wife who's held down the homestead during her husband's three deployments. "They might fight a lot just before the deployments and have doubts about their marriage. They might go through a stage where they are mad at their Marine and mad at the whole Corps. We teach them about this cycle and let them know that this is all perfectly normal."

As spouses of deployed Marines support each other, they form bonds that officials said many simply can't find outside the base network. Frequently families like the Savas, who counted on their extended family for support during the deployment, begin seeking that support from their Marine Corps family, Smith-Porter said.

"At home with your parents, the same support system of understanding just isn't there," she said. "Military spouses are a special breed who understand what you're experiencing. The Marine Corps family is a very small family, but we are very supportive of each other."

"We are spouses, and we are in this together," agreed Stehle. "So we circle the wagons and take care of each other."

Rebecca Rider, a family member employment assistance specialist and Marine wife, said he's proud of Camp Pendleton's programs and the support it offers families. "If spouses grab hold of these programs, they won't be disappointed," she said.

As the base's family support program has evolved, a new level of cooperation has developed between the base's operational side and its support side. "We're working more closely together and understand each other better," Largent said. "We're synchronizing our efforts and, as a result, ensuring we are providing the services needed."

"It's really part of taking care of our own," said Lloyd Thorne, supervisor for Marine Family Team Building and a retired Marine. And that, he said, ultimately boils down to supporting the Marine Corps mission. "It's so they can do their job and keep their head in the game," Thorne said. "That's what it ultimately comes down to."

Col. Brian Beaudreault, the 15th MEU commander, praised the support services being offered to his Marines and their families. He noted with pride that on his past deployment, he didn't have to send a single Marine home to take care of a family problem. "There wasn't an issue that arose that my key volunteers couldn't handle," he said. "I have total confidence in them."

As Beaudreault's unit prepares to deploy in early September, he said he's counting on the family support network to look out for his Marines' families. "A commander can't do this alone," he said. "We count on them and the support they offer."

As the Savas prepare for the MEU's deployment, Julia said she knows she has to be extra strong once again - not just for her children, but also for her husband, who's counting on her so he can focus on his mission. It won't be easy, she acknowledged, particularly knowing that he'll be gone over Christmas and for both of his children's birthdays.

But Julia said she's determined to make the deployment a success. "We'll make it," she said. "We'll be OK."

For now, little Alyssa toddles around base with an infectious ear-to-ear grin, blissfully unaware that her father will soon be leaving. Ten-year-old Anthony understands all too well what's ahead, keeping a brave face as he promises to be a big help to his mother while his Marine father is deployed. "I get used to it," Anthony said of Danny's absence, "but I kind of miss him."

As he utters the words with a brave smile on his face, a tear forms in his left eye and slowly rolls down his cheek.

Posted by ph at 08:37 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (Aug. 28, 2006) -- This year’s Summer Reading Program, coordinated by Marine Corps Community Services here, and the Base Library, officially came to end Aug. 12 during an official Wrap Up Party held in the Reading Room of the library. The festivities began at 1 p.m. and ended at 2 p.m.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/1E5E5F5D46147290852571D1006749C7?opendocument

Aug. 28, 2006; Submitted on: 08/21/2006 02:48:10 PM ; Story ID#: 2006821144810

By Lance Cpl. Ryan Trevino, MCB Hawaii

During the party, certificates of completion were handed out to program participants who completed at least one reading log during the summer months. A book drawing and give away, using books donated by library patrons, was also held during the event.

The Summer Reading Program is geared toward encouraging children, from infants to 18 year olds, to become more active readers, according to Program Coordinator Merri Fernandez, MCCS. Even if the child is too young to read for his or herself, the parents or older siblings of that child are encouraged to read to them as much as possible. According to Murray Visser, head librarian, if children have positive reading experiences when they are young, then they are more likely to become lifelong readers.

“We hope to instill a love of books that will stay with them the rest of their lives,” said Fernandez. “We want children to realize reading is not a chore, it’s a great adventure.”

“The earlier a child starts to read, the better student they will be later in school,” added Visser.

MCCS decided to play on the phrase, “reading is a great adventure”, by declaring this year’s theme, “Voyage to Bookaneer Bay.” Keeping with the pirate theme, the children were given a treasure map used to keep track when and what they read during the passing weeks, according to Fernandez.

“Each week they put a sticker on their map and were then able to choose a prize from our treasure chest,” she added.

McDonalds of Hawaii, the program’s sponsor, also chipped in and provided the children with coupons, good at participating McDonalds, as an added incentive to read.

According to Fernandez, the reading requirements for completing a reading log depended on the child’s age and reading ability. Young children needed at least 15 books read to them, she explained, and the older children were required to read a certain amounts depending upon their grade level.

Prizes were awarded to the top readers in five age categories, which included: 0 - 3, 4 - 6, 7 - 9, 10 - 12, and 13 - 18.

Now in the program’s 15th year, participation is at an all-time high with more than 200 children signing up for the program, declared Fernandez.

“I really enjoyed our theme this year, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s program.

For more information on the Summer Reading Program and other events contact the Base Library at 254-7624.

For credits and description of photo, please click on the picture

Posted by JG for MarineParents.com at 07:58 PM | Permalink

A group of U.S. Marines based in South Bend is preparing to go back to the front lines of the war in Iraq.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/3729571.html

(WSBT)

Members of Company B have been training at Camp Pendleton in California. This is the second time in three years they've been called on to serve in Iraq.

The Marines will clear routes in that country so coalition forces can safely get through. That means anything from breaking down barricades to finding and dismantling landmines and other explosives.

“They’ve got a very special IED identification mission over there,” Maj. Mark Boone, the commanding officer, told WSBT News. “So these Marines are going to be at the top of the sphere for the U.S. and our cause.”

The 135-member company leaves Saturday. And with less than two days until they ship out, they say there is little down-time.

“As soon as we got here it was hit the ground running and just a non-stop continuous training schedule,” said Sgt. Scott Leeper from Mishawaka.

Company B has been training for five weeks, and is scheduled to stay in Iraq for at least seven months.

Lance Corporal Bo Ennis, a 20-year-old from Walkerton, says this is what he’s been training for and he’s excited to put his training to use.

“It’s about time,” Ennis said Thursday. “The other Marines and I have really just been waiting to get over there and do our job and we finally get to do it.”

Posted by sr at 04:57 PM | Permalink

Patrick Howard was determined to become a Marine as a teenager in South Miami-Dade. After being seriously injured in Iraq last month, he hasn't lost his will to fight.

Patrick Howard heard his blood dripping onto the floor. He was on a mesh stretcher, a doctor leaning over him. His right arm was motionless, and he struggled to speak. Only a year out of high school, the 20-year-old Marine from South Miami-Dade faced his mortality last month on the battlefield in Iraq.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami-dade/cities_neighborhoods/pinecrest/15365132.htm

BY EMILY YEHLE
Miami Herald Writer
August 27, 2006

''Am I going to die or what?'' he asked.

Doctors tore off his bloodied uniform and rushed him to a hospital in Ramadi. The last thing he remembers is screaming in pain.

Across the world in Orlando, Wallace Howard got a call on his way to work. He recognized the number and thought he knew what was coming. A voice on the other end stiffly asked him: Is this the father of Lance Cpl. Patrick Howard?

''I really contained myself,'' he said. ``I was getting ready to lose it.''

But instead of hearing about the death of his son, Wallace Howard was told that Patrick was seriously injured. He had been hit by two 82 mm mortar rounds while on one-man guard duty. It was July 18.

Thirteen hours passed before Howard and his wife, Bertha, found out that their son was in stable condition. Of course, ''stable condition'' could mean anything.

''The important thing was that we understood that he was alive, and that's all that mattered,'' Howard said. Patrick was quickly sent back to the United States and woke up from a drug-induced coma four days after the attack to see his parents by his side.

A young man who many describe as brave and determined, Howard made his own decision to join the Marine Corps. His friends and family are supporters of the military but were apprehensive about his choice. His parents were frightened for his safety, and his fiancée thought too many young men were risking their lives in a war ``blown out of proportion.''

But throughout his teenage years in Miami, Howard knew he wanted to serve. He signed up for duty in November 2004, during his senior year at Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School in West Kendall and entered boot camp two days after graduation in May 2005.

''I wanted the experience of going over there and doing something,'' he said by telephone from his hospital bed at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center in Maryland. ``It was something that I thought was cool.''

Howard was deployed to Iraq in March, spending four months there before he was injured. Now, he has a laundry list of injuries: one lost kidney, lacerated liver, bruised lung, broken arm and leg, broken ribs. At one point he thought he might lose his right arm. He already has had 12 surgeries -- another is scheduled for Tuesday -- and months of rehab are ahead.

Despite his frustration at being temporarily confined to a hospital bed and a wheelchair, he sticks by his decision to become a Marine. He is proud to serve his country.

''I wouldn't change it for anything, to be honest,'' he said.

He's optimistic about his recovery, and his family is just glad he's home. On Aug. 1, President Bush visited Bethesda and personally placed the Purple Heart on his chest. Miss America, Miss Virginia, Ozzy Osbourne and an aide to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen all came to visit.

He was especially honored when Gen. Michael Hagee, the Marine commandant, came by; As only one out of 180,000 Marines under Hagee's command, Howard was amazed that he warranted a visit.

JoAnna Rodriguez, his fiancée, said she was actually relieved when she first saw him in the hospital days after he was injured, even though his body was covered in tubes and he couldn't move his arm.

''You expect the worst when someone tells you he was basically blown up,'' Rodriguez, 18, said. ``Honestly, I was relieved to see he was in one piece.''

The couple met at Carroll High School during Howard's senior year. His teachers describe him as a gentleman who is shy but enthusiastic and focused. Rodriguez had to introduce herself. The two got more serious throughout the school year. Howard talked constantly about becoming a Marine.

''It was something I saw that really motivated him,'' said teacher Nikki Gantz, who taught both students British literature. Although she didn't want him to go, she encouraged him to do what he wanted.

Carroll High is a small Catholic school. Howard's graduating class numbered 123. Like at many Miami high schools, the military comes to career fairs and encourages students to join. But most Carroll High students opt for college.

So when Howard told his history teacher, Lissette Hernandez, that he was going to become a Marine, she was furious. He was like many of her students, she said, bright but not excited about his schoolwork. She knew he was capable of doing anything but the only thing he was passionate about was being a Marine, she said.

''He's very brave, very headstrong, and he was very determined to go in,'' she said.

Since hearing about his injuries, students and teachers at the school have sent him cards and kept up on his progress.

Howard also received letters from people he doesn't know. His father wrote about his son's injuries on www.MarineParents.com, a website where parents of Marines can get information and support. Soon, dozens of parents from all over the nation posted that they were praying for Howard's recovery and sent letters to the hospital. The website's founder, Tracy Della Vecchia, constantly talked to Wallace Howard and posted updates on Patrick's condition.

''It actually feels pretty good,'' Patrick Howard said. ``A lot of times out there in Iraq, sometimes you wonder if people forgot about you. Sometimes you feel so lonely and wonder if people really care.''

He faces a long road ahead. Within the next two weeks, he will be airlifted to the VA Hospital in Tampa to begin intensive rehab. For a while, he'll have to travel back to Bethesda for more surgery. Eventually, he will live with his parents outside Orlando and commute to Tampa while Rodriguez attends Miami Dade College.

As Rodriguez describes the future she and Howard are planning -- living in Miami, having children, going to college -- she gets a call. It's him. He got the homemade cookies she sent.

The two constantly talk, and she has stayed as confident as him throughout the ordeal.

''You know what?'' she said. ``Sometimes in life you get things that are unexpected, and you have to deal with it in the moment.''

Posted by sr at 05:47 PM | Permalink

HADITHA DAM, Iraq — One by one, the marines took the stage for one of the most coveted photo opportunities of the war. Tanea sat on a knee of an eager marine while Laurie rested on the other.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/world/middleeast/27morale.html?ref=world

By MICHAEL R. GORDON
Published: August 27, 2006

Hands on their miniskirted hips, Amber and Renee posed at each side. Dani stood behind and held the marine’s rifle as the camera snapped the photo. Some of the young marines who lined up for the memento were so mesmerized by the experience that they had to be reminded not to leave their weapons behind.

The Haditha Dam is in a hostile stretch of the Euphrates River 140 miles northwest of Baghdad where the marines do battle with insurgents in the oppressive heat. But for a few hours this summer, the chow hall inside the dam was transformed into a theater for five shapely dancers who seemed to embody many a young marine’s fantasy.

It was all part of a program to keep up morale in a war that is more dangerous than ever. There is a long history of providing entertainment for troops in war zones, including performances by attractive starlets. Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell toured with Bob Hope in Korea, who delighted troops during four conflicts. Raquel Welch and Ann-Margret performed in Vietnam.

But at Haditha Dam, the marines have the Purrfect Angelz, as the dancers are known. Their tours, which organizers say are paid for by the military, have occasionally stirred some controversy. During the group’s 2005 visit to Baghdad, a female Air Force officer complained that the dancers’ wardrobes and routines encouraged insensitive attitudes toward women in the military.

On the group’s third tour of Iraq, there were no complaints from the boisterous crowd of male marines at the dam or the solitary soldier in the audience from Azerbaijan, who mistook the Oklahoma-born Tanea for a Russian. A small group of Iraqi Army officers who are being trained by the marines were so enthusiastic they all but rushed the stage and filled their digital cameras with this sampling of American culture.

Sgt. Dale Gooden, 31, a Marine reservist from Jacksonville, Fla., who is assigned to the dam security unit, saw the show as a sign that the American public had not forgotten about the troops. The most impressive part of the show, he said, was “just the fact that they came out here to see us.”

Certainly, Haditha Dam seems an unlikely venue. The 10-story hydroelectric dam, which was built in the 1980’s, was captured in the opening weeks of the American-led invasion. The secret Delta Force destroyed much of the Iraqi defenses near the dam, while Army Rangers swooped in later to seize the structure.

The Americans said the dam had to be taken to prevent Saddam Hussein from destroying it as part of a scorched-earth policy, though there is no indication that Mr. Hussein ever had such a plan. It was a firefight at the dam, in fact, that initially put it at risk. After discovering that the poorly maintained dam was damaged in the fighting, a sergeant in an Army civil affairs unit flew to the site and worked with the Iraqi engineers to keep the dam functioning.

During a multimillion-dollar repair project by the Army Corps of Engineers, the dam’s turbines were rehabilitated. In addition to generating electricity, the dam also serves as a headquarters for the Marine battalion that is charged with securing the Haditha area and is home to a small contingent of troops from Azerbaijan who are helping the marines guard the structure.

For the Purrfect Angelz, it was a stop on a tour that also took them to bases like Al Qaim and Taji. The dancers, former cheerleaders, calendar models and aspiring actresses, have an active schedule in the United States, much of which consists of events for motorcycle riders. By design, the routines at Haditha are a bit tamer than the biker fare.

“We want to make it more about talent than being risqué,” Tanea Brooks said. “We are not going to boost every part of the morale.” Her credits include a three-year stint as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, a role in a country music video, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace Adkins, and a turn as quarterback for the New York Euphoria, one of the teams that established the Lingerie Football League, in which models played football dressed in underwear.

But for marines who deploy for seven months at a stretch, are forbidden to consume alcohol, have no real opportunities for social interaction with the Iraqi population and routinely travel down roads seeded by roadside bombs, the performance was exciting enough. “Servicemen are our best audience,” said Ms. Brooks, who gave her age as “21 forever.” “They are so appreciative. We love touring for them. They always get excited.”

[David Chavez, the president of Pro Sports MVP, which organized the tour, said that it was paid for by the military and that the expenses consisted of travel costs and small stipends. A Pentagon spokesman said he had no immediate information on what the tour cost or the financial arrangements.]

A recent show began with an entreaty by a diligent sergeant who saw the event as an opportunity to appeal to the marines to re-enlist. He was loudly shouted down. An announcer who was traveling with the dance group told the marines not to pay attention to news media reports that the American public did not support the war. The nation, she said, was solidly behind them.

Then the dancers, in revealing outfits, energetically performed dance routines that were more rousing than most Super Bowl halftime acts — wardrobe malfunctions notwithstanding — but far less provocative than Las Vegas shows. At one point, one of the Angelz sang Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA,” a veritable anthem for many of the troops.

The event wound up with the photo and autograph session. Then it was on to the next stop.

The troops’ verdict on the tour seemed to be summed up by an e-mail message that an Army captain later sent the dancers from the base at Taji. He thanked them for helping to “make us forget about our jobs for a little while.”

Posted by sr at 05:30 PM | Permalink

The war in Iraq doesn't have one face. It has many.
Readers of The Standard-Times gazed into one of them Tuesday when they read about the injured Marine Lance Cpl. Toben Medeiros, 21, of Dartmouth, who is among the 19,323 service personnel the Department of Defense says has been wounded in the more than three years that U.S. troops have fought in Iraq after the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein's government. Other groups say the number of Americans wounded is much higher. These wounded are in addition to the 2,601 servicemen and women who have given their lives during the Iraq war.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/08-06/08-17-06/01opinion.htm

Lance Cpl. Medeiros was wounded in one of the most common ways to get hurt or killed in Iraq: a roadside bomb that exploded while his squad attempted to evacuate a building under fire. His best friend, a member of the same squad, was killed in the blast.

Lance Cpl. Medeiros suffered serious wounds to his arm and hand, and his legs. He also lost an eye, which was replaced last week with a prosthetic. He has lost sensation, muscle control and flexibility from the injuries, and he will undergo long months of rehabilitation as he recovers. Stitches run across his body.

The Iraq war is far away, but it has come closer to home this year with three local service personnel killed in combat or accidents.

All of us take pride in Lance Cpl. Medeiros, and the other men and women from SouthCoast and elsewhere across the country who put their lives on the line each day because they chose to serve in the military, electing to do their part on our behalf.

We all know that, but we don't remember to say thank you often enough. Regardless of our individual opinions about the war and its justification, we must remember that when we decide to use force to accomplish political objectives, it is not only planes and tanks and missiles that we send into combat, but our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers.

Some of them do not come back whole. Some do not come back at all. We must honor them and their families, and do everything within our power to restore them.

Thank you, Lance Cpl. Medeiros, and all those who have sacrificed so much for what you believe in.

Posted by TR for MarineParents.com at 01:02 PM | Permalink

Chadwick Thomas Kenyon January 4, 1986 - August 20, 2006 Gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country while serving in the US Navy in Iraq and is now in the presence of the Kingdom of God.

http://www.legacy.com/tucson/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=19000001

the Tucson
8/27/2006.
View/Sign Guest Book: http://www.legacy.com/tucson/Guestbook.asp?Page=GuestBook&PersonID=19000001

Beloved son of Charmaine Wright and Douglas H. Kenyon, Jr. Also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Preceded in death by maternal grandparents, Major (Ret.) and Mrs. Arthur J. Alley. Chad graduated from Mountain View High School in 2004 and enlisted in the US Navy through the delayed entry program. He was a Navy Hospital Corpsman and was attached to the Third L.A.R. Battalion, First Marine Division, 29 Palms, CA and succumbed to injuries suffered in an IED explosion during combat operations in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Chad was an avid U of A Wildcat fan, had a passion for music and the Boston Red Sox. In his brief life he accomplished many things and served his country with great pride. Chad's military commendations awarded were Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) pin, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He was loved and will be missed by all who knew him. Services Saturday, September 2, 2006, 1:00 p.m. at EVERGREEN MORTUARY, N. Oracle & W. Miracle Mile. The Chadwick T. Kenyon Memorial Fund has been established at Alliance Bank of Arizona, 4703 E. Camp Lowell Dr., Tucson, AZ 85712 Account # 801001 "What children take from us, they give...We become people who feel more deeply, question more deeply, hurt more deeply, and love more deeply." Dear Chad, my hero, My heart is forever broken. I will love and miss you forever until we are reunited again. With Great Pride and Love Always, Mama.

Posted by sr at 11:37 AM | Permalink

PEORIA -- Every first Thursday of the month, the Central Illinois Proud Families of Marines meet to swap stories, offer advice and share the indescribable feeling of having a loved one serve in the Marine Corps.

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/082706/TRI_BAPKO5QC.010.shtml

Sunday, August 27, 2006
BY EMILY ANDERSON
OF THE JOURNAL STAR

Saturday, the group and various volunteers met at Northwoods Community Church at 10700 N. Allen Road to cut, pin and sew 600 stockings for Marines serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. They hope to complete 10,000 stockings filled with food, toiletries and DVDs by November.

Patti Smith, president and co-founder of CIPFM, is the mother of two Marines. Her sons' involvement with the military taught her for the first time how much a gesture from home can mean to the troops.

"I just became aware of so many needs that I couldn't handle alone," Smith said. "It's an honor and a privilege to help."

Smith formed CIPFM in October 2005 after her sons Jesse, 26 and Josey, 24, joined the Marines. The pair signed up within six months of each other and were deployed to Iraq.

At the time, Smith had little knowledge of the military, so she researched and sought out people who also had family in the Marines. Her search led to the creation of CIPFM.

The group provides packages and support to troops, wounded, veterans and military families. But it also provides a place for families of Marines to find camaraderie.

Sue Pagel had trouble finding people who understood her situation when her son Jason Pagel, 31, left for 15 months with the Marines in Afghanistan. By the time he came home this March, however, Pagel had the kinship of CIPFM members.

"Until this group started, it was like you were on your own," Sue Pagel said. "There was support, but not this sisterly thing."

Pagel needs the understanding of Marine families now more than ever. Her son currently is at an undisclosed location in the Middle East with Marine special forces.

Pagel's niece, Michelle Reed, and Reed's fiance, both Army soldiers, are in Iraq.

Reed assured Pagel the stockings will be appreciated when they are sent in November.

"When my niece was in Korea, she said, 'You don't have a day where you don't wonder if everyone's forgotten you're here,'" Pagel said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Tom Elliott of Pekin hasn't had a child overseas yet. His son Matt Elliott, 24, just graduated boot camp. But he's already firmly committed to letting overseas troops know they're in his thoughts.

"We just want to support the men and women who are there (in Iraq and Afghanistan)," Elliott said. "It's like Patti said, let central Illinois know we haven't forgotten them."

Vicki Dobrinsky, a member of CIPFM, hopes the stockings will boost morale while troops are away for the holidays. Dobrinsky's son PFC Anthony J. Dobrinsky, 20, is stationed in Virginia Beach, Va.

"I'm hoping it lifts their spirits and gives them a taste of home," Dobrinsky said.

"Life over there isn't quite what they're used to and hopefully this will brighten their day."

Emily Anderson can be reached at 686-3114 or eanderson@pjstar.com.

Posted by ph at 08:52 AM | Permalink

'Team Gator' Marines manuever their amphibious assault vehicle around a corner as the start of a patrol down the highways surrounding Fallujah, Iraq. Team Gator, built around D Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, patrols the highways to keep them clear of improvised explosive devices and insurgent attackers. The roads are vital to move forces and supplies throughout the area of operations.

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 26, 2006) -- Forget murky swamps or backyard swimming pools. Regimental Combat Team 5 has “Gators” stalking the six-lane highways surrounding Fallujah.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A4438E24EBB9D2AE852571D7003491CF?opendocument

Aug. 26, 2006; Submitted on: 08/27/2006 05:34:11 AM ; Story ID#: 200682753412
By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva, Regimental Combat Team 5

Marines from D Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, RCT-5, are skulking the main roads surrounding Fallujah. They’re on the hunt, looking to clamp down on anyone trying to shut down the well-traveled routes for Coalition Forces. Their favorite prey is improvised explosive device emplacers and the roadside bombs they employ.

Team Gator, built around D Company, is tasked with keeping the main routes in the area open for Coalition and civilian traffic. Marines drive their 27-ton amphibious assault vehicles constantly. Day and night, the amtracs, a holdover nickname when earlier generations of the vehicle were called amphibious tractors, keep the main routes clear. It’s a mission that’s taxing physically and mentally, and requires an alligator’s thick skin to endure.

“We’re out there looking for IEDs and possible ambush sites,” said Staff Sgt. Justin K. Mayville, a 28-year-old section leader from Killeen, Texas. “The ‘amtracs,’ are well-suited for this kind of mission. They’re good on open-terrain and highways and stand up well against IEDs. They just get hot in the daytime.”

Nighttime isn’t much better. On a recent patrol, Marines loaded their amtracs, or “hogs” as they affectionately call them, and churned off into the inky-black moonless night. It was a ritualistic hunt. The roads they haunt are their hunting grounds, and they know them well.

“If we’re not doing this, another section is doing it, every day,” Mayville explained. “Marines know this area well and they know what to look for.”

That’s because Team Gator creeps their beasts along the roads at a patient, persistent pace. Headlights on, the lumbering amtrac beasts chug down the road, bellowing diesel smoke in a throaty groan. Marines ride high, perched in their stations or stand in the back, heads and rifles poking out from the open hatches.

“We’re looking for anything out of the ordinary,” said Lance Cpl. John D. Darmody, a 20-year-old amtrac crewman from Allen Park, Mich. “We’re looking to see something new in the road that we haven’t seen before.”

Darmody explained Team Gator has traveled up and down the same stretches of highway so often, they know the identifying features. They can pinpoint patch jobs on the road surface from repairs to craters left from previous IEDs. Pieces of trash, canisters, even shrubs that didn’t seem to be there the day before are tell-tale signs that something is amiss. That’s when Team Gator gets ready to pounce.

“That’s one of the main things about patrolling,” explained Cpl. Manuel A. Castellanos, a 24-year-old crewman from New York City. “You get out there and mastermind you’re whole area and patrol your whole area. That’s how you know when something’s not right.”

The patrol of amtracs hefted their armored vehicles onto the highway and for hours scanned every possible spot to hide a roadside bomb. The pace was painstakingly slow, as they rumbled their way down the asphalt. Choking acrid diesel smoke mixed with the syrupy-sweet odor of transmission fluid and oil. The vibration was enough to shake loose dental fillings, and the heat wafted up from the belly of the machines to the point that the warm summer night breezes were a welcome escape.

“It wears a lot on the Marines,” Mayville explained. “I try to break the monotony of the road noise. I try not to take the same path. I change the routes.”

Marines steered their hulking amtracs in long, flowing loops. They traveled one side of the highway with their eyes glued to the roadside landscape under the dim headlights. The turned around and the metal tracks ground against the pavement, sometimes sending up tiny sparks as they headed back in the opposite direction.

Patrols like this seem to last forever. Darmody said he’s been on patrols such as this that lasted 12 hours.

“The patrols are pretty hard,” he said. “It’s the length and the heat that get to you.”

“It’s more than being awake,” Castellanos added. “You have to constantly be on guard. You can’t get complacent.”

Marines resorted to a few tried methods to keep aware when they’re on a Gator hunt. Darmody slipped below his turret to light cigarettes every so often, as much to keep himself awake as to pass the time. Occasionally, he smacked his helmet, jolting himself from the drowsiness that settled in.

For Castellanos, it was the radio that kept him focused. It maintained his awareness and the voice he heard in his ear was a reassurance he’s not on this hunt alone.

“We do a lot of talking over the radios,” he said. “Knowing you can talk to your guys on the ‘trac’ and in your section, you know you are going to make it through the night.”

Mayville said he’s got a simple solution. It’s a cooler packed with ice and water.

“It’s a big morale booster,” he said. “In the evening, it’s not so bad, but you can count on it being 20-30 degrees hotter inside the ‘trac.’ We push a lot of water.”

The glow of headlights filled the horizon several hours into the patrol. Marines edged their amtracs off the road to make room for the passing convoy. Nearly 70-vehicles large, the convoy rolled by. They carried everything from complete humvees loaded on flatbed trailers to fuel trucks and supplies.

The fact the convoy rolled through, unhindered and unscathed, was proof to Team Gator they made a difference.

“This job is very important,” Mayville said. “That’s a main supply route we’re on.”

“That let’s us know we’re doing our job when they can move freely,” Castellanos added.

Team Gator Marines nosed their vehicles back into Camp Fallujah after several hours and dozens of loops up and down the highway. Back inside the safety of the camp, they edged their hungry “hogs” to the camp’s fuel farm, where Army soldiers were refilling fuel bladders. They were likely the part of the same convoy they watched passed hours earlier.

“It makes you feel good knowing they’re replenishing everything from fuel to food for the chow hall,” Mayville explained. “We kept that road open for them so they could bring the stuff here that keeps Marines happy.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions

Posted by ph at 08:47 AM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 26, 2006) -- Cpl. Joshua D. Milligan’s first words when he uncovered his largest weapons cache can’t be printed.

He used the word “holy,” but there was nothing religious about the second word.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/BE1F1CDF1B652E99852571D70037EB40?opendocument

Aug. 26, 2006; Submitted on: 08/27/2006 06:10:47 AM ; Story ID#: 200682761047
By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva, Regimental Combat Team 5

Scouts from TOW Platoon, 2nd Tank Battalion, recently uncovered their largest weapons cache yet. They found the enormous stash of weapons in the back of a blue “Bongo” truck while conducting snap vehicle checkpoints along one of the regularly patrolled roads near Fallujah. They detained two insurgents along with confiscating hundreds of munitions and weapons.

TOW Platoon is attached to Team Gator, centered around D Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion. They are serving in the Fallujah area with Regimental Combat Team 5.

“I told the other Marines to get over here, I needed them to flex cuff these guys,” said Milligan, a 22-year-old from Greenville, S.C. “It seemed like such a dumb place to hide it.”

Milligan and his team of scouts were conducting routine operations along a main highway near Fallujah when they pulled the blue Bongo truck over to inspect it. Initially, they had nothing to suspect there would be any weapons. Bongo trucks are driven by many Iraqis, especially farmers.

Marines approached the truck and asked the drivers to get out.

“They were really calm,” Milligan said. “I asked them to open the back and they didn’t hesitate. Inside, there were rice bags, covered in blankets and plastic chairs. It looked like they just threw them in.”

Milligan said that caused him to raise an eyebrow. It appeared to him that the rice bags were being intentionally covered. Marines started to question the Iraqi men.

One man produced an identification card, titled “National Counter-terrorism of Iraq,” according to Sgt. Thomas W. Busch, a 26-year-old from St. Paul, Neb. He said he never heard of any organization such as that and his suspicions were soon borne out.

Milligan continued his search while Marines spoke to the two Iraqi men. He reached his hands under the blankets and felt what he thought was a handle to a rocket-propelled grenade launcher inside one of the rice bags. That’s when he uttered the two words that can’t be printed.

Milligan cut open the bag and had proof. Inside were several RPG launchers, rusted, but otherwise usable.

“Not even the Iraqi Army is allowed to have RPGs, so we knew we had something,” Busch said.

Marines got to work getting the loot from inside the truck. They only grew more amazed.

Cpl. Andrew C. Lumbard, a 22-year-old from Canton, N.Y., described the truck as being about 15-feet long and six-feet wide. It was filled with the white rice bags.

“We started unloading from the front, and that part was all mortars,” said Cpl. John R. Morris, a 21-year-old from Chapel Hill, N.C. “We could tell everything was something bad. We pulled out mortars, ammo and flaks with plates.”

In addition to the other items, Marines uncovered more than 150 mortars, more than 100 pounds of TNT, binoculars, thermal sights, plastic explosives and nearly 40 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. Multiple parts for making improvised explosive devices were also seized.

“There were probably more than 30,000 small-arms rounds in there too,” Busch added. “It took almost an hour to get it all unloaded. I couldn’t believe how much was in the back of that Bongo.”

Busch added that the most they usually found on a snap-VCP was an occasional pistol. This was the find of their deployment.

“It was a pretty sweet time for us,” Busch said.

“It probably made it worth it, sitting out there and sweating your butt off for two-and-a-half months,” Lumbard said.

Milligan said there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing they put a dent in the insurgents’ supply of weapons. They know that each weapon taken out of their hands means another Marine’s life saved.

“It feels good to be out there and find something,” Milligan said. “It helps with morale.”

It’s not the first time this team of scouts came up with strong results. They’ve found 13 IEDs and another two detonated, but yielded no harm, according to Busch. They’ve shot a couple of IED emplacing teams, killing at least one, wounding another and capturing still one more. Last deployment, they caught another team of insurgents moving IEDs.

This find, though, takes the cake.

“That’s in there for the high point of the deployment,” Busch said. “The recruiter never tells you you’ll go through three years of bull to get 10 minutes of fame.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by ph at 08:40 AM | Permalink

RAWAH, Iraq (Aug. 26, 2006) -- Just more than two weeks after memorializing four Marines killed in action, Marines serving in this region of Al Anbar province gathered to remember three more – two Marines and a sailor – who died last week during combat operations in Iraq.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0F791718243377DD852571D7004C513E?opendocument

Aug. 26, 2006
By Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin, Regimental Combat Team7

In a somber ceremony on the Marines’ outpost in this Euphrates River city Aug. 26, Marines and sailors from the southern California-based 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion memorialized: Cpl. Adam A. Galvez, a 21-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah; Lance Cpl. Randy L. Newman, a 21-year-old from Bend, Ore., and Seaman Chadwick T. Kenyon, a 20-year-old from Tucson, Ariz.

All three men were part of the battalion’s Company D, which spent three months living out of their eight-wheeled, armored troop carriers – Light Armored Vehicles – combating insurgents and roadside bombs in Fallujah earlier this year.

The unit also conducted humanitarian missions in Kharma and Habbaniyah, large towns on Fallujah’s outskirts, and they provided security for a raid which resulted in the capture of a high ranking terrorist in Haditha, according to a July 7 report from Cpl. Graham A. Paulsgrove, the battalion’s combat correspondent.

For weeks at a time, the company lived out of their vehicles, slept inside or next to them, seldom returning to a base for a hot meal or shower, according to Paulsgrove’s report.

“They were Dragoon’s warriors. They were real warriors,” said 1st Sgt. Willie T. Ward III, of Galvez, Kenyon and Newman during the ceremony. Ward, a 38-year-old from Warner Robins, Ga., is the company’s senior enlisted advisor. “They were Wolf Pack. They were my brothers. I loved them.”

The deaths of the three men came on the heels of the deaths of four other Marines from the very same platoon within Company D: 2nd platoon. Sgt. Christian B. Williams, a 27-year-old from Winterhaven, Fla.; Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus, a 28-year-old from Wolf Creek, Mont.; Lance Cpl. Anthony E. Butterfield, a 19-year-old from Clovis, Calif.; and Lance Cpl. Jason Hanson, a 21-year-old from Forks, Wash., were all killed due to combat operations here Aug. 2.

They were memorialized in a similar ceremony here Aug. 10. Galvez, Kenyon and Newman attended that ceremony.

During all of their exploits in eastern Al Anbar province, no one from Company D was killed. All six of the battalion’s deaths occurred during combat operations in this region of western Al Anbar province.

“It’s too soon since the last time we were remembering the loss of another group of Marines from the same company, from the same platoon, which has borne so much of the share of our losses during this fight,” said Lt. Col. Matthew L. Jones, the battalion’s commanding officer, during the service.

“These men – Adam Galvez, Chad Kenyon, Randy Newman – they lived for a lot more than just what was going on over here,” said Jones.

During the ceremony, Marines from Company D’s 2nd Platoon took turns speaking about their fallen comrades before a final roll call of the company’s men, and the playing of Taps.

Lance Cpl. Gary M. Cassen, a 19-year-old from Cofax, Calif., remembered Kenyon as a “person of principle, who did everything he could to the best of his abilities.”

Kenyon, who joined the Navy in August 2004 and 3rd LAR Battalion in May 2005, was someone who would “put his life on the line for others,” said Cassen. In fact, he was “glad to do it.”

“The Marine Corps and the Navy were lucky to have a person of this caliber,” said Cassen. “Chad loved his Marines as much as he loved his Navy.”

While Company D was in Fallujah, Kenyon treated several casualties, including one Marine who was shot in the chest. Luckily, the Marine’s body armor stopped the enemy round from penetrating.

“Rounds would start going off and Chad would be in the front running and gunning,” said Cassen, who also spoke in remembrance of Butterfield during the unit’s Aug. 10 memorial service. “After everything had calmed down, we would be like, ‘Hey Chad, you need to stay in the vehicle until someone gets hurt.’ But he would look you dead in the eyes and say, ‘And what? Let you have all the fun?’”

Less than three weeks before his death, Galvez was promoted to his current rank in Al Asad, Iraq – a large, U.S. military airbase southeast of Rawah – where he was recuperating from previous combat injuries.

An LAV mechanic by trade, Galvez, who joined the Marine Corps two years ago this month, was transferred from the battalion’s Headquarters Company to Company D as a replacement driver while the unit was in Fallujah. He was “always willing to go the extra mile” to help others, according to Lance Cpl. Alberto Garcia, a 22-year-old from Corpus Christi, Texas, and scout for Company D’s 2nd Platoon

“He was a real motivator when he came to us,” said Garcia. “He was our driver and our mechanic, but most of all he was a great friend.”

Garcia recalled when Galvez was injured – a roof fell on him and several other Marines after a suicide bomber detonated a truck laden with explosives near a U.S. military outpost in Rawah. Galvez told Garcia that he believed his ankle was broken, but when Garcia went to get help, Galvez freed himself from the rubble, ignored his pain, and tried to help others injured from the blast, according to Garcia.

“He grabbed his weapon, hobbled around, he helped me dig the rest of the Marines out,” said Garcia. “Even after help got there, Doc Kenyon had to force Cpl. Galvez to get (medically evacuated) on the vehicle.”

Moreover, Garcia said Galvez was a person of strong character, and turned down the opportunity to return to the U.S. after he was injured.

“He decided to stay side-by-side with his platoon until this deployment was over,” said Garcia. “This goes to show you what kind of person, and more importantly, what kind of Marine he is.”

“I think I speak for everybody – we love you, we miss you, take care, God bless,” said Garcia.

Cpl. Benjamin T. Bosse, a 25-year-old from Coopersville, Mich., and LAV “gunner” for 2nd platoon, said Newman was “from Oregon, and damn proud of it, but yet, he was even prouder to be a Marine.”

“He wasn’t just any Marine, he was a brother to us. He joined our family,” said Bosse, who was Newman’s roommate back in the U.S. “He will be remembered, not as a Marine, but as a brother.”

Newman was also a man with goals, said Bosse, who always had dreams of “becoming this, or becoming that.”

“I remember him ... telling me, ‘You know, I may be a driver, but I’m gonna be a gunner,’” said Bosse. “And it happened – he was a gunner.”

Following the ceremony, the 100-plus Marines, sailors and soldiers in attendance filed off to pay final respects to the fallen Marines’ and sailor’s memories, represented in true military fashion at the service – military helmets set atop three rifles, stuck bayonet-first into a wooden pedestal and adorned with each fallen Marine’s dog tags draped around each rifle’s hand grip.

“We can’t look at this as though we’ve lost two Marines and one Navy corpsman,” said Cassen. “But as if we’ve gained three guardian angels.”

“What’s important to remember, is that they weren’t just Marines and sailors,” said Jones. “They were your friends, your brothers.”

Third LAR Battalion, which is based out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., is part of Regimental Combat Team 7, and arrived in Iraq in March.

RCT-7 is the U.S. military unit responsible for providing security and mentoring Iraqi Security Forces in western Anbar – an area more than 30,000 square-miles in size which stretches from the Jordanian and Syrian borders hundreds of miles east to Hit, a city about 70 miles northwest of Ramadi.

This is the battalion’s third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion will be replaced by another Marine unit later this year.

Email Staff Sgt. Goodwin at: goodwinjm@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil.

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 09:33 PM | Permalink

MOUNT FUJI, Japan (Aug. 26, 2006) -- Mount Fuji was once used as a Samurai training area, named by the Japanese as the “mountain of warriors.” The warrior tradition was upheld Aug. 26 when approximately 220 Marines and sailors of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion Landing Team, trekked nearly 4,300 feet to the mountain’s summit.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/ac95bc775efc34c685256ab50049d458/07a719033490cce3852571d900341ac9?OpenDocument

Aug. 26, 2006; Submitted on: 08/29/2006 05:29:07 AM ; Story ID#: 20068295297
By Lance Cpl. Kamran Sadaghiani, 31st MEU

The combination of steep rocky slopes, cold weather and high altitude made the hike one of their most challenging and strenuous physical training activities, said Lance Cpl. Edward Wilson, a Weapons Company mortarman with the BLT.

“If there is ever an example of perseverance and strong-willed performance to tackle a personal challenge, it is to climb Mt. Fuji,” said the Niceville, Flor., Native.

Fuji walking sticks ornamented with Japanese flags and bells added to the color of the parade, as hundreds of hikers accompanied the battalion up the mountainside. Throughout their climb, many of the service members proudly displayed their walking sticks with stamped seals to track their progress through different stations along the trail.

There were many non-tangible benefits that were gained from the climb, explained Capt. Stephen Fiscus, the Weapons Company commanding officer with the BLT.

“There are certain things that you never get to see when you are training in a foreign country, so this hike was an opportunity for the Marines and sailors to experience something amazing – one of Japan’s greatest highlights – while simultaneously conducting training,” Fiscus continued. “As much as this hike was a personal challenge for each Marine and sailor, it also had a cultural and spiritual significance that they were allowed to experience.”
The hike up Mt. Fuji also aloud the service members to bond with the indigenous people, Fiscus added.

“One of the great aspects about this mountain is that there are no cultural barriers, which is often not experienced in populated areas,” said that Carlsbad, Calif., native. “Experiencing that with them crosses cultural paradigms and truly helps you understand and bring you closer to a different culture.”

Besides the optimistic interaction with the Japanese people, Wilson said the hike fed his inborn craving for a hard-hitting challenge, as he charged up and down the mountain in less than nine hours.

“It was a beautiful and interactive hike, but I enjoyed the physical challenge the most because it encompasses everything that is inherent to an infantry Marine,” said Wilson.
Approximately 290 Marines and sailors with the BLT are in Camp Fuji, Japan to conduct heavy weapons and live-fire sustainment training from Aug.23 to Sept. 14, 2006.

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Posted by sr at 09:53 AM | Permalink

While Christmas is still about four months away, one local group is already making sure those serving our country will have some holiday cheer.

Dozens of people with Operation Santa pulled out their sewing needles and scissors and got to work today.

http://www.hoinews.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=15825

By Nishi Gupta
Posted: Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 6:32 PM

They hope to send 10,000 stockings to troops from Central Illinois that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many Operation Santa volunteers are parents of Marines.

They know how important it is for troops to feel remembered during the holidays.

“It's going to be tough for them over there, it's going to be tough being away from home, being away from loved ones. Hopefully this will give them a little bit of knowledge that there are people over here that are thinking about them, that do love them, who are behind them,” said Terry Kallmbah, mother of a Marine.

“I just want our military to know that Central Illinois has not forgotten about them this Christmas,” said Patti Smith, an event organizer.

Organizers got a good head start on the stockings today -- about 600 were made.

They will start to send them out in early November.

Operation Santa will host it's kick-off party on Sunday at the Michael's on Big Hollow in Peoria from 1 pm to 4 pm.

Click on photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions

Posted by ph at 09:01 AM | Permalink

Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to board a CH-46 helicopter on their way to the East African nation of Djibouti Thursday to begin their first training exercise since returning to the Central Command area of operations. The Marines, members of Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 24th MEU, will spend the next several days firing an array of weapons aboard desert training ranges.

ABOARD USS IWO JIMA (Aug. 25, 2006) -- Nearly 1,000 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fresh from duty in Lebanon, arrived in the East African nation of Djibouti Thursday to begin their first training exercise since returning to the Central Command area of operations.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FC73B9C2F2B35E28852571D500416903?opendocument

Aug. 25, 2006; Submitted on: 08/25/2006 07:54:27 AM ; Story ID#: 200682575427
By Capt. David E. Nevers, 24th MEU

The Marines moved ashore by helicopter and air-cushioned landing craft dispatched from two amphibious assault ships in the Gulf of Aden, the USS Iwo Jima and USS Nashville.

They’ll spend the next several days firing an array of weapons aboard desert training ranges in the small but strategically important country, situated just north of Somalia at the base of the Horn of Africa. Djibouti is home to the headquarters of the U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, a key component of U.S. strategy in the Global War on Terror.

The Marines of the 24th MEU, who returned to the CENTCOM theater Sunday after spending most of the past month off the coast of Lebanon in the Mediterranean Sea, welcomed the chance to emerge from the confines of the ship.

“We’ll take every opportunity we can to sharpen our tactical skills,” said Col. Ron Johnson, the MEU commander. “Preparation for combat is continuous, and we want to be at peak proficiency if and when we get the nod.”

Most of the Marines training ashore are with the MEU’s ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. Joined by leathernecks from the MEU’s other elements, the Marines will fire the gamut of individual and crew-served weapons in their inventory, from small arms to heavy machine guns to mortars. Additionally, pilots and crew from the MEU’s aviation combat element will fire a variety of precision-guided munitions, honing their skills in providing close-air and deep-strike support.

The training in Djibouti is the first opportunity the Marines have had to fire and maneuver in open terrain since mid-July, when they cut short a training exercise in Jordan to assist the departure of American citizens from Lebanon.

The 24th MEU, the landing force for the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group, consists of its command element; Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment; Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365 (Reinforced); and MEU Service Support Group 24.

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Posted by sr at 10:56 PM | Permalink

Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Anderson, of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, is the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Iraqi Army Training Cadre responsible for preparing Iraqi soldiers to take over security of Abu Ghraib Prison. Behind him is one of the notorious prison cells used to house Iraqi criminals under Sadaam Hussein and later to house insurgents under Coalition Forces control. Marines from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment are assisting the Iraqi's 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division in setting up a permanent presence in the prison to use it as a forward operating base.

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq (Aug. 25, 2006) -- Editor’s note: Maj. Riordan is the executive officer for 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7DE6A16B8A45719E852571D6002607EA?opendocument

Aug. 25, 2006; Submitted on: 08/26/2006 02:55:23 AM ; Story ID#: 200682625523
By Maj. Sean Riordan, Regimental Combat Team 5

Marines are helping Iraqis take control of an infamous icon of their past.

Marines from “America’s Battalion,” 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, are helping Iraqi soldiers set up their newest forward operation base at Abu Ghraib Prison. Iraqi Army soldiers are moving into the facility permanently as they continue to grow and expand their independent areas of operation.

The prison was used for years by Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s former dictator, where he locked up political prisoners, tortured and killed them. Standing near the Al Khandari Souk, or market, on the western fringes of Baghdad, Abu Ghraib Prison was a Coalition Force prison from 2003 until it recently closed. The prison was at the center of a prisoner abuse scandal that affects the way both Iraqis and Americans view this place.

The move into the prison will expand the zone of operation for 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division. They currently operate in battlespace independent of that of Marines.

“It’s easy to forget that the Iraqis are the main effort,” said 1st Lt. Cameron Browne, a 24-year-old from Arlington, Texas, assigned to G Company. “We are not the future of Iraq. They are.”

Browne is leading a platoon of Marines on the specially-organized mission. Marines aren’t going to run the prison, or even guard it. Their mission is to train the Iraqi Army to do it for themselves.

This mission is particularly important because of the iconic value of the prison to the Iraqi people. Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Anderson explained the historic and cultural significance of Abu Ghraib by comparing it to a well-known American landmark.

“It is a historic site to the Iraqi nation; they can’t lose it,” explained the 29-year-old from Alexandria, La. “The insurgents can’t take it back from them. It’s something like the Alamo to many Americans.”

This will be the first opportunity for many of these Marines to train Iraqi soldiers, and they all seem prepared for the challenges. “America’s Battalion” has been on the ground in Iraq for just more than a month.

Browne said it was an opportunity to “increase the Marines’ cultural and language proficiency.” Anderson said he hopes to “develop a sense of discipline and pride in the Iraqi soldiers.”

Still, he knows the answer to solving Iraqi problems must be an Iraqi solution. It’s something Anderson knows well. He’s no stranger to assisting Arabs in security missions.

Anderson was brought into this mission because of his Marine Corps Security Force background and his experiences working with other Arab Armies. He said he’ll focus on the basics, engage Iraqis on a personal basis and develop a training program that works for the Iraqi soldiers.

Anderson said that his unit can help the Iraqi Army be fully capable of securing and managing Abu Ghraib within a matter of weeks.

Marines of this training cadre understand the gravity of their mission and are committed to enabling the transition of the prison to Iraqi control. The prison, and to a greater extent, the Iraqi control over their future, carries far greater value than just the walls from which they will operate.

“This is decisive terrain,” Browne said.

Click on any Photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions

Posted by sr at 10:48 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Aug. 25, 2006) -- The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit completed its Expeditionary Strike Group Integration Training here, August 24. The training, part of the 26th MEU's six month pre-deployment training cycle, was the first time the elements of the MEU loaded their equipment and personnel aboard the ships that will make up the Bataan ESG.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E23E5B66C7037BD5852571D5005BE4CB?opendocument

Aug. 25, 2006
By Lance Cpl. Aaron J. Rock, 26th MEU

The MEU practiced and refined its rapid response planning process, planned and conducted multiple raids, and practiced beachhead onload and offload procedures, all while the MEU adjusted to conducting operations aboard the ships of the ESG.

The exercise was important to both the 26th MEU and for the Sailors of the Bataan ESG, said Colonel Gregg A. Sturdevant, commanding officer of the 26th MEU.

"It allows us to get a better understanding of each other's capabilities and helps us to do our job," he said, adding, "It helps us to take the blue-green team training and take it to the next level."

The ESGINT is an escalation of the training the MEU's elements began at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., and involved almost 2,300 Marines and Sailors from the MEU.

"It brings together everything in a more complex environment and there are more moving parts," said Capt. William A. Keller, assistant air officer for the 26th MEU.
The 26th MEU's administration office bore the responsibility of keeping track of personnel movements and numbers.

Personnel constantly moving around and embarking and debarking the ships in the ESG are some of the biggest challenges, said Gunnery Sgt. Ingrid N. Dorer, the 26th MEU administration chief.

"A.P. Hill basically involved a morning report for us, there wasn't the kind of movement involved like there is here," she said. "There are people coming in and leaving on different days, on [Landing Crafts, Air Cushioned] and aboard aircraft."

The technological limitations of being at sea are also one of the concerns the administration shop has encountered, Dorer said.

"With all the software and technology we need and the level of connectivity we have on the ship, it can be difficult," she said, adding, "Exercises like ESGINT let us find out what works, what doesn't, what we need to improve, and what we need to reinvent, while still maintaining the integrity of the job we're doing."

The maintenance of the communications systems and technology falls upon the 61 Marines of the MEU's communication section, which ensures the systems are installed and working properly.

The ESGINT allows them to integrate the command and control systems into the MEU's communications architecture, said Capt. Johnnie D. Jones, assistant communications officer for the 26th MEU.

"It allows us to take what we learned at A.P. Hill and use it to improve communications for the staff," he said. "We're refining the network to support the command staff's information management requirements."

Jones said his Marines provide communications that allow the command to collect and process the data and useful information they receive, which in turn allows them to make timely decisions during mission planning and execution.

The ESGINT forced the MEU to refine its communications networks, which is especially important aboard ship, said Sturdevant.

"When you go aboard ship and [the commands] are spread out among decks, it forces us to make sure our communications systems are functioning properly," he said. "It is more difficult to coordinate across three different decks."

Overall the MEU has improved greatly since the unit was activated and throughout the exercises during the workups, said Sturdevant.

"Across the board, the planning, briefing, and execution of the different raid packages has improved," he said. "We have come a long way; I'm extremely pleased with the progress we've made."

The 26th MEU is approximately halfway through its pre-deployment period designed to facilitate the merger of the disparate elements of the MEU into a cohesive, rapid-reaction force. The 26th MEU will continue to prepare for a scheduled early 2007 deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

For more information on the 26th MEU, go to www.usmc.mil/26thmeu.

Click on photo for credits and description.

Posted by sr at 10:06 PM | Permalink

Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay (Aug. 25, 2006) -- “The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its home,” said the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/6E9F743673201F3D852571D600051DF2?opendocument

Aug. 25, 2006
By Lance Cpl. Edward C. deBree, MCB Hawaii

As Marines and Sailors of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 prepare for an upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the squadron is taking steps in order to prepare the families for this deployment.

Red Lion families have participated in a pre-deployment brief and a family day to help prepare them for their loved ones’ deployment.

“We had awesome spouse volunteers from HMH-463 to help us out at these events,” said Lt. Col. Allen Broughton, commanding officer, HMH-363. “They helped set up the brief and the family day that we held. The brief covered where we are going to be at while we are there, how to communicate with the Marines and Sailors, what services are still available here at base including the exchange and commissary. The largest portion of the brief was to introduce the key volunteers and the key volunteer program.”

After the brief, each spouse received a binder with information on how to contact the Key Volunteer Program, Base Housing, Base Legal, and their Marine or Sailor in Iraq.

On Aug. 19, HMH-363 held a family day picnic at Bellows Air Force Station, Waimanalo, Hawaii, in order to allow the spouses to get to know one another.

“It was another great Saturday for us as a unit and our families,” said Broughton. “We had bouncy houses, slip and slides, and a dunk tank where Marines or Sailors could dunk any (staff noncommissioned officer) or officer that they chose. We have fourteen key volunteers and a very strong Key Volunteer Program.”

The Lemoore, Calif., native said he plans on having the Key Volunteer Program hold a family event every month in attempts to building a strong support system for families.

Broughton said that the Key Volunteer Program, headed by Casey Robbins, is doing an outstanding job at building the team and network of volunteers who will stay in touch with the families while their loved on is deployed.

One scheduled event is the haunted helicopter on Halloween, which will be hosted by Marine Aircraft Group 24; something that Broughton said is what makes his unit special.

“The best part about this MAG is the tight family feeling that it has,” he said. “MAG-24’s headquarters will act as the rear detachment and help with any family issues that may arise while we are in Iraq. It’s great that they are helping as the Red Lions are currently preparing for this deployment. We are living by our motto, ‘train as you fight.’ We will soon be transitioning it to, ‘fight as you train.’”

Click on photo for credits and description.

Posted by sr at 09:58 PM | Permalink

The Danger Level Is High, But So Is D.C.-Based Marine Unit's Determination

The Marines already are saying their goodbyes. The 4th Civil Affairs Group, a reserve unit based in Washington, is leaving for Iraq -- again.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501316.html?nav=rss_world/mideast

By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 26, 2006; A01

Lance Cpl. Norman Tompkins Jr., 26, knows the drill by now. This will be his third trip to Iraq in four years. He has taken leave from his jobs as a fire alarm inspector and volunteer firefighter and loaded his iPod with 4,500 songs.

Cpl. Jennifer McNamara, 30, is double-checking her "Gucci gear" -- the upgraded boots and other equipment her husband urged her to buy. Todd McNamara was in Iraq last year as a member of the Navy Reserve. This time, he will be the one waiting for a military spouse to come home.

Staff Sgt. Paul Abila, 39, is trying to spend time with his eight children, ages 2 to 12. They will grow a lot in the months he is gone. The older girls already seem so serious and mature.

"They have asked me everything from am I going to shoot anybody to is somebody going to shoot me," Abila said. "And I tell them, 'Now if I have to kill somebody just so that I can stay alive, you understand that's part of what I have to do, as being a Marine?' "

There is no easy way to do this, to leave behind family and friends and careers, the comfort of soft beds and nonperilous routines, to enter a conflicted land where peace seems elusive. This will be the third deployment to Iraq for the unit, which is pulling out in a few days, but for most of its 200 or so members, it will be their first or second deployment.

Although trained for combat, the 4th CAG is charged with helping the civilian population. About a third of its members are residents of the D.C. area -- police officers, computer technicians, federal employees. The unit's operations officer, Lt. Col. David Bunn, is a lawyer; its executive officer, Col. Erik Grabowsky, is Arlington County's chief of solid waste. They are leaving from the Anacostia Naval Station, where they are based, expecting to be gone a year.

With each deployment of the 4th CAG, the dangers in Iraq have increased. Even as this unit and others are being asked to shoulder a mission that carries a soaring amount of risk, top U.S. military leaders are telling Congress that they fear Iraq is sliding into civil war. Even as many here at home are wondering if the sacrifice has been worthwhile, these Marines speak earnestly of their patriotism and duty as they prepare to say goodbye to everything they love.

"More than anything else, if there's anything I'd like people to know, we would certainly love their support," said Col. Mario LaPaix, the unit's commanding officer. "We would want people to know that Marines have always gone in harm's way to do what has to be done for America. We would like their prayers and, hopefully, their well wishes.

"If I can offer a political statement, that would be it."

The War-Toughened Veteran

It was a rainy day in Combat Town, and that meant mud.

In a clearing deep in a forested area at Quantico, the Marine training grounds, members of the 4th CAG were staging their last field exercise before leaving for Iraq. The Marines were good-natured about the downpour: "If it ain't rainin', we ain't trainin.' " Several repeated the old military saw during breaks, laughing as mist and smoke from grenades swirled around them.

Lance Cpl. Norm Tompkins, who has a calm air and an economy with words, is a field radio operator. On this morning, the half-dozen concrete-block buildings of Combat Town were standing in for an Iraqi village. Some of the Marines played the part of Iraqis, even speaking in Arabic as they watched from open doorways and strolled the "marketplace."

When three Humvees of Marines rolled into the village to check the safety of the market, a band of insurgents attacked and a brief, fierce fight was waged on the puddled streets. Tompkins's job was to call in "the sit reps" -- or situation reports -- and arrange for medics as needed, amid the sounds of gunfire and the cries of "the Iraqi women."

"That was pretty true to life," Tompkins said after the hour-long exercise, a pile of hand-held radios at his feet.

A volunteer firefighter and horror-movie fan who lives in Landover with his mother, Tompkins finds himself, in his mid-twenties, the war-toughened veteran in the group, one of only two returning to Iraq for a third time. Other Marines have asked him what to expect: What are the living conditions? Are people friendly or hostile? How dangerous is it?

When his superiors asked him if he would go back, Tompkins hesitated "a little bit," he said. He could have declined.

"But I wanted to go back for myself," he said. "I felt like I wasn't done over there. We're not done building that country back up, so we've got to go back there and help them out."

Tompkins, a graduate of Parkdale High School in Riverdale, studied forensic science at Prince George's Community College. When he was first deployed to Iraq, in 2003, things were relatively quiet. "It was hot -- I definitely remember that," he said. "But it wasn't dangerous at all."

On his second tour, in 2004-05, "it was a little more intense," he said, singling out the roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices. "They had the IEDs and things of that nature. But it worked out well -- we got the job done."

It was during that tour that the 4th CAG suffered its only serious injury: A bomb hit the Humvee that Sgt. Luke Cassidy was driving, and he lost part of his leg.

Tompkins does not dwell on the incident. He describes himself as "laid-back." As long as he has his music, from the rock band Stone Sour to country legend Johnny Cash, he will be all right, he said. "It calms your nerves and takes you away."

His friends and co-workers wonder at his cool.

" I think about him all the time and how he's going out there, voluntarily," said Steve Stuber, Tompkins's boss at Siemens Building Technologies in Beltsville. "For the third time. When he doesn't have to do it."

The Daughter in a War Zone

Cpl. Jen McNamara's mother, Mary Crawford, already has a specific list of treats her Daughter the Marine wants included in her care packages to Iraq: Baby Ruths. Gummi Bears. HoHos. Devil Dogs. Little Debbie Zebra Cakes.

Reading that list makes Crawford, a retired teacher from Lorton, think of McNamara as a little girl again. And that is a painful thought as she watches her daughter prepare to go to a war zone.

McNamara had never imagined herself a Marine. But what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, left her questioning her purpose in life.

Although she was employed at the Pentagon as a civilian budget analyst, she did not know anyone killed or wounded that day. And she is embarrassed, she said, to admit that her only personal hardship was the result of leaving behind her keys and identification when she fled her office. But she was deeply affected. "She told me she didn't feel like she was doing anything important," Crawford recalled.

Growing up in suburban Virginia, McNamara felt that her "whole life was kind of sheltered and boring," she said. She went to work full time at the Pentagon after graduating from James Madison University and, three years ago, married Todd McNamara, a longtime family friend. A Navy Reservist, he understood his wife's need to do something concrete, "to give something back."

"I'll just work more hours while she's gone," said McNamara, 30, a project manager for a general contractor.

Todd McNamara was in Iraq for seven months in 2004-05, helping repair airfields and reconstruct damaged buildings. He called the experience "meaningful" and "rewarding." The time passed quickly for the couple.

"I think a lot of people expected me to be the pining wife at home who was so worried, but actually, it was pretty okay," Jennifer said. Now, she said, she uses her husband "as the perfect resource -- he knows everything." He advised her, for example, that she need not pack foot powder, because she can find it at the PX.

The couple, who live in Alexandria, often keep the conversation on that level. Both are trying to be "stoic," and what good does it do to fall apart now?

"When you go through the training, like we have, when you have prepared this much, you want to put your training to use," she said. "I guess it's a good thing, because if we were both really emotional, it would be too much to bear."

Their Father the Hero

At the Abila home in Dumfries, Saturday mornings will not be the same without "Dad's special pancakes." Neither will Thanksgiving, when Dad won't be there to dance the turkey around the house before settling it into the roasting pan. Or Christmas, when Dad won't be there to hog the pecan pie -- although, to be fair, the only presents he ever wants for himself are socks.

The oldest of the eight Abila children -- Lara, 12, Juliana, 11, and Ciara, 9 -- are trying to imagine life, temporarily, without their father. They hate the prospect of him leaving them, having to go somewhere so far away and full of danger. But they have responsibilities and little brothers and sisters to attend to, and they do not want to worry anybody, certainly not their Dad.

Juliana, a sixth-grader, knows what she will miss most about her father: "His kind and loving heart," she said, frowning hard to control her feelings.

Staff Sgt. Paul Abila is the administrative chief for the 4th CAG, responsible for personnel processing and payroll. Originally from Oklahoma, he met his wife, Scarlett, when both were active-duty Marines in the D.C. area. "We got married at the Arlington County Courthouse on our lunch hour and went back to work," Scarlett Abila said of their 1993 wedding. "We were good Marines."

Their children arrived at steady intervals -- three girls, three boys, then the twins, now 2. On a recent morning, Natalie, the twin with the curly hair, and Martina, the one with the straight hair, took turns hurling themselves at their father as he sat on the living-room floor of their impossibly neat townhouse.

As a former Marine, Scarlet Abila understands what her husband is about to do. She certainly does not think that he should be spared from deployment, his first to Iraq, because so many young children are depending on him.

"Our children were a choice and a gift from God, and we would never use them as an excuse not to serve," she said. "I would not want my children to think, 'My Dad was a Marine, but in wartime, because there were eight of us, he was allowed to stay behind.' What about the two children of deployed Marines or deployed soldiers? What about the families with three or four children?"

And so the Abilas prepare to say goodbye. They will pray every day for his safe return. They will send him the best care packages any Marine has ever received. They will miss him terribly, but they know he has a job to do.

"I think he's not just some big, bad Marine," said Lara, a seventh-grader. "I think he's kind of a hero."

Posted by ph at 09:43 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Just three weeks before they deploy for six months as U.S. Central Command's theater reserve force, Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit here say they're ready to get on with the mission despite pulls at their heartstrings over leaving home.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/releaseview/D2D3CA411085D042852571D50059845A?opendocument

United States Marine Corps
Press Release, Release # 0825-06-1217
Public Affairs Office, American Forces Press Service; Donna Miles

Aug. 25, 2006

The heavy lifting is over. Six months of intensive training recently wrapped up with an 11-day joint task force exercise aboard USS Boxter that earned the unit the critical "special operations capable" designation.

"The operating tempo has been unbelievable," said Staff Sgt. Tracie Kessler, the MEU's public affairs chief. "But no MEU wants to go out not being special operations capable."

Col. Brian Beaudreault, the MEU commander, said the unit's operations tempo has been "as high as it's ever been," but has paid off in a big way. "We're prepared to execute any mission we're assigned as the theater reserve," he said. "We're ready for everything from sustained combat operations ashore to humanitarian relief operations and everything in between."

Unlike the MEU's last deployment, when its members knew they were headed to Iraq, this time that's not a given unless CENTCOM requests the support. "As far as I know, that's not going to happen this time," said Staff Sgt. Dwayne Benjamin. "But then, that could all change any time."

With its pre-deployment training wrapped up, the pace at the MEU's command headquarters has come to a near halt -- the proverbial calm before the storm.

A sign at the top of a stairwell marks the days until the deployment -- E-21 yesterday for "Embarkation minus 21." When the sign reads "E-0," 2,300 Marines will leave here aboard three ships: USS Comstock, USS Dubuque and USS Boxter. The contingency will include the battalion's combat landing team, its logistics battalion and air combat element.

But for now, there's a sense of quiet here, with most of the Marines on block leave and a skeletal staff wrapping up last-minute details.

"We're now in a decentralized mode of operation. Each section knows what has to be done. It's a matter of setting those Marines loose to get it done," Beaudreault said.
"Right now, the emphasis is on maintenance of equipment and quality time for families."

Staff Sgt. Dwayne Benjamin, the unit's purchasing chief, is processing last-minute orders to ensure the Marines have all the gear they need while they're away. Cpl. Juan Juarez, an administrative clerk, is double-checking travel vouchers to make sure they've all been settled and unit members paid. Chief Warrant Officer Mike Chaney, working as a action officer in the MEU's operations section, is planning the training the unit will conduct during its deployment, as it awaits a call for a real-world mission.

Maintainers were turning wrenches, checking times and ensuring the MEU's aircraft and vehicles are ready to go. Sgt. Bobby Savicke, a motor transportation mechanic, was checking transmission fluids and "making sure nothing goes out the door broken." The unit supply administration chief, Cpl. David Choe, was rechecking boxes of desert camouflage uniforms and other supplies to make sure nothing was inadvertently left behind. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Jucutan, a corpsman preparing for his eighth deployment with the Marines, was packing medical equipment in new medical bags the MEU recently received.

Meanwhile, other Marines from the MEU were on Camp Pendleton's Red Beach testing a new tactical water purification system to make sure it will operate properly during the deployment.

Most of the Marines are veterans of multiple deployments and said the operational preparations tend to go smoother each time. "For me, it gets easier," said Benjamin, about to leave for his fourth "float" and his third with the 15th MEU. "It doesn't seem as stressful as the first time around. Everything starts to become second nature, especially if you work with the same people."

"This deployment is a lot easier than the last one," Chaney agreed. "We knew what to expect in the work-up cycle. It's still painful, but it's not new."

Juarez said he's applying lessons learned from his last deployment this go-around. "Last time, I learned so many things that I'm using to mold this deployment to help myself, my shop and my fellow Marines," he said. Those lessons range from better ways to pack a backpack to knowing what equipment and supplies need to go and what ones will simply take up space on the ship.

As important as these last-minute details will be to success during the deployment, Beaudreault said, an equally important priority right now is ensuring the Marines get their personal affairs in order and, most importantly, spend time with their families.

Cpl. James Johnson, the MEU's postal clerk, is giving up his apartment while he's gone and moving everything he's not taking with him into storage. He's already assigned power of attorney to a buddy who will watch over his car.

Staff Sgt. Danny Sava, the unit data chief, is drawing up a list of details and contact information for his wife, Julia. The family bill payer, Sava set up a lot of automatic online payments and is making sure Julia knows where to find his will, power of attorney, Social Security card and other important documents.

"We're trying our best to get everything together and get squared away," Julia said.

After four deployments with the MEU, Sava has control of the tangible preparations but admits the emotional ones are a bit tougher. He missed the birth of his daughter, Alyssa, now 18 months old, during his last deployment, and this time he'll miss her second birthday as well as his son Anthony's 11th birthday and Christmas.

"We'll celebrate it late," Julia said, quickly filling the silence left after her husband acknowledged the lost landmarks.

Chaney is busy preparing for them as well, writing letters and wrapping birthday and Christmas gifts that he'll leave behind for his 3- and 6-year-old children for his wife to present on the appropriate days. "I'm trying to do that now, so everything is pre-staged and I know it will be there, instead of worrying about getting them here in the mail," he said.

In addition to making sure household expenses are in order, Juarez said he's devoting every spare moment possible to his wife of two years. "We're spending a lot of time just talking to each other," he said.

After his last deployment, Juarez said, the two already know what's ahead, but he's not sure that's going to make it any easier. "We already know what to expect of each other, but I think this one is going to be a little more difficult," he said. "I think we're going to feel the sense of separation more this time."

Benjamin is busy getting his personal affairs in order and making sure his wife and three children, ages 13, 12 and 6, are ready for his departure. He plans to take a week of leave at home, relaxing with the family and enjoying his favorite foods, "especially a good steak."

Deployments are never easy on families, Benjamin said, but experience has shown him that his family can make it on their own while he's away. "We've done this before," he said with a shrug. "When you do this over and over, things tend to get -- not easier, but simpler."

When embarkation day comes, Benjamin said he knows he'll be ready to go. "You have a job to do," he said. "My head is always in the game."

Juarez, too, said that although he hates to leave his wife behind, he's ready for the deployment. "I don't stress out about it. I know I have to deploy, so I don't worry. I just stay focused on my job," he said. "It's going to be a good deployment. I'm looking forward to it."

Johnson, a single Marine, doesn't share his comrade's conflicts about the upcoming deployment and said he's more than ready to go. "I love it. I'm excited," he said. "It's where I want to be."

"At this point, it's almost, 'Let's go,'" Chaney agreed. "You do all this training, so you just want to get out there and get the deployment going. We're Marines, and we're just ready to go."

Posted by ph at 09:30 PM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 25, 2006) -- It was the mission from hell for Hades.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E04E93E0F9B5D75A852571D600245E7E?opendocument

Aug. 25, 2006
By 2nd Lt. Lawton King, Regimental Combat Team 5

This week Hades Mobile, the security detachment for Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team 5, moved heaven and earth to safely escorted a series of Army convoys bearing 201 concrete “Texas” barriers from Ramadi to Fallujah.

“Texas barriers are the sturdiest stuff you will find out here,” said Sgt. Austin Moore, the assistant convoy commander and a 22-year-old saxophonist in the 1st Marine Division Band from Claxton, Texas. “We know we’re going to protect people.”

“The barriers are needed for force protection in our area of operations. These will protect other Marines,” agreed Staff Sgt. Michael Maschmeier, the convoy commander and a 36-year-old euphonium musician in the 1st Marine Division Band from Eureka, Mo.

The barriers, more than 10-feet tall, cut imposing silhouettes. They were transported in Army logistics carriers. Marines manned Hades’ gun trucks stalking thoroughfares for insurgents and their weapon-of choice, improvised explosive devices.

“We’re here to provide security for you,” Maschmeier said to the soldiers repeatedly in his convoy briefs before each run.

The mission, however, soon proved to be a road paved through hell. Unexpected events crept into the plan and Hades Marines hurdled barriers nearly as tall as the ones they carried. Loading the massive concrete barriers took more finagling than anticipated and forced Marines to adapt their plans.

But Marines maintained their optimism, gritted their teeth and were prepared to step off whenever the barriers were properly loaded.

“I’ve got nowhere to go,” said Cpl. Daniel Rains, a 25-year-old armorer from Thorndale, Texas.

Marines took it all in stride. Delays, adjustments and improvising to complete the mission wasn’t something new for the Hades team, comprised of mostly Marine bandsmen. They do the same thing when they’re gearing up for a performance back at Camp Pendleton.

“When we prepare for band commitments, we prepare for contingencies, so we are not surprised when they happen,” Maschmeier said. “Problems are going to happen.”

And they did.

The second night of the operation was punctuated by a thundering crash many Marines and sailors aboard the convoy mistook for an IED detonation.

Seconds later, events registered, and the Marines in the turrets reported that one of the Texas barriers had toppled off its truck and was lying on its’ side on the desert floor.

Master Sgt. Robert Hufford, a 39-year-old bandmaster from Pleasanton, Calif., quickly seized command of the situation and directed Marines in his vehicle to harness the barrier to a humvee and to drag it off the road so it wouldn’t obstruct traffic.

Once the obstacle was removed, the convoy resumed the first leg of its nighttime journey.

Delayed schedules and toppled barriers aside, the Hades Mobile team continued to safeguard the Army trucks, ensuring every one of the barriers was transported to Camp Fallujah.

“We have all of our guys, all of our trucks,” Machmeier said the first night. “Everyone is safe. That is the bottom line.”

“It was an evolution that allowed us to stretch our legs a little bit and to test the new people,” said Capt. Jason Freeby, the 32-year-old commanding officer of Headquarters Company from Houston, Texas.

The evolution also served to satisfy the Marines’ travel lust.

“I’m glad we got a chance to go to Ramadi,” said Pfc. Shawn Stettin, a 21-year-old radio operator from Seven Hills, Ohio. “I like it because we get to see new things.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 05:14 PM | Permalink

RAMADI, Iraq — It was well after dark and the musty waters of the Euphrates River had taken on the color of greased gunmetal as they skirted the city.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38645&archive=true

By Monte Morin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, August 25, 2006

A rickety fishing boat coasted silently along the reed-choked banks and closed distance with a group of jet boats piloted by U.S. Marines. The patrol had been uneventful until now, but when the beam of an infrared spotlight revealed electric wires and no passengers in the Jon boat, the Marines grew concerned.

“Please let that not be a waterborne IED,” Capt. Shane Cote, 35, of Deep River, Conn., said as one of his Small Unit Riverine Crafts, or SURCs, motored ahead to inspect the boat.

Cote’s worry turned to relief when crewmen radioed back that the vessel contained no explosives. The wires were probably left behind by one of the many Iraqi fishermen who specialize in a form of angling called electro-shock fishing.

Instead of using a rod and a reel, the Iraqi sportsmen use a flashlight to blind and confuse river fish. They then shock the fish by jabbing it with an electrode hot-wired to a battery or generator. The angler then uses a net to scoop the fish out of the river.

“It’s wild,” Cote said of the fishing technique. “These people do the most dangerous things.”

In the last several months, though, Cote and his boat crews have had a lot more dangerous things to worry about than electric fishing devices.

As U.S. troops wage a renewed campaign to rid Ramadi of insurgents and criminal gangs, Cote’s Dam Security Unit Two has played a growing role in efforts to capture key cell leaders and interdict insurgent mortar and rocket teams who have taken to the river to avoid checkpoints on land.

At the same time, Cote’s men have found themselves shooting their way out of riverbank ambushes or taking cover from waterfront mortar attacks.

The river — an ancient source of sustenance and means of travel for Iraqis in cities and villages — has been used by insurgents to ferry arms from rural areas to the city of Ramadi, on the river’s southern bank. The enemy has also used small islands and sandbars along the waterway to launch mortars and rockets at U.S. positions.

Most recently, Cote’s heavily armed SURCs intercepted a boat that three insurgents were using to transport a 10-foot rocket tube, a mortar, assault rifles and equipment for making roadside bombs. Marines believe the men were probably transporting the equipment to a cache site elsewhere along the river, where they were likely planning to launch an attack.

Before they could reach the shore, they were spotted by the Marine patrol.

“They were in a crappy wood boat with a 30-horsepower engine,” said Staff Sgt. Shon McGuigan. “They were heading for the shore.”

The Marines yelled at the men to stop and fired a warning flare. Before the patrol boats reached the men, the insurgents jumped overboard and attempted to swim for it. They were never seen again, McGuigan said, and are believed to have drowned.

Their boat was scuttled as well — albeit with some difficulty.

“It was too dangerous to bring the boat back with us, so we brought it to the middle of the river to sink it,” said McGuigan, 31, of Gainesville, Fla. “We put some rounds through the bottom of it, but because it’s wood, it’s really hard to sink. We ended up running it over. That’s how we pushed it under.”

The unit — which falls under the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battery, 2nd Marine Division — consists of roughly a handful of the highly maneuverable, low-profile boats. Each boat measures 40 feet long and weighs 11 tons and carries a mix of heavy and light machine guns.

The unit was initially created to guard a major dam in Haditha, but was detached to Ramadi in early May.

Since that time, the unit has been used to transport Navy SEALs on stealth missions and to cut off river escape routes for insurgents during cordon-and- search operations. The unit also patrols the river regularly, hunting for insurgents and weapons.

While the SURCs are armed with Gatling guns and .50-caliber machine guns, they are only lightly armored. This is the main reason the unit operates only at night.

So far, the unit has been attacked twice.

The first time was when Marines were placing their boats in the water. The river boats are towed to a number of launch sites along the river by seven-ton trucks and backed into the river on trailers. On one occasion, insurgents launched a mortar attack while the boats were putting in and six Marines were injured.

The second time, roughly a month and a half ago, insurgents opened up on the boats from both riverbanks, firing rocket-propelled grenades and bullets at the line of boats.

For Lance Cpl. Jonathan Bowling, 21, of Gainesville, Fla., the ambush was his first taste of combat.

“It was intense,” said Bowling, the coxswain of one of the boats. “I was definitely kind of scared at first, but when we moved through it and everybody got to shooting, I got excited.”

Bowling said the insurgents began by taking potshots at the boats, but when the volume of firing increased and bullets started splashing into the water near the boats, crewmen realized what they were up against.

“That’s when we started laying down lead wherever we saw flashes,” Bowling said. “It seemed to go on forever, but it was really probably only 60 seconds.”

Sgt. Liam Foster, a captain of one of the river boats, said there were other occasions in which insurgents appeared to be getting ready to attack, but that boat crews “beat them to the punchline.”

“Unless they’re 100 percent dug in, they won’t pick a fight with us,” said the 25-year-old Jacksonville, Fla., native. “They know what we bring to the fight now.”

Click on any photo for credits and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 05:05 PM | Permalink

BEND -- A day before Lance Cpl. Randy Newman was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, he talked to his dad about what he wanted to do when he returned home on leave in late September.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1156384507272100.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

Thursday, August 24, 2006
MATTHEW PREUSCH

The Marine was hoping to take his sergeant elk hunting in Oregon and his 8-year-old brother, Ken, to Disneyland. "He was upbeat, encouraged," said his father, Jerry Newman.

But the younger Newman was killed Sunday by a bomb while patrolling with his unit in a light armored vehicle in Iraq's northern Al Anbar province.

"We are brokenhearted," Jerry Newman said Wednesday.

Holding back tears, he and his wife, Ramona Newman, stood with friends in front of their home amid the junipers and rabbit brush east of Bend as U.S. and Marine Corps flags hung at half staff behind them.

Randy Newman, 21, was committed to his family, God and his fellow Marines, they said.

"I realize when people die we only remember the good things," Jerry Newman said. "But I don't remember a week that went by that he didn't honor me."

Newman was a member of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marines Division based in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

He joined the Marines a year after graduating in 2003 from Mountain View High School, only waiting that long at his father's request. "He felt he needed to do something," his father said. "His friends were going off to college."

Newman was injured twice before by roadside bombs since deploying to Iraq in March, his family said. Sunday's attack also killed Cpl. Adam A. Galvez of Salt Lake City.

"It doesn't surprise me that he was in a very precarious place and doing it very willingly," said Les Combs, his high school wrestling coach.

Newman was passionate about physical fitness, first as a high school wrestler and then as a Marine, his father said.

After a long day's labor in Iraq, when other Marines were looking to rest, Newman would do sit-ups or push-ups, his father said. He even did squats with his vehicle's driver loaded on his shoulders.

He hoped to become a personal trainer after his time with the Marines concluded, his father said. He even sent his dad a weight-loss book from Iraq "and he told me to read it cover to cover because he didn't want to lose his dad," Jerry Newman said. "That was Randy."

The family thanked the community for its outpouring of goodwill. "We've had more support than is possibly imaginable," said Jerry Newman.

In their last conservation, Ramona Newman said she asked her son, a born-again Christian, if he was praying. He told her: "Mom, God and I are so tight right now," she recalled.

A public service for Newman is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond.

"Remember my son as a great and valued warrior," Ramona Newman said.

Matthew Preusch: 541-382-2006; preusch@bendbroadband.com

Posted by sr at 11:30 PM | Permalink

Lance Cpl. Nicholas S. Strickland, a 22-year-old motor transport operator from Winston County, Ala., cools off with a drink while watching the flag football tournament and cheering on his fellow Marines with Combat Logistics Company 115, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Fwd). Strickland was one of many service members gathered from all over the battalion to relax, enjoy the physical competition and entertainment of “Fun day.” According to Sergeant Major Shelley D. Sergeant, sergeant major of CLB-5, it was a way for their command to reward them for a successful deployment. Photo by: Pfc. Ryan L. Tomlinson

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug 24, 2006) -- The day was full of friendly competition when service members here were given a break from their high operational tempo.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5108D7846A09722F852571D4005B3FA4?opendocument

Aug 24, 2006
Story ID#: 2006824123640
By Pfc. Ryan L. Tomlinson, 1st Marine Logistics Group

Marines and sailors with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group (FWD), participated in a series of organized physical fitness events called “Fun Day.”

“We wanted to have time for the Marines to let their hair down a little bit , still keep their focus, and just have a good time,” said Sgt. Maj. Shelley D. Sergeant, sergeant major of CLB-5.

She added that even though the battalion is in a combat zone, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t want to continue to build unit cohesion.

The battalion’s mission is to provide combat service support to the ground fighters of Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Marine Division, to include delivering supplies such as food, fuel and equipment, in addition to ensuring that medical care is readily available.

The event provided a well deserved break for the servicemembers, allowing senior leadership to reward them for their continued success during this deployment, said Sergeant.

The “Fun Day” was a series of events held from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., which started with a soccer tournament and ended with a talent show. Laughter filled the air along with some sweat and tears.

“It has been a nice break from a normal operational tempo,” said 1st Lt. Michael S. Linebach, a Kansas City, Mo., native, during the morning soccer tournament. “It gives Marines a chance to come out and play a few games.”

Linebach is a 25-year-old platoon commander for Combat Logistics Company 115, CLB-5.

The events featured were soccer, flag football, basketball, dodgeball, a tire flip, a humvee pull and the traditional tug-o-war. It was put together as a competition between the eight companies that make up CLB-5.

“I took it as not just about winning, but mainly to boost the Marines morale and work ethic as we head toward the end of this deployment,” said Lance Cpl. Fernando L. Figueroa, a 21-year-old Miami native serving as a motor vehicle driver with CLB-5. “We also get to know a little more about each other as a unit and as people.”

Water, sports drinks, sun block and medical personnel were on hand to counteract the high temperatures here, regularly well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some of the Marines and sailors from the battalion were not able to attend because of ongoing missions taking place in the Al Anbar Province; and although they were not in attendance, they were at the front of everyone’s mind.

“We have Marines going on missions all the time, but we (tried) to work around it,” said Sergeant, a native of Bronx, NY. “If we could (have gotten) all of the Marines in the battalion (there), we would (have).”

The Marines of CLB-5 work vigorously, transporting supplies in and around the Al Anbar area of operations also providing medical support and the continuous equipment upkeep, but at the day’s end, the unique exercise proved worth while.

“Although it was good work out lifting a tire, I still feel that it (was) a good time to relieve myself from work for a day,” said Lance Cpl. Jose Lopez, a 26 years old Bronx, NY, native.

The “Fun Day” was used to strengthen camaraderie within the unit and sustain the Marines’ strong work ethic through the end of the battalion’s deployment.

“A one-day breather, whether your sitting watching a movie, hanging out at the chow hall or even out participating in a little competition, is always good,” said 1st Lt. Autumn D. Swinford, a 24-year-old motor transport platoon commander from CLC-115.

The native of Fredericktown, Mo., explained that the Marines are going to be heading home soon; the “Fun Day” was a way for some of them to say their good byes in a competitive way.

She added that military families were able to relax as well, knowing the fact that their Marine or sailor’s only mission for the day was to compete and have fun.

The Marines grew tired from the heat and the exercise, but the fun they had outweighed their fatigue. The sun had set; the physical activity wound down while the day slowly came to a close as the battalion prepared to continue combat operations the next day.

“Although that we were able to kick back and have fun, we still were able to focus on the mission we were handed,” added Sergeant.

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 11:08 PM | Permalink

Tracy Della Vecchia talks about the possible call-up of her son, Derrick Jensen (right), on Wednesday in their Columbia, Mo., home. Jensen, who has already seen three tours of combat duty, still has three years left on his eight-year contract, making him eligible to be called up for another tour of duty.
L.G. PATTERSON / Associated Press

SAN DIEGO -- After spending six months in Iraq, Marine reservist David Morgan figured he was done patrolling the dangerous streets and could focus on building his biotech business.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060824_Ne_A2_Marin9892#

By THOMAS WATKINS Associated Press
8/24/2006

He may be wrong.

Now Morgan could be returned to active duty as part of the first involuntary call-up of reservists since the early days of the war.

"It would be devastating to my career," said Morgan, 37, vice president and general manager of Irvine, Calif., -based US Labs, a medical diagnostic company with 700 employees.

The call-ups, announced Tuesday, will begin in the next few months. Most of the Marines are expected to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

No more than 2,500 Marines will be recalled at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number who may be forced back into service for up to two years.

Morgan, a lieutenant colonel, said he believes in the U.S. mission in Iraq, but fears another deployment would hurt his company.

"We have a highly specialized work force," Morgan said. "If leaders leave, workers could get skittish."

The call-up will affect Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve, a segment of the reserves that consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still

have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations.

In Columbia, Mo., Marine families are buzzing with questions about the latest call-up order, said Tracy Della Vecchia, who oversees MarineParents.com and whose son is in the ready reserve.

"You think you're done," said Della Vecchia.

She's also concerned that problems may be brewing elsewhere in the world -- perhaps in North Korea. She says people "never know the whole story until it hits us front and center."

Her son, Derrick Jensen, is a 23-year-old Marine who has already seen three tours of combat duty as an infantryman and communications specialist, including stints in some of Iraq's most volatile war zones. He still has three years remaining on an eight-year contract.

Even though Della Vecchia and her son knew he made a long-term commitment, neither was prepared for the roller coaster of emotions created by repeated trips to the battlefield.

"He was home. He was starting his life. He was going to make up for four years of lost time, catch up with his friends and his wife," she said.

Jon Soltz, an Iraq war veteran and chairman of Votevets.org, said the recall is a sign that troops are drastically overextended and it is "the last thing that happens before the draft."

Paul Hackett, an attorney from Cincinnati, thinks his background as a civil affairs specialist makes him a prime candidate for an involuntary recall, as there is a shortage of Marines like him. Two weeks ago, he received a packet from the Navy requesting updated information for a security clearance -- a sign, he believes, that a recall order could be coming.

Hackett, a major, returned in 2005 from a combat tour in Iraq. Soon after, he ran unsuccessfully as an anti-war candidate in a key Senate race.

If he is forced back to Iraq, Hackett, 44, said it would be hard to be away from his wife and three young children, but he wants to fight with his fellow Marines.

"Even in this miserable excuse of a war that this administration has gotten us into, the Marine Corps is a great operation," he said.

Posted by sr at 08:33 PM | Permalink

Cpl. William Getty, ground radio repairman, prepares to take a DANTES Subject Standardized Test at the Lifelong Learning Center Aug. 15.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Aug. 24, 2006) -- Beginning this fall, Marines pursuing an undergraduate degree may find the newly computerized administration of the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support Subject Standardized Tests helpful in reaching their goal.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A30106BE04765AF3852571D5004A118E?opendocument

Aug. 24, 2006
By Lance Cpl. Sha'ahn Williams, MCB Quantico

The DANTES program is an extensive series of examinations in college and technical subjects. Essentially, the DSST tests are achievement exams, each of which is standardized on a sample of civilian students who successfully completed a comparable college course.

Each DSST measures knowledge, basic concepts, principles, relationships and applications involved in a course, which has the same or a similar title.

Normally, a student took the test and waited for the results that would, in turn, determine which classes he or she would register for.

“Formerly paper-based, the older testing system slowed the students down because they had to wait so long for the results to come back,” said Susan McIntosh, education services officer at the Lifelong Learning Center here. “Sometimes people would not register for a class thinking they passed the DSST and the results would come back saying they did not pass.

“That means that those people would have to take the class and could have registered but were not able to because registration time was over,” McIntosh said.

With the computerized testing, results are available immediately, which saves time, McIntosh said.

DSST tests save tuition assistance money because passing one eliminates the need to take a formal course. The tests are free for active duty and reserve personnel. Family members pay $60.00 for the test and an additional $20.00 sitting fee.

If passed, each examination awards students with college credits of three semester hours.

Click on photo for credits and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 04:21 PM | Permalink

(Beaufort-AP) August 24, 2006 - About 165 Marines from the Beaufort air station are to come home Thursday as another 450 Marines get ready for a similar deployment to western Iraq.

http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=5321606

(Beaufort-AP) August 24, 2006 - About 165 Marines from the Beaufort air station are to come home Thursday as another 450 Marines get ready for a similar deployment to western Iraq.

The returning Marines are from the Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533 and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31. The two units were based at Camp Al Asad, located near the Syrian and Jordanian borders.

The Marine Corps says the Marines' FA-18 jets provided close air support and aerial reconnaissance for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and other units in the region. They flew more than 2,300 combat missions during their seven-month deployment.

About 450 Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 are to depart for the same Iraqi base in the coming weeks.

Posted 11:47am by Bryce Mursch

Posted by ph at 02:18 PM | Permalink

RICHMOND — For Karen Seigars, the mo-ment would have been ironic if it wasn't so scary.

On Tuesday, the day that the Mid-coast region buried one 19-year-old soldier who died fighting overseas — Army Pfc. Andrew Small of Wiscasset — another 19-year-old soldier — Seigars' son, Mat — arrived in Iraq to start a tour of duty.

http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/C3DC2FECBAC0B20C052571D40054C41C?Opendocument

Michael_Reagan@TimesRecord.Com
08/24/2006

Andrew Small and Mat Seigars both graduated from high school in 2005, Small from Wiscasset High School and Seigars from Richmond High School. They come from small close-knit communities, where families look out for each other and whole towns take pride in the accomplishments of their young people.

Karen Seigars is proud of her son, just as she was when he enlisted in the Marine Corps while he was still a student at Richmond High School. But, as was the case when Mat told his mother of his plans to serve in the military, that pride is mixed with anxiety — fear that her son's call to duty will place him in harm's way.

He's now in a place where she can't look out for him.

Mat Seigars was back in Richmond a little more than a week ago, one last trip home before his unit shipped out to Iraq. Karen Seigars said goodbye to her son at 4:30 a.m. Aug. 16, on the day he re-turned to his Marine Corps base in North Carolina.

Karen couldn't sleep after Mat departed for his flight out of Portland. She has had moments during the past week when she has been fine, then burst into tears.

A day before Mat's departure, she almost got into her first bar fight. A man at the Old Goat pub on Main Street started to tell her about how his nephew had died in Iraq after getting shot in the head.

Karen said she didn't want to hear it.

The man kept talking.

Karen wanted to hit him to make him shut up, but, instead, she clenched her fist and walked away.

Mat, a private, is serving at the Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq. He was one of more than 250 Marines who left for Iraq on Sunday as part of Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron 167, according to the Web site for Marine Corps Air Station New River, www.newriver.usmc.mil/. He and his fellow Marines will support ground operations with their UH-1N "Hueys" and AH-1W "Super Cobras."

Because he will be working on the helicopters, Mat's assignment will keep him on the air base, not on patrol with other Marines in Iraq.

"But it still tears me up," Karen said.

She got a call from Mat in Iraq on Wednesday night. He told her the heat he had heard about was no exaggeration and that he was tired of carrying his gun around with him.

During the 270-day assignment, he plans to take a number of self-taught classes, including "Math For Marines" and terrorism awareness.

"He's really motivated," Karen said. "He wants to be a door gunner. And I wanted to punch him in the head when he told me."

Mat's stint in Iraq will consist of 12-hour shifts doing helicopter maintenance and repair, along with his studies. As one of the newer members of the crew, he often hands tools to fellow Marines. If no mechanical work is being done, he sweeps.

"You never stand around. Always busy," he said. "I've never seen cement get so clean."

Mat told his mother about his deployment a couple months ago. He stayed in Richmond for a week during his leave, grew a goatee and shaved it off before leaving for his base in New River, N.C. From there, he left for Iraq.

Mat is scheduled to return home on leave in the early spring of next year.

Karen gave him a haircut on the Monday before he left. She is a barber at Brunswick Naval Air Station and said many people on the base have asked her about her son and his upcoming assignment. She and Mat went shopping at the Navy Exchange the same day, and she bought him everything from toothpaste, shampoo to Tylenol for his new assignment.

Packing is simple. Before he left, Mat said he would not be taking any civilian clothes with him. He planned to pack a portable DVD player, but no DVDs because he will either buy them or borrow ones from fellow Marines.

Another item he said he would pack is a jack of spades he received when he signed up for the Marines last year. The playing card has "Hue, Vietnam, February 1968" written on it. The man who carried the card made it back to the United States alive while serving in the armed services during the Vietnam War.

Mat did not know Staff Sgt. Dale James Kelly Jr., the 48-year-old Army National Guard medic who died in May when a roadside bomb went off near his armored truck while he was on convoy duty in Iraq.

He does know Anthony Marson, who is serving in the Army National Guard on convoy duty in Iraq. They went to Richmond High School together and were friends. Another Richmond graduate, Chris Buchanan, is serving in the Army in Iraq as well.

A fellow Marine and member of the Richmond High School class of 2005, Andrew Blake, may serve on the same base as Mat, later this year, Karen said. Blake helps repair jets.

Mat and Blake were among seven members of the 37-person Richmond High School class of 2005 to join the armed services as active duty members or in the reserves.

Posted by ph at 02:08 PM | Permalink

Motorcycle club donates $1,300 to aid in recovery from his injuries in Iraq
A Picatinny Arsenal worker's stepson, who suffered life-threatening shrapnel injuries to his head while serving as a Marine in Iraq, got a boost recently when he visited the Rockaway Township Army base.

The Tri-County Motorcycle Club presented a $1,300 donation on Aug. 2 to Sgt. Jacob Knospler of East Stroudsburg, Pa., Picatinny officials said in a statement released on Wednesday. The arsenal employs his stepfather, Jacob Wood.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060824/COMMUNITIES43/608270303

08/24/06 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
BY MATT MANOCHIO
DAILY RECORD

At the time of his injury on Nov. 12, 2004, Knospler was a corporal in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Patty Wood, Knospler's mother, said her son had taken the lead while clearing a house in Fallujah, where an insurgent unleashed a grenade that exploded near him, ripping shrapnel through his face and across his body.

The shrapnel entered his face approximately one inch in front of and one inch below his left ear, she said. It passed though the bones of his face and exited through his right cheek, just above the corner of his mouth.

Wood said that as a result, all the bones in her son's face and jaw were broken or blown away, and he lost his upper palate, as well as all but three of his upper teeth.

Wood explained that either a piece of shrapnel or a piece of bone passed upward behind her son's right eye, striking the eyeball, rupturing the retina and lodging in the right frontal lobe of his brain.

In addition, Wood said Knospler had numerous shrapnel injuries on his legs and arms.

In all, he received loss of hearing in his left ear, loss of sight in his right eye, loss of upper palate and upper teeth, a collapsed lung, a right frontal lobotomy and seizure activity, Wood said.

Despite Knospler's injuries, Wood said he was able to walk to medical evacuation transportation and even joked to his buddy about not being "pretty" anymore.

However, his brain soon started to swell, and he required emergency brain surgery in Baghdad.

Medically evacuated

After the life-saving surgery, Knospler was medically evacuated to Germany and eventually was transported to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland to recover from his wounds.

Wood said it was at Bethesda, on Knospler's 23rd birthday, that he received the Purple Heart from President Bush.

Knospler was the focus of a March 20 Newsweek article that said the Marine travels to Bethesda once a month from his Pennsylvania home for continued treatment.

Before he was hit, Knospler had pulled an injured gunnery sergeant from the streets as snipers fired continuously at them, Picatinny officials said. Sgt. Ryan Shane received injuries to his legs and abdomen that made it impossible for him to move himself.

The motorcycle club found out about the injured Marine because Knospler's stepfather is a longtime friend of fellow Picatinny employee Walter Wurster, a member of the motorcycle club.

When Wurster told the motorcycle association of Knospler's condition, its members decided to do something to help the wounded Marine and his family.

'Basket of cheer'
To raise money to assist with expenses, Wurster said the association raffled off a "basket of cheer," which contained crackers and $300 worth of liquor. They raffled the basket for $1 per ticket and also accepted personal donations.

In all, they raised $1,300 to present to Knospler.

"We wish it was more, but we're just glad we could do something," said Tri-County Motorcycle Club President Bill Johnson.

Marine 1st Sgt. William Meisinger spoke at the ceremony, and Gerald Schreck, a Picatinny sergeant major, presented Knospler, Wurster, Johnson and Gordon Meyer, another member of the motorcycle club, with commander's coins.

About two dozen members of the motorcycle club, Marines from the 2/25 Marine Reserve Command, and Knospler's family, including his wife, Sheena, and daughter, Jahna, attended the ceremony.

'Thank you'

"I would just like to say thank you, to all who participated in the fundraiser and ceremony for Jake. This experience is just overwhelming," Patty Wood said at the ceremony, according to the press release from Picatinny.

"When people who don't know us give their time and monies so that Jake's life might be a little easier, 'Thank you' just isn't enough," she said. "I have the advantage; I know what Jacob did in Iraq. I know what an honorable Marine he is. I know the extent of losses suffered by his company, and I am eternally grateful that he is with us today."

She said, "He is my hero. For Tri-County and Picatinny to recognize and honor him, it reaffirms my faith in the American people. Thank you to all."

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 01:45 PM | Permalink

400 from 9th ESB deploying this week to Anbar province

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — The more than 400 Marines deploying to Iraq this week are well-prepared for their mission, said military leaders Tuesday.

Marines from 9th Engineer Support Battalion began deploying earlier this week and the last are scheduled to leave by Friday for Anbar province in Iraq, said Lt. Col. Mark Mienotti, the battalion’s commanding officer.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=39526

By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, August 24, 2006

The deploying Marines are doing a swap with about 300 Marines, also from the battalion, who deployed to the same area in Iraq in late February, Mienotti said.

The two halves of the battalion are to transfer authority for the area, which will take about 30 days.

Then the 300 Marines are to return to Okinawa in late September, he said.

While attached to 3rd Naval Construction Regiment, Gulfport, Miss., the 9th ESB Marines will do “horizontal and vertical construction,” Mienotti said.

Horizontal construction will include repairing, improving and building roads and finding and rendering harmless improvised explosive devices, he said.

Vertical construction will include the occasional mission to repair structures such as schools, he said, adding that as needed, Marines also will be called upon to build temporary bases for Iraqi Security Forces.

The 400 Marines “are prepared for this deployment and have done a lot of training, especially [at Camp] Fuji,” he said.

The battalion sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Donovan White, cited a laundry list of warfighting skills learned at Camp Fuji and honed at Camp Hansen to prepare them for Iraq, including convoy operations, entry-control points, vehicle-control points, immediate-action drills, fire and maneuver tactics, fire team and squad tactics, rules of engagement, law of war, escalation of force and enhanced marksmanship.

“Their families can rest assured that their Marines and sailors will be well taken care of, well led and … well trained to do the mission,” White said.

Cpl. Nicole L. Hammerle, 22, from New Era, Mich., who has been in the Marine Corps about two and a half years, said the training at Camp Fuji “pretty much just got us into the combat mind-set. I know we are all ready; 9th ESB has done an outstanding job preparing us for this.”

That readiness cannot be attributed entirely to senior leaders, said Mienotti.

“The corporals of this battalion are really stepping up and showing clear and resolute leadership,” he said. “That has really helped tie the unit together.”

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 01:36 PM | Permalink

The daughter of Maj. Joseph McCloud pleaded with her father to stay as he and members of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Base Hawaii left for Iraq yesterday. The battalion is bound for an area that includes Haditha, where tension between Marines and civilians is high.

KANE'OHE BAY — In a case of deja vu, the first of nearly 1,000 more Hawai'i Marines said goodbye to family and boarded buses for flights that will take them to one of the most dangerous places in Iraq.

Yesterday, it was the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. In late February, it was the 3rd Battalion saying goodbye.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Aug/24/ln/FP608240351.html

Posted on: Thursday, August 24, 2006
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Many of the 2nd Battalion Marines who will be leaving in the next several weeks deployed to Afghanistan in June of 2005, but are on their first tour to Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Jason Paul, 20, said he is "living life" and excited to go to Iraq to do his part. But Paul, of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, also sees Biblical overtones to the Middle East conflict.

"I'm a Christian. I think it's beginning Revelation. Muslims and Jews are fighting. It's starting. It's a holy war," he said.

At 18, Lance Cpl. Mikey Trejo is making his first combat deployment. The Detroit man joined the Corps when he was 17, arrived in Hawai'i about a half year ago "and I'm already deploying," he said yesterday.

Trejo admits going to Iraq scares him.

"You never know what can happen," he said.

For Alex and Emily Jackson, ages 2 and 5, the uncertainty of dad Staff Sgt. Calvin Jackson's deployment to Iraq took on a different perspective.

Alex wanted to get on the bus with dad, and cried when he couldn't.

"Daddy's gotta go, Bubba," Calvin Jackson said as he hugged his kids and wife, Melissa. "I love you guys."

The area the Marines are deploying to includes Haditha, where a Marine unit out of California was accused of shooting 24 unarmed civilians out of frustration.

According to an Associated Press report out of Haditha, U.S. commanders have said privately that a military solution to the insurgency in western Anbar Province is impossible, and what's needed is a political deal between the Sunni Arabs and other ethnic groups.

"We're in a recruiting war with the insurgency," said Brig. Gen. Robert Neller, the deputy Marine commander in western Iraq, in the AP report.

Even with reports from the region pointing to worsening relations, Lt. Col. Norm Cooling, the Hawai'i-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment commander now in Iraq, continues to paint a positive picture of what's happening on the ground, despite Marine injury and death.

In his task force, which consists of just over 1,700 personnel, 10 Marines have been killed, 61 have been wounded in action, and 14 were injured seriously enough to require evacuation from the theater, he said.

It's into that environment, characterized in different ways, but one of the most daunting in Iraq, that 1,000 more Marines are headed to replace the Hawai'i unit there now.

"We're doing what Marines do, and we're doing it very well," said Capt. Brian Moore, 33, an aviation adviser heading to Iraq. "I think it's up to the Iraqis to decide what kind of country they want. Only the Iraqis can win this."

Cooling said by e-mail that the Hawai'i Marines "recognize that they have made a difference here. After six months, they can see tangible differences in the capabilities of their partnered Iraqi units."

Those units have fought side by side with U.S. forces in multiple firefights and "have performed exceptionally well," Cooling said.

But there also is the acknowledgement by Cooling that the future of Iraq is in Iraqi hands. Some Marines have complained about Iraqis not taking responsibility for security in their own country.

Building capable security forces is "unquestionably the key" for the people to rebuild their infrastructure and run viable local government services, and that must be enabled by good governance at the national level, Cooling said.

Statistics provided by U.S. military commanders show that the two Iraqi divisions in Anbar Province are about 5,000 short of their authorized strength, and some 660 soldiers are AWOL, the New York Times reported.

The newspaper said there are more attacks on Americans in Anbar on a per-capita basis than in any other part of Iraq.

Although there have been reports that the Sunnis who dominate in the Haditha area don't trust the largely Shiite-populated Iraqi Army, Cooling said the soldiers "are viewed by both themselves and the local population as being Iraqi first."

A few have joined fringe militias that are sectarian in nature, but "the Iraqi soldiers serving with us are often more effective than we are in engaging with the population because they share the same language and culture, and they are Muslim," Cooling said.

Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, is part of an area that includes Barwanah and Haqla-niyah called the "Triad."

In Baghdadi nearby in late July, a speeding truck loaded with hundreds of pounds of explosives attempted to break through a Hawai'i Marine base's protective barriers.

Cpl. Jeff Globis, manning an observation outpost, saw the truck, warned others to take cover and opened fire, according to a Marine report by Sgt. Roe Seigle. The truck exploded and part of the outpost roof collapsed, but no Marines or soldiers were killed.

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 out of Kane'ohe Bay will replace HMH-463, and more than 7,000 Schofield Barracks soldiers are starting a year of duty in northern Iraq.

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 01:27 PM | Permalink

The Brown family deals with two sons' deployment to Iraq

For the second time in a year, Mary Brown said goodbye to her to son, Timothy, as he left to serve in the Middle East.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/24/news/story02.html

By Robert Shikina
rshikina@starbulletin.com

But it will not get any easier for her, because her son-in-law will be deploying to the same area next month.

"It's hard, it's never easy," said Mary Brown, 41. "I never thought I would set him in harm's way."

About 100 Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, departed yesterday from Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe for a seven-month deployment to Iraq. An additional 900 Marines from the same regiment will join them next month in Al-Anbar province. Also, 30 Marines with the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24 deployed to Iraq.

The Brown family has a father, son and son-in-law who are all active Marines. Both Timothy Brown Jr. and brother-in-law Allen Lee serve in the same battalion. Brown's father, Master Sgt. Timothy Brown Sr., works for the Combat Services Support Group 3 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The Brown family has lived in Hawaii for 11 years.

In January the battalion returned from a seven-month tour in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Brown introduced Sgt. Lee to his sister shortly afterward.

"He gave the blessing for us to start going out," Melissa Lee said, joking that they nicknamed her brother "the Don" afterward. Melissa and Allen were married on July 28.

"With my mom being a spouse, she's actually helped me become mentally prepared for my brother and my husband getting ready to be deployed," Melissa Lee, 24, said. "You never truly get used to it. It's just something that you kind of adapt to."

Mary Brown, a Marine spouse for 24 years, said, "You learn to adapt and go with the flow, and turn to the families and build that camaraderie back here. We are a very tight group."

Brown's sister said, "He'll get on the bus and that's when it'll actually hit."
Allen Lee, 23, said his wife is going to be sad after her brother's deployment.

"It's going to be a bad night," Lee said. "I'll keep it nonmilitary for the night."

But Timothy Brown, 21, said he looks forward to having Lee with him overseas again.

"You can double up in brotherhood because you have brother-in-arms and now he's also a brother-in-law," he said.

"He actually was pretty shaken up," Brown said. "One of his buddies got hit by an IED (improvised explosive device). He was supposed to be the driver of the vehicle, but he got pulled off in the last minute," Brown said.

"I'll be honest with you, you don't want to see your son go," Brown said. "I'd rather be going."

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 01:20 PM | Permalink

Machine gunners Cpl. Charles J. Trask, 22, and Cpl. Jimmy D. Miller, 20, with Security Platoon, Combat Logistics Company 117, Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Fwd), stand by a weapon mount similar to the ones they manned in separate incidents when the vehicles they were in encountered improvised explosive devices during operations in the Al Anbar Province. Trask, a Kansas City, Mo., native, said he believes personal protective equipment saved his hearing. Miller, a Huntsville, Ala., native, recovering from shrapnel injuries to his wrist, said he believes that personal protective equipment he wore prevented serious injuries

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (Aug 24, 2006) -- Snapping awake, the Marine realized it was all a dream. The improvised explosive device his vehicle had just hit was only imagined. Shrugging it off, he went back to sleep.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/09BFCD456AED250C852571D4005AAD99?opendocument

Aug 24, 2006
Story ID#: 2006824123026
By Pfc. Ryan L. Tomlinson, 1st Marine Logistics Group

Days later, while traveling the treacherous roads of the Al Anbar Province, Cpl. Charles J. Trask, a machine gunner with Transportation Company, recalled that dream just moments before it became a reality.

Trask said he would miraculously walk away with only minor injuries, thanks to the personal protective equipment (PPE) all Marines here are required to wear.

Three Marines with the Combat Logistic Company 117, Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 1st Marine Logistics Group (FWD), were awarded Purple Hearts for injuries sustained after their encounter with improvised explosive devices.

The Marines give credit to the PPE that they were wearing for the fact they are alive to talk about their experiences today.

“PPE has proven that it does, in fact, save Marines lives,” said Gunnery Sgt. Leo E. Lechuga, company gunnery sergeant of CLC-117.

PPE is usually the traditional Kevlar helmet and an outer tactical vest, referred to as a “flak jacket,” equipped with Small Arms Protective Inserts, known commonly as “SAPI” plates. Although this equipment offers great benefit, the smaller pieces of gear, such as hearing protection, help as well.

“If the ear protection hadn’t have been there, I wouldn’t have been able to hear today,” said Trask. The Kansas City, Mo., native had damage to his hearing caused by the noise produced from the blast. The 22-year-old, known as the “Gnome Warrior”, is currently listed in full-duty status. He said he is concluding his deployment as rear security element and misses his duty as a machine gunner tremendously.

“Since the event, I haven’t been able to be a gunner,” he said. “I had to wear ear plugs for 21 days and I couldn’t go anywhere without them, and all I wanted to do during that time was jump back on the gun.”

Flight suits play a legitimate role in personal protection and it worked for Cpl. Jimmy D. Miller, a 20-year-old machine gunner for a scout vehicle.

The flight suit is a newly added personal protection item mandatory for use by all 1st MLG Marines who regularly participate in off base operations in the Al Anbar province. The flight suit is designed to protect Marines from high heat.

“I am pretty grateful that I was wearing that flight suit, because my wound would have been a lot worse than it was,” Miller said. The Marine, known as “Home-Grown,” added that if the sleeves from the flight suit weren’t made with Meta-Aramid fibers, the shrapnel would have caused grave damage to his arm. Meta-Aramid fibers are a Nomex brand fiber that resists temperatures up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit but also serves as a thicker fabric for shrapnel resistance.

“I just looked over the turret to see what was around us and then we got hit,” said Miller. “I couldn’t hear anything and I felt this sharp pain in my arm, it was shrapnel that deflected off of the flight suit.”

The Huntsville, Ala., native is currently reassigned working his school-trained skill as a radio operator.

All Marines featured agreed lives were either saved or prevented from further injury, because of the effectiveness of their PPE.

“They would have suffered a lot worse injuries without that equipment,” said 25-year-old 1st Lt. Marykitt B. Haugen, company commander of CLC-117. “PPE, no matter how uncomfortable it is or how hot it is, it saves your life.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 10:03 AM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (August 24, 2006) -- Marines go through recruit training and specialty school before entering the Fleet Marine Force and while some Marines may lose their motivation, the majority of them find their own way to overcome that.

This Marine is one of them…

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/C41933D84D2B6FB5852571D40054D2F4?opendocument

August 24, 2006; Submitted on: 08/24/2006 11:26:30 AM ; Story ID#: 2006824112630

By Cpl. Matthew K. Hacker, 2nd Marine Logistics Group

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (August 24, 2006) -- Marines go through recruit training and specialty school before entering the Fleet Marine Force and while some Marines may lose their motivation, the majority of them find their own way to overcome that.

This Marine is one of them…

“I’ll tell you right now, he’s the hardest working Marine in the platoon,” said 2nd Lt. Rano J. Mariotti, platoon commander, Company B, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. “He’s always eager to get in there and do what he has to do to get the job done.”

Corporal Brian N. Wente is a combat engineer with the company and he will be the first to list the reasons he enjoys his job.

“I love to work with my hands,” said Wente. “Whether it’s swinging a hammer or pouring concrete, I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when it’s finished. Nothing compares to it.”

Wanting to join the Marine Corps to travel the world, Wente got what he wanted when he deployed to Iraq from February through September 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I did pretty much the same job there as I do here, but things in Iraq are different,” said Wente. “You’re not training anymore. You have to realize it’s for real and you’re abilities as a combat engineer directly affect the warfighters out there. That’s why I take training so seriously.”

Wente also came to realize how much building new structures for Marines to sleep and dwell in were important. He quickly noticed the level of morale rise with the level of comfort. That is one of the reasons he likes what he does.

Overall, staying motivated and enjoying one’s job is something Marines need to achieve for both personal and professional success, said Wente. People always get more done when they are content with their work and enthused by the situation before them.

When his enlistment expires July 18, 2008, Wente plans on attending college and pursuing the structural engineer or architectural fields.

Wente is scheduled to return to Iraq during February 2007 for a seven- month deployment in support of OIF.

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by TR for MarineParents.com at 09:42 AM | Permalink

Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s (Special Operations Capable), Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, lock, load and conduct a live-fire exercise aboard the USS Iwo Jima. The purpose of the live fire exercise is to hone Marines’ shooting skills, making their technique second nature.

ABOARD USS IWO JIMA (Aug. 23, 2006) -- In the old American West, heeled gunslingers sought the morbid truth in black cordite smoke, often finding it lodged in the small, deadly spaces separating the quick from the dead.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E4B46BB68AC6D286852571D3001AC147?opendocument

Aug. 23, 2006
Story ID#: 200682305214
By Cpl. Jeffrey A. Cosola, 24th MEU

Today, living amongst a new generation of gunslingers, the task of settling quarrels still falls to tough men with guns – and is still fought in small, deadly spaces. It’s no longer the time of the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s now left to the skill of the few, the proud, the Marines.

To ensure that today’s leathernecks are as skilled as their legendary predecessors, Marines with Alpha and Weapons Companies, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), have continuously honed their close-quarter battle skills by participating in numerous small arms ‘shoot-outs’ in the hangar bay of the USS Iwo Jima.

Deployed as the Ground Combat Element of the 24th MEU, each infantry Marine may be called upon to enter a number of chaotic battlefields that could compel them to meet the enemy at distances of less than 20 yards. While not exactly “high noon,” making sure that each Marine survives these showdowns means that training needs to be constant, with hundreds of repetitions cultivating an instinctive action.

The training is specifically designed to simulate these close-quarter encounters in urban environments -- a scenario calling for Marines to engage their targets quickly and with pinpoint precision, said First Sgt. James Cully, Alpha Company first sergeant.

Cully said that regardless of the setting, whether in a hangar bay or on a battlefield, no matter what the target, the end result for his troops is consistency and making certain that “everything becomes automatic.”

“The training keeps our muscle memory sharp,” said Cpl. Lee Wadsworth, a BLT 1/8 scout sniper from Wayland, N.Y., who recently participated in the range. “There should be no thinking involved; you concentrate on your target and everything becomes second nature.”

To build these skills and instincts, Marines fire their weapon from standing, kneeling and prone positions, dropping their target with various aiming techniques. Working on fast reloads, magazine changes and remedial action in case of jams -- all while changing firing positions -- Marines are trained to perform without wasted movement in the maelstrom of a rapidly deteriorating situation.

With this type of training and persistent attention to detail, Marines with the 24th MEU will continue to maintain a sharp-edged expertise while handling any gunslinger foolish enough to set foot in their part of town. In the end, it will be their mastery of the small, deadly spaces – and their weapons systems – that will allow them to operate without fear and walk the earth as cammie-clad undertakers sorting the righteous from the dead.

Currently, the 24th MEU is in the midst of an expected six-month deployment to the European and Central Command theaters of operation. The MEU is now in the Red Sea, having departed the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 20 after completing a 35-day mission in and off the coast of Lebanon, where Marines and sailors facilitated the departure of nearly 15,000 Americans from the war-torn country.

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 11:02 PM | Permalink

Pvt. Cryspin P. Nystrom stands his post behind an M-240G machine gun. Nystrom is a field wireman serving in the guard force. He is attached to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, G Company to keep an observation post secure.

SAQLAWIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 23, 2006) -- No one gets a free ride in 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/778C368C4A8E6C70852571D60020D008?opendocument

Aug. 23, 2006; Submitted on: 08/26/2006 01:58:24 AM ; Story ID#: 200682615824
By Lance Cpl. Erik Villagran, Regimental Combat Team 5

“America’s Battalion” Marines who were formerly a part of Headquarters and Service Company are now attached to G Company to provide security. They are responsible for keeping Observation Post Riviera secure from any attacks.

“This is an example of every Marine being a rifleman,” said Pvt. William A. Rosales, a 24-year-old field wireman from Rialto, Calif. “I am supposed to do communication and now I am guarding Marines.”

The guard force is responsible for many different posts within the OP. The guard’s main mission is to protect the observation post from any attacks. Their job is important because G Company did not have enough Marines to run patrols in the area of operations and keep the post secure.

“Our job is important because the company has platoons going out on patrols or resting from patrols,” said Pvt. Cryspin P. Nystrom, a 19-year-old field wireman from Warren, Pa. “Guard force keeps the main post secure, while the infantrymen take care of the AO.”

The posts are set-up to ensure that no one can enter the OP without permission. Marines standing watch are armed with rifles or machine guns. Theirs is the first and last word on who gets into the post.

“I make sure that no one comes in,” said Lance Cpl. Mark A. Hamilton, a 20-year-old food service Marine from Brunswick, Ga. “It’s military personnel in this OP only, so I know what to look for.”

Inside the posts, Marines watch areas where insurgents can attack. Any suspicious cars or people are immediately reported and tracked. Nothing goes unnoticed. The posts are manned 24 hours-a-day. They keep their vigil in the heat of the day, and during the quiet hours of the night, they maintain their watch under the green haze of night vision goggles.

It’s not all just straight watch duties for Marines guarding the OP here. The guard force also helps around the post with the knowledge of their specific specialties. When wiremen aren’t on post behind their weapons, they’re fixing radios and helping with communications. All members of the security team assist G Company in their off time.

They even cook.

“I help in preparing the food and work my post,” Hamilton said. “The other Marines on guard do the same thing.”

The adjustment for the Marines from headquarters duties to that on the front line has been easy. That’s because they’re working with their brothers – fellow Marines. The hiccups and stumbling blocks of assuming new duties were smoothed over and their role is as regular as clockwork. They don’t miss a beat and the OP is as safe now for Marines as it’s ever been.

The guard force isn’t resting on its’ heels, though. They’re looking to take on greater responsibilities, hoping to offset some of the burden shouldered by the infantry Marines they’re supporting.

“We might be doing patrols soon,” Rosales said. “Anything that comes up we’re ready for it.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 10:54 PM | Permalink

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Marine soldiers recovered a huge cache of suspected Abu Sayyaf chemicals used in the manufacture of homemade explosives in the province of Sulu, officials said on Tuesday.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2006/08/23/news/marines.recover.bomb.making.chemicals.in.sulu.html

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
By Al Jacinto & Bong Garcia

Officials said soldiers were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf when they found at least 10 sacks of ammonium nitrate in the hinterland village of Darayan in Patikul town over the weekend. "The chemicals are believed owned by the Abu Sayyaf and is main component of IEDs (improvised explosive devices)," said Lt. Col. Susthenes Valcorza, spokesman of the Southern Command.

Troops were still tracking down members of the Abu Sayyaf and two leaders of the Jemaah Islamiya, Umar Patek, and Dulmatin, who were reported to be with the group of local terrorist leader Khadaffy Janjalani in Sulu, about 950 kilometers south of Manila.

"The operation is still ongoing and our troops are tracking down the terrorists," he said.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, the island's military commander, said soldiers continue to hunt down Janjalani and Patek and Dulmatin in Jolo's hinterlands.

"We are still tracking down the terrorists -- the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya -- and the hunt is centered on the mountains of Indanan and Patikul towns. Our operation is relentless and we will get them dead or alive," he said.

Tightened security

The Philippine military tightened security in Jolo island after soldiers last week seized 6,000 blasting caps believed owned by the Abu Sayyaf group.

Mujahiri Malik, the man who was allegedly transporting the explosives, was arrested, but his companion, a woman, had escaped and is being hunted by security forces. Security forces seized 3,000 blasting caps from a ferry in Jolo and another 3,000 blasting caps left on a pedicab at the busy port of Jolo last week, he said.

The United States offered as much as $10 million bounty for Dulmatin and $1 million for Patek's capture and another $5 million for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani, its chieftain.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive. Both Patek and Dulmatin were linked to the 2002 Bali bombing that killed more than 200 people.

Imported materials

Another military official expressed doubts that the P.7 million blasting caps will only be used for blast fishing.

Col. Reynaldo Saelana, chief of the Army's 104th Infantry Brigade based in Jolo, Sulu, said he refused to believe the revelation of the arrested courier that the blasting caps will be used for dynamite fishing.

Saelana said it would be very expensive to use the blasting caps in dynamite fishing, saying the explosives are imported from India. The estimated value of the blasting caps is P.7 million.

He said what is important is that the blasting caps "will no longer go to the hands of lawless elements" whose intention is to sow terror and chaos.

Modjahiri Malik, 45, who was arrested at Jolo port last week for trying to smuggle 6,000 blasting caps to Tawi-Tawi, denied he owns the explosives.

Malik said the blasting caps belonged to his friend, whom he only identified as Hajin.

He said Hajin requested him to carry the two backpacks full of blasting caps to a passenger ferry when they met at Jolo port since both of them are going to Tawi-Tawi.

"Kung alam ko lang kontrabando ang laman ng mga bag hindi ko dadalhin yon (Had I known that the content of the bags were contraband items, I would have not carried them)," Malik said. He insisted the blasting caps would be used for blast fishing.

He also denied being a member of the Abu Sayyaf or Jemaah Islamiyah but admitted he was a former rebel.

(August 23, 2006 issue)

Posted by sr at 09:48 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps said Tuesday that it would begin calling thousands of Marines back to active-duty service on an involuntary basis to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan — the latest sign that U.S. armed forces are under strain and a potential signal of the growing unpopularity of the Iraq war among young veterans.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4135179.html

Aug. 23, 2006
By JULIAN E. BARNES
Los Angeles Times

Marine commanders will call up formerly active-duty service members now classified as reservists after the Corps failed to find enough volunteers among their emergency reserve pool to fill needed jobs in combat zones. The call-ups will begin in several months, summoning as many as 2,500 reservists at a time to serve for a year or more.

The military has had to scramble to meet the manpower requirements of the Iraq war, which have not abated in the face of a continuing insurgency and growing civil strife.

•Earlier this year, the military called forward its reserve force stationed in Kuwait, sending one battalion to secure Baghdad and two to Ramadi.

•Last month, the yearlong deployment of the Alaska-based 172nd Stryker Brigade was extended by four months in order to provide extra troops to roll back escalating sectarian violence in Baghdad.

For much of the conflict, the Army has had to use "stop-loss orders," which keep soldiers in their units even after their active-duty commitment is complete, and involuntary call-ups of reservists to supplement their forces.

The call-ups and the stop-loss orders have been criticized as a "backdoor draft" and are unpopular with service members, many of whom believe they have already done their part.

"You can send Marines back for a third or fourth time, but you have to understand you are destroying their lives," said Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "It is not what they intended the all-volunteer military to look like."

Typical enlistment 8 years
Marines typically enlist for eight years. Most serve four years on active duty then enter the reserves, either as part of a unit that has a monthly drill or as a part of the "individual ready reserve."

The ready reserve was designed to be a pool of manpower that the armed services could draw on in a time of national emergency. But the Iraq war has forced the Army, and now the Marines, to rely on the ready reserve to fill holes in the combat force.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the call-up of the Marine ready reserve was an example of the wear and tear inflicted by Iraq on the armed services, a stress that could hurt the military in the months and years to come.

"The right way to address the issue is to increase the size of the military so you do not have to rely on the call-up of the individual ready reserve," Reed said. "We should have raised the strength of the Army and Marine Corps three years ago."

Although the Marines have for the most part avoided forcing reservists to serve in Iraq against their will, as the war has dragged on, volunteers have been harder to come by.

"We have been tracking our volunteer numbers for the last two years," said Col. Guy A. Stratton, the head of the Marine Corps' Manpower Mobilization Plans section, who briefed reporters Tuesday on the reserve plans. "If you tracked it on a timeline or a chart, you would see it going down."

The Marines last did an involuntary call-up of members of their individual ready reserve before the initial invasion of Iraq.

Although 2,658 involuntary orders were issued at the time, far fewer Marines ended up serving in Iraq.

The reservists in the new call-up will be drawn from a pool of 59,000 members of the individual ready reserve.

The Corps will exempt Marines who are in the first and last year of their four-year reserve obligation.

Stratton said the manpower needs were the greatest in the fields of communications, engineering, intelligence and military police.

Posted by sr at 04:49 PM | Permalink

Tony and Amy Galvez, parents of Lance Cpl. Adam Galvez, hold a photo of their son, who died Sunday in Iraq. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune )

Many in her country had turned against the war. The mayor of her city was organizing a protest against the president. And the insurgents in Iraq, Amy Galvez feared, were growing bolder by the day.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4223674

08/23/2006
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune

Galvez decided she had heard enough.

Hoping her words might persuade those who support the president, the war and the troops in Iraq to assemble in a great demonstration of patriotism and support, Galvez sat at her computer and began to type.

"My son, who is a resident of Salt Lake City, is now in Iraq," she wrote in an e-mail to The Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday. "American lives have been lost in this war because the enemy has been emboldened by our own words, actions and lack of support for our own mission."

Galvez was still sitting at her computer when she heard a car door close outside her northwest Salt Lake City home. Peering through the window, she saw two Marines coming up the walk.

Adam Galvez, 21, was killed Sunday in Iraq's volatile Al Anbar province in a roadside bomb attack that claimed the life of two other members of his battalion.

His death, the 2,607th U.S. fatality confirmed by the Department of Defense, comes as his hometown is bracing for the arrival of President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who are scheduled to address the national convention of the American Legion next week at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The city's mayor, Rocky Anderson, has pledged to protest the visit and has invited Cindy Sheehan, a prominent war protester who lost her son in Iraq, to speak at an anti-war demonstration.

Inside her home, now adorned by a flag at half-staff, on Tuesday, Amy Galvez said she was more determined than ever to ensure the mission for which her son fought and died is supported back home.

"I don't want Cindy Sheehan and Rocky Anderson to be the only voices the world hears," Galvez said Tuesday evening from the living room of her home in northwest Salt Lake City, not far from the airport where Air Force One is scheduled to touch down next week. "I want our voices to be heard. I want the world to know that our troops are wonderful."

And, she said, she wants people to know that her son made a choice to serve his country and was proud of his mission in Iraq.

The day after Adam Galvez was killed, family members were given a copy of a letter, written to a close friend, in which the Marine confirmed his support for the war in Iraq, Galvez's parents said.

That support remained, they said, even after Adam Galvez - trained as a mechanic but often assigned to patrols of Anbar's dangerous streets - stood above the rubble of a U.S. military post struck by a suicide bomber and listened as, one by one, the voices of several fellow Marines fell silent.

Galvez told his parents he was suffering from nightmares about the July 29 attack, in which he was injured and four others were killed.

Still, the parents said, their son remained confident that his mission was just.

And Tony Galvez said he had remained confident his son, the second of three children in the Galvez family, would return home safely.

"I had no doubt he was coming home," the grieving father said. "It never crossed my mind that he wouldn't come home."

Adam Galvez, who attended West High School and the Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, where he graduated in 2003, was due back from Iraq next month.

But Tony Galvez also believed, as his wife did, that the insurgents his son was fighting were growing more dangerous. And he, too, believes that those who question the justness of the war have gone too far.

"You can't support the troops but be against the war," he said.
"It just doesn't work."

mlaplante@sltrib.com

For photos credits and descriptions- please click on any picture

Posted by sr at 03:59 PM | Permalink

Some 100 Marines with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment are scheduled to leave Hawai'i today for a seven-month deployment to Iraq's Al Anbar province

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Aug/23/br/br07p.html

Posted at 10:09 a.m., Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Advertiser Staff

The battalion returned from Operation Enduring Freedom in Jan. 2006.

Yesterday, the Marines announced that about 30 Kane'ohe-based Marines from the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24 will leave for Iraq this afternoon for a seven-month deployment.

MALS-24 will merge with MALS-16 to maintain and support the CH-53Ds from MAG-24 already operating in Iraq.

There is no scheduled return date for the unit.

Posted by ph at 01:15 PM | Permalink

Navy Hospitalman Chadwick Kenyon posted his thoughts online about his tour in Iraq as a combat medic with the Marines.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/23639.php

08.23.2006
BLAKE MORLOCK
Tucson Citizen

"Comin home soon. words can't describe how good it's gonna be. this deployment sucked. never look forward to coming home because that's when (it) goes down hill. lost 4 of my marines/friends in a truck bomb, God rest their souls. and then not even a week later an (bomb) hit my vehicle again and this time my block got knocked off and i was out cold..."

On Sunday, the 2004 Mountain View High School graduate was killed when an improvised explosive device blew up the truck he rode in. Kenyon was 20. He had been in Iraq since March.

On Tuesday, his mother, Charmain Wright, recalled one incident typical of Chad.

A pipe burst and flooded his bedroom while he was stationed in southern California. She told him what happened and he hung up. Ten minutes later he was back on the phone.

"Good news, mama," he said. "I'm coming home."

He'd gone to his commanding officer and gotten permission to drive to Tucson and help his mom.
"He was very protective of me," she said.

A Navy chaplain showed up at her door Sunday to bring her the news that her only child was dead - the 11th Tucsonan to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan and the third Mountain View graduate to die serving his country. Army Pfc. Sam Huff was killed in April 2005 in Iraq. Army Sgt. Kenneth Ross died in September in Afghanistan.
Wright described her son as a shy and nice kid who blossomed in high school.

That's when he decided to become a medic in the military, and he joined the Navy during his senior year in a delayed-entry program that allowed him to finish school before starting boot camp.

"He was perfect for the Navy," Wright said. "He was very disciplined and sharp."

Kenyon shipped out in March. And even though he was a sailor in the Navy, he was attached to the Third Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the First Marine Division.

He served as a corpsman to the troops who were performing combat sweeps against insurgents.
"He wanted to take care of his Marines," Wright said.

What he was really proud of was how others in his unit took him as one of their own, even though Kenyon was a sailor and not a Marine, his mother said.

"He was very proud to have earned their respect," Wright said. "He was a Marine to them."

The Internet spread word of Kenyon's death and proved a cyber-grief circle for those who knew him.

His MySpace.com page chronicles the typical back-and- forth and inside jokes that ended abruptly Monday.

"As unreal as unreal can be," one of his friends described it. "We have been best friends since elementary school. We had ups and downs and so many unbelievable adventures. No one has ever had my back the way you did."

Posted by sr at 11:32 AM | Permalink

AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 23, 2006) -- When two sisters from Jefferson, Ga., walked into a Marine Corps recruiting station and decided to join, they had no idea the entire experience of a four-year enlistment would be spent together.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0F36C27CDB5662EB852571D4003F1959?opendocument

Aug. 23, 2006; Submitted on: 08/24/2006 07:29:12 AM ; Story ID#: 200682472912

By Lance Cpl. Brandon L. Roach, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

Cpls. Leenorta and Renota Washington are electrical equipment repair specialists with the Utilities Platoon of Marine Wing Support Squadron 274, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and have not been separated once since leaving home for recruit training.

"We joined the Delayed Entry Program on the same day," said Renorta. "We worked to get into the same platoon during boot camp."

Being able to feed off the each other's energy and motivation helped make the training a little easier, but the two had no idea how close they would remain after graduation, according to the 22-year-old siblings.

"We knew we would get the same platoon in boot camp, but we also got put in the same platoon at (Marine Combat Training) too," said Leenorta. "We really wanted the same one and we just got it."

Once they completed MCT and their military occupational specialty school at Camp Lejeune, N.C., they were assigned to their first duty station, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

"We had the same MOS and we were stationed at the same base, with the same unit, in the same shop," said Renorta. "Everyone was very helpful with getting us transitioned into our Marine Corps fleet life."

After nine months of working in the states, the shy sisters were informed that they would be deploying to Iraq in March and they would be there for six months.

"At first our parents didn't want us to deploy," said Leenorta. "But now, after they thought about it, they are glad that we are doing this together."

While deployed to Iraq, the two have achieved MOS proficiency and excelled in every aspect of their lives and jobs.

"The two are a great example of what a Marine (non commissioned) officer should be," said Sgt. Matthew J. Howe, Utilities Platoon noncommissioned officer-in-charge, MWSS-274. "They are constantly learning and showing the want to excel in their jobs and lives."

With less than a month left in their deployment, the sisters will be returning to Cherry Point to finish out their enlistments and head towards nursing careers in the medical profession. No matter what their futures have in store for them, one can bet it will be done as a team.

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by TR for MarineParents.com at 09:26 AM | Permalink

About 30 Kane'ohe-based Marines from the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24 will leave for Iraq tomorrow afternoon for a seven-month deployment.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Aug/22/br/br07p.html

Posted at 11:07 a.m., Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Advertiser Staff

MALS-24 will merge with MALS-16 to maintain and support the CH-53Ds from MAG-24 already operating in Iraq.

There is no scheduled return date for the unit.

Posted by ph at 11:34 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C.(Aug. 22, 2006) -- Fingers wrap around the pistol grip of the M-16A2s carried by the night sentries. The nothingness of sand dunes has been replaced by the emptiness of darkness. Suddenly, something is moving – location, size, direction all unknown. Rockets disturb the peace of the night as the base camp takes enemy fire. Time moves slow, but still too fast to think. Marines fall back on reflexes, knowledge ingrained in their minds from their earliest days in the Corps.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/F3BCCE8222AAA9FE852571D20055CF47?opendocument

Submitted by: MCAS New River
Story by: Computed Name: Lance Cpl. Randall A. Clinton
Story Identification #: 2006822113716

They rest on the foundation of combat skills taught at the Marine Corps School of Infantry by instructors who have passed through the Marine Corps Combat Instructor Course.

“Regardless of your (military occupational specialty) you can be in a convoy when your convoy gets ambushed,” said Staff Sgt. Jeremy McMillan, a rifleman going through the course.

While the students at SOI are broken up into infantry (Infantry Training Battalion) and other MOS’s (Marine Combat Training), the instructors for both schools go through the same instructor course together.

During the seven week course, Marines from all corners of the Corps learn the fine details of teaching combat to fresh Marines.

What the course produces are finely tuned teaching machines who can mix real world experience with structured lesson plans and help mold the Corps’ future fighters.

Each training company inside MCT receives a mixture of both infantry and non-infantry instructors to teach students, said Gunnery Sgt. Jason Wolken, MCCIC senior instructor.

While non-combat arms Marines may not have the day-to-day training of the average rifleman, their experiences in the Marine Corps add another level for the students, said Sgt. Josh Stephens, Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 heavy equipment operator.

“My first deployment was a month into the fleet, and I found myself behind a crew served weapon,” he added.

Reinforcing the idea that every Marine is a rifleman is an important aspect of having a mixture of Marines teaching students, said Staff Sgt. Davohn-Lee Correa, MCCIC instructor.

Correa explained that instructors need to be able to break past the “it’s never going to happen to me” mentality.

Stephens, who spent his second deployment as a security element, putting his primary military specialty on hold, said he will have no problem explaining to Marines of any MOS how easily they can find themselves in a combat zone.

For non-combat arms Marines, their training here at the hands of the graduates of MCCIC could be their most extensive combat training before a deployment.

To make sure all the soon-to-be instructors are familiar with the material in the classroom and in field, they hit the ranges and make the hikes doing exactly what they will be expecting out of their Marines.

As the MCCIC students traveled from range to range, Correa bluntly explained the reality of dealing with students and live ammunition: “the grenade and fire and movement ranges are the most stressful day as an instructor.”

“It’s easy for a Marine to make a mistake that you can’t stop,” she added.

But hands-on experience with the weapon systems and equipment is the only way to provide these students with a key to success – confidence, said McMillan.

Another tool MCCIC offers their students is help dealing with all the “what ifs” and “whys” that frequently come up in a school environment.

“Not only do they teach you the knowledge, but how to teach it,” Stephens said.

In the end, the training companies get a myriad of diverse, knowledgeable instructors ready to help turn the next group of Marines into warriors.

Please click on any picture for descriptions and credits

Posted by sr at 09:38 PM | Permalink

MUDIQ, Iraq (Aug. 22, 2006) -- “Betio Bastards’” top officer stuck to his word.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/DD6670501BBD6B3D852571D600225EA9?opendocument

Aug. 22, 2006
By Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis, Regimental Combat Team 5

Lt. Col. Todd S. Desgrosseilliers, battalion commander for 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and his Jump Platoon Marines brought two soccer goals and armfuls of soccer balls to the kids of Mudiq Aug. 22.

“We promised to bring them, so we’re going to bring them out,” said Desgrosseilliers, from Auburn, Maine.

He guaranteed the sports supplies as a reward for transforming a local trash dump into a soccer field during a community assistance mission there ten days earlier.

The Iraqi children got excited about the soccer field as soon as Marines started unloading the gear. A recreation area like this is rare in an urban neighborhood such as Mudiq.

“You should have seen the kids,” said Cpl. Mario O. Huerta, a 22-year-old from Dallas, who serves as platoon sergeant for Desgrosseilliers’ jump team. “I was patrolling up and down the street and the whole town was happy.”

Huerta said he could relate to the young soccer stars. He shares their passion for game.

“Soccer is my life,” he said. “I’m a soccer player, so if someone did that for me when I was a kid, I know it would make my day.”

Huerta and his cousins used to play soccer as children during Easter gatherings at a park near his childhood home.

“I would always be ready for that,” he said. “I’d be ready to show off.”

Iraqi children were ready to put their skills on display too. Kids were more than anxious to kick around the checker-patterned inflated ball the Marines had in hand.

Children grabbed for the “footballs,” as they call it, but the Marines didn’t mind.

Marines said the new gear will not only keep the kids busy, but also help keep the kids out of the street where insurgents hide improvised explosive devices.

“It gives them a place to play, which is good,” said Lance Cpl. Idoroenyin O. Etokakpan, a 22-year-old member of the Jump team from Bronx, N.Y.

Etokakpan, a motor transport operator, said watching the children reminded him of when he and his brother played soccer back in the grasslands of his homeland of Africa before he immigrated to the United States.

“I looked at them and I thought, ‘I used to do that as a kid,’” Etokakpan said. “That’s the only game I played in Africa and back in the states.”

2nd Lt. Jon R. Mueller, Desgrosseilliers’ Jump Platoon commander, said the gesture is bigger than delivering a luxury to Iraqi children.

“It shows Iraq that the United States follows through on its promises,” said Mueller, a 29-year-old ground intelligence officer from Jacksonville, N.C. “Both large and small scale.”

Etokakpan said it’s because it puts good credit on America and on Coalition Forces.

“It gives them more trust in the troops that if we make a promise it will come true,” he said. “The only way were going to win the war is by gaining the locals’ trust.”

With the kids’ uproarious reaction to the gifts, the Marines are coming closer to gaining the locals favor.

Mueller had no doubts that his commander would follow through.

“You can tell by talking to him that he was going to fulfill his promise,” he said.

Huerta can’t disagree.

“I’ve never seen him not do what he said,” Huerta said. “He’s always going to do what he says.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 09:27 PM | Permalink

Have you ever wondered what our young men and women go through to become a United States Marine?

http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5309421

KTEN News Special Assignment
Aug 22, 2006

In part two of our Special Assignment report on the Educators' Workshop, KTEN's Meghan McDermott gives us an in-depth look at their experience... as they watched young men transform from civilians into members of America's elite fighting force.

When most people think of San Diego, Calif. they think of rows of palm trees lining the sandy beaches of the pacific coast. But what they don't realize is just beyond those beaches, lies the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot where aproximately 17,000 men come every year, for boot camp.

A group of local educators spent one week on the depot learning what it takes to survive the 13-week training program. The educator's trip began as every recruit before them, with the 'Yellow Footprints.' This is when recruits are first "welcomed" to the next three months of their lives.

Over the following days, the educators were exposed to nearly every aspect of military training and way-of-life. And drill practice was no exception. From martial arts-- to water safety training-- Marine Corps history-- and even a little P-T, the educators began to see what their own students experienced.

Shelley Ebert, a former Junior/Senior Counselor at Broken Bow High School says, "I just wanted to go and see exactly what these students wre going through, because whenever they would come back to see me, I would see such a big change in them. In the way that they walked, the way that they talked, just their whole manurisms."

In phase two of boot camp recruits are taken to Camp Pendleton for the excruciating 54-hour training exercise-- the Crucible. Part of which includes a live, simulated combat course. Teachers watched as recruits navigated through various obstacles, while simulated grenade explosions and gunfire filled the sky.

Educators practiced with the M-16 rifle, and then saw recruits handle the "real thing" on the range. From there it was off to see the Amphibious Assault Vehicles, known for their ability to travel seamlessly from water to land and vice versa.

Lt. Col. Brian kerl, Commander, 1st Recruit Training Batallion says, "I just think the educators need to walk away with information, because knowledge is power."

After days spent on training fields and in classrooms, it was time for the educators to experience an Emblem Ceremony. At the Emblem Ceremony recruits receive the eagle, globe and anchor. The symbol of a warrior.

On the final day of the trip the educators attended a graduation ceremony. It is a day of celebration, admiration and reflection, as the educators thinik back to what they've seen recruits endure.

Stephen Smallwood, an 11th grade English teacher at North Lamar High School in Paris, Texas, says, "Never until this, when i actually observed, first-hand, what these young women and young men go through, and the commitment they make to us as the common citizen to protect us... that embodies all that i consider to be American. I have just experienced an intense pride in observing what has gone on."

By the end of the week the educators have the ability to help their students seeking opportunities past high school graduation, and have the privildge of being one of the few to see first-hand, what it takes to become a part of the few, the proud, the marines.



For more on photos please click any picture (for credits, descriptions, etc)

Video can be found at the external link above

Posted by sr at 09:21 PM | Permalink

(North Charleston-AP) August 21, 2006 - Football coaches and players often use military terms to describe the game.

http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=5306909

Charleston Southern defensive lineman Dennis Justiniani would know more about that than most of them.

Justiniani spent three years in the Marine Corps before moving from his California home to Charleston Southern to play football.

He's happy to talk about football, or the move. Not so much about his time in Iraq.

He served with the 1st Force Service Support Group, backing the Marines in the first wave heading toward Baghdad at the beginning of the war more than three years ago.

He says he reacted as anyone else, when he was shot at, he fired back.

Charleston Southern coach Jay Mills says he learned about Justiniani's time in the service early on and saw him as a potential leader for his Division I-AA team. Mills says players have been drawn to Justiniani.

Posted 2:28pm by Bryce Mursch

Posted by JG for MarineParents.com at 08:14 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps will start ordering what could be thousands of inactive service members to return to duty in the coming months to counter a steady decline in the number of such troops who volunteer, the service said on Tuesday.

Marine Corps to start involuntary troop recalls
Tue Aug 22, 2006 4:36 PM ET

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-22T203631Z_01_N22248313_RTRUKOC_0_US-ARMS-USA-TROOPS.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-1

By Kristin Roberts
Col. Guy Stratton, head of the Marine Corps' manpower mobilization plans, said the service is short some 1,200 volunteers over the next 18 months to fill roles in the war on terrorism. The total shortfall fluctuates regularly, he said.

Stratton said President George W. Bush authorized the Marine Corps to issue involuntary recall orders to members of the Individual Ready Reserve, part of the non-active force. It will be the Marine Corps' first involuntary recall since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The authorization limits the number of Marines who can be activated involuntarily to no more 2,500 at any one time, out of a pool of about 35,000, Stratton said. The length of each activated service member's duty is capped at 24 months but will likely last 12 to 18 months.

Under a general contract, a Marine serves four years on active duty and four in reserve. While on reserve, Marines may volunteer to return to active duty to fill needed roles.

But the number of Marines volunteering outside their active-duty service requirement has been steadily declining for two years, according to Stratton, who said could not offer an explanation.

The Marine Corps' authority to involuntarily recall Marines for jobs in the "Global War on Terror" -- a war whose parameters remain largely undefined -- has no expiration date.

"The authority is until GWOT is over with," Stratton said. "Until we're told to do otherwise, we'll use it."

The Marine Corps' move comes almost five years after the September 11 attacks that led the United States to declare a war on global terrorism and more than three years after the Iraq war began.

Many Marines have performed three tours of duty in Iraq since March 2003. While the U.S. Army has provided most of the ground forces fighting an insurgency there, the Marines have carried a heavy load and been deployed in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, Anbar province.

Beyond Iraq, which the Bush administration considers part of the war on terrorism, the broader war is expected to last many years, defense officials regularly say.

The Marines and Army have been meeting monthly recruiting goals. But some analysts have questioned the military's ability to sustain long-term operations with its all-volunteer force.

Involuntary recalls and other steps taken to stop the loss of personnel have been criticized by some as a back-door conscription and a threat to the volunteer nature of the force.

"What's really worrisome about involuntary recalls is they put even more of the burden on the handful of people who voluntarily join the military, and thus undermine the long-term viability of the whole volunteer force," said Lexington Institute defense analyst Loren Thompson.

"In some ways this is worse than a back-door draft because it penalizes the handful of people who had the inclination and the courage to volunteer in the first place," he said.

Stratton, however, said the Marines' involuntary recall was not a back-door draft and that Marines on nonactive status should always expect that they may be called when needed.

Posted by JG for MarineParents.com at 05:12 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (July 2006) - Combat Engineers with Company B, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, work on the roof of a South East Asia hut used for recruit training at the depot. The Marines refurbished 14 South East Asia huts and built four new huts on training areas crucial to recruit training at the depot. Photo by: Courtesy of Co. B, 8th ESB, 2nd MLG

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Aug. 22, 2006) -- Company B, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, sent 105 Marines to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., July 24 through Aug. 5, to assist in renovating and rebuilding training area structures

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/ED146A27D7704762852571D2005E4058?opendocument

Aug. 22, 2006
By Cpl. Matthew K. Hacker, 2nd Marine Logistics Group

The Marines refurbished 14 South East Asia huts and built four new huts on training areas crucial to recruit training at the depot.

South East Asia huts are 2,048-square-foot, temporary, wooden structures used as sleeping quarters for recruits during both Basic Warrior Training and The Crucible.

“One of the big reasons they needed this done was to support changes in recruit training,” said 2nd Lt. Rano J. Mariotti, platoon commander. “It seems they are beefing up The Crucible and the training in general.”

Before the construction commenced, trees and debris were cleared and the ground was leveled. Then, four concrete pads were laid as foundation for the new buildings.

The Marines lived in the old SEA huts while they built the new ones, said Capt. Walter G. Carr, the company commander. This mission was like their final exam in field construction.

Once the structures were built, they moved onto another task, creating a berm at one of the ranges.

“The Marines worked incredibly hard,” said Carr. “There was a black flag every day but one, and the Marines worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days. They really impressed me.”

Three-thousand cubic yards of dirt, the equivalent of approximately 330 dump truck loads, was used in the making of the berm. Now, the range can support M249 squad assault weapons and AT4 capabilities.

They also took a survey team with them to survey all the ranges and ensure they were up to par, said Carr. They also built a declination station where Marines could calibrate their compasses.

“Overall, the operation was a success,” said Master Sgt. John Schobel III, operations chief. “We completed the project five days early and the quality of work for the level of experience was nothing short of exceptional. We were all very impressed.”

Click on any photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 04:44 PM | Permalink

A 'Wounded Warrior' opens up his care package that includes a movie, letter of appreciation, candy and several other items from citizens that wanted to show their appreciation for their sacrifices. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Samuel D. White

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Aug. 22, 2006) -- Soaring through the cloudy sky, an H-18 Beechcraft from Baltimore, Md., slowly descended toward the watching crowd. Cameras were rolling as everyone, including Col. Darrell L. Thacker, waited for the occupants to emerge.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/19B0393BD87A3A86852571D200560A73?opendocument

Aug. 22, 2006
By Pfc. Rebekka S. Kramp, MCAS New River

Operation Movie Drop off had passed the point of no return. Three men emerged: John Cutcher, the key to getting on New River, Paul C. Kelleher, the president of Beacon Management Group who started the operation, and Steven W. Oxman, the pilot.

The three have been working their way through red tape and disappointments in their quest to help Beacon Management Group, a small business out of Washington D.C., give Marines care packages.

A movie, candy, popcorn, calling card and a handwritten letter of appreciation are in every care package, said HM1 Alisa A. Cutcher, a Navy Corpsman with the Medical unit here and Mr. Cutcher’s daughter.

“What started out as a small project where all 20 employees of Beacon Management Group would make a care package expanded into 300 care packages and four sets of the 100 greatest movies of all times donated by the American Film Institute,” said Kelleher.

“The employees came up with the idea of having their children’s classes make care packages also,” said Kelleher.

Some packages handed out August 11 had long letters of appreciation, while others simply said, “Thank you” in a four-year-old’s handwriting.

“Sometimes it’s overwhelming how much people care,” said 1st Lt. Christopher B. Warner, the platoon commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Wounded Warriors platoon.

The Wounded Warriors received 100 of the packages and one set of the 100 greatest movies.

“It is a good reflection on our society,” said Warner. “After Vietnam we didn’t have this care. People want to help out in any way they can.”

The Marines who received the packages appreciate knowing that society has not forgotten them.

“It’s nice for people to take time out of their day. Bringing it down personally shows they really care,” said Cpl. Nicholas D. Scalf, a Marine who was injured by shrapnel in his right thigh and arm.

The Single Marine Program on New River is the only reason we were able to bring the care packages to these Marines, said HM1 Cutcher. All the red tape that is involved in getting a civilian plan to land on base and then there was no guarantee who will receive the movies, until the SMP got involved, she added.

The remaining movies and packages will be sent to Marines overseas. One set of movies is going to Marine Light/ Attack Helicopter Squadron 167, one is going with a squadron that will soon deploy and the last will be sent to Afghanistan, she added.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Mr. Cutcher to the Marines in the Wounded Warriors barracks as he left them to watch their movies and continue to support Camp Lejuene.

Click on photo for MORE pictures, credits, and descriptions.

Posted by sr at 04:26 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON - The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are stretching the U.S. Marine Corps, forcing the service to take extraordinary measures to bolster both manpower and equipment.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15335368.htm

By Drew Brown
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
Aug. 22, 2006

On Tuesday, the Marines announced plans to recall as many as 2,500 inactive reservists to involuntary active-duty service to meet manpower needs, the first such call-up since nearly 2,700 Marines were recalled to active-duty before U.S. forces invaded Iraq in 2003.

The announcement coincided with a report to be issued Wednesday by two military experts who say that the Marines are having to borrow equipment from non-deployed units and pre-positioned stockpiles to replace tanks, trucks, armored vehicles and other hardware worn out by more than three years of combat duty in Iraq.

The two events are the latest signs that the U.S. military is having difficulty maintaining its combat readiness with the Iraq war well into its fourth year.

A Marines spokeswoman denied that the Marines are having difficulty finding recruits or volunteers for war-zone duty. Instead, Maj. Gabrielle Chapin said the service is looking to deepen the availability of Marines with specific training. "What we do need is a pool of very specific skill sets to fill critical job specialties," she said.

Yet the call-up is a rare one for the smallest of the country's four military services, which has always prided itself on its recruitment and retention record. Less than 180,000 Marines serve on active duty, but the Corps has consistently met or exceeded its recruiting and re-enlistment goals for years, even as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq drag on.

Those expected to receive involuntary activation notices include infantry and other combat specialties, communications and intelligence specialists, combat engineers and military police, the Marines said. Marines in their first and last years of inactive reserve status will be excluded from the recall. Those recalled to service will get at least five months' notice.

The Marines currently have about 59,000 men and women serving in what's officially known as the individual ready reserve - former active-duty service members who still have time to serve on their mandatory eight-year commitment. Marine officials said they don't expect to activate more than 2,500.

Democrats, who have been pushing for a change of course in Iraq, said the announcement illustrates again how the war is straining U.S. military forces.

"After bravely serving our nation, often for more than one tour, these men and women are being asked to once again shoulder a heavy burden," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a frequent critic of Bush administration policy on Iraq. "The drain on our soldiers, their families and the military's resources caused by today's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan need to be addressed immediately or there will be severe long-term consequences for the nation and our military."

The move follows similar call-ups by the Army, which has recalled about 5,100 former soldiers back to service since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Most of those have been activated since 2004, and 2,100 remain on active duty, according to Army officials.

The Iraq war also has put unprecedented wear and tear on the Marine Corps' trucks, tanks and other combat equipment, according to a report by the Center for American Progress and the Lexington Institute, two policy research groups that frequently study national security issues.

The war has forced the Marines to keep about 40 percent of its ground combat equipment, 50 percent of its communications gear and 20 percent of its aircraft in Iraq, the report says.

Helicopters fly two to three times more hours than they should, tanks are being used four times as much as anticipated, and Humvees are being driven an average of 480 miles a month, 70 percent of which is off-road.

The harsh desert and combat losses are chewing up other gear at nine times their planned rates. Humvees that were expected to last 14 years need to be replaced after only four years in the extreme conditions of the Iraqi desert, the report says.

"This war in Iraq, in addition to the human cost, has a very heavy equipment cost, and this bill is going to have to be paid for years to come," said Larry J. Korb, a former Pentagon official and co-author of the report.

Because of the situation, the Marines, like the Army, have been forced to take equipment from non-deployed units and pre-positioned stockpiles in Europe and elsewhere to maintain sufficient combat gear for units in Iraq, seriously hampering their ability to respond to a crisis elsewhere, said Korb, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

"If, heaven forbid, Korea breaks out or something like that, you wouldn't be able to do as well as you should," he said.

Korb and co-author Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, estimate that the Marines will have to spend at least $12 billion to replenish their ground and aviation equipment. That figure will grow by $5 billion for every year the Marines remain in Iraq.

Korb and Thompson reached similar conclusions about the Army in a report issued in April.

Posted by sr at 11:19 AM | Permalink

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Marine Corps will soon begin ordering thousands of its troops back to active duty because of a shortage of volunteers for Iraq and Afghanistan _ the first involuntary recall since the early days of the war.

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pub&dt=060822&cat=news&st=newsd8jlshk00&src=ap

August 22, 2006
By LOLITA C. BALDOR

Up to 2,500 Marines will be brought back at a time, and there is no cap on the total number who may be forced back into service as the military helps fight the war on terror. The call-ups will begin in the next several months.

The number of troops in Iraq has climbed back to 138,000 _ the prevailing number for much of last year. Troop levels had been declining this year, to a low of about 127,000, amid growing calls from Congress and the public for a phased withdrawal. Escalating violence in Baghdad has led military leaders to increase the U.S. presence there.

This is the first time the Marines have had to use the involuntary recall since the beginning of the Iraq combat. The Army, meanwhile, has issued orders recalling about 10,000 soldiers so far, but many of those may be granted exemptions.

Marine Col. Guy A. Stratton, head of the manpower mobilization section, estimated that there is a current shortfall of about 1,200 Marines needed to fill positions in upcoming deployments.

Some of the military needs, he said, include engineers, intelligence, military police and communications.

As of Tuesday, nearly 22,000 of the 138,000 troops in Iraq were Marines.

The call-up will affect Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve, a segment of the reserves that consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations.

Generally, Marines enlist for four years, then serve the other four years either in the regular Reserves, where they are paid and train periodically, or in the Individual Ready Reserve. Marines in the IRR are obligated to report only one day a year but can be involuntarily recalled to active duty.

To date, about 5,000 Army IRR soldiers have mobilized, and about 2,200 of those are currently serving, according to Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman. Of those 2,200, about 16 percent are volunteers, he said. A typical Army enlistment obligation is also for eight years.

According to Stratton, there are about 59,000 Marines in the IRR, but the Corps has decided to exempt from the call-up those who are either in their first year or last year of the reserve status. As a result, the pool of available Marines is about 35,000.

The deployments can last up to two years, but on average would be 12 to 18 months, Stratton said. Each Marine who is being recalled will get five months to prepare before having to report.

President Bush authorized the recall on July 26. It is the first such recall since early 2003, when about 2,000 Marines were involuntarily activated for the initial ground war in Iraq.

"Since this is going to be a long war," said Stratton, "we thought it was judicious and prudent at this time to be able to use a relatively small portion of those Marines to help us augment our units."

___

Posted by sr at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Major Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr. (Front row, left) kneels beside the most junior enlisted Marine as Marines from HMM-266 pose with the safety placard the general presented them moments before. Photo by: Pfc. Rebekka S. Kramp

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/323AA693173F15BE852571D20055273F?opendocument

Aug. 22, 2006; Submitted on: 08/22/2006 11:30:06 AM ; Story ID#: 200682211306

By Pfc. Rebekka S. Kramp, MCAS New River

Major Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr. (Front row, left) kneels beside the most junior enlisted Marine as Marines from HMM-266 pose with the safety placard the general presented them moments before. Photo by: Pfc. Rebekka S. Kramp

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Aug. 22, 2006) -- Marines from two New River squadrons were recently awarded the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award for 2005.

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 264 and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266 received the CNO Safety Award Aug. 8 in recognition of the squadrons’ outstanding contributions to fleet readiness, commitment to professionalism and competent risk management that lead to safe and effective operations and the economic use of resources, said Lt. Col. Michael G. McCoy, HMM-264 commanding officer.

“Most importantly, this award recognizes the all-hands commitment to the principles of aviation safety, our proactive commitment to the principles of operational risk management, superior leadership at all levels and superb airmanship,” he added.

By earning this award these squadrons have proven that every Marine in their squadron, from the most junior enlisted to the commanding officer, is committed to safety, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., 2d Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general.

“It takes constant attention to detail and awareness by all hands for a unit to accomplish its mission and to operate in the safest manner possible,” said Col. David J. Mollahan, Marine Aircraft Group 26’s commanding officer. “So this award is a remarkable achievement for the entire squadron, given that a good portion of the period that this award covers was while the squadron was deployed in a combat zone where they were required to sustain continuous operations at an extremely high tempo in a particularly challenging operating environment.”

Glueck first presented the award to MAG-26 for HMM-266, which recently stood down to become an “Osprey” squadron, where he reminded those who were able to attend that what they did yesterday doesn’t make them great, it’s what they do today.

Later that day Glueck presented HMM-264 their award.

“Great job,” said Glueck when he present HMM-264 the award.

The "Fighting Griffins" of HMM-266 had 5,353.5 class-A mishap-free flight hours including their deployment. The HMM-266 team amassed 2,487.1 flight hours during the day and 2,866.4 at night, carried 13,701 combat troops or passengers and lifted 677,885 pounds of cargo and equipment in 2005.

The HMM-264 “Black Knights” succeeded in obtaining a total of 5095.5 class-A mishap-free flight hours by the end of 2005. Not only did HMM-264 fly a total of 5095.5 hours, they lifted 1,035,459 pounds and transported 16,346 passengers.

The goal for the “Black Knights” and the entire 2d MAW is to be ready to deploy and 100 percent combat ready by the end of this year, said Glueck.

These awards prove that from the most junior Marine to all the commanding officers, they will be ready.

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by TR for MarineParents.com at 09:08 AM | Permalink

Kyle Donnelly returned home to Lambertville last week to spend time with friends and family before the Marines deployed the 19-year-old private to Iraq next month.

His mother said she had braced herself for the dangers of his pending assignment, but not for the tragedy that claimed Donnelly's life Thursday night when his Jeep crashed on a narrow, heavily wooded road in West Amwell.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/index.ssf?/base/news-1/115622357619050.xml&coll=1
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
BY RALPH R. ORTEGA
Star-Ledger Staff

"He was less than a minute from home" Wendy Schmutz Don nelly said yesterday during her son's wake. The service was held at a church across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania to accommodate hundreds of mourners.

Donnelly, a Marine for almost a year, graduated from South Hunterdon High School in 2005. Dozens of his fellow graduates, as well as current students, came to St. Mar tin's of Tours Roman Catholic Church in New Hope, Pa., to say farewell.

"I don't want to believe it. He had a lot to look forward to," said close friend and fellow graduate Rob Brown, 19, who was among many struggling with Donnelly's death.

Police said Donnelly was driving a 1994 Jeep on Goat Hill Road in West Amwell, which leads into Lambertville, around 11:40 p.m. Thursday when he appeared to swerve. He may have been trying to avoid a deer, said West Amwell Police Lt. Stephen Bartzak.

Bartzak said Donnelly lost control of the Jeep, the vehicle left the road, rolled over several times and struck a tree. Donnelly was flown by helicopter to an area hospital, where he died early Friday, police said.

"He had driven up and down that road hundreds of times, be cause he's lived there all his life," Wendy Schmutz Donnelly said. She said her son was on his way home after a night out visiting friends.

Donnelly played baseball and football while in high school. He ex celled in history classes, and planned eventually to go to college, his mother said. But that would be after serving in the Marines, which he had longed to join since he was in the fourth grade, she said.

As a child, Donnelly played manhunt games while wearing military-styled face paint and fatigues, she said. Schmutz Donnelly be lieved it was only a phase until years later, when her son expressed interest in the military during his junior year at South Hunterdon.

"We knew he wanted to join the Marines. We just thought we could talk him out of it," she said, admit ting she dreaded allowing her son to join during a time of war.

But Donnelly, she remembered, had a message for anyone who questioned his motives: "You tell them I'm doing this so that their kids don't have to do it," she recalled her son saying. He came home on leave last week and was to be deployed to Iraq in early September, she said.

Donnelly was in his dress uniform in an open casket yesterday, with a leather-bound Bible under his gloved hand. There also was a dagger left by one of several of his fellow Marines who stood guard be side several bouquets of roses.

"The reason he wanted to be a Marine was because he wanted be part of the best, and he was," said Pfc. Thomas Ennis, a childhood friend who attended boot camp with Donnelly.

Mourners, who wrote messages and sympathy cards sent to the family, and left at the crash site, expressed how much they would miss Donnelly's dry sense of humor, and a caring spirit he had toward oth ers.

"These kids are pouring their hearts (out) over how much they looked up to him. It's so comforting that so many people thought so highly of him," said his mother. "I just hope he knew that."

Donnelly also is survived by his father, Kevin J. Donnelly; sister, Megan E. Donnelly; and paternal grandmother, Roseann Donnelly.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Lambertville. Burial will follow at Holcombe Riverview Cemetery in Delaware Township.

Ralph R. Ortega may be reached at rortega@starledger.com, or at (908) 429-9925.

Posted by CB for MarineParents.com at 08:40 AM | Permalink

Cpl. Joshua M. Peterson (left) and Lance Cpl. Kyler Buckner pose in front of a sign created by Peterson Aug. 18, at Al Asad, Iraq. Both Peterson and Buckner, ordnance technicians, Marine Attack Squadron 513, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, helped create the sign and the porch in front of the ordnance Marines' living quarters.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5B1B84939395FDB4852571D2002D3476?opendocument

August 21, 2006; Submitted on: 08/22/2006 04:13:45 AM ; Story ID#: 200682241345

By Lance Cpl. Brian J. Holloran, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

AL ASAD, Iraq (August 21, 2006) -- Throughout the air base at Al Asad, Iraq, certain things don't change. Dust covers the land, chow is served at the same time everyday and most people live in the same living quarters, without many comforts of home. However, one ordnance Marine has gone out of his way to make the living conditions for himself and his Marines more comfortable.

Cpl. Joshua M. Peterson, ordnance technician, Marine Attack Squadron 513, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, has increased the value of life and morale for all the Marines in his shop, and many Marines throughout the squadron.

"During this deployment Corporal Peterson and Lance Corporal Kyler Buckner have built a patio for their entire row of (living quarters)," said Staff Sgt. Alfredo Topete, staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge, ordnance section, VMA-513.

"The deck is great," said Sgt. David K. Averill, aviation ordnance technician, VMA-513. "It makes ordnance stand out from the rest of the squadron."

"Buckner started the patio by putting some plywood in front of his door and stacking sandbags around it," said Peterson, a native of Chicago. "I thought the porch was a good idea, so I made one, and we connected them together. It just got out of control after that."

After the two porches were connected, the Marines next to Peterson and Buckner wanted a porch, so the two Marines decided to make the whole row a deck.

"After everyone had a porch, we stacked sandbags at the ends of the row," said Peterson. "We then covered the row with (camouflaged netting), and our families started sending us weird stuff to put out on the porch."

The ordinance Marines have added a flock of ornamental pink flamingoes, an inflatable palm tree, numerous ornamental lights, security features including, barbed wire and a sign, to let everyone know who lives there.

"I just wanted to make the whole area more homely and comfortable," said Peterson. "Everyone kept saying the porch was like home, so I spray painted the sandbags red and painted gray lines in between to make them look like brick. It's just another way to make everyone comfortable."

"The porch is a sanctuary for many of the Marines to just hang out and talk about home, family and complain like all Marines do from time-to-time," said Gunnery Sgt. Scott A. Coty, SNCOIC ordnance shop, VMA-513.

Building porches is not the only way Peterson raises morale through his shop, according to Topete, a native of Pacoima, Calif.

"Peterson has a unique personality," added Topete. "He is always smiling or joking, regardless of the workload. It's that mentality that makes him a valuable asset to this shop."

"Cpl. Peterson has a great work ethic," said Lance Cpl. Ian L. McCormick, ordnance technician and Peterson's roommate. "He works hard at everything he does, from his day-to-day job to the porch he built. His work ethic really impressed me. His hard work benefits the whole shop and he always makes sure that everyone is having a good time."

The Chicago native has done more than just raise the morale of the shop. He has also been working hard to improve himself.

"When Peterson came out here he had a tan (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) belt, the belt you receive in boot camp, now he is a green belt, which is a two belt level increase," said Topete. "He has also been certified in many areas of his job since we touched down in country."

"Corporal Peterson has gone through the process to become a Collateral Duty Inspector, which allows him to verify the work of other Marines," said Coty, a native of Raymond, Wash. "He also has his Gas Turbine Starter/Auxiliary Power Unit qualification. Both of these qualifications are highly regarded at all levels in the maintenance department. You can only go to the corral and get the same workhorse for so long. If you don't trade off on the duties and responsibilities you'll break the (Marines) spirit, and then you're forced to find another workhorse anyway."

In the end, Cpl. Joshua M. Peterson is a motivated Marine making the best out of a less than perfect situation, which he thanks his mother for.

"I have a Mexican mother," said Peterson. "She taught me to excel at whatever I do, even if I was a toilet bowl cleaner, I would push myself to be the best toilet cleaner there is."

For MORE photos, credits and descriptions, please click on the picture

Posted by CB for MarineParents.com at 08:14 AM | Permalink

General James N. Mattis, commander of Marine forces in Iraq and new commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force.

CAMP PENDLETON -- The war in Iraq is now a test of perseverance, the commanding general of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East said Monday.

"It is mostly a matter of wills," Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis said during an exclusive interview with the North County Times. "Whose will is going to break first? Ours or the enemy's?"

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/22//news/top_stories/11_01_508_21_06.txt

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

Mattis said he has no doubt of U.S. resolve but no clear idea how long it will take to root out the insurgency. He said he plans to go to Iraq soon to talk with Marine commanders and frontline troops to get a complete picture of the war.

"Let me get more time over in the theater for a better feel for how long this is going to take," the general said during the 45-minute session in his new office at Camp Pendleton where he commands the I Marine Expeditionary Force as well as overseeing Marine forces in Iraq.

The general said he understands Americans' increasing impatience with the war and frustrations over repeated deployments, but said establishing a date for withdrawal would send the wrong message.

"If we put a timeline on it, than the enemy knows exactly what we are going to do and will wait until the deadline comes," he said. "Marines don't know how to spell the word 'defeat.' We will stay sturdy and we will continue to fight and protect the Iraqi people no matter what is thrown in our path."

Mattis, who led the Marines in the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and led the 1st Marine Division in the invasion of Iraq and march to Baghdad in early 2003, said he was once asked by an Iraqi when he would leave that country.

"I said I am never going to leave. I told him I had found a little piece of property down on the Euphrates River and I was going to have a retirement home built there.

"I did that because I wanted to disabuse him of any sense that he could wait me out."

'Extremely complex fight'

The debate has long passed as to whether the Iraq war can be won on a strictly military basis, said Mattis, who also led Marines forces in the battle for the insurgent stronghold city of Fallujah in April 2004.

"A military solution is not possible," he said. "This has been vigorously debated and resolved among Marine and Army senior leadership. We have never thought this would end with a military solution and that is why the need for ... diplomats is just as important as expeditionary military forces."

Understanding the ordinary Iraqi, for instance, remains vital to U.S. success, he said.

"It's not that difficult but without it you can't win the will of the people, and if you don't at least neutralize their support for the enemy, than all you are doing is fighting and fighting. You don't really have a purpose to your fighting if you can't connect with the people."

Today's Marines are the best educated and trained in the history of the service and part of his job is to make sure that continues as the conflict in Iraq goes on, Mattis said.

"Wars like this are winnable but you have got to have a sophisticated approach and you've got to have very sturdy and spiritually sturdy Marines who can keep their balance in the face of an extremely complex fight."

As an example, Mattis talked of a Marine unit that had just seen several of its members wounded in a roadside bomb explosion yet took the time to wave to Iraqi children after the dead and injured were evacuated and it was leaving the area.

"It's not a small issue to wave to kids after just seeing your buddies blown up, but that shows on the most pedestrian level the kind of sturdiness that is needed in what is just a morally bruising environment where the enemy hides among the people."

New goals

Mattis assumed command of Marine Corps Forces Central and the I Marine Expeditionary Force last week from Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler following a two-year stint at Quantico, Va., as commander of combat development.

Once Sattler handed over those commands eight days ago, Mattis said, his foremost obligation became delivering to Gen. John Abazaid, commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq, whatever he needs from the Marines.

His second obligation, he said, is to the more than 25,000 Marines and sailors who make up the I Marine Expeditionary Force, a force whose units are now returning from Iraq following their third assignment there since 2003.

"For the I MEF, it is to ensure that the force which has carried a very significant part of the fight in this war has what it needs so that in an uncertain world we're all certain of one thing: if there's trouble, the I MEF can handle whatever is assigned to us to do."

Among the challenges he faces at Camp Pendleton is helping decide the fate of seven Camp Pendleton Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of premeditated murder and kidnapping in the death of an Iraqi man in April.

Pretrial hearings for those men are slated to start soon, and as commanding general, Mattis will determine whether their cases should move forward to courts-martial. If that happens and they are convicted, the 55-year-old general will also help decide the appropriate punishment.

He also will help decide whether Marines from another Camp Pendleton unit will face criminal charges in the deaths of 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha in November. Because the general is the "convening authority" under the military justice system for those cases, that subject matter was off-limits during the interview.

New battlefield manuals

Until now, the Marine Corps and Army have been conducting the war in Iraq and Afghanistan using a more than two-decades-old manual for fighting an insurgency. That's about to change with the introduction of a pair of manuals, one written by Mattis, the other co-written by him.

Last month, the Marine Corps published a Small Unit Leaders Guide to Counterinsurgency he authored. Later this year, a 250-page updated version of the "Small Wars Manual," written by Mattis and Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, will be published.

"The Small Wars Manual has stood the test of time, but much of our thinking was directed against a communist insurgency," Mattis said, explaining the rationale for the updated version.

"War's fundamental nature hasn't changed since Alexander the Great fought, but you must adapt to different techniques and what we have written and largely completed is a new approach to counterinsurgency that addresses the specific characteristics of what we face today."

As the military establishment is in the midst of conducting an assessment of the war and identifying mistakes that have been made in preparation for future conflicts, Mattis said, the degree of cooperation between the Army and Marine Corps today is unprecedented.

"We have never had a closer relationship with the Army, never," he said. "The circumstances and the shared approach to war fighting and the integration of units in each other's formations has never been greater. As a result, we now approach many of the problems with the same experiences and same goals."

Cultural and geographic sensitivity

Another hallmark of Mattis' most recent work at Quantico that is now being implemented under his direction as a force commander is greater training in cultural awareness and sensitivities and language skills.

"We have to be able to make a cross-cultural connection," said Mattis, whose personal library once numbered more than 2,000 books before he gave at least half away.

Mattis has been involved in the development of a Center for Advanced Operational and Cultural Learning for officers and senior enlisted men and woman. The center has divided the world into subregions that Mattis said are referred to as the "arch of instability."

By the time an enlisted Marine makes sergeant, he or she will be expected to have taken at least 300 hours of instruction, he said.

"We now have the same expectation of our noncommissioned officers as we do of our field-grade officers -- that they will be able to read the cultural terrain," he said. "It is more important now in a time when you don't seize terrain and when the army against you doesn't come at you in mass formation."

Leadership changes?

Mattis said he has not decided whether he will make any immediate changes in the command structure among Marine forces in Iraq, where Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer is the current leader of the I Marine Expeditionary Forces Forward.

"I need to get back out there and get my own personal situational awareness," he said during the interview, where his personal effects such as plaques and awards remain lined up on the floor waiting to be hung. "I will be going out soon and will be all ears."

The dangerous western Iraqi province of Anbar, the region where the Sunni Arab insurgency is the strongest and where the Marines have been on station since the invasion, is his destination. The Defense Department on Monday reported that two Marines and sailors were killed in combat operations there on Sunday. To date, nearly 7,000 Marines have been killed or wounded since the 2003 invasion.

Despite the continued attacks against U.S. forces from insurgents, many of whom are linked to the al-Qaida terrorist group, Mattis said, those opposing U.S. forces know they face a formidable foe.

"Al-Qaida is confronting a very difficult challenge and is daily paying a bloody price as they try to terrorize the Iraqi people into some sort of acquiescence to their rule."

Re-equipping on pace

A report being issued on Wednesday by the Center for American Progress in Washington is expected to outline shortfalls in Marine Corps equipment, including armored personnel carriers, aircraft and other major components used to move and protect Marine forces.

Mattis said he is optimistic that as long as Marine leaders clearly identify their needs, congressional appropriators will provide the money to replace aging hardware and pay for more modern equipment.

"We have to keep pace because this is going to be a long fight," Mattis said, adding he does not expect the Marine Corps will go lacking for materials it needs.

Thanks to the community

Mattis said there was "no place I'd rather be than back here with the I MEF where we have the best training and best-led Marines and sailors in the world."

He also said he is particularly grateful for the support shown by ordinary North County residents, merchants, church and support groups for the troops and their families.

"We live in a community that supports us and our Marines deeply appreciate the support that comes from all quarters," he said.

His assignment back to Camp Pendleton marks the return of Marine commander whose reputation as an aggressive battlefield commander and a blunt-talking leader preceded him.

"We keep on charging and we will continue to do so," he said. "I have no doubt about that whatsoever."

-- Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

AT A GLANCE:

Gen. James N. Mattis

Born: Richland, Wash.

Schooling: Attended Central Washington University; graduate of Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the National War College

Years of service: 1972 until the present

Battles: Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom

Last assignment: Marine Corps Combat Development command and Deputy Commandant for Combat Development at Quantico, Va.

Current assignment: Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command and all Marines in Iraq and commanding general of the Camp Pendleton-based I Marine Expeditionary Force

QUICK QUOTES:

'It's not a small issue to wave to kids after just seeing your buddies blown up, but that shows on the most pedestrian level the kind of sturdiness that is needed in what is just a morally bruising environment where the enemy hides among the people'

'Whose will is going to break first?'

'Marines don't know how to spell the word 'defeat'

'The I MEF can handle whatever is assigned to us'

'We have never had a closer relationship with the Army, never'

'A (strictly) military solution is not possible'

'Wars like this are winnable'

'This is going to be a long fight'

-- Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

HAYNE PALMOUR IV Photographer

Posted by ph at 06:49 AM | Permalink

Marines at Camp Hansen on Okinawa hold a memorial service Monday for Sgt. John Phillips, who died after a five-month fight to survive burns suffered in Fallujah, Iraq, in March. During his recovery, Phillips married his girlfriend and was on the mend when infections set in and took his life.
Megan McCloskey / S&S

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — Sgt. John Phillips was a man other Marines would go to for guidance because of his honesty and his intelligence, but mostly because he lived life from the heart, those who served with him said at a memorial service Monday.

Phillips, 29, died Aug. 16 from wounds suffered near Fallujah, Iraq, last spring.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=39495

By Megan McCloskey, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Marines packed into the chapel on Camp Hansen to honor the explosive ordnance disposal technician, who was from St. Stephens, S.C., and served with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group on Okinawa.

Phillips’ commanding officer, Lt. Col. Mark Menotti, described him as a “sharp, quick-minded individual” with a “calm demeanor.”

After serving as a Marine for almost five years, Phillips got out of the service in 2001, but it only took a few months before he “heard the call again,” Menotti said. He was back in the Corps by the end of the year.

“We knew that John was doing what he wanted to do, serving his country and protecting all of our lives,” his father, Allen Phillips, told the Associated Press on Friday. “He was a great son, a very devoted son, and a great Marine.”

Sgt. Michael Chapman, a close friend and fellow bomb disposal technician, told the crowd gathered for the service that Marines who knew Phillips would “seek his counsel, knowing his mind could find solutions others could not.”

Phillips had been in Iraq for only a few weeks when on March 7 a roadside bomb hit his vehicle near the gas tank.

Chapman, who was traveling with him, said everything caught on fire. Phillips sustained severe burns on more than three-quarters of his body.

Phillips and Chapman, who also was burned and needed three months of treatment, were taken to Germany and then Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Although Phillips was unconscious for the first few weeks, he started doing better after about two months and the early prognosis was good, Chapman said.

Phillips was even able to marry his girlfriend, Stephanie Neart, at his bedside.

But not long after, an infection set into his wounds. Doctors amputated his fingers and then his legs, but his organs started shutting down.

“He was absolutely a fighter. It takes quite an individual to have had made it this far,” Menotti said at the memorial, describing Phillips’ five-month struggle to recover in Texas.

“John was truly a better man than me,” Chapman said before pausing to choke back tears. “I’m a better man for having known him and been his friend.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 10:39 PM | Permalink

Lance Cpl. Michael S. Cifuentes Lance Cpl. Christopher L. Middleton demonstrates the proper procedures for searching a hostile person, using Lance Cpl. Ahmad D. Dennis as an example at the Combat Center’s Range 215 Aug. 8

Third Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, rolled into their third week of Mojave Viper, a month long training evolution combining the Revised-Combined Arms Training Exercise and Security and Stability Operations training.

http://www.op29online.com/articles/2006/08/21/news/news03.txt

Lance Cpl. Michael S. Cifuentes
3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment

At company levels, the battalion began SASO training Aug. 7, at the Combat Center's Range 215, a military operations in urban terrain facility known as Wadi Al Sahara. Prior to any live runs in the mock Iraqi city, the Marines and sailors of the battalion attended classes given by Tactical Training Exercise Control Group instructors.

The instructors, nicknamed Coyotes, taught and reiterated to the Marines what they would come into contact with in the MOUT facility, which is meant to also give the Marines an idea of what they should expect in Iraq.

The majority of Headquarters and Service Co. Marines who underwent the training will be deploying to Iraq for the first time. The classes taught the Marines and sailors an array of material they would need to know for their upcoming seven-month deployment.

They began Monday by familiarizing themselves with the kinds of weapons the enemy uses in Iraq, and how to use, assemble and unload the weapons.

Cpl. Sam L. Minor, a TTECG instructor, deployed with 3/4 for all three of their deployments to Iraq. He now teaches Marines, using the knowledge he gained from his experiences.

“The Marines are definitely going to come across many of the weapons we have shown them here,” said Minor. “Through these classes, I can share my knowledge of what I picked up the last three deployments, and share with all the Marines who can use it.

“I dealt with an AK [Avtomat Kalishnikova] at least once or twice a week over there,” added Minor.

H&S Marines and sailors were taught in depth SASO, involving role players aboard Range 215. They underwent classes Tuesday morning on vehicle checkpoint procedures, contact and non-contact searches of individuals, and a short class on customs and languages in Iraq, taught by an Iraqi role-player.

Lance Cpl. Octavio E. Campuzano, a forward observer with H&S Co., has been in the fleet since April and awaits his first combat deployment.

“Everything that the Coyotes taught is very beneficial to all of us who haven't deployed,” said Campuzano. “The standard operating procedures that we were taught here in searching a vehicle, a person or a home is something I am definitely going to have to remember and follow when I get to Iraq.

“I also learned some very important words and gestures from the Iraqi role player,” added Campuzano. “It's very necessary to learn. It's important to have a key to breach the language barriers in Iraq. It is important that we are able to understand the customs, language and gestures, because we want to build a good rapport with the Iraqi citizens. The Coyotes and role players were very helpful to us. The next step is to use this knowledge here in this city. The ultimate test will be in Iraq. There's no telling what exactly we will see there, but the Coyotes are giving us everything they know.”

As the third week of Mojave Viper continues, the Marines and sailors of the battalion will continue to hone their SASO skills. During the fourth and final week of Mojave Viper, the training will culminate with a final exercise, where the Marines apply everything they have learned.

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Lance Cpl. Katelyn A. Knauer A RQ-2B Pioneer UAV takes off from an airfield south of Camp Wilson during a training mission. Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 was awarded the 2006 MCAA Edward S. Fris Award.

Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 was recognized by the Marine Corps Aviation Association for their achievements in support of training exercises and combat operations from May 2005 until April 2006.

http://www.op29online.com/articles/2006/08/21/news/news02.txt

Lance Cpl. Regina N. Ortiz
Combat Correspondent

The squadron was awarded the 2006 MCAA Edward S. Fris Award, established in honor of Maj. General Edward S. Fris, a pioneer in the development of Marine Corps Command and Control.

“The award means a lot to all of us here at VMU-1,” said Staff Sgt. Abelardo Platas, internal pilot instructor. “Not a lot of people know what we do, so it's great to receive some recognition.”

The Watch Dogs, the squadron's nickname, serve as a second set of eyes for ground troops, he explained.

“We provide overhead security, support for raids, and set grid points for a fire mission, among other things,” Platas said.

When the squadron is not deployed, they support Mojave Viper exercises, familiarizing infantry units with UAVs and their effectiveness on the battlefield.

During the squadron's latest deployment, from August 2005 until March, they flew 780 RQ-2B Pioneer UAV sorties, air missions, which added up to 3,215 flight hours. It was the most flown by a squadron equipped with a Pioneer during that time period, said Platas.

Also, during their deployment, VMU-1 supported Regimental Combat Team 2 in more than two combat operations, including Operation Iron Fist, an operation to disrupt insurgent activity in various Iraqi cities.

During Operation Iron Fist, the Watch Dogs detected a cave complex the enemy used as a weapons cache and bomb-making facility. This allowed Marine snipers to kill four insurgents and confiscate small arms, explosives and other bomb-making materials, Platas said.

The squadron also helped coordinate numerous air strikes during Operation Steel Curtain with RCT-2 in November 2005.

VMU-1 supported more than 40 types of direct actions against the enemy during the deployment and detected many improvised explosive devices that were destroyed by explosive ordnance disposal Marines, said Platas.

“We've done so many things in the background that isn't seen, and it's good to know other people view our work as important and effective,” he said.

Other Watch Dogs, like Sgt. Nicolas Padron, UAV internal operator, felt a boost of morale when told the squadron won an award.

“It feels good to get this award as a squadron,” he said. “We work hard, and it's rare to get recognized outside of your command.”

The Marine Corps only has two VMU squadrons that must trade off to provide support in Iraq. VMU-1 is deployed for seven months and returns for five months before they are deployed again.

“We're consistently deployed,” said Padron. “So an award like this gives our Marines something to strive for and work toward.”

Cpl. Clayton Lagesse, UAV internal operator, sees the award as opening the door for UAVs, he said.

“We are in the early stages of UAV technology and advances,” he explained. “Not a lot of people, even in the military, know us and what we do. So to receive this recognition is a big step in awareness of our capabilities.”

The squadron is in the midst of preparing for their next deployment, scheduled for the end of August, where the Watch Dogs will add to their list of achievements, and serve as the Air Command and Control Unit of the Year

For MORE photos, credits, and descriptions, please click on the picture.

Posted by ph at 10:25 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (Aug. 21, 2006) -- Around 9:30 a.m. the call came in over the radio at the Waterfront Operations command deck Aug. 9. The caller said two boats had collided in the bay near Coconut Island leaving four passengers stranded in the water. The location of the wreck, severity of the injuries and time of the collision were unknown.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7C1D139E5155943B852571D10064183A?opendocument

Aug. 21, 2006; Submitted on: 08/21/2006 02:13:18 PM ; Story ID#: 2006821141318
By Lance Cpl. Ryan Trevino, MCB Hawaii

Waterfront Ops was quick to respond. Two boats were dispatched into Kaneohe Bay to search for the location of the wreck and rescue the passengers. The Federal Fire Department here and its team of paramedics were also contacted and on standby to take in any or all of the passengers rescued.

The site of the wreckage was spotted within 10 minutes of the call. The driver of the rescue boat deployed a small team of Navy rescue swimmers to assess the casualties and bring them aboard.

The swimmers quickly noticed the victims were suffering from a variety of injuries. Two were unconscious, one with a major head trauma. The other two were awake, but suffering from a broken leg and a puncture wound.

The two unresponsive passengers were quickly brought on board and given the immediate care they required. The team of swimmers quickly plunged back into the water to rescue the others who were crying out in agony.

The second boat arrived on the scene soon after and assisted with the rescue operation. As both boats were conducting the search and rescue, another obstacle was thrown into the equation. The boats were now drifting dangerously close to the coral reefs by the shore, which would have caused them to get stuck and require a rescue operation themselves.

Fortunately, the boats were able to avoid the reefs and quickly rushed the victims back to the docks where the paramedics were standing by with stretchers to get them off the boats and an ambulance to rush them to a local hospital as needed.

“We are there to provide any type of medical assistance Waterfront Ops may need,” said Jason K. Montgomery, acting captain, Federal Fire Department here.

Although this was just a training exercise conducted as a collaborative effort by Waterfront Ops and the Federal Fire Department here, this scenario plays out more often than the two units would like.

According to Marc B. Tinaz, officer-in-charge, Waterfront Operations Ensign, a search and rescue operation occurs about once every ten days in Kaneohe Bay.

Tinaz has decided to implement a training regimen that will require the Sailors of Waterfront Operations to conduct a new search and rescue operation once a month.

“These exercises will allow us to train and be more proficient in our search and rescue capabilities,” said Tinaz, who added that his team of Navy swimmers are considered a valuable asset for both the Coast Guard and Honolulu Rescue for the Kaneohe Bay area.
Tinaz admitted the training exercise went well except for a few shortcomings.

“Timing is critical,” said Tinaz. “It should take less than 10 minutes to arrive anywhere in the bay.”

He said he was pleased with the communication between the boats and the command deck throughout the exercise and with the treatment of the victims.

Tinaz explained to his Sailors during the exercise debrief, he wanted them to pay more attention to the details.

“It’s the little things that can eat us up,” he said.

For more photos, descriptions, and credits please click on any picture

Posted by sr at 09:10 PM | Permalink

NEW YORK (AP) — The most famous photograph of World War II, and maybe of all time, rests in a box in a locked steel cage at The Associated Press photo library in New York. The death of Joe Rosenthal, the man who took it, was an occasion to bring it out for a rare examination.

http://www.silive.com/newsflash/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-20/115619574919240.xml&storylist=simetro

8/21/2006, 5:59 p.m. ET
By RICHARD PYLE
The Associated Press

Donning white cotton gloves, AP chief photo librarian Charles Zoeller opened the box marked "Iwo Jima 1945, Joe Rosenthal, O negs." Inside were 31 4-by-5-inch negatives from the Speed Graphic camera that Rosenthal had carried through one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War — including The Picture.

Zoeller flipped the switch on a light board and held up the negative. There it was — the black and white image of five Marines and one Navy corpsman pushing a flagpole upward in what would become the ultimate symbol of that conflict.

The Picture was taken Feb. 23, 1945 on the top of 545-foot Mount Suribachi, the dormant volcano at the southern end of Iwo Jima — "Sulphur island" in English — as Marines battled to dislodge entrenched Japanese forces. A plaque today marks the site.

Made famous by the shot, Rosenthal later left AP and worked 35 years as a photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle. He died Sunday in that city at age 94.

Zoeller noted that in recent years, the Marine Corps has sent small groups of officers to spend a day at various news organizations, a program designed to familiarize combat leaders with the media they may encounter in the field.

At The Associated Press, a final stop at the photo library has become the piece de resistance of the yearly visits.

"The Marines see that shot and sometimes they burst into tears," Zoeller said. "It is really a Marine Corps icon, part of their culture, and it's a very moving experience for them to see that actual negative."

Capt. Angel M. Torres, an artillery instructor at a Marine base in California, recalled in an e-mail on Monday "the awestruck moment ... of being able to view Joe Rosenthal's original negative" during last year's visit.

The Picture has been called the most-published photograph in history, but even the news agency is not sure how often it has been licensed over the past 60 years. "It's almost impossible to reconstruct that," Zoeller said. "About the best you can say is `countless.'"

The AP photo library, among the world's largest, contains "upwards of 10 million images," by Zoeller's estimate — catalogued by subject matter in brown envelopes on shelves eight levels high, and climate controlled at a constant 65 degrees.

Inside the cage are boxes containing other important news photos — from the blazing dirigible Hindenburg in 1937 to a burning monk in Saigon in 1963 to an exploding space shuttle Challenger in 1986.

Many of the others also won Pulitzer Prizes, but none carried the timeless impact of The Picture by Joe Rosenthal.

Rosenthal last visited AP headquarters in New York in 2003. "As far as I know he never came up to see the negative," Zoeller said.

Posted by sr at 08:39 PM | Permalink

Marine Miguel Delgado honored at fund-raiser

WINTHROP HARBOR — Marine Sgt. Miguel Delgado headed back to duty at Camp Lejuene, N.C. on Sunday with his arms full of baby supplies, clothes and toys.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/city/5_1_WA21_WOUNDEDHERO_S10821.htm

By Chris Brenner CBRENNER@scn1.com

The Marine, still healing from wounds suffered a year ago in Iraq, was honored and showered with baby gifts Saturday for his expected newborn daughter during the Wounded Heroes Foundation fund-raiser held at Stone Creek Grill.

The event included "lots of people", food, drink and music, he said. "They had it all."

The foundation gave him many needed baby items.

Anna Sherony of Wadsworth is the co-founder of the Wounded Heroes Foundation that financially helps wounded servicemen and women throughout the country.

"They have ensured our American dream with their sacrifices and it is our duty to ensure their American dreams," she said.

The Saturday event honored four other "wounded heroes" from Peoria and Chicago.
Each received a $500 grant, Sherony said.

The party was supported strongly by the VFW post in Winthrop Harbor, the village of Winthrop Harbor and Tim and Ron Kaiser from Stone Creek Grill, she said.

The Purple Hearts motorcycle group held a bike run with proceeds going to the foundation. More than 100 bikers participated, she said.

Delgado is heading back to the Marine base after a three-day leave to await the arrival of his first child "in a few days," he said Sunday.

Delgado, 25, and his wife, Cristhian, are expecting a daughter that they will named Ohani.

He said he was wounded by an IED (improvised explosive device), or booby trap, on Aug. 6 last year. He suffered severe injuries to his left leg and has undergone 20 surgeries. The last was two weeks ago.

"I'm still in the healing process," he said.

Delgado, son of Miguel and Carmen Delgado of Waukegan, is a 1999 graduate of Waukegan High School.

He was on his first tour of duty in Iraq with an engineer support battalion when he was wounded.

He will be discharged from the Marine Corps in three months.

Delgado praised the work of the Foundation.

"I thank them for what they are doing," he said. "There is no way we can ever repay them. Thanks for everything."

Sherony said that many people attending the event "were in tears because of these wonderful heroes."

"Many people can say they support our troops, but many can't say how," she said. "These people can now say how."

08/21/06

Posted by JG for MarineParents.com at 08:24 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2006 – The United States will provide funding and other assistance to support a U.N. plan to end warfare between Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrillas and Israel, President Bush said here today.
Recently passed U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 has authorized a 15,000-strong international force to deploy as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah. A brokered cease-fire has reduced fighting between the two antagonists after they fought a month-long trans-border battle using rockets, mortars and ground troops.

http://www.defenselink.mil/Utility/PrintItem.aspx?print=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=519

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

“America will do our part. We will assist the new international force with logistical support, command and control, communications and intelligence,” Bush told White House reporters. “Lebanon, Israel and our allies agree that this would be the most effective contribution we can make at this time.”

The deployment of the international peacekeepers, Bush said, will also facilitate delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to Lebanese and Israeli civilians who’d been caught in the crossfire.

Bush said the United States already has distributed more than half of its $50 million pledge of disaster relief for the Lebanese people who’ve lost their homes during the conflict. And, 25,000 tons of U.S. wheat will be delivered to Lebanon in coming weeks, the president added.

America will provide additional aid to support humanitarian and reconstruction work in Lebanon, Bush said, for a total of more than $230 million. These funds, he said, will be used to rebuild Lebanese homes, schools, roads and bridges.

The president said he’s also proposing an additional $42 million to be used to help equip and train the Lebanese armed forces.

Bush said he’d also work with the U.S. Congress to secure loan guarantees to help rebuild Israel infrastructure that was destroyed or damaged by Hezbollah rockets during the war.

America is helping the people of Lebanon because all people deserve to live in a free, open society that respects the rights of all citizens, Bush said. Hezbollah is a radical Islamic militia group that’s backed by Syria and Iran, who both are pledged to destroy Israel.

The conflict was touched off when Hezbollah operatives kidnapped an Israeli soldier. Syria-backed Hezbollah claims to be Lebanon’s the true military organization. The Lebanese army is considered ineffective and riddled with Hezbollah supporters.

“We reject the killing of innocents to achieve a radical and violent agenda,” Bush said.

Hezbollah’s leaders and their sponsors, Syria and Iran, “are working to thwart the efforts of Lebanese people,” Bush said, “to break free from foreign domination and build their own democratic future.”

The terrorists would like Lebanon to become a satellite of Islamic fascism and a base of operations from which to continue deadly attacks on Israel.

However, “the Lebanese people have made it clear they want to live in freedom, Bush said, “and now it’s up to their friends and allies to help them do so.”

Posted by JG for MarineParents.com at 07:35 PM | Permalink

The Wounded Warriors Barracks brings together injured heroes to help each other heal, but the barracks has also become the gathering place of a community’s heart.

Since the barracks’ dedication in November 2005, celebrities, civic leaders, business owners and families have stopped by with gifts and blessings, grateful to have a place in which they can express their love and admiration of our troops.

http://www.jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=44241&Section=Liberty

Rotarians bring lunch, laughs to Wounded Warriors
August 21,2006
ANNE CLARK
DAILY NEWS STAFF

The scene was no different Aug. 16, when members of the New Bern Rotary Club brought lunch — courtesy of local restaurant Hilda’s — and spent some time with the young service members.

“My wife and I pray for them every day,” said Doug Brewbaker, president of the New Bern Rotary. “We pray for them, but we didn’t ever go thank them in person.”

With fried chicken, sweet potatoes, and green beans sizzling nearby, about a dozen Rotary members mingled with the young troops. They talked about hometowns and sweethearts, explained where they’d been injured and what they’d been doing in the Middle East.

“It’s good to know the community cares,” said Lance Cpl. Briscoe Brown, 26. “It’s good to have people come around and visit with us,” said the third-generation Marine from Louisiana.

Brown said his unit, 3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, Lima Company, came across a terrorist- booby-trapped school in Iraq. After clearing the school of the explosives, the Marines patrolled it, protecting the kids inside. They delivered school supplies and soccer balls.

Brown would help to open at least five schools and three medical centers inside the Sunni triangle before he was seriously injured by an IED while on foot patrol.

The blast, which also injured five other Marines, sprayed shrapnel into his shoulder and left him with brain damage, Brown said. He smiles easily, though, and makes mild jokes.

“I’m impressed with their positive attitude,” said Joe Bach, a retired Army colonel, combat veteran, and New Bern Rotary member.

For Rotary member Tammy Childers, the visit to the Wounded Warriors Barracks was just as personal. Her 20-year-old son, Kenny, is an airman apprentice with the U.S. Navy. He left in July to serve aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, stationed in Japan.

“We want the community to rally around our troops,” said Childers, who hears from her son several times a week. “It’s our privilege to support them.”

After lunch — eaten around Foosball and air hockey game tables — Gunnery Sgt. Ken Barnes gave the Rotarians a tour around the Barracks, including a progression of photographs in the main hall and a peek at an empty bedroom suite. When asked how individuals could help, Barnes swept his arm toward the lunch area.

“Things like this right here,” said Barnes.

Rotary International’s broad mission is to bring humanitarian and educational programs to communities around the world. This year, the New Bern Rotary has adopted a town in Mexico and will build a library and medical facility there, much like American troops are doing all over Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The Rotary is about international peace,” said Brewbaker, “about exchanges between foreign countries.”

Posted by TR for MarineParents.com at 07:11 PM |