Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based Marines work with Iraqi soldiers and locals to stop fire in northwestern Al Anbar Province
CAMP KASAM, Iraq (Nov. 24, 2006) - When an electrical fire burned through the chow hall on this Iraqi camp, U.S. Marines from the adjacent combat outpost rushed to help Iraqi soldiers and local Iraqi firefighters contain the blaze.
Story and photos by Lance Cpl. Nathaniel Sapp, Combat Correspondent, 2nd LAR Battalion
About 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, Marines from the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion provided trucks that carried 64,000 gallons of water - roughly the amount an average American uses in a year, according to the EPA, to the aid of the Iraqi soldiers.
"We made four trips in order to give the Iraqi firefighters the water they needed to put it all out," said Lance Cpl. Kreg Pringle, a 21-year-old motor transportation operator.
The Marines linked their "pod" containers of water to the Iraqi fire truck as Iraqi soldiers and firemen manned the hoses and worked to quell the flames.
"They needed help, and we were here to give it to them," said Pringle, an Eldridge, Miss., native.
Since 2nd LAR arrived in Iraq three months ago, they have worked side-by-side with Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division to keep Rawah and neighboring city of Anah safe from insurgents.
Ultimately, the Iraqi soldiers will take control of security operations in the cities, which each harbor a population of roughly 20,000.
Iraqi soldiers have shown themselves to be hard workers with the "want and ability to patrol all day," according to Cpl. David Mann, a 23-year-old infantryman.
Iraqi soldiers from 2-3-7 are crucial to counterinsurgency operations here, as they can "pick up on unusual activities or mannerisms that American Marines wouldn"t recognize," said Mann, an Aiken, S.C., native.
Moreover, Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion - one of several in western Anbar Province - are providing daily assistance to Coalition Forces in the form of thorough security operations, according to U.S. troops here.
"They"re good at interacting with the local people," added Cpl. Joshua Tavener, a 23-year-old infantryman from Aurora, Colo. "They know the customs and a lot of them are quick to help us translate what we need to say to the local people."
Email Lance Cpl. Sapp at: sappnf@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil