Marine Corps News Room

Spanky Gibson was shot by a sniper in May of 2006 while on foot patrol in Ramadi, Iraq. When the firefight was over, his left leg was gone.

But Gunnery Sgt. William Gibson, a decorated Marine, didn't stop serving his country, even after his leg was amputated above the knee. He didn't settle for a desk job stateside, either. He's back in Iraq — his second tour — on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333534,00.html

Friday, February 29, 2008
By Jennifer Griffin and Catherine Donaldson-Evans
FOX News

"It's great — it's a great feeling," Gibson told FOX News in an exclusive interview at Camp Fallujah in Iraq.

It seems like yesterday that Gibson was cut down in a gunfight and left unable to walk without crutches and prosthetics.

"The first thing that went through my mind was, get my weapon out and function," he said. "I knew there was something seriously wrong with me — the round luckily enough severed the nerve, so there was no pain.

"Problem was, I could not get up and stand on my feet because of the destruction the round took."

Doctors had had no choice but to amputate, and Gibson says he steeled himself for the reality of learning to live without full use of his left leg — and moving forward one step at a time.

"I realized, well, it ain't growing back, so let's start recovering," he said. "Initially, I didn't allow it to affect me to the point of despair ... Now, I roll over and look at my wife and say, this kind of sucks. But you get over it quickly."

By July of 2006, only two months after his was shot, Gibson was back at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The experience was marked by a series of firsts: the first time he got back into his uniform; the first time he walked, with crutches on his new prosthetic leg; the first time he was back training with his fellow Marines. That's when he knew he had to go back to Iraq.

"That was my first step," he said, "the first step to feeling like I was still a Marine."

He remembers all the camaraderie and gratitude coming from the other servicemen and women for the sacrifices he'd made in combat. It was then, he said, when he knew he had to go on.

"I definitely felt the obligation to stay in the Marine Corps and pay back that honor," Gibson said. "Because it is an honor to wear the uniform, and I realized that very quickly."

So Gibson began training in earnest again — only with his new leg, not his old.

Last July when he was swimming in a race from Alcatraz in cold San Francisco waters, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the Marine commander at Central Command, asked him what he wanted to do. Gibson said he wanted to go back to Iraq.

For the past five weeks, he's been there on what will likely be a tour of 12 to 13 months. He's serving with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, Calif., in the operations command. His job is coordinating weapons, including rockets, artillery and mortars, for the troops fighting out in the field.

And, said Gibson, he's impressed with what he sees.

"The country itself, it's changed tremendously," he said proudly. "I don't know if I ever thought I'd see it, but I hoped that our actions here ... would allow that change to happen, and now seeing it, it's amazing."

He characterized the situation in Iraq as a rebirth of a country, comparing it to the United States.

"This is where we were 232 years ago as a new nation," he said. "Now they're starting a new nation, and that's one of my big reasons for coming back here. It wasn't for other Marines to look at me and say, 'Oh wow, you're a tough guy.'

"It's in part to show appreciation to my fallen Marines and also to tell the people of this country that ... I'm back to help you in any way I can, again."

Gibson said he's the third Marine amputee to deport back to his sector. Twenty-one months after his injury, his fellow servicemen and women look out for him — and he tries to do only what he's able so he doesn't put them in harm's way.

He said his wife Chany and 4-year-old daughter Lauren misses him back home in Pryor, Okla., but Chany has been very supportive.

"There's not one regret in any of this," Gibson insisted. "It's opened things for me, it's opened up relationships for me that I never would have had as just a normal, old Marine. It's great."

Posted by sr at 11:10 PM | Permalink

MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (Feb. 26, 2008) -- The Parris Island Marine Band is well known aboard the Depot and in the Lowcountry, but there is more to this band than playing at recruit graduations and parades. Since the Corps is expanding, the band is traveling around the Eastern Recruiting Region to aid recruiters and showcase what the Corps has to offer.

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/200822914542

Feb. 26, 2008; Submitted on: 02/29/2008 02:05:42 PM ; Story ID#: 200822914542
By Lance Cpl. Deanne Travis, MCRD Parris Island

The band's main role in recruiting is to show the public the honor, commitment and professionalism Marines possess, said Gunnery Sgt. Travis Antoine, the bandmaster.

The first visit on the recruiting road was to 1st Marine Corps District, where the band played for several high schools and preformed on national television.

Part of the band's mission while on these trips is to help establish good relationships with the school directors and staff.

"Without the band, the recruiters wouldn't be allowed to do what they do," said Capt. Jason Maloney, the executive officer for Recruiting Station Springfield, Mass.
The band helps open the doors to schools that have kept recruiters from coming to visit, said the 36-year-old officer.

While in 1st MCD, the band performed at high schools, where previously, recruiters had limited or no access.

They choose to play at these schools to show the faculty and students the Corps is made up of professionals who follow a set of core values, said Antoine, a 36-year-old from Lake Ariel, Pa.
The school staff is impressed when the band comes in to set up and no one has to be told what to do. This leaves them with a good impression, and they can then speak highly of the band, and the Corps, Antoine added.

"All young people see is the fighting force of the Corps, the band shows them the behind-the-scenes," said Sgt. Derrick Westmoreland, a recruiter for RS Portsmouth, N.H. "They show these kids there are other jobs to do."

The band opens up their minds to all the opportunities the Corps has to offer, said Westmoreland, who is from Chicago.

The band also opens the minds of the schools' staff.

There are some schools, like Tantasqua High School, which is in RS Springfield's area, that have not allowed a recruiter to come to the school for years, Maloney said. Then, when the band comes to play and the staff experiences the professionalism of those Marines and the recruiter, it opens the doors for other opportunities. They seem to react well to the band's performances.

Another positive effect the band has on these areas is when the students go home and tell their parents. The parents always react better hearing from their own child how the performance went and the conversation they might have had afterwards, said Maloney, who is originally from Chicopee, Mass.

After the band performs, students are usually more receptive to talking to recruiters, Westmoreland said.

"They don't always pick up the phone and call, but they will ask a teacher or counselor about the band or the Marine Corps," Westmoreland said. "This provides more opportunities for the students to consider for their futures."

The band has plans to continue their support of the recruiting effort with a trip to eight schools in the 4th MCD.

Posted by sr at 11:17 PM | Permalink

Rows of hot line operators with muted voices mask the desperation of incoming calls on a recent afternoon: a soldier back from Iraq with a drinking problem and a broken marriage; an Army recruiter in the throes of depression; a Marine in Iraq eager to reach his wife after the birth of his son.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/gns_250208_hotline/

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Tuesday Feb 26, 2008 6:06:57 EST

This warren of cubicles in a suburban Philadelphia office building — with two other call centers in Arlington, Va., and St. Petersburg, Fla. — are the Pentagon’s front line for fighting the strain of war.

A few years ago, Military OneSource consultants found a temporary home for a 15-foot pet boa constrictor while its owner, an Army National Guard soldier, went to Iraq. In 2005, U.S. military doctors at a combat hospital in Iraq used the hot line to find a translator who could help treat, by telephone conference call, a wounded Nepalese soldier.

But the calls that send consultants to the “serenity room” here to chill out, or to take a walk around the building, are pleas for help from war-weary troops or their relatives.

“There’s a lot of stress [for] a lot of service members who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Amy DiMalanta, 34, who answers calls. “They’re having a lot of issues they’re facing at home like reintegration [with their family] or just the stress of, ‘Am I going to go back [to war]?’” she said. “A lot of them emphasize that they have a hard time sleeping ... having nightmares or they’re thinking that, ‘Oh, I’m still in Iraq,’ or ‘I’m thinking I’m going to hear a bomb go off.’”

The number of troops and their relatives seeking help from the hot line has grown 40 percent every year since 2004, Pentagon officials and hot line operators said.

The program’s growth is due to a greater need and greater awareness of the program and its hot line number, 1-800-342-9647, said Jane Burke, the program’s Pentagon supervisor.

“We’re trying to help them,” she said. “We know it’s hard.”

Pentagon officials declined to provide year-by-year statistics for Military OneSource. But Cherie Zadlo, a retired Air Force colonel who runs Military OneSource for Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corp., said there were more than 200,000 calls and 2.1 million Web visits last year.

The increase in help calls underscores concerns raised publicly by military leaders such as Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr., that more and longer combat tours strain troops and their families.

Military OneSource began as a pilot program serving Marines in 2002 and was expanded to the entire military in 2004. It’s available to more than 5 million active, National Guard and reserve troops and their family members. From 2005 to 2007, it cost about $50 million per year, according to government contract records.

Denise Drzewiecki, 38, of Killeen, Texas, called while her husband, Army Sgt. Scott Drzewiecki, was in Iraq. Their daughter, then 12 and suffering mental disorders, was angrily acting out.

“I felt like my world was caving in on me,” Denise said. A hot line operator “validated how I was feeling and then told me what they could do to help.”

In two days, she had an appointment with a therapist.

Callers receive up to six free, confidential sessions with a licensed therapist within 30 miles of the caller’s location, Zadlo said.

Timothy Larsen, Marine Corps chief of family programs, calls OneSource “an invaluable tool.”

Once a week, there is a crisis call, often a threat of suicide, said Dan Lafferty, a licensed social worker and clinical supervisor here. Operators silently alert co-workers while keeping the service member on the line. Supervisors will listen in on the conversation. If necessary, authorities are contacted, Zadlo said.

“You ask them if they have a plan,” DiMalanta said. “[They say] ‘I just think I want to die. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m desperate. I’m lost.’ And so you take it from there.”

A more common plea for help, however, is the call like the one from Army wife Angie Ayers, 36, of Lone Pier, Mich.

“They helped me deal with my teenage daughter’s anger over her dad being gone,” said Ayers, whose husband, Joe, deployed with the National Guard to Iraq in 2004-05.

Ayers’ daughter, Elizabeth, then 13, grew angrier with her dad’s absence: slamming doors, scrawling hate words on a photo of Osama bin Laden and dissolving into tears at news of a death in her father’s unit. OneSource found a family counselor for the Ayers family. Mother and daughter attended.

“[Elizabeth] was getting better, and I noticed,” Ayers said.

Services from OneSource’s hot line offered to military families include personal finance management, information on educational loans, spouse employment training and career management, and self-help groups that focus on drug and alcohol abuse, gambling addiction and eating disorders.

Serious medical or psychological problems are referred to military health care, Zadlo said. But stress or marital issues can be treated by in-person counseling with private-sector therapists under a promise that the military chain of command will not be notified, she said.

Pentagon surveys last year show that 71 percent of the wives of junior enlisted service members said loneliness is a serious problem during deployments. A program goal is to offer a voice on the phone for military families. There are also online chat rooms and workshops.

“We’re thinking that Military OneSource is sort of like a club you belong to,” Burke said. “We think it is the way of the future for the military to get connected [to troops and their families].”

Posted by sr at 10:58 PM | Permalink

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2008 – Nearly a third of the 3,200 Marines scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan next month will be stationed in NATO’s southern and western regional commands to train Afghan security forces to face upcoming threats, a top U.S. military official said today.
The bulk of the 1,000 outbound Marine trainers will be stationed at Regional Command South, part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, and a “little bit” of the unit will deploy to Regional Command West, said Army Maj. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 82, based at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49084

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

“That was the commander of ISAF’s request and desire, and I think it was mainly focused on what he thought was the biggest threat this coming spring,” Rodriguez told reporters during a Pentagon news conference.

Regional Command South, where an additional 2,200 Marines will land next month to assist counterinsurgency operations, controls task forces in the provinces of Uruzgan, Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul. Regional Command West includes Herat province, a swath of land along Afghanistan’s border with Iran.

Rodriguez, who also commanders NATO’s Regional Command East and the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, acknowledged that insurgent activity tends to increase in spring months as weather in Afghanistan moderates. The general said, however, that he does not characterize the uptick in enemy attacks as an “offensive.”

“We're expecting the same type of things that (insurgents) did this year,” he said. “They will try to attack the Afghan security forces and the Afghan government leadership by both (improvised explosive devices and car bombs), as well as suicide bombers.”

Rodriguez noted that such tactics have proven counterproductive in his area of operations, where civilians have responded to attacks by turning against insurgent perpetrators and toward the Afghan government. But he conceded that military officials expect such attacks will continue to pose a threat in Afghanistan.

Asked if an influx of weapons or support was flowing into Afghanistan from Iran, the general said, “We’ve seen a little bit of that. It's really been militarily insignificant, but we're always on the lookout for that.”

Today’s briefing provided further clarity on how the additional 3,200 Marines will be distributed in Afghanistan. The Defense Department’s Jan. 15 announcement of the decision to send the additional Marines noted that President Bush approved the deployment as recommended by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

“This extraordinary, one-time deployment involves approximately 3,200 personnel and will enable commanders in Afghanistan to enhance the training of increasingly-capable Afghan National Security Forces to build on the military successes of 2007 and to expand the gains of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force mission,” the DoD announcement stated.

The roughly 2,200 Marines to aid counterinsurgency operations are with 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Marine trainers are with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, based at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, at Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Posted by sr at 10:35 PM | Permalink

Staff Sgt. Darren Smiley was sitting at Thanksgiving dinner in 2006 when he made a decision: He needed to see if he could help a man he barely knew by giving up a kidney.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/marine_kidney_080223/

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 25, 2008 10:01:32 EST

Within weeks, Smiley, a reservist with Charlie Company, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, started a lengthy testing process that led him to an operating table Jan. 30 at UCLA Medical Center in California. His left kidney was removed and placed in Daniel Haven, 43, an X-ray technician and father of a 4-year-old girl.

Days after the surgery, Smiley, a 31-year-old father of three who has served two tours in Iraq, shrugged off the donation.

“I have a young son myself, and the waiting list is usually seven or eight years,” he said in a Feb. 5 phone interview from California. “I would hope that someone would do the same for me if they had the chance.”

The surgery has brought together two clans that had a familial connection but did not know each other particularly well. Haven and Smiley’s wife, Mylinda, are first cousins, but the two men had met only once or twice, in part because the Smileys live in Plains, Mont., and the Havens in Oxnard, Calif.

“I really got to know [Smiley] for the first time through this,” Haven said in a Feb. 5 telephone interview from his home. “How can you thank someone for the gift of life?”

Haven was born prematurely and diagnosed at 12 with glomerulonephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys that can cause fluid retention in the body, high blood pressure and kidney failure.

He was also born with hip problems that led to a December 2005 replacement surgery that almost killed him when potassium levels in his blood spiked, said his wife, Yanira.

“He almost flat-lined on us on the [operating] table,” she said. “He ... almost had a heart attack [because of his potassium levels].”

Not long after the hip replacement, Haven’s kidney problems increased, he said. Doctors had told him for years that he eventually would need dialysis, but he hadn’t expected it would begin in March 2006, at age 41.

A near-perfect match
Haven’s O-positive blood type made finding a match particularly difficult because a donor would have to have the same blood type. He was told he would probably have to wait five to seven years for a match and began undergoing dialysis three times per week.

Smiley learned of Haven’s condition while attending Thanksgiving dinner at the home of Haven’s father, Terry. When Terry Haven mentioned that no one in the immediate family was a potential donor, “something clicked” inside him, Smiley said.

“He said all [a donor] needed to be is O-positive, and that’s what sparked it,” Smiley said. “My wife and I prayed about it, and we decided to see if it was at least a possibility.”

The decision did not surprise members of Smiley’s unit, which deployed to Iraq in 2003 and 2005.

“He’s a damn good man,” said Gunnery Sgt. Ben Murrell, who has known Smiley for more than five years. “He’s the kind of person who can be a war fighter one minute and be telling you what the good Lord thinks the next.”

In fact, Smiley downplayed what he was doing, asking only for a month off from drill because he had “a doctor’s appointment he couldn’t miss,” said Maj. Allan Jaster, Charlie Company’s commander.

“I casually asked him what was up, and he said, ‘I’m giving my kidney to my wife’s cousin,’ and it was all very matter-of-fact,” Jaster said. “He wasn’t looking for any bonus points.”

Smiley said he sought permission from the Corps before agreeing to donate, and is expecting a clean bill of health.

“I went through the proper channels,” he said. “They said that as long as I knew the Corps wasn’t liable if anything went wrong during surgery, I was free to do it. I felt very supported by the command in my unit.”

Lt. Col. Mark Hashimoto, commanding officer of 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, said that — according to the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery — a leatherneck must only notify the Corps if he chooses to become a living donor.

Hasimoto met with Smiley before the surgery, taking a personal interest in part because his own wife and several members of her family also have received kidney transplants after being diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease.

“When I took over command of this battalion in August 2007, I tried to stress the concept of developing good character and letting your actions speak for themselves,” Hashimoto said in a telephone interview from his Hawaii office. “I thanked [Smiley] for embodying what we are looking for.”

When reached by Marine Corps Times, Smiley was already sightseeing at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs six days after surgery. He returned home to Montana on Feb. 9.

“I’ve been taking little walks and trying to get exercise, but it hasn’t been bad,” he said.

Haven said his new kidney has responded well after being placed in the front right side of his abdomen, above his bladder. Haven still has his original two kidneys, including a nonfunctioning left one.

“I’m tired, but everything is going great at this point,” he said. “Fifty percent of all transplanted kidneys get rejected, but [doctors] can reverse it if it’s caught early with medication.”

Yanira Haven said she and her husband consider the staff sergeant a godsend and feel they have a “lifetime connection” with him.

“After putting his life on the line for his country, he put his life on the line for us,” she said. “He’s one in a billion, I think.”

Posted by sr at 10:55 PM | Permalink

CAPAS TARLAC, Philippines (Feb 25, 2008) -- Whether patrolling the open valleys of the Philippine landscape or clearing a triple canopy jungle, U.S. Marines and service members from the Armed Forces of the Philippines found that sharing experiences and expertise is what Exercise Balikatan 2008 (BK ’08) is all about.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/765AF1D83A35AEF2852573FB003EC664?opendocument

Feb 25, 2008; Submitted on: 02/26/2008 06:25:40 AM ; Story ID#: 200822662540
By Lance Cpl. Jason Spinella, 31st MEU

Marines and Sailors from Battalion Landing Team (BLT), 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, trained alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Feb. 21-28, in order to learn one another’s tactics and help strengthen each other’s weaknesses.

The weeklong training evolution was comprised of open field patrols, jungle patrols, static and live fire events, combat lifesaver training and an introduction to the Marine Corps Martial Arts program.

“Every class or training exercise conducted out here is teaching someone, something,” said Sgt. Kurk Linder, a platoon sergeant with the BLT. “The great aspect of this is that it’s a two way street, both sides are benefiting so much just from each other’s presence.”

Many of the events are simply to brush up on proficiency, while seeing if there is anything one can learn from the other. Meanwhile, the training has shown positive results for both nations’ forces as both sides seem to be very attentive.

“They’ve taught us how to patrol through a triple canopy jungle, while we’ve shown them combat formations in the hills and open fields,” said Linder, a Milwaukee, Wis., native.

According to Lance Cpl. Kevin Crawford, a saw gunner with 2/4, the AFP learn extremely fast.

“They really soak up the knowledge like a sponge, and their so easy to work with,” said Crawford, a native of Jeffersonville, Ind. “The best part is when you are teaching them something, you also learn some things about them and their culture.”

Not only does training help with a lasting relationship, but simply living with one another in the field day and night helps mesh the cultures together and lets you really see how each other lives, Crawford added.

“The Philippine Marines and Soldiers are very resourceful and can live off the land, and seem to adapt very well to the environment around them,” said Linder.

In the end, both services benefit from training alongside one another, but the greatest accomplishment is building and sustaining a long last relationship and bond.

Exercise BK ’08 is the 24th in the series of these exercises. The term Balikatan is a Tagalog word which means “shoulder-to shoulder” and characterizes the philosophy and intent of the exercise.

Posted by sr at 10:28 PM | Permalink

SAQLAWIYAH, Iraq (Feb. 23, 2008) -- Thanks to the Marines of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, the streets of Saqlawiyah continue to be a safer place to live.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/B156643470409083852573FA0047F8EC?opendocument

Feb. 23, 2008; Submitted on: 02/25/2008 08:06:07 AM ; Story ID#: 2008225867
By Cpl. Jerry Murphy, 1st Marine Division

“With us always patrolling and keeping an eye on the area, the Iraqis seem to feel more comfortable and are out of their homes more,” said Cpl. Kyle W. Peterson, a squad leader with Co. E. “They’ve said that they feel safer with us around.”

The purpose of a security patrol is to get the presence of the Marines known and to deter insurgent activities, said Lance Cpl. Wade J. Strait, a fire team leader from Moline, Ill.

The Marines conduct these routine patrols daily, gathering information from the Iraqis and showing their faces to the people.

“From what we’ve heard from the people and from other units, there hasn’t been much foreign traffic coming in and out of here,” said Peterson, a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa. “But the Iraqis have been nothing but cooperative with us and are very willing to help us in every way possible.”

While day patrols are intended to be a continuous presence in the community, night patrols serve just as much of a purpose for the Marines.

“When we’re out during the day, we mainly interact with the people, make them feel safe and for visibility purposes,” said 27-year-old Peterson. “On night patrols, we enforce curfew and observe to see if anyone is out after permitted hours. Normally if someone is out, they are just outside of their home and are very understanding and go right inside.”

Patrols can sometimes last several hours and can become very hot and stressful, so the Marines take time to sit back, relax and crack jokes to one another.

“From time to time, we sit around and catch our breath,” Peterson said. “It lets the guys have a quick smoke and chat for a few (minutes).”

Before the patrols, the Marines are given specific tasks, or assignments for that patrol, by their platoon commanders, whether it be conducting censuses, stopping by a local Iraqi Police Station or just simply interacting with the community.

“No matter what we are tasked to do, it’s our job to complete that mission and keep the area safe from the enemy,” said Lance Cpl. David J. Lacher, a 20-year-old squad radio operator from Lincoln, Neb. “The people are really warming up to us.”

With Iraq in its current re-building state, the Marines are stepping back modestly, counting on the Iraqi Police and the Iraqi Army to step up and take on the required responsibilities as their own, but the people in the communities are a little pessimistic.

“We’re trying to turn the country back over to the Iraqi government, but some of the people have said that, let’s say if (the United States) were to leave tomorrow, they fear that the tribes would have major differences again,” Peterson said. “We are working at it, but (the Iraqis) aren’t quite ready to take over the area just yet.”

With many security patrols to come, the Marines of 2nd Bn., 24th Marines, vow to work with their Iraqi counterparts to eliminate any threats in an attempt to keep the streets of their area of operation insurgent-free.
-30-

Posted by sr at 10:31 PM | Permalink

SAN DIEGO (Feb. 22) - It began with a simple act of kindness to save an abused, injured dog from becoming one more victim in the Iraq war.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/dog-saved-by-marine-gets-home-in-us/20080222084609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Click on above link for great photos.

By CHELSEA J. CARTER,AP
Posted: 2008-02-22 12:17:29

But what followed for Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and the mutt was a tale of friendship and loyalty that spanned miles and overcame long odds - one set to take a turn Friday with the anticipated arrival here of the Marine's best friend.

"This dog who had been through a lifetime of fighting, war, abuse ... is going to live the good life," Dennis told his family in an e-mail from Iraq.

The tale unfolded in October, a few months after Dennis deployed to Iraq from San Diego to work as part of the military team building infrastructure along the Syria-Iraq border and training Iraqi forces to take over.

Dennis, 36, of St. Pete Beach, Fla., had volunteered for the assignment. It was a departure from his role as a fighter pilot. He had seen the country from the air, but it was different on the ground.

Dennis wrote stories home about the reciprocal relationship that desert dogs, strays wandering outside border towns, had with Iraqis.

"The dogs get to eat the Iraqi scraps and have a home in the middle of the desert," he wrote in an e-mail. "The Iraqis get an incredible early warning system; these dogs hear anything approaching from miles away and go nuts and scramble to defend their territory."

While on patrol in the Anbar province, Dennis spotted what appeared to be a gray and white, male German shepherd-border collie mix. He named the dog Nubs after learning someone cut the ears off believing it would make the dog more aggressive and alert.

Within weeks, Nubs was greeting Dennis during routine patrol stops along border communities. The Marines fed him bits of their food and by November, the Marine and his unit were keeping an eye out for the dog, which routinely chased their Humvees when they departed.

Life on the run, however, was taking a toll on the dog. He had lost a tooth and been bitten in the neck. In late December, Dennis found Nubs near death in freezing temperatures. The dog had been stabbed with a screwdriver.

Dennis rubbed antibiotic cream on the wound and slept with Nubs to keep him warm.

"I really expected when I woke up for watch he would be dead," Dennis wrote. "Somehow he made it through the night."

Dennis thought he had seen the last of the dog days later when his squad headed back to its command post some 65 miles away. He couldn't take the dog with him and watched as it tried to follow the Humvees away from the border.

Two days later, while Dennis and a comrade were working on a Humvee, he looked up and saw the dog staring at him.

"Somehow that crazy damned dog tracked us," he wrote Jan. 9.

But the reunion was short lived. Military policy prohibits having pets in war zones, and Dennis was given four days to get the dog off the base or kill him.

The decision was easy: Nubs was going to San Diego. The logistics, though, were anything but easy.

With help from his Iraqi interpreter, Dennis managed to find a Jordanian veterinarian to get the care and paperwork needed to get the dog to the states. He also negotiated the red tape to get Nubs across the border into Jordan.

His family and close friends helped raise the $3,500 needed to get the dog from Amman, Jordan, to San Diego, said his mother, Marsha Cargo.

"I just can't believe it. Out there in the middle of nowhere these two find each other," Cargo said.

A colleague in San Diego agreed to care for the dog and have it trained until Dennis returns in March from Iraq.

"We anticipate a real steep learning curve for Nubs," Capt. Eric Sjoberg said. "We want him to learn to just be a dog."

For now, though, Dennis will settle for the knowledge that Nubs is finally safe - and waiting for his master to follow him.

Posted by sr at 10:57 PM | Permalink

As details emerge on how the Internal Revenue Service will dole out economic stimulus payments, officials are warning that some service members and disabled veterans will get smaller payments and will have to apply for the tax rebates that will be automatic for most people.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/military_stimuluschecks_080221w/

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 22, 2008 13:16:43 EST

The so-called economic stimulus recovery rebates, which the IRS expects to start paying in May, will be $600 a person and $1,200 for a couple, with an additional $300 for every minor child, for most people who filed federal tax returns in 2007.

Most taxpayers will receive two notices from the IRS before their rebate is sent, mailed to the address used when filing returns for the 2006 tax year, which most people filed in early 2007. The initial notice will explain eligibility and the second will state when a rebate can be expected, which will not be the same for all taxpayers.

Those who have moved since filing their 2006 taxes — which could include many military families — should make sure they have notified the U.S. Postal Service of their change of address and should notify the IRS by filing Form 8822, IRS officials said in a statement.

IRS spokesman Michael Devine said special efforts are being made to warn disabled veterans whose only income is tax-free disability compensation, and service members whose only income in 2006 was tax-free income earned in a combat zone, that they must file 2007 tax returns in order to receive rebate payments.

And the disabled veterans and service members might receive only $300 rebates for themselves and $300 for their spouses if the family had no other income.

“Individual circumstances will determine the amount of payment,” Devine said.

According to the IRS, people with no net income tax liability — which includes service members and disabled veterans who did not have to pay taxes in 2006 because they didn’t have enough taxable income — will usually get a minimum payment of $300 for a single person or $600 for a married couple filing jointly.

They will get the minimum payments as long as they have at least $3,000 in income from untaxed military pay and disability compensation.

To receive a rebate, service members and disabled veterans who had no net tax liability in 2006 must file tax returns for 2007 — due April 15 — to show that they had the $3,000 of income needed to qualify, Devine said.

“Individuals who might not otherwise be required to file a 2007 tax return will need to file a return this year to receive the stimulus payment,” he said. “The return must show at least $3,000 in qualifying income.”

Posted by sr at 10:50 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2008) -- Wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and other friends were among the excited greeters waiting for the return of Marines from 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Feb. 12 at the battalion’s home at 53 Area, Camp Horno. Flags waved and children played on the parade deck behind the headquarters building for 1/1 – the “First of the First” – who were drawing to a close their seven-month deployment to Iraq.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/40495545A1B40E56852573F6007DAE71?opendocument

Feb. 21, 2008; Submitted on: 02/21/2008 05:52:46 PM ; Story ID#: 2008221175246
By Sgt. M. Trent Lowry , MCB Camp Pendleton

“We’re very proud of him and every Marine in the battalion,” said Robin Smith, mother of Cpl. Nelson L. Smith, a Company B squad leader from Winter Springs, Fla. “We did a lot of praying, like we’ve done for the past seven months.” “We’re relieved to see him, touch him, hold him and have him back with us,” added Neal Smith, Cpl. Smith’s father, who served in the Navy. Multiple flights of 1/1 Marines arrived at different times, each wave met by scores of loved ones excited to be reunited with their warriors.

The battalion augmented Regimental Combat Team 6 in support of the Marine Corps’ mission of stability and security in Al Anbar province, the large area west of Baghdad that includes the formerly restive cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. “I saw great improvements in the capabilities of the Iraqi forces,” said Capt. Stefan R. Barr, commanding officer of Company B, 1/1. “We gained the trust of the locals and won the hearts and minds of the Iraqis. The Marines performed phenomenally in attaining our mission goals.”

Though the battalion motto is “Ready to Fight,” the Marines, for the most part, did not have to focus on going to battle. Instead, 1/1 added their expertise to the training and support of Iraqi troops and expanded their abilities.

“We were training them so they could become a better force,” said Barr, from Lynchburg, Va., who said previous units in the area had laid a successful groundwork on which 1/1 capitalized. “It’s an ongoing process with the Iraqis. We were able to maintain security, improve the Iraqi’s capabilities and start the local governance.” Seeing the effects of their hard work paying off was a motivating factor for the battalion’s Marines. “At first, it didn’t seem like we were doing much, but after seeing the progress of the seven months, it seems like we accomplished more than what we set out to do,” said Lance Cpl. Mike E. Young, 22, a fire team leader with Company B, 1/1. “I’m proud of what we’ve done.

The whole company came home with a good reputation, and we brought everyone home.” Being home was a relief to the Marines, but the arrival of the warriors was foremost on the minds of the families, many of whom had been preparing for weeks for the arrival of their heroes.

One spouse, Angela D. Mendez, said she and her daughters spent at least 20 hours altogether making more than a dozen bedsheet banners for her husband, 1stLt. Jesus D. Mendez, Company B, 1/1, and the rest of the Marines. “I want him to know that I will go above and beyond for him, because he goes above and beyond for me,” said Angela Mendez, an Oceanside, Calif., nurse. “We wanted to do it to make it special for him, so he would know we missed him a lot.”

The remain-behind element of Marines teamed with the Key Volunteers and other family members to set up two bouncy castles for the kids, handed out balloons, and satisfied guests’ appetite with plenty of food and drinks. “We have a great group of wives in this battalion,” said Joanne M. Conner, wife of Lt. Col. Jeffrey T. Conner, battalion commanding officer. “They are very self-sufficient and have a strong sense of family.”

Posted by sr at 11:03 PM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 21, 2008) -- If Regimental Combat Team 1 gave frequent driver miles for the distances covered by its units, headquarters company’s security platoon would have enough points to rack up quite a few free vacations.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/DEA8328C24633227852573F60071A405?opendocument

Feb. 21, 2008; Submitted on: 02/21/2008 03:41:15 PM ; Story ID#: 2008221154115
By - Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division

Security platoon’s mission is to provide a security element for the RCT’s Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team, as well as provide security for the regimental executive officer, and any other such missions that may require the services of security professionals.

This pivotal job requires the Marines of security platoon to work in every sector of RCT-1’s area of operations (AO). “We have hit all four corners of the RCT’s AO, we constantly travel all over Al Anbar to complete our missions,” said Staff Sgt. Tracy Cazee, platoon sergeant, security platoon.

“Punisher” as their call sign indicates stands ready to provide security to any and all who seek it, and according to Cazee they can dish out their own version of punishment should anybody be foolish enough to test their skills,“ we are always prepared to go into action if needed,” Cazee said.

The platoon is pieced together from numerous infantry units throughout the 1st Marine Regiment and they are no strangers to combat operations. Several members of the platoon are on their second and even third deployment. “Many of the Marines in the unit have just finished a deployment and volunteered to come back,” Cazee stated.

A recent Marine Corps Times article dubbed some Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officers as “baby NCO’s” stating that the Marine Corps may “run the risk of flooding the fleet with immature and inexperienced leaders who must bear the burden of greater leadership.” After witnessing the security platoon Marines in action, that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. “I have a junior NCO as my assistant convoy commander. He holds a higher billet than most senior sergeants, I am fully confident in all the junior NCO’s, ” said Cazee.

The Marines of security platoon are hardened warriors and provide a vital role in the reconstruction, and transfer of authority to the Iraqi people. And they stand ready to provide the essential security mission throughout RCT-1’s area of operations.

Posted by sr at 10:53 PM | Permalink

KARMA, Iraq (Feb. 21, 2008) – Marines and sailors of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, recently arrived to the Al Anbar province, and are currently conducting operations and patrolling the streets here.

http://www.iimefpublic.usmc.mil/public/infolineMarines.nsf/(ArticlesRead)/2A717011EE2280EA432573FA00404E66

Story by Cpl. Chadwick deBree

For the past couple of weeks, Marines like Lance Cpl. Matthew Lembke, squad leader, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Co. E, 2/3, have been studying the area, taking notes on certain places and things throughout the city. He mentioned how he and others want to get out and learn as much as possible, and be able to introduce themselves to the locals.

During one of the Marines’ routine patrols Feb. 21., they started off with a visit to a local brick factory where the workers welcomed the Marines with handshakes and smiles.

“When I was talking to the manager he told me that he likes it when the Marines come through because he knows that they are safe when we are there,” Lembke, a 21-year-old native of Tualatin, Ore., said. “So I told him that we are going to make sure that we stop by often just to see how they’re doing and if they need anything that we could help them with.”

The Marines then headed to the local school to find out when it opened for its next semester. When they got there, one of the teachers gave them a tour of the school to show the Marines the condition of the building.

“The school had a lot of structural damage to it,” Lembke said. “There were big cracks along the walls and they said they can’t fix it because they don’t have any money. I’m going to bring it up to see if I could get some help for them. See what our company or battalion could do to help them because there aren’t a lot of schools around here.”

While walking down the streets, the Marines who deployed to the Al Anbar Province last year noticed something different this time around.

“Our last deployment was a lot more kinetic,” said Lance Cpl. Brendan Houlahan, 1st team leader, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Co. E, 2/3. “Last year, every time we left the wire it was almost guaranteed that we were going to get shot at or have an (improvised explosive device) go off. It’s almost like we have to change gears from last year, but we just can’t get complacent. We still have to be on our toes and be on the look out because there are still some bad people out there.”

Lembke shared similar thoughts about this deployment to Iraq compared to his last.

“The last deployment was a kinetic fight where something was happening constantly,” he said. “Here it almost seems like we’re on a peace keeping operation. The area seems to be at the point where it’s starting to rebuild. This country, especially the Al Anbar area, has made some great leaps and bounds. But there are still some bad guys out there, and that’s what we’re here for, to get them and protect the rest of the population.”

Though the Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans feel the area has calmed down, the new Marines are eager to help rebuild the nation.

“This is a good experience,” said Lance Cpl. Ronald H. Enos, squad automatic weapon gunner, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Co. E, 2/3. “This is why I became a grunt… to travel around the world and help protect people.”

“They told us it would be a lot different from what they experienced,” the 20-year-old native of Sacaton, Ariz., continued to say about Iraq. “It may be different from what the other guys experienced, but I’m still going to go out there on patrol and keep an eye out for my fellow Marines.”

Houlahan, a 20-year-old native of Monroe, N.Y., said that the new Marines are doing very well for their first deployment.

“They’re doing the best they can and really stepping up to do their job,” he said. “They’re evolving into great Marines and it has a lot to do with the training and leadership they have experienced.”

Lembke also praised how well his Marines are handling their first combat deployment.

“For those of us who have deployed here before it’s just a new (area of operation),” Lembke said. “They’re really using the training that they received and are getting better. Everyone is acting real professional while they’re outside the wire and while interacting with the Iraqi civilians, which is exactly what the Marine Corps wants them to do.”

Posted by sr at 3:23 PM | Permalink

CAMP AGUINALDO, Philippines –Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. service members stood shoulder to shoulder in the Officer’s Club banquet hall Feb. 18, watching the uncasing of the Balikatan Colors, symbolizing the start of this year’s exercise.

http://www1.apan-info.net/balikatan/News/tabid/1368/mid/2691/newsid2691/8010/Default.aspx

Story and photos by Sgt. 1st Class Jason Shepherd
Joint Task Force- Balikatan PAO
Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008

“I am very optimistic that the exercise Balikatan 2008 will live up to our high expectations,” said AFP Gen. Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr., chief of staff for the AFP. “Thus, by purview of the authority vested in me as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and co-chairman of the (Republic of the Philippines-United States) Mutual Defense group, I hereby declare the RP-US Balikatan Exercise 2008 open.”
Balikatan 2008 is an annual RP-US bilateral military exercise consisting of humanitarian assistance and training activities. Since 1981, both militaries have met to learn from one another and improve on their interoperability. This year’s exercise runs from Feb. 18 to March 3.
True to its meaning in Filipino, Balikatan entails Philippine and U.S. forces shouldering the load together to help the greatest possible number of people in need, according to AFP Brig. Gen. Nestor R. Sadiarin, co-exercise director of BK 08.

“Our troops are ready to maximize the opportunity to do something that will have lasting benefits for peace and social progress in the mission areas,” Sadiarin said. “We’ll do that by sharing the load together.”

Balikatan 2008 will focus on training both armed forces to provide relief and assistance, in the event of natural disasters and other crises that endanger public health and safety.

AFP and U.S. forces will conduct combined staff exercises and field training in Luzon and Palawan to improve contingency planning and strengthen maritime security. U.S. Navy ships are scheduled to visit several locations in the Philippines as well.

There are also dozens of medical, dental and engineering civil action projects scheduled in Luzon, Lanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan over the next couple of weeks.

“Joined together in a collective effort, our military medical professionals along with local doctors, nurses, veterinarians and volunteers will provide free medical, dental, and veterinary care to local communities where these services are most needed,” said U.S. Brig. Gen. John Y. H. Ma, co-exercise director of BK 08.

“Balikatan 2007 was my first in this country,” added U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney. “I set out to see just what this means, and I very much liked what I saw. I traveled to the Sulu Archipelago where I saw doctors from our two nations, pairing with local civilians to offer free medical care to thousands of people, no questions asked.”

Engineering projects are scheduled for numerous schools, including Pang Elementary School in Jolo, St. Juliana Elementary School in Crow Valley and Maragondon National High School in Ternate, which was destroyed in a fire last April.

“It’s humbling to be a part of such an effort that will have a profound impact on the young people and future leaders of the people of the Republic of the Philippines,” Ma said.

“There is possibly no greater satisfaction than the thought of healthy children in a remote location going to school in a schoolhouse that thanks to our combined efforts, has a roof on it, has a ceiling fan, has a dignified environment where teachers can teach and students can learn,” Kenney added. “This has an impact on all of us.”

The Republic of the Philippines and the U.S. have spent 50 years as Mutual Defense Treaty partners. The U.S. is participating in BK 08 at the invitation of the government of the Republic of the Philippines.

“I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the generous people of the Republic of the Philippines who have so graciously invited us once again to this beautiful country to learn the lessons from your soldiers and people that will further the bonds of this strong partnership of peace,” Ma said.

Posted by sr at 10:43 PM | Permalink

CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq — What a difference a couple of years makes. That’s how long it’s been since the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, a Reserve unit out of Chicago, have been deployed to Iraq.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52576

By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, February 18, 2008

When they were in 2004 and 2005, they were fighting in the Babil province south of Baghdad, part of the “Triangle of Death.” This time, the 2-24 are around Habbaniyah, just outside Fallujah, and they’re adjusting to a very different mission that will occupy their time for the next seven months.

The battalion will oversee much of the corridor between the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, according to battalion executive officer Maj. Jeffrey Shrey.

The first weeks of the deployment have been all about assessing the situation on the ground, Shrey said earlier this month.

“We’re getting out and meeting with people, talking to people,” he said.

Shrey said the battalion will build on the gains made by their predecessors from the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Like much of Anbar, that will mean continuing to engage with the locals to show them why it’s in their continued interest to work with the Marines and not area extremists.

“The enemy is going to be looking for seams,” he said.

As those partnerships continue, Shrey said, he’ll look to keep an Iraqi face at the forefront of the Marines’ efforts.

“We’re not out in front of them,” he said. “Everything in the [area of operations] has to have an Iraqi face.”

Capt. Roland Vorgang is a unique Marine in the battalion. The executive officer for Company E is one of the few nonreservists in the bunch.

“I could probably count on one hand how many of us are active duty,” he said.

Some of Company E’s work will involve making sure that the local leaders are helping area residents with basic services, from water to electricity and reconstruction contracts.

“That’s when you have to put the pressure on the local government,” Vorgang said.

As of early February, Vorgang said the deployment had been pretty calm, and that the biggest cache they’d found was some shotgun shells.

The reservists bring a different dynamic to a deployment, he said.

“You see a little more maturity,” Vorgang said. “They’ve had jobs outside the Marines Corps. One of my docs is in his early 40s and a lawyer. But Marines are Marines.”

Sgt. Troy Burmesch was with 2-24 during its first deployment in and around Mahmudiyah, where he said there was a lot more action.

“It’s a lot calmer compared to the first deployment,” he said. “As a Marine, I’d rather be a bit busier.”

Sitting in the lounge area at Camp Riviera, where some of the battalion’s companies are based, Cpl. Bryan Bessa said the progression of the war was evident in the built-up facilities they’re living in this time around.

“You can definitely see we’ve been around for a while,” he said.

Posted by sr at 10:25 PM | Permalink

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo officially opened yesterday this year’s joint RP-US Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises at the Armed Forces Commissioned Officers’ Country Club in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN20080219117305.html

By CHARISSA M. LUCI

Around 6,000 American troops are involved in this year’s Balikatan, the US Embassy said. Thousands of Filipino soldiers are also participating.

"Upon the invitation of the Philippine government, around 6,000 US service members will participate for the two weeks of Balikatan, many in transportation or logistical support roles," US Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said.

"Also, they will at all times work side-by-side with AFP," she added.

Balikatan 2008 from Feb. 18-March 2 is being held in Central and Western Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan.

Among those who attended the opening ceremonies were US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A. Kenney, Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes E. Esperon Jr., Brig. Gen. Nestor R. Sadiarin, Philippine co-exercise director of Balikatan 2008, and US coexercise director of Balikatan 2008 Brig. Gen. John Y. H. Ma.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur C. Ocampo scoffed at the continued presence of US troops in the country.

"In a span of only seven years since 2002, Balikatan 2008 is the 24th in a series of joint military exercises held in the country. These war games, many of them held in actual combat areas in Mindanao, were launched under the auspices of the onerous and one-sided Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two countries," Ocampo said.

He said since the launching of the Balikatan, many incidents of human rights violations were documented.

"The US is circumventing the country’s Constitutional ban on foreign troops. This trampling upon our sovereignty by the US has been made possible with the subservient consent of the Arroyo administration," Ocampo said.

Ocampo has been campaigning for the departure of US troops from the Philippines, and the scrapping of the VFA between the Philippines and US.

Bayan Muna has sought the abrogation of the VFA through House Resolution 458.

Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, and Gabriela Women’s Party are also expected to file a resolution seeking the end of the MDT.

Posted by sr at 4:50 PM | Permalink

ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (Feb. 17, 2008) -- If you disrupt a body’s blood supply it will fail to function. The same goes for insurgent activity.

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/200839111836

Feb. 17, 2008; Submitted on: 03/09/2008 11:18:36 AM ; Story ID#: 200839111836
By Lance Cpl. Paul Torres, 1st Marine Division

Marines and other Coalition forces have been busy disrupting enemy activity in the Northern provinces of Iraq during Operation Desert Siege.

“We are conducting cordon and searches in all settlements to deny the enemy staging areas for weapons and personnel,” said 2nd Lt. Austin C. Murnane, 23, from Millwood, N.Y., who is a platoon commander for 3rd Platoon, Company C, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

“During the first search, we cleared all the buildings as safe,” said Sgt. Jesse R. Walden, 23, from Muskogee, Okla., who is a squad leader with 3rd Platoon, Company C. “During the second search, we double checked the buildings for extra weapons, magazines, home-made explosives and propaganda.”

Propaganda is evidence of an insurgent influence in that area.
While searching one town, the Marines were able to inquire about insurgent activity in the area.

“When we tactically question the personnel in the town, I am giving them an opportunity to provide us with information that would help us make the area safer,” said Murnane. “It is also an opportunity for us to build a rapport with the locals. My scouts and I have spoken with a number of Iraqi civilians in this area, and they have said since the Iraqi Police, the Iraqi Army and the Marines have been patrolling through the area, they have seen no terrorist activity.”

Finding large weapons caches has been few and far between. Usually the Marines find small things like a household with too many weapon magazines or an extra AK-47 rifle.

“Not finding anything is not necessarily a bad thing,” said Murnane.
3rd LAR will continue this operation and hopes to eliminate more insurgent threats in the area.

“We are making the towns that much safer by cutting off the supply routes, said Walden”

Posted by sr at 6:01 PM | Permalink

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 12, 2008) -- Marines and sailors assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, arrived this week for a seven-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/13A7E9D2F54FC9D6852573EF003B984A?opendocument

Feb. 12, 2008; Submitted on: 02/14/2008 05:50:56 AM ; Story ID#: 200821455056
By Cpl. Chadwick deBree, 1st Marine Division

Upon arriving in Iraq, the Island Warriors received a reception from Col. Lewis A. Craparotta, commanding officer, Regimental Combat Team 1, which the battalion is assigned to while in Iraq.

Before Craparotta spoke to the Marines and sailors, Lt. Col. Max A. Galeai, commanding officer, 2/3, and Sgt. Maj. Patrick A. Wilkinson, sergeant major, 2/3, spoke to the battalion one last time before each company took control of their respective areas of operation.
Galeai told the Island Warriors their mission while in Iraq was to help transfer power of the region back to the Iraqis.

“We’re here to help them so they can eventually control their province,” Galeai told the Island Warriors. “Whether or not that happens during our seven month watch is still to be determined, but while you’re here, you should be waking up and asking yourself ‘how can I make things better?”

“This is a thinking battalion, this is a well trained battalion,” he continued. “You’ve worked very hard to get to this point. You have to use your minds and be committed. When we assume the responsibility for this area, you have to set the tone and set the standard, and 2/3’s standards are pretty high.”

Wilkinson echoed Galeai’s words, telling the battalion that they have to do what they know is right. He also told the veteran Island Warriors that the situation is different than the last time 2/3 deployed to Iraq.

“You’re squad leaders, first sergeants and myself have already been outside the wire and it’s a whole different beast out there than the last time we were here,” Wilkinson said. “You need to be disciplined. You need to be professional, but you still need to be aggressive. You can’t get comfortable. Remember what you are and the reputation you have. Reputations just don’t happen like that. There’s been a whole lot of sweating, bleeding and dying to build your rep.”
Wilkinson also told the Marines that they may begin to get tired during their deployment, but that means they just have to push themselves harder to be successful.

“Your body will get used to it and your mind will get used to it,” he said. “Continue to conduct business like you have up to this point and we’re good, we’re golden.”

After Wilkinson and Galeai finished talking to their Marines and sailors, Craparotta told the battalion about the situation in their area of operation.

“The battle space has changed for the better,” Craparotta said. “There’s been more of a reliance on the Iraqi forces. There are Iraqi forces out there that do want to take the initiative to look after their people.”

Craparotta also told the Marines not to hesitate to tell him how things are going during their missions.

“I’ll be out there checking your positions,” he said. “Tell me what’s going on and I’ll listen to you. You are the guys who are doing the work everyday and the guys I want to talk to. I’m going to count on you to be honest with me.”

The Island Warriors will take control of the area from the Marines of America’s Battalion, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1.

Posted by sr at 11:48 AM | Permalink

For decades, qualified Washington veterans could buy special license plates that honor wartime honors and service.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/351574_goldstar16.html?source=rss

February 15, 2008
By MIKE BARBER
P-I REPORTER

No similar honor has existed for parents united by the red-trimmed banners framing a gold star that hang in the windows of their homes. The gold stars are the keys to an exclusive club in which they never sought membership, symbolizing a son or daughter lost in the service of the country.

Now, the increased number of Iraq and Afghanistan casualties has reignited the state's chapter of Gold Star Mothers, along with a legislative effort to recognize their loss.

Senate Bill 6678, sponsored by state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, would create a license plate honoring those united by pride and sorrow.

The Gold Star Mothers say a simple aluminum metal license plate is no hollow honor.

It perpetuates a memory, helps to unify those whose common thread is the unnatural act of outliving a child, informs the public about the significance of the gold star, and even helps them reach out to veterans, they say.

"We want to increase community awareness of the significance of the gold star, to let people see 'here is a family that had a member who made the ultimate sacrifice,' " said Myra Rintamaki of Lynnwood, a Harborview Medical Center nurse and president of Washington State Gold Star Mothers.

Her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Steven A. Rintamaki, was killed in action in Iraq on Sept. 16, 2004.

"We have found in associating with different people that even military people don't recognize the significance of the gold star," Rintamaki said.

In a statement, Haugen said, "There are plenty of cars driving around with yellow ribbons that show support for our military, but I can't imagine any tribute even beginning to compensate a mother who's lost a child in the service of their country. This is just a small way to recognize their loss, and to give the rest of us an opportunity to thank them."

American Gold Star Mothers Inc. grew out of the wartime losses of World War I and was incorporated in 1928. During WWI, blue star flags were displayed in homes around the nation for each child serving in the military. A gold star was superimposed if that service member died in combat or from wounds or illness.

Washington's Gold Star Mothers chapter revived in late 2006, spearheaded by a handful of Seattle-area mothers who lost sons in Iraq -- Rintamaki, Shellie Starr, Linda Swanberg, DeEtte Wood and Dedi Noble.

The membership has grown to 30. The group is reaching out more to Eastern Washington and to Vietnam-era Gold Star Mothers, as well as to active but unofficial chapters in Alaska and surrounding states.

The license plate issue is a national project of American Gold Star Mothers. At least 14 other states have approved inclusive "Gold Star Family" or "Gold Star Parent" license plates.

Washington's gold star moms and Haugen teamed up by coincidence.

"The funny part is, both of us were working on it, and neither of us know the other was working on it," Rintamaki said. They learned about each other's effort through the state Department of Veterans Affairs.

Concerns were raised, especially from a senator who asked, "What about gold star dads?"

A more inclusive "Gold Star Parents" or "Gold Star Families" was proposed. The bill covers eligible moms and dads.

"Being a gold star mom by definition means looking out for the rest of the family," Rintamaki said. "In our private sessions we often discuss the effects of loss upon spouses and other children, and they are often included in our meetings."

If they could, however, the mothers would extend their compassion further. Rintamaki said mothers-in-law ought to be included. The group also tried unsuccessfully to acquire feedback from state Gold Star Wives, a separate organization, she said.

The Washington license plate proposal was first raised in last year's legislative session but failed owing to budget constraints and a moratorium on specialty plates.

This year, a funding source was found in money earmarked for World War II "Pearl Harbor Survivor" plates. As those veterans pass away, that fund remains untapped. Washington recipients of the Medal of Honor and Purple Heart medals have separate specialty plates.

A companion bill has been introduced in the House by a South King County Democrat, state Rep. Geoff Simpson.

Posted by sr at 10:10 PM | Permalink

A former battleground city celebrates 'a historic day.' More such turnovers are expected in the country.

HIT, IRAQ -- In a pageant filled with poetry, song, political speeches and a display of the Iraqi security forces' increased firepower, the U.S. Marines on Thursday turned over major responsibility for protecting this Euphrates River valley town to the Iraqi army and police.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-secure15feb15,1,6134204.story

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 15, 2008

It was the second such turnover in recent weeks in the western province of Anbar, once a major battleground with Sunni Arab insurgents, with more expected, Marine officials said.

Marines from the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif., are redeploying outside the city limits but will remain close enough to provide assistance to the Iraqis if insurgents attempt an assault.

A similar turnover was accomplished late last year in Baghdadi, also along the Euphrates. In addition, Marines are pulling out of Haditha as soon as the Navy construction team, the Seabees, finishes building a camp for them just outside the river town.

Iraqi forces conducted their first all-Iraqi operation this week in Haditha, searching former insurgent hide-outs, officials said.

And throughout Sunni-dominated Anbar province, the driving rules for Iraqis are changing. No longer will Marines block off streets and force Iraqi cars to pull aside when a convoy passes.

"This is a historic day," Marine Lt. Col. J.J. Dill, the battalion's commander, told several hundred Iraqi men who crowded into the town's soccer stadium for the 90-minute ceremony and the open-air buffet that followed.

"Just over a year ago, this city was being killed by insurgents," he said.

One question yet to be answered throughout the province is how the Shiite Muslim-dominated Iraqi army and the Sunni-dominated police will function without the U.S. providing immediate supervision. It's a question, involving matters of competency and honesty, that concerns both U.S. and Iraqi officials.

"I ask the Iraqi police and Iraqi army to be honest," Anbar Gov. Mamoun Sami Rasheed said in an emotional speech. "It's the people's rights; they own their own lives."

Dill praised the city's Sunni police chief for his emphasis on "civil rights and policing."

Many of the Marines are being repositioned to prevent the movement of insurgents from the wide-open spaces of the westernmost part of the province, near the Jordanian and Syrian borders, toward the cities of the Euphrates River valley and even Baghdad.

An American flag was lowered at midfield, replaced by an Iraqi flag to cheers from the crowd. The exercise was symbolic. No American flag had flown over Hit or any Anbar city, under strict rules handed down by Marine brass.

As the American flag was lowered, an F/A-18 fighter jet made a screeching pass over the site, pulling into a nearly vertical ascent.

Cpl. Erin Sundstrom, 23, of Boulder, Colo., given the duty to lower the American flag, admitted being nervous as the focus of attention during what, for the Iraqis, seemed to be the emotional high point. "It was amazing," he said.

Much of the ceremony was akin to that of any military transfer of authority, particularly as the troops, Iraqi and U.S., passed in review. Other parts were laden with Iraqi culture. In one skit, Iraqi soldiers simulated chasing and killing a rabbit and eating it raw -- a sign of manhood, interpreters told the Americans.

After the official ceremony, Iraqi soldiers broke into 30 minutes of spontaneous dancing and chanting. "Let the terrorists come. We're ready," they chanted in Arabic.

Dill said he became convinced the Iraqis were ready for the security responsibility by how they reacted Dec. 12 when insurgents struck a bridge. "There was no panic," he said.

Posted by sr at 9:59 PM | Permalink

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb.14, 2008) -- Marines with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, trained with Iraqi police role-players at a Military Operations in Urban Terrain facility here, Jan. 30.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/CBC64787D04FD4B4852573EF0055A6CD?opendocument

Feb.14, 2008; Submitted on: 02/14/2008 10:35:32 AM ; Story ID#: 2008214103532
By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones, 2nd Marine Division

The Marines acted out scenarios they may encounter while deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The warriors spent hours training with the role-players conducting vehicle check points, searching individuals and practicing their knowledge of the Arabic language.

“We learned how to deal with somebody who has a different language and customs,” said Lance Cpl. Johnathon Brewer, a rifleman with Headquarters Platoon. “It also personally taught me to be more patient with people who do not understand (our language).”

The Marines described the language barrier as the toughest part of training with the role-players. However, they said the exercise will make training the real Iraqi police much easier.

“It’s very hard,” Brewer said. “But I’ve been on a few trips and was able to learn Spanish so I’m a little more used to (different languages), but some of the other Marines aren’t. It’s going to help those Marines a lot by training here instead of just jumping right into it in Iraq.”

Due to the recent positive changes in Iraq, Marines are switching from combat operations to assisting the Iraqi Forces fight a counterinsurgency to aid in the transition of provincial Iraqi control. The Marines in the battalion said they are used to adapting and overcoming to complete their mission.

“The Marines are accepting (changes) and they understand that’s what they need to do so we can get out of there and help somebody else that may need help,” Brewer said.

The recently reactivated battalion’s upcoming deployment will be its first since the Vietnam War, where the battalion received its macabre nickname “The Walking Dead.” The battalion’s leaders have stressed the fundamentals and constant training to ensure the Marines are prepared for combat.

“They’re taking in the training pretty well. With this being our first full- scale deployment as a battalion, I think they’ll do well,” said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Grooms, a platoon sergeant with Weapons Company.

The veterans with the battalion said they are excited about seeing the better trained and equipped Iraqi police.

“There will be a big change,” Grooms said. “Obviously, there will be more trust between both (the Marines and IPs) and we should be able to bridge the communication gap.”

Posted by sr at 11:48 PM | Permalink

ABOARD THE USS ESSEX — It’s a small, floating city run by about 1,100 sailors.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59892&archive=true

By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, February 14, 2008

And when close to 1,000 Marines come aboard, the city comes alive.

“It’s crowded,” boatswain mate Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Merwin, 23, said Tuesday aboard the Essex as sailors and Marines moved about the ship. “You just have to accommodate it.”

For Seaman Charlene Moorehead, it seems that “the boat gets smaller,” she said.

“It’s three times the work and twice the mouths to feed,” Moorehead, a cook, said.

The Essex, USS Harpers Ferry, USS Juneau and USS Tortuga arrived at Okinawa on Jan. 28 from Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, and began boarding the Marines and more than 1,500 tons of cargo and equipment.

With Marines onboard Essex, the galleys serve more than 7,600 meals a day. That adds up to about 125 pounds of fresh vegetables, 370 pounds of fresh fruit and 2,200 pounds of meat consumed daily, according to Essex statistics. Marines and sailors will also drink more than 1,900 sodas daily.

The Essex spends three times more on food daily — from $10,000 to $30,000 — when Marines arrive, Chief Warrant Officer Mark Harrington, the ship’s food service officer, said in a news release.

“It’s a little hectic,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Briggs, 24, who is thankful Marine cooks join the galley crew to help keep everyone fed.

The galley isn’t the only place that gets busier.

The ship’s store sees a lot more business, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Borris Laroach, 20.

To stock the little store, which sells snacks, noodles, hygiene supplies and other convenience items, for just Essex sailors, they load up about 80 pallets of goods, Laroach said.

In preparation for the Marines’ arrival, they brought on 180 pallets of goods, he said.

The store normally pulls in about $400 a day, but when the Marines are here, the store makes about $5,000 a day, he said.

Sailors in the ship’s post office also have their hands full.

One of the most important cargos for servicemembers is incoming mail, which doubles when the expeditionary troops come aboard, said Chief Petty Officer Mike Kinstle, the postal officer.

He has found that the advent of e-mail has not decreased the amount of mail the ship receives. It just means a higher percentage of packages, he said.

Mail is delivered by whatever means possible — helicopter, landing craft utility and even landing craft air cushioned — whenever they can manage it, Kinstle said.

The crew unloaded about 1,500 pounds of mail Tuesday, which was a couple of days worth, he said. For Valentine’s Day he said he expected to get 10 times that.

Including the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in shipboard life means more work for everyone, but the Marines pitch in and help, sailors said.

And it’s worth the extra work, said Petty Officer 1st Class Guy Dickantone, 40, the enlisted leader for the ship’s power plants section.

He said he has found that working with the Marines is a good way to exchange knowledge about working on different types of aircraft.

The Essex Expeditionary Strike Group was scheduled to depart the waters off Okinawa on Thursday to head for the Philippines, where the 31st MEU will participate in the Balikatan 2008 exercise from Monday to March 3.

Posted by sr at 11:45 PM | Permalink

ABOARD THE USS ESSEX — One Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit who is on his first sea deployment admits he wasn’t sure what to expect.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59893&archive=true

By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, February 14, 2008

Lance Cpl. Aaron McCrea, 19, has seen movies about military ship life. He thought it would be “always busy, always doing something.” But what he’s found is that “it’s a lot of coming out here and waiting for a mission,” said the mortarman with Battalion Landing Team 2/4.

During down time and once the ship gets under way, there will be less waiting and more learning, said Cpl. Kyle Lang, 21, also with the team.

These infantry Marines will spend a lot of time training and teaching: formations, weapons handling and a lot of annual classes such as nuclear biological chemical training, Lang said.

They also will do physical training in the morning and in the afternoon, which can get crowded since it mostly takes place in the ship’s gym, he said.

The two Marines have found that everywhere on the ship is crowded.

The team’s infantry Marines sleep about 125 Marines to a berthing area in bunks stacked four high. But the crowding helps take up some time, Lang said, explaining that with so many people living in a small space, they have to keep it very clean.

And the 5-foot, 4-inch McCrea said he finally has an advantage over all the big guys.

“I’m small, so it doesn’t bother me as much,” McCrea said.

The tight spaces also mean he’s getting to know his fellow Marines very well. Some of them better than he would like.

“I’ve found out that some of them can get irritated really fast,” he said.

Adding to the irritation is the limited shower area.

Lang explained that two companies of Marines, between 160 and 200 Marines, use the same shower area, which has only eight stalls.

That means they are “waiting in line for the showers,” Lang said.

That’s not the only place they wait in line.

“You are waiting for everything. There isn’t one thing on ship you won’t have to wait for,” he said, listing the barber shop, chow and other activities.

But here is a benefit, Lang said.

“You will learn patience really fast on ship,” he said. “If you don’t, someone will teach you.”

Posted by sr at 11:40 PM | Permalink

If you know someone who is committed 24/7, here is your chance to nominate them to receive the Military Times’ Service Member of the Year Award. Previous winners have cited their award as one of the highlights of their military career or some such copy to be inserted here by marketing.

Winners will be announced in July 2008. Don’t delay, submit your nominee now by completing the form below.
http://www.militarytimes.com/smoy/nominate.php?pub=mar

Posted by sr at 11:37 PM | Permalink