By Gunnery Sgt. Christine Polvorosa | I Marine Expeditionary Force | January 4, 2016
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- At the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Al Asad was the second largest U.S. air base in Iraq, and home to thousands of deployed coalition personnel from II Marine Expeditionary Force/Multi-National Force West and other major tenant commands.
By Courtesy Story | I Marine Expeditionary Force | December 9, 2015
AL TAQADDUM, Iraq -- As the battle for Ramadi and Fallujah continues near Al Taqaddum, Iraq, members of the Iraqi armed forces conduct counterattack missions as part of the efforts to regain control over the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant-occupied cities.
Continue reading "US Navy corpsmen, Marines contribute to life-saving efforts in Iraq" »
By Cheryl PellerinDoD News Features, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, August 21, 2015 — The Iraq Security Forces are making daily progress in Ramadi during a difficult counterattack against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the chief of staff of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said today.
Continue reading "General Reports Progress in Inherent Resolve Operations" »
By Kelly Humphrey
Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
Published: August 12, 2015
EGLIN AFB (Tribune News Service) — According to his widow, Niceville resident Sara Clark, Gunnery Sgt. Michael Clark was a low-key, easy going Marine who didn't like a lot of fuss made over him. On Friday, however, Clark's family and friends gathered at the EOD Memorial Wall to remember him in a unique way.
Continue reading "Sculptor unveils likeness of first Marine EOD technician killed in Iraq War" »
Story by Cpl Jonathan Boynes
Date Taken:07.27.2015 | Date Posted:08.04.2015 06:52
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – With the ever-present threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, having a strong and capable fighting force to defeat them is a priority. The Iraqi army’s 7th Division, with the help of Combined Joint Task Force—Operation Inherent Resolve’s multination coalition forces, are at the forefront of that fight.
Continue reading "Coalition trains Iraqi security forces to defeat ISIL" »
By Hope Hodge Seck, Staff writer 5:12 p.m. EDT July 16, 2015
The recent fall of Ramadi to marauding terrorists was a shocking setback to U.S. efforts to turn security over to Iraqi forces and it was a psychic blow to Marines who successfully fought to stabilize the notoriously violent Anbar province. But not quite two months later, Marine leaders on the ground say the momentum is rapidly shifting as better trained and newly inspired Iraqis are being sent back into the fight.
Continue reading "Marines at Al Taqaddum advise Iraqis behind Ramadi takeback effort" »
By Hendrick Simoes
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 6, 2015
ABOARD THE USS NEW YORK IN THE PERSIAN GULF — “The only solid plan was yesterday’s plan.”
Continue reading "5th Fleet mission has USS New York showing off its ‘amphibiosity’" »
Photos by LCpl Skyler Treverrow
Date Taken:01.22.2015 | Date Posted:02.06.2015 09:18
Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, Task Force Al Asad, in support of an Operation Inherent Resolve Build Partnership Capacity mission, Jan. 22, 2015. The Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen participating in the BPC mission work closely with Iraqi Security Forces to build military capability and capacity through training in small-unit tactics, sustainment improvement, and air-ground integration.
Continue reading "Images: Operation Inherent Resolve [Image 8 of 18]" »
Story by Cpl Carson Gramley
Date Taken:01.18.2015 | Date Posted:01.28.2015 10:18
U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND - U.S. Marines from Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command, Task Force Al Asad, facilitated a Counter Improvised Explosive Device class for members of the Iraqi Army to teach them basic IED reaction and mitigation skills at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2015.
Continue reading "Paving the Way: TF Al Asad Trains Iraqi Army in CIED Drills" »
Joshua Stewart, Staff Writer
January 18, 2015
They're old, gray and approaching retirement — but the Marine Corps' EA-6B Prowlers are still fighting terrorists. The service's aging fleet of jets used for electronic warfare have flown hundreds of hours over Iraq and Syria in support of the fight against the Islamic State group. They may be some of the final combat missions for Prowler squadrons before the Corps starts to retire the aircraft and adds electronic warfare capabilities to a variety of platforms.
Continue reading "Marine Prowlers fight Islamic State over Iraq, Syria" »
By Pamela Brown and Jim Sciutto, CNN
Updated 8:30 PM ET, Mon December 1, 2014
The FBI issued a warning Sunday to members of the U.S. military that ISIS is calling for attacks against them, according to a law enforcement source, saying that "overseas based individuals are looking for like-minded individuals in the U.S. to carry out these attacks."
By Yousuf Basil and Ben Brumfield, CNN
Updated 11:07 AM ET, Mon December 1, 2014
In its fight against Islamist terror militia ISIS, the Iraqi army may be weakened from within by corrupt soldiers not showing for duty -- 50,000 of them. Maybe more.
Continue reading "Iraq's army weakened from within by 50,000 'ghost' soldiers" »
By Hope Hodge Seck, Staff writer 1:58 p.m. EST November 6, 2014
When theatergoers attend a performance of the ballet "Colin" at Virginia's Hylton Performing Arts Center this weekend, among the first performers they'll see are two real active-duty Marines, clad in their dress blue uniforms.
Continue reading "Mother of fallen Marine creates full-length ballet tribute to his life" »
Story Number: NNS141028-08Release Date: 10/28/2014 2:28:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shannon M. Smith, USS Mesa Verde Public Affairs
U.S. 5th FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (NNS) -- Twenty-three USS Mesa Verde Sailors and Marines toured the Al-Sharif Al-Hussein bin Ali Mosque as part of a community relations project (COMREL) in Aqaba, Jordan, Aug. 25.
Continue reading "Sailors and Marines Visit Jordanian Mosque During COMREL" »
Sep. 29, 2014 - 03:45AM |
By JOE GOULD and PAUL McLEARY
QUANTICO, VA. — The US Marine Corps is preparing to deploy about 2,100 grunts to be based out of Kuwait in a new unit configuration designed to respond to crises in the region, according to Corps officials.
Continue reading "New US Marine Corps Crisis Unit To Be Based in Kuwai" »
Story by Jeff Schogol
Aug. 8, 2014 - 07:11PM
The U.S. has a massive force of ships and aircraft in the Persian Gulf for the air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq.
Continue reading "More than 100 aircraft, 8 ships ready for Iraq air campaign" »
Story by Sgt. Bobby Yarbrough | Regional Command Southwest | Date: 05.13.2013
EDITOR'S NOTE: The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq influenced most Marines before they could even comprehend it. Many of them are the progeny of conflict and survival, inflicted with the physical and psychological wounds of war. The realities of combat controlled and directed their growth, combining aptitude, instinct, and courage equally. As the war in Afghanistan comes to an end, Marine leaders reflect on their service over the last decade and how combat has shaped them as leaders and as men. This is part one of a three part series.
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - The violence in Iraq was reaching its pinnacle in 2004 when Chris Taylor received his deployment orders to Al-Anbar province. Marines had just bloodied their way through the first Battle of Fallujah and insurgency within the country was beginning to expand as sectarian clashes divided the nation.
By Kent Miller, Staff writer
Apr. 1, 2013 - 07:09PM
It's been nearly two years since the Iraqi government signaled its desire to present U.S. troops with a military decoration recognizing their dedication during nine years of war, hardship and sacrifice, but to date just one Iraq Commitment Medal has been delivered — and it was not given to a service member.
Continue reading "Iraq war vets wait for ally's Commitment Medal" »
Story by Cpl. Jeff Drew | 2nd Marine Division | Date: 03.26.2013
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – As the country reflects on the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the ground war in Iraq, one battle stands alone.
Continue reading "Remembering the Fallen: the battle of An Nasiriyah" »
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 19, 2013 14:30:36 EDT
Over the course of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 3,542 troops were killed and 32,221 were wounded in combat action, according to Defense Department data.
Continue reading "Better care meant more warriors survived wounds" »
Conflict redefined warfare, altered U.S.’s global role
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 19, 2013 14:30:52 EDT
Every major war carries with it many kinds of costs — in lives, limbs and dollars, to name a few.
Iraq heroes emerge, determined to share stories of the fallen
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 12, 2013 10:53:54 EDT
The Iraq War gave birth to a new generation of American heroes who battled a long and bloody insurgency and pulled that nation back from the brink of civil war.
U.S. took Baghdad quickly but lost hearts, minds with lack of planning
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 4, 2013 11:43:52 EST
Before the fall of Baghdad, the explosion in sectarian violence in Iraq's cities and the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein, uncertainty reigned supreme for the tens of thousands of U.S. troops waiting for war in Kuwait's desert.
Early missteps in Iraq War led to new ideas on how to define, defeat enemy
By Jeff Schogol - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 4, 2013 10:22:06 EST
In the moonless dark of the Kuwaiti desert, U.S. Army troops cut eight lanes through sand-hill berms built along the Iraq border.
Story by Cpl. Johnny Merkley | Regimental Combat Team-5, 1st Marine Division | Date: 04.06.2012
TREK NAWA, Afghanistan — The men and women who have earned the title of Marine share a unique history and tradition only found in the Corps. In some cases, this history and tradition is shared by generations of Marines from the same family.
InnovationNewsDaily Staff | March 16, 2012
When new U.S. Army attack helicopters landed at an Iraqi base in 2007, soldiers uploaded smartphone photos of the helicopters to the Internet. The soldiers didn’t realize that those pictures contained GPS "geotags," which according to an Army officer allowed insurgents to pinpoint and destroy four Apache helicopters in a mortar attack.
Continue reading "Insurgents Destroyed US Helicopters Found in Online Photos" »
By MARK WALKER [email protected] | Posted: Sunday, October 16, 2011 6:00 pm
A team of 13 Camp Pendleton Marines made history Friday as the last Marine Corps unit to leave Iraq.
Continue reading "Pendleton unit is last Marine team to leave Iraq" »
Five years after a gunshot changed his life, the author reflects on what a decade of war has cost Americans
By Justin Constantine
Sep 6 2011
I cry whenever I think of a memorial service I attended in Iraq. From the back of the hot, packed room next to the chaplain's office, I looked down the center aisle and saw six sets of boots, rifles, helmets, and dog tags. Six Americans had lost their lives defending their country. I had seen these Marines hug each other before heading out on patrol -- real hugs, as if they guessed they might not see each other again. They had been in Iraq for a while and knew how dangerous every mission was.
How the media inflated a minor moment in a long war.
by Peter Maass
January 10, 2011
On April 9, 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Bryan McCoy, commander of the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, awoke at a military base captured from the Iraqis a few miles from the center of Baghdad, which was still held by the enemy. It had been twenty days since the invasion of Iraq began, and McCoy had some personal chores to take care of—washing his socks, for one. Afterward, he walked over to a group of marines under his command who were defacing a mural of Saddam Hussein. As I watched, he picked up a sledgehammer and struck a few blows himself. The men cheered. Then he began preparing for the serious business of the day: leading the battalion into the heart of the city. He expected a house-to-house brawl that would last several days.
Despite Inherent Differences, U.S. Can Apply Lessons Learned in Iraq to Afghanistan
BAGHDAD, Aug. 27, 2010
(AP) They are different wars in different regions, with different challenges. But as the war in Iraq winds down, there is a lot the U.S. military can learn and apply to Afghanistan, from how to deal with contractors to when to draw down troops.
Continue reading "Amid Drawdown, Lessons to Be Learned from Iraq" »
KABUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Insurgents, some wearing suicide vests, launched a rocket and ground attack on the main foreign military base in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar on Tuesday, with several militants killed in an ensuing gunfight, officials said.
Continue reading "Suicide bombers attack southern Afghan base" »
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A Security Council committee has deleted 45 entries from its blacklist of al Qaeda and Taliban individuals and firms under U.N. sanctions after a full review, Austria's U.N. envoy said on Monday.
Continue reading "UN panel finishes Taliban/al Qaeda blacklist review" »
KABUL, July 30 (Reuters) - Afghan police fired shots on Friday to disperse hundreds of people protesting the deaths of civilians in an accident involving a U.S. embassy vehicle, police said.
Continue reading "Afghan police fire shots to quell protest after accident" »
You might think Hamid Karzai's biggest problem right now is his mouth.
Continue reading "Karzai's words are heightening his unpopularity" »
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan-international security force went to a compound north of Khozakheyl, in the Khugyani district of Nangarhar province, after intelligence information verified militant activity last night. As the combined force entered the compound area they were fired upon by heavily armed men. In the ensuing firefight two militants were shot and killed.
Continue reading "Afghan-International Force Kills, Detains Militants in Nangarhar" »
In a low, tan building in Nevada, Air Force personnel sit in padded chairs and control aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan. They are 7,500 miles away, yet feel more affected by war than ever.
Reporting from Creech Air Force Base, Nev. - From his apartment in Las Vegas, Sam Nelson drove to work through the desert along wind-whipped Highway 95 toward Indian Springs. Along the way, he tuned in to XM radio and tried to put aside the distractions of daily life -- bills, rent, laundry -- and get ready for work.
Continue reading "Drone pilots have a front-row seat on war, from half a world away" »
By James K. Sanborn - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 8, 2010 8:31:29 EST
By mid-February, Marines will be out of Iraq.
ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - Some 500 Marines from the St. Louis area are going to be part of a special place in history. They are among the last combat battalion of Marines to leave Iraq. The marines are part of the 3rd Battalion, 24th regiment based at Lambert. They should all be back in the U.S. by the end of January. It's a major step in the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq; a step that many spouses of the marines can't wait to happen.
Continue reading "St. Louis Based Marines Among The Last to Leave Iraq" »
By Lara Jakes - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 18, 2010 5:26:10 EST
AL-ASAD, Iraq — The base loudspeaker no longer wakes them up with calls for blood donors; armored trucks sit idle in neat rows. The Marines who stood at some of the bloodiest turning points of the Iraq war are packing up and leaving.
Continue reading "Marines exit Iraq in first wave of forces out" »
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Thursday, January 7, 201
WASHINGTON — Military members serving overseas will have to resubmit their voter registration this year if they hope to cast a ballot in the November midterm elections.
Continue reading "Overseas military will have to register again to get ballots this year" »
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 20, 2009 11:08:43 EST
The last Marine infantry battalion will leave Iraq in January, closing a long, complicated chapter in the Corps’ history as combat intensifies on another front in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Last grunts in Iraq prepare to come home" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Combat Logistics Battalion 46 officially took over for Combat Logistics Regiment 27 (Forward) as the logistics combat element during a Transfer of Authority ceremony aboard Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Dec. 16.
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – After returning from a two-week mission in Iraq, a Marine makes a call to his wife, assuring her that he has returned safely. She is relieved, but panic creeks into her voice as she tells him that creditors have been calling their home asking about mortgage payments and threatening foreclosure. She anxiously asks her husband what went wrong and how to deal with it. The Marine is baffled, and he knows he needs legal assistance.
Continue reading "Legal Services Support Team Makes a Difference for Deployed Service Members" »
As the clouds and drizzle of the rainy winter season roll into Iraq, many Marines with Multi National Force - West are rolling out. The gradual drawdown of Marines aboard Al Asad Air Base has sparked the idea for Operation Blue Spoon.
Continue reading "Operation Blue Spoon underway aboard Al Asad" »
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq — Marines from Combat Logistics Regiment 27 (Forward) woke up with the Iraqi sun aboard Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, knowing that the day, Nov. 10, marked 234 years of the Marine Corps’ existence.
Continue reading "Celebration of 234 years brings deployed Marines together" »
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq — The Iraqi Ministry of Defense directed that one detachment of helicopters from 4th Squadron, Iraqi Air Force, be located at Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, in order to provide a rotary wing transportation capability to the Anbar Operations Command, a command center for all Iraqi security forces in Iraq’s Al Anbar province.
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq — Marine Corps participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom is drawing to a close as Marines, sailors and equipment make their way back home or to other parts of the globe. As part of the departure, one of the Marine Corps’ largest bases in the country is on its way to being in the hands of the Iraqi government once again.
Continue reading "Marines leaving Al Taqaddum little by little" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Since the earliest days of the Marine Corps, all Marines have been taught they are riflemen first. This philosophy shines true with the Marines of Task Force East, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward). As they depart Iraq, they do so knowing the basic training they received was the cornerstone for the experiences they shared here. With their deployment at its end, the Marines of TFE reflect on their overall experiences and lessons learned.
Continue reading "Task Force East Marines close chapter on successful deployment" »
CAMP RAMADI, Iraq —
Marines and soldiers stand ready in formation. Distinguished guests begin to filter in. Among them are prominent Iraqi government leaders, paramount sheikhs, Iraqi Police and Army generals, and U.S. military members from all services and units across Iraq. The air is thick with excitement, and more importantly, hope.
Continue reading "Six-year legacy of Marine Corps regiments in Iraq followed by an Army brigade" »
Sgt. Doug Osborn, 27, has already earned a Purple Heart
MUNCIE -- A Purple Heart recipient from Delaware County has volunteered to return to Iraq for his fourth deployment there.
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq - Lt. Col. Kenneth R. Kassner, the commanding officer of 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, officially relieved the Marines of Company E of their duties during a ceremony held aboard Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, Sept. 16, 2009
Continue reading "Reserve LAR company prepares for return to U.S" »
Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs
WASHINGTON - American forces are cleaning out a "very, very big garage" in its drawdown in Iraq, the deputy commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq said, Sept. 22.
Continue reading "U.S. Troops Cleaning Out 'Garages' in Iraq" »
CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – As Regimental Combat Team 6 prepares to hand over military operations in Iraq's Al Anbar province after over five years of Marine Corps presence, to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), we talked with the man once known to some Iraqis as the "Lion of Al Qaim," Marine commander, Col. Matthew Lopez.
Oh, it was a good life. A cushy life. Clean and comfy, polished and primped.
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq - Prior to enlisting in the Marine Corps, every potential Marine sits down with a recruiter and picks out the reasons they want to join from a stack of colorful cards with the words travel, education and discipline, among others that describe most of the reasons someone would make the decision to commit.
Continue reading "Marine's Award-winning Past Leads to His Significant Presence" »
By Amy McCullough - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Aug 30, 2009 8:29:22 EDT
Every Marine has to earn his Eagle, Globe and Anchor, but that doesn’t stop copycats from taking the easy route.
Continue reading "MarPat-like cammies show up on Iraqi troops" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq —
As U.S. forces have begun their responsible drawdown from Iraq, and as combat operations continue to decrease, other types of missions have moved to the forefront. U.S. forces have made a continued effort to pass on their knowledge to the Iraqi Security Forces that will help to ensure security and stability once U.S. forces are completely gone.
Continue reading "Marines of 2nd CEB show Iraqi soldiers new moves" »
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq, - Marine Corps snipers and designated marksmen have been operating across the vast Iraqi deserts since the outbreak of hostilities in 2003.
Continue reading "Sniper's Eye Counters Smuggling in Iraq" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq —
Third Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment relieved 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment during a certificate of relief ceremony Aug. 16, 2009.
Continue reading "3rd Battalion, 9th Marines relieves 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines" »
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq — Marines from Company C, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, or “Comanche Company,” conducted leadership training on an abandoned farming compound north of Sahl Sinjar, Iraq, August 5, 2009.
Continue reading "Comanche Marines conduct leadership training" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq —
Every Marine unit conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom has one thing in common: dedicated hospital corpsmen always prepared to deal with illnesses and injuries, both great and small.
SAHL SINJAR AIRFIELD, Iraq —
From the Rumaylah oil fields in Operation Iraqi Freedom I to Operation Phantom Fury during the retaking of Fallujah to patrolling the western border of Iraq, and now providing security and training for the 11th Iraqi Army Brigade, the Wolfpack Marines have fought our country’s battles in light armored vehicles.
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq —
The population of U.S. forces in Iraq is becoming less dispersed throughout the country as Marines and sailors from Combat Logistics Battalion 4 and Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), are packing up and heading out of Camp Baharia and Combat Outpost Rahwah, two bases in Iraq’s Al Anbar province that have been home to Marines since early 2004 and 2005, respectively.
Continue reading "Marines one step closer to successful drawdown" »
Children walk the streets safely, store fronts are filled with patrons buying goods and the Iraqi Security Forces are seen throughout the Al Anbar province keeping the Iraqi people safe from insurgents and terrorist activity.
With each passing month, the Iraqi army and police have proved more and more they can protect their citizens with less and less coalition help.
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, July 5, 2009
NAJAF, Iraq — It may be hard for Westerners to believe, but one industry that’s booming, despite the global recession, is Iraqi tourism
Story and photos by Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, June 28, 2009
HILLAH, Iraq — The remains of what was once the greatest city in the world occupy a vast site on the bank of the Euphrates River.
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq —
United States Marines pride themselves on being America’s force-in-readiness. At any given time, Marines are prepared to deploy anywhere in the world to defend America and respond to crises. Even while deployed, they still find ways to continue their combat training in order to maintain their reputation of always being mission-ready.
Continue reading "8th Communications Battalion zeros in on combat marksmanship" »
By Clare Kennedy - Owatonna People’s Press via AP
Posted : Monday Jun 8, 2009 6:40:52 EDT
OWATONNA, Minn. — On the morning of her wedding day, Breana Michel stood next to her pastor Rev. Jay Grave. The groom was nowhere to be found in the small house on 15th Street Southeast.
Continue reading "Marine in Iraq gets hitched over the Internet" »
CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq — As the last rays of sunlight duck behind the security barriers aboard Camp Baharia, Iraq, a chorus can be heard. It is not the crickets emerging to greet the night —it’s the Marines of Security Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), gearing up to provide security for a convoy.
It is January in Iraq, the evening temperature has dropped below freezing and we’re on another mission, rolling down the highway. I’ve geared up with layers of undergarments for warmth and outerwear for protection: fire-resistant Nomex to keep my skin from turning crispy in flames and body armor to keep the pointy stuff from poking holes in my body. Anyone who rides motorcycles, as I do, knows the value of good protective gear. But I don’t focus on it.
CAMP YASSIR, Iraq – With flags waving high and feet pounding the ground in a steady rhythm, soldiers with Commando Battalion, 7th Iraqi Army Division, showed off their military talents during a demonstration aboard Al Asad Air Base, May 23, 2009.
Continue reading "Iraqi commandos show off their combat skills for MNF-W commanding general" »
KSDK -- Dozens of marines from across the Midwest, including the St. Louis area, have been called to duty.
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq —
Western Al Anbar was considered ‘the wild west’ at the beginning of the insurgency in 2004. It wasn’t until after the Anbar awakening in 2006 that the area began to move forward democratically. Now civic leaders and politicians have assembled together to discuss better ways to reallocate provincial funding.
Continue reading "RCT-8 supports EPRT organize western Al Anbar Civic Leaders Conference" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq —
Western Al Anbar was considered ‘the wild west’ at the beginning of the insurgency in 2004. It wasn’t until after the Anbar awakening in 2006 that the area began to move forward democratically. Now civic leaders and politicians have assembled together to discuss better ways to reallocate provincial funding.
Continue reading "RCT-8 supports EPRT organize western Al Anbar Civic Leaders Conference" »
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq — A city girl from coastal California shocked her relatives and friends when she became the first in her family to join the Marine Corps in 2005.
Continue reading "Female Marine serves as gunner, Lioness in Iraq" »
CAMP AL TAQADDUM, Iraq — Even before Feb. 17, when President Barack Obama announced his strategy for Iraq, the operational tempo for Marines and sailors within the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) in Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, was high.
Continue reading "Removing unnecessary gear from Iraq: a crucial step in a responsible drawdown" »
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq —
First Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 8, relinquished its operational responsibilities in Iraq’s Ninewa province, Iraq to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, April 7, 2009. Operating from a remote airfield near the Sinjar Mountains, the Marines of 1st LAR Bn. spent the majority of their seven-month deployment interdicting smuggling and conducting reconnaissance in the open desert terrain.
Continue reading "Wolfpack takes control of Ninewa Province from Highlanders" »
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 9, 2009 14:39:14 EDT
WASHINGTON — A military team sent to evaluate electrical problems at U.S. facilities in Iraq determined there was a high risk that flawed wiring could cause further “catastrophic results” — namely, the electrocutions of U.S. soldiers.
Continue reading "Safety team: Iraq site wiring deemed risky" »
Soldiers hope to build on existing peace
Kaneohe Marines who have deployed more than once to Iraq say the country is now far more peaceful and amenable to community building projects.
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — When the focus of military operations in Iraq shifted from direct combat actions to stabilization and peacekeeping missions, Marines in combat units manning tactical control points throughout the country began using search and seizure methods to capture insurgents trying to smuggle weapons and other contraband through the checkpoints.
Dateline
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq —
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“First to fight” is a phrase that often comes to mind when referring to the Marine Corps. Not only is being the first to engage the enemy very important, but reacting quickly to a call for assistance or help is imperative.
Continue reading "Tank Marines take responsibilities as quick reaction force" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq —
When Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur arrived in Iraq for the first time in September 2008, he pledged to make an impact in the far reaches of the western Al Anbar desert.
Continue reading "Coalition forces focus on helping victims of war" »
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, March 10, 2009
CAMP EAGLE, Iraq — Which costs more: Buying a box full of toothbrushes or mailing it halfway around the world?
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 6, 2009 19:10:18 EST
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Marines with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s detachment of CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters left their ship at sea earlier this week and are flying combat support missions in Iraq.
Continue reading "CH-53s from 13th MEU fly support in Iraq" »
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Feb 28, 2009 15:01:50 EST
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military map in Iraq in early 2010: Marines are leaving the western desert, Army units are in the former British zone in the south and the overall mission is coalescing around air and logistics hubs in central and northern Iraq.
Continue reading "Leaving Iraq: Shift south, exit through desert" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq – The famous poet Khalil Gibran once stated in Sand and Foam, “We shall never understand one another until we reduce the language to seven words.” Arabic and English are equally comprised of thousands of words, and Marines here have found each of the words as equally important to their linguistic counterparts.
Continue reading "CAG Marines learn conversational Arabic" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq —
In a combat environment it is not uncommon to see Navy corpsmen. These servicemembers often times sacrifice their personal safety to ensure Marines receive proper medical treatment in order to remain combat effective. For some corpsmen, the sacrifice is deeper than most people know.
Continue reading "Navy Surgeon leaves family practice for front lines" »
SAHL SINJAR AIRFIELD, Iraq — The sun had barely peaked over the horizon as a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, affectionately known as the Battle Wagon, and more than 30 other vehicles carrying Marines, civilian contractors, and one interpreter, rolled out of Al Asad early Sunday morning, Feb. 8, 2009.
Continue reading "CLB-2 makes long haul to remote location of Iraq" »
CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – With Iraqi training and partnered operations taking priority in Iraq, Force Reconnaissance Marines have taken it to the next level, incorporating specialforces training with an elite group of Iraqi soldiers during a 10-day training exercise that started here, Feb. 7.
Continue reading "Reconnaissance Marines harden Iraqi Special Forces" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq —
For the past five months, the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment have been conducting operations in the Iraq’s Rutbah district, which covers nearly 4,000 square miles of open desert terrain interspersed with towns, villages and nomadic-shepherd communities in Iraq’s western Al Anbar province.
Continue reading "Reservists help reconstruct a nation, one line at a time" »
What are the odds?
Continue reading "Twin brothers meet by chance in Iraqi desert" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq —
While deployed, Marines often depend on phone calls and e-mails to keep in contact with their families. Some Marines however, can find themselves separated from a loved one by just a few miles.
Continue reading "Brothers meet up during deployment to Iraq" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq —
When the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 8 arrived at al Asad Air Base in western Iraq in early September, they were faced with an immediate challenge: transportation.
Continue reading "Reserve motor transportation Marines keep the mission rolling" »
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – Regimental Combat Team 8 relieved Regimental Combat Team 5 at a ceremony here today.
Continue reading "Regimental Combat Team 5 turns over with Regimental Combat Team 8" »
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq – For the past75 days, the Marines and sailors of Company C, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion have been living and operating in the open areas near the Sinjar Mountains of northern Iraq to interdict smuggling on the Iraqi-Syrian border. After this extended period, the “Warpigs” recently turned over responsibility of the region to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division so that they may return to Sinjar Airfield for further missions.
Continue reading "Warpigs of 1st LAR hand off smuggling search in northern Iraq" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq —
Keeping in peak physical condition isn’t an exception but more like a rule for Marines and this mindset doesn’t change during deployment.
Continue reading "‘Semper Fit’ more than motto to RCT-8 Marines" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq -- Constant communication between leaders at all levels is important whether they are deep in the sands of Iraq, the mountainous regions of Afghanistan or the confines of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Continue reading "RCT-8 Communication Marines: keeping it connected during the fight" »
COMBAT OUTPOST AKASHAT, Iraq —
Local Iraqi Police teamed up with Marines and sailors from Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 8, Jan. 14 to give students something to look forward to after finishing their annual standardized tests at Akashat Primary School.
Continue reading "IP, Marineshelp change perceptions in rural al-Anbar province" »
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq – If they have fought in ‘every clime and place’ as the Marines’ Hymn recounts, maybe a verse should be added for clarity. What would it say? Perhaps something about ‘for however long it takes with minimal supplies…’
Continue reading "1st LAR Bn. secures remote northern Iraq, impeding insurgents" »
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Marines and sailors of Regimental Combat Team 8 said goodbye to their loved ones here Jan. 6 as they departed for a scheduled one-year deployment to al Asad, Iraq.
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq – Drop a stone into a pond. Its ripples reach far from where it entered. Marines of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion tested this philosophy here with an agriculture project, trading stones for barley seed and their pond for local villages of Northern Iraq.
Continue reading "Marines of 1st LAR Bn. plant a seed for local economy" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Iraqi Police in Karmah demonstrated their ability to take charge of a crime scene after a suicide bomber attacked citizens and policemen on a local highway in Fallujah, Iraq, Dec. 28.
Continue reading "Iraqi police respond to Fallujah attack" »
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2009 – U.S. Marines raised the American flag yesterday during the dedication ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker declared “a new era” for Iraq and the Iraqi-U.S. relationship.
Continue reading "Marines Raise Flag on New U.S. Embassy in Baghdad" »
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 5, 2009 16:24:12 EST
BAGHDAD — The United States opened its new embassy in Iraq under tight security Monday, the most visible sign of what U.S. officials call a new chapter in relations between America and a more sovereign Iraq.
Continue reading "New U.S. embassy inaugurated in Baghdad" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – “He’s bleeding out of a major artery! He’s going into shock! Get his pulse and apply a tourniquet, now!”
COMBAT OUTPOST RAWAH, Iraq — The expeditionary nature of the Marine Corps requires a responsive and capable force able to adapt to the ever-changing mission of the Global War on Terror and operations in Iraq.
Continue reading "Battalion takes root in new area of operations" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the commanding general of Multi-National Corps Iraq, visited Marines and Sailors with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, at Camp Baharia in Fallujah, Iraq, Dec. 25.
FALLUJAH, Iraq – The holiday season can pose a particularly hard time for some service members deployed overseas and away from their families.
Continue reading "Taking care of your own, one package at a time" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Scout snipers with Teams 2 and 4 of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, have taken on a new role during their deployment to Iraq.
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq — Always faithful; a saying by which Marines and sailors of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion fight and one by which their chaplain shapes a deeper meaning, exemplifying a way to live a life.
Continue reading "Chaplain helps Marines stay Semper Fidelis" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – There is nothing like a backyard barbecue to take your mind off the daily grind of fighting terrorism.
Continue reading "Barbecue a morale booster for Marines in Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – There is nothing like a backyard barbecue to take your mind off the daily grind of fighting terrorism.
Continue reading "Barbecue a morale booster for Marines in Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marines with Company B, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1 assisted Iraqi Police during a humanitarian-aid operation in the Muallimeen area of Fallujah, Iraq, Dec. 3.
Continue reading "Marines support Iraqi police with aid operation" »
AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq- Marines and sailors assigned to Task Force Mech, Regimental Combat team 5 are conducting various operations here to improve the securityand to assist the Iraqi people where needed.
Continue reading "Task Force Mech makes tracks through al-Anbar" »
AL-ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq — Amidst the array of Coalition force operations in the area, medical attention is still offered to the Iraqi populace by Task Force Mech, Regimental Combat Team 5.
Continue reading "Tanks supply area with medical attention" »
NINEWEH PROVINCE, Iraq – Watch out Al-Qaeda, the Marines have just set up shop.
Continue reading "“Diablos” Take The Reins From 3rd Cavalry" »
NINEWEH PROVINCE, Iraq – It wasn’t long after breakfast on Nov. 12 that Lance Cpl. Russell L. Pope was sitting in the cold in the back of a Light Armored Vehicle driving through a small town in western Nineveh province.
Continue reading "Diablos test waters with patrol in unfriendly city" »
SAHL SINJAR, Iraq – On ground that was little more than a strip of cement surrounded by desert, a veritable camp now stands, built and manned by Marines of Task Force Ninewa ready to hunt foreign fighters and terrorists near the Syrian border.
Continue reading "Task Force Ninewa pounds ground into northern Iraq to take down Al Qaeda" »
Fallujah, Iraq — Just four years ago the streets of Fallujah were a hot zone for terrorist activity. Now that the area is stabilized, Coalition Forces are in the process of returning Camp Fallujah to the Iraqi government.
Continue reading "CLB-5 hits the ground running: New move ensures success for Iraqis, CLB-5" »
RUTBAH, Iraq — A patrol of Reserve Marines, soldiers and sailors, led by Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, showed their support for local schools and introduced children to the role that women serve in the U.S. armed forces when visiting the Houran Primary School in Rutbah, Iraq, Dec. 2.
There is a peace surrounded by insurrection in Rhamadi, Iraq.
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — Reserve Marines from 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 based here received an honored guest at their remote desert outpost Nov. 26.
Continue reading "Reserve Marines Host Distinguished Visitor" »
Fallujah, Iraq — Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter visited Marines and other service members operating in Fallujah, Iraq, during the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Continue reading "Secretary of the Navy visits troops in Fallujah" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — When Lt. Col. Geoff Rollins took command of 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team in October 2006, he had a daunting task before him.
RUTBAH, Iraq — And then there was light.
Continue reading "Utility Marines light up Rutbah TCPs, gain knowledge" »
FERRIS, Iraq — A recent enemy attack at a hospital in Ferris, Iraq has Marines and Iraqi Security Forces searching the city for clues to find suspects linked to the incident.
Continue reading "Marines, Iraqi Security Forces search for answers to Ferris attack" »
AL-ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq — Reserve Marines from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 based here drove more than 200 miles Nov. 9 to conduct a security patrol and inspect construction of new Iraqi forts along the country’s border with Syria.
Continue reading "Marines Maintain Vigilance on Syrian Border" »
AL-ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq — Reserve Marines from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 based here drove more than 200 miles Nov. 9 to conduct a security patrol and inspect construction of new Iraqi forts along the country’s border with Syria.
Continue reading "Marines Maintain Vigilance on Syrian Border" »
SINJAR AIRFIELD, Iraq -- (November 11, 2008) What does it take to keep a mechanized infantry battalion rolling? At more than 12 tons each, light armored vehicle sounds like a contradictory name, but there’s nothing light about the mission these Marines have.
Continue reading "Skilled hands of maintenance Marines keep 1st LAR rolling" »
CAMP RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 11, 2008) — Founded in a small Philadelphia tavern on Nov. 10, 1775, by order of the Second Continental Congress, the Marine Corps’ history books were opened, and today, in Ramadi, Iraq, 2008, the pages are still being written.
Continue reading "Marines celebrate birthday alongside Iraqi counterparts" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marines with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, took a brief moment away from daily combat operations to celebrate the 233rd Marine Corps birthday at Camp Baharia in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 10.
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marines with Company C, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, assisted by Iraqi Police, issued identification badges to civilians living in the Abuyuset area near Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 8.
Marines and sailors are headed to Anbar province, but first, the pain of leaving family -- again.
Reporting from Camp Pendleton -- The drill was new to some of the families attached to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369. But it was a familiar and heartbreaking scene Sunday for most, who said goodbye yet again to hundreds of Marines deploying to Iraq for repeat tours.
Continue reading "Another tour in Iraq, another tearful goodbye for Marines" »
HIT, Iraq — All Marines are taught a skill at the beginning of their military careers that will help support the Marine Corps. Some Marines, though, bring their own skills.
Continue reading "From personal trainer to Marine; Marine passes on knowledge" »
HIT, Iraq — While some Marines have trouble making an edible hot pocket for themselves at home, the chow hall Marines of Task Force 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 have proven themselves qualified cooks, even in Iraq.
By Charles Levinson - USA Today
Posted : Monday Oct 27, 2008 6:39:27 EDT
BAGHDAD — When the clock strikes midnight Dec. 31, the U.S. military’s days of operating freely in Iraq will come to an abrupt end — regardless of whether a new long-term security agreement is in place, current and former military officials say.
Continue reading "Next year will be different for troops in Iraq" »
HIT, Iraq — Even during the fast tempo of a deployment, Marines do what they can to relax when they get down time.
COMBAT OUTPOST TREBIL, Iraq — When you step into the mess hall here, the first thing you notice is the smell of gourmet coffee. Next, you notice an orderly array of shelf-stable meals displayed in cubbies along the plywood walls, available to the post’s Marines 24-hours a day.
Continue reading "Reserve MP spices up life for Marines at remote outpost" »
RAWAH, Iraq — Six months of security posts and sector patrols have come to an end here for Marines with 1st Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battlalion, 2nd Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5, who left their posts at Traffic Control Points 3 and 4 Oct. 12 when Provisional Rifle Platoon 3, RCT-5 assumed the watch.
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Most Marines agree taking care of the man on your left and right is the number one concern in combat.
RAWAH, Iraq — Combat Outpost Rawah, Iraq -- Atop the flatbed of a seven-ton truck and behind wooden pallets stacked as a barrier, gladiators took cover from incoming fire. They popped up to return suppressive fire, and the soccer ball onslaught continued for nearly an hour.
HIT, Iraq — The American Gladiators paid a visit to the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 to show their support and have some fun Oct. 8.
Titan, Militia, Panther, Phoenix and Venom, stars from the television show “American Gladiators,” traveled here to sign autographs and take pictures with the Marines.
Continue reading "American Gladiators bring fight to Marines" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — It takes a lot of gear to run a battalion. Infantrymen need weapons and chow. Mechanics need parts and tools. Everyone needs something, and aside from haircuts, it all comes from one place: supply.
Continue reading "Supply gives Highlanders goods to keep tip of the spear sharp" »
RAMADI, IRAQ — RAMADI, IRAQ (October 5, 2008) – Just over seven months ago, service members with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, packed their bags and traveled halfway across the world to Iraq, marking the unit’s first battalion-sized deployment since its reactivation in late 2005.
Continue reading "Legendary Marine battalion completes Iraq deployment" »
RAMADI, Iraq — RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 4, 2008) – With the dust settling on their seven-month deployment, Marines of 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team, 1 are handing over their area of operations in Ramadi, Iraq, to 2nd Bn., 9th Marines.
Continue reading "‘Trading Spaces’; Camp Lejeune units pass torch in Iraq" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — Marines and sailors of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5 finished movement here Sunday as they took the reins for mechanized security in al-Anbar province from 2nd LAR Bn., RCT-5.
Continue reading "1st LAR Bn. takes over mechanized security for al-Anbar province" »
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. —
Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, deployed to Al Anbar province from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom Sept. 23, 2008.
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — Reserve Marines from 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, headquartered in Garden City, N.Y., arrived here in late September to support RCT-5’s security and stability mission in western al-Anbar province.
Continue reading "Reserve Marines settle in at Korean Village" »
The Iraq war has faded as an item of interest to the national press because the violence has plummeted, while a consensus has formed that the American military learned from experience and now knows what it’s doing. In 2006, we were losing the war; today, the military trajectory is encouraging, and U.S. forces are slowly withdrawing. During my 15th trip to Iraq in August, for the first time I didn’t hear a shot fired. In several cities, I walked into markets with only a few American soldiers, and was immediately surrounded by Iraqis eager to talk about the economy, security, politics, whatever.
Continue reading "Decency, Toughness ... and No Shortcuts" »
Haditha, Iraq – Marines aren't paid to be pacifists. So perhaps it's not surprising that some Marines here are actually a little disappointed that the situation isn't more "kinetic" – that is, that they aren't seeing more action.
Continue reading "Dillow's Iraq: Marines aren't paid to be pacifists" »
HIT, Iraq — The Marines of Task Force 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 assumed control of an area of operations previously held by 3rd Bn., 4th Marines and will continue to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
FORT LESLEY J. MCNAIR, D.C., Sept. 9, 2008 – The United States will continue to reduce its troop strength in Iraq, but will increase its footprint in Afghanistan, President Bush said here today.
By Bryan Mitchell - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 9, 2008 19:44:48 EDT
With the Corps’ mission in Iraq’s Anbar province all but stamped with the seal of success, Commandant Gen. James Conway is again positioning his service to take on a larger role in fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, where about 3,500 Marines have fought throughout much of 2008.
Continue reading "Marines plan next moves after Anbar success" »
WASHINGTON - President Bush will announce his decision on future troops levels in Iraq next week and is expected to largely follow the recommendations of military leaders to reduce the number by up to 8,000 by mid-January.
Continue reading "Bush to announce US troop levels in Iraq next week" »
KARMAH, Iraq – In an act of defiance toward al-Qaida in Iraq, Karmah sheikhs and Marines with Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, recently held their first meeting since a suicide vest attack killed 20 local leaders and key tribal figures and three Marines, June 26, 2008.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Marine officer said on Wednesday he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former al Qaeda stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Top U.S. Marine sees shift from Iraq to Afghanistan" »
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Marine commandant said Wednesday that his forces in Iraq's once-volatile western Anbar province can be reduced, as the military moves to hand over control of the region to the Iraqis next week.
Continue reading "Fewer Marines needed in Iraq's western province" »
By Bryan Mitchell - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 27, 2008 15:52:57 EDT
After a summer of delays, the highly touted handover of security in the once-volatile Anbar province of Iraq is scheduled for next week, the top Marine in Iraq said Tuesday.
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Marines and sailors from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, departed the Combat Center Aug. 26 and 27 on a seven-month deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Marines and sailors from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, departed the Combat Center Aug. 26 and 27 on a seven-month deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq – A Marine underwent an immense transition from monitoring pay to becoming the eyes and ears of the battalion commander.
Continue reading "Admin to Grunt: Battalion Commander’s eyes and ears" »
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. —
In the years since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, ordinary Iraqi citizens have stepped forward and taken an active role in charting their country’s future.
Continue reading "Iraqi sheikh prepares Lejeune Marines for upcoming deployment" »
By Bryan Mitchell - [email protected]
Posted : August 18, 2008
For the third time in six years, II Marine Expeditionary Force will deploy to Iraq sometime in early 2009, but it will be a much different tour than the unit’s 2007 mission.
Continue reading "II MEF likely to get better Anbar welcome" »
RAMADI, IRAQ -- As Iraqi officials and the U.S. military haggle over when to let Anbar province take control of its own security, a row of broken-down Ford pickups in a Ramadi schoolyard offers a sobering picture of the readiness of the region's security forces.
Continue reading "Marines inch closer to a formal transfer of security control to Iraqis in Anbar" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq – The Warlords of Jump Platoon have the responsibility of escorting the battalion commander anywhere he needs to go around the Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 area of operations.
Continue reading "Jump Platoon explores roads less traveled" »
COMBAT OUTPOST RIO LOBO, Iraq – The most important natural resource for Coalition Forces in Iraq is water.
Continue reading "Engineers, LAR’s plans may put H2O back in Rio Lobo" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — A quiet base in the western Al Anbar province was filled with sounds of electric guitars and the crash of cymbals July 10.
CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq — CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (August 10, 2008) – Since June 28, 2004, when the Coalition Provisional Authority officially transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government, Marines have done their part to assist the Iraqi people in building a unified Iraq with the political and economic stability needed to govern itself.
Continue reading "Knowledge, skill, will: 1/2 Marines hit ground running" »
COMBAT OUTPOST AKASHAT, Iraq — It’s common for Marines to refer to each other as brothers-in-arms, but the esprit de corps might just be stronger between two Marines who are actually full-blooded brothers serving in the same unit.
HIT, Iraq — Combat engineers have assisted 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, with bringing things down to the ground or raising things up from ground level.
Continue reading "Engineers increase battalion’s abilities" »
UM AL WAZZ, Iraq – Western al-Anbar province was one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq in recent years, and Marine units operating there have encountered threats ranging from improvised explosive devices to small-arms firefights.
Continue reading "Marines target oil smuggling, protect citizens" »
RAMADI, Iraq — RAMADI, Iraq (August 2, 2008) – Mustafa, a 14-year-old Iraqi boy, couldn’t stand still during a recent soccer tournament at the grand reopening of the 17th Street Soccer field July 24.
Continue reading "Ramadi citizens gather for soccer field reopening" »
HADITHA, Iraq -- The K3 Oil Refinery opened July 18 and is ready to pump life into the city of Haditha and Anbar province, Iraq.
COMBAT OUTPOST AKASHAT, Iraq —
A Marine started several years ago to learn Arabic, a language spoken throughout the Middle East. Recognizing the value of the talent, he decided to put it to use helping his country.
Continue reading "Marine’s Arabic skills benefit operation" »
KARMA, Iraq – A large percentage of new businesses in the U.S. fail within the first year.Starting a business in Iraq is no different, if not harder, but with the help of Marines with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, four Iraqi businessmen have hopes of beating the odds.
COMBAT OUTPOST AKASHAT, Iraq —
The stresses of a constant operational tempo give Marines the need for something to balance out the tension. Some Marines have found a way to relax by participating in outdoor sporting activities.
AKASHAT, Iraq — Another Iraqi Police station became an independent unit in Al Anbar province during a ceremony here July 9. During the ceremony, Marines with Delta Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd LAR Bn., Regimental Combat Team 5 passed responsibility of the city of Akashat to the IPs.
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq — A company of Marines, in one of the most secluded combat outposts in Iraq, had an unusual visit by a special group of entertainers from Hollywood, Calif..
HIT, Iraq — Marines here played the role of policemen by following one lead to another to bring down criminals and make the area safer for everyone.
By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday May 31, 2008 7:55:39 EDT
WESTERN IRAQ — This isn’t the combat mission these Marines expected.
Navy docs staff medical facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan
TAQADDUM AIR BASE, IRAQ ---- It wasn’t a roadside bomb or small-arms fire that put Marine Lance Cpl. Douglas Cox in a hospital bed here last week.
Continue reading "MILITARY: Treating the wounded in the Middle East" »
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's National Museum on Sunday welcomed the return of more than 700 antiquities stolen during the chaos that followed the U.S.-led invasion five years ago.
Continue reading "Baghdad museum receives artifacts stolen from Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Entry control points (ECP) throughout Fallujah are designed to protect the city from harm and prevent people from transporting illegal contraband such as weapons and explosive materials. Coalition forces discovered the enemy exploiting the cultural sensitivity precluding the search of females by having females carry contraband into the city.
Continue reading "Sisters of Fallujah break barriers, build security" »
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2008 – More than a year ago, the Iraqi city of Ramadi was a ruin of blasted buildings amid a population ravaged by al Qaeda terrorists and the effects of war, but the capital of Anbar province is bouncing back, a senior U.S. military commander in Iraq said today.
Continue reading "Commander Cites Ramadi’s Recovery as Example of Iraq Success" »
By Richard S. Lowry
March 12, 2008
December 12, 2004 changed Jason and Lindsey Arellano’s lives forever. U.S. Marine Sergeant Jason R Arellano, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, Kilo Company, 2nd Platoon’s third squad leader found himself in Iraq for the second time. He had last seen American soil on September 11, 2004, leaving his loved ones in prayer and anticipation. Jason and Lindsey recently shared the following write-up with me after I contacted him to request an interview for my book. Jason told me that they wanted to write it all down before the memories faded. Hopefully, they will gather other stories of that fateful day and publish a book of their own. No doubt, I will tell Sergeant Jason Arellano’s story, but this poignant tale will be left for their telling.about
Continue reading "Recording History - Part XIII - Jason and Lindsey" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 6, 2008) -- Just mentioning of the city of Fallujah conjures up images of a devastated city ripped apart by the horrors of war. It was November 2004, there were an estimated 2,000 insurgents infesting the city prepared to fight to the death and it was the Marine Corps’ job to facilitate this. After bitter house-to-house fighting the Marines took the city. In the battle’s wake, laid a city in ruin. Numerous buildings turned to rubble, the streets littered with debris, any form or city infrastructure such as water and power eliminated. It was total devastation.
WOW, what a flight! After a non-stop from Denver to Frankfurt and then right on to Kuwait, we finally arrived last night and checked into our hotel here in Kuwait City.
Continue reading "Jason Elam's Diary from Iraq: Day 1; Broncos kicker visiting U.S. soldiers" »
COMBAT OUPOST AKASHAT, Iraq – Intelligence specialists at the battalion level support a large area of operations, but some ground combat companies prefer to have “intel” elements at their level, especially when that unit is responsible for a large area itself.
Continue reading "Company intel changes pace of operations" »
(CNN) -- The Iraqi leadership at a military camp east of Baghdad gave the U.S. military a $1,000 check last week to aid victims of California's wildfires, the U.S. military said.
Continue reading "Iraqi soldiers donate $1,000 for wildfire aid" »
NEAR KARMAH, Iraq (Aug. 14, 2007) -- We live in the electronic age. The added comfort of phone and internet capabilities in forward areas can ease strain on personal relationships and business matters “back home.” During the brief contact service members have with their loved ones, generally only the most important words are exchanged: “How’s the baby? Really, her first tooth?” or “I’m safe, I love you.” Our phone calls “back home” are a great break from the reality of everyday life here. Rest assured, when a Marine hangs up the phone, he goes right back to scratching heat rash. He can smell his dirty body, feel his sore shoulders and hear IEDs in the distant night. While making a phone call can be the best part of the week, hanging up is the worst.
Continue reading "Understanding stress in a combat environment" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (July 6, 2007) -- Smells of secret sauces and spices filled the inside of the dining facility as employees from Outback Steakhouse prepared Bloomin’ Onions, calamari, and pasta. Outside, the scent of sizzling steaks rose from the grill and wafted throughout the base.
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 21, 2007 5:57:26 EDT
Marines are getting too comfortable at their dug-in bases in Iraq, the Corps’ top officer told an audience at the Naval War College on June 13.
Continue reading "Conway: Marines too comfy at Iraq bases" »
Northern Iraq —- "There he goes! He's moving, he's moving!" cries my gunner. From a hidden alley, a white sedan fishtails onto the road ahead, its rear window shattering as the passengers open fire with AK-47s. As the bullets spray past our Humvee, the blistered air fills with the various whines, hums and snaps of our high-velocity passage. Above, my gunner takes aim, and the fight begins.
AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (June 17, 2007) -- After President William McKinley dotted the i’s June 17, 1898, the U.S. Navy’s Hospital Corps was established. One hundred and nine years later, sailors here carried out a ceremony to celebrate the birthday of one of the most decorated organizations in the military.
Continue reading "Hospital Corps celebrates 109th birthday" »
Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 also helicopter pads in Al Taqqadum
By Cpl. Ryan R. Jackson
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward)
AL ASAD, Iraq, June 7, 2007 — If you could spend a day with an expeditionary airfield Marine in the United States, you would see them catching fighter jets with emergency arresting gear on the flightline. In Iraq, you would see them sweep flightlines for damage and making rapid repairs to ensure a safe landing zone.
Continue reading "Expeditionary Airfield Techs Build, Maintain Airfields" »
RAMADI, Iraq - It began with a house-to-house sweep through what U.S. forces said was one of this city's last insurgent strongholds. It ended with rooftop gunfights, airstrikes and dead guerrillas on the streets — one sprawled next to a grenade he was about to hurl.
AL ASAD, Iraq -- When a servicemember is wounded in combat, his comrades quickly apply first aid and call for a medical evacuation; taking the first steps towards saving his life. When the helicopter arrives, the wounded man is loaded and transported to the hospital, where he is met at the landing pad by a team of medics and doctors who rush the servicemember into the hospital. At the hospital, the real lifesaving begins.
Sgt. Eddie Jeffers was killed in Iraq on September 19, 2007. He was 23.
I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – A Marine tank struck an improvised explosive device today in Fallujah.
Nov. 28, 2006 — ABC News has learned that Pentagon officials are considering a major strategic shift in Iraq, to move U.S. forces out of the dangerous Sunni-dominated al-Anbar province and join the fight to secure Baghdad.
ROXBURY TWP. – Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Masterson said his convoy was driving down an Iraqi roadway when it came to a sudden halt because a young Iraqi girl was sitting in the middle of the road, clutching a Teddy bear.
Continue reading "Marine pen pal tells of Iraqi experiences" »
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military denied on Thursday reports it had killed the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and Iraqi officials said they were awaiting the results of DNA tests on several suspects killed in a raid.
Continue reading "U.S. denies killing al Qaeda leader in Iraq" »
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.
Continue reading "Purple Heart recipients appreciative of their protective equipment" »
Navy Lt. Stacey R. Black stands in front of a CH-53E Super Stallion shortly before flight Aug. 20, at Al Asad, Iraq. Black is a flight surgeon for Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and a native of Huntsville, Texas
Continue reading "Flight surgeon looks to future while deployed to Al Asad" »
We call it "the war in Iraq." But to many of the Marines here, it's not really a war – at least not on their side.
CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (Aug. 14, 2006) -- Marines from A Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5 paused their operations to honor one of their fallen, Aug. 14.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2006) -- Tank mechanics with the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based C Company, 1st Tank Battalion log in 12-plus hour days, usually six or more days a week, turning wrenches and repairing parts to keep a fleet of 68-ton M1A1 Main Battle Tanks operational.
Continue reading "Tank mechanics work around clock to keep tanks running, Marines safe" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2006) -- Tank mechanics with the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based C Company, 1st Tank Battalion log in 12-plus hour days, usually six or more days a week, turning wrenches and repairing parts to keep a fleet of 68-ton M1A1 Main Battle Tanks operational.
Continue reading "Tank mechanics work around clock to keep tanks running, Marines safe" »
BAGHDADI, Iraq (Aug. 14, 2006) -- The quick thinking, coupled with a series of well-aimed shots, by a Marine on post saved lives July 27, 2006, according to Marines and Iraqi soldiers serving here.
Continue reading "Marine’s quick thinking saved lives, comrades say" »
The Marine Corps Marathon is coming to Iraq this October with parallel races scheduled for Arlington, Va., and Anbar province, Iraq, organizers said.
Continue reading "Marine Corps Marathon set for Iraq in October" »
Ar-Rutbah, Iraq Just after midnight, the night patrol embarks from its small but heavily bunkered and concertina-wired outpost on the edge of this small town in southwestern Al Anbar Province. They are 10 young American Marines, venturing into the darkness on the other side of the world.
Marines alter their tactics as attackers become increasingly sophisticated in the Iraqi city, a Sunni insurgent stronghold.
RAMADI, Iraq — The orange-red glow of the tracer rounds burns bright in the dusk, forming a perfect cone over the heads of the Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrolling a dusty walled street.
Four Eastern Upper Peninsula men are part of a group of 200 U.S. Marine Reserves making their last visit to Michigan before being deployed into the Iraq conflict.
“We've been training in California since June 1,” said LCpl. Jacob Green of Sugar Island regarding his unit - Bravo Company First Battalion/24th Marines out of Saginaw.
A Medford resident in Iraq recently spent two days being treated for injuries after an Improvised Explosive Device blew up the vehicle he was driving.
Stephen McLaughlin was driving a Humvee down a road near Fallujah, one he had driven down many times, when he saw a pothole that was "bigger than it was before," said his father, Joseph McLaughlin, who spoke to his son by satellite phone last week
Staff Sgt. Steven Pereira greets his wife, Stefanie, as he embraces his daughters, Chloey and Briannah, after returning from Iraq. Approximately 100 Marines and Sailors from Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 returned, Friday.
Continue reading "Family, friends welcome home Death Jesters" »
U.S. Crew Knows Risks Of Iraq Bomb-Clearing
RAMADI, Iraq -- A red sun sinks behind a dusty row of tents at Camp Ramadi, and another shift begins for the dogged crew of soldiers and Marines who nightly scour this city's streets for bombs.
Continue reading "In Ramadi, Steel Nerves Needed for Night Ride" »
WASHINGTON – The man nominated to be the next Marine Corps commandant told a Senate committee yesterday that the decisions to disband the Iraqi army and to bar all members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party from holding government jobs left U.S. commanders with too few troops and duties for which they were not prepared.
In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway lived up to his reputation for being brutally candid. He won glowing praise from the committee leaders and a promise of easy confirmation.
Continue reading "Marine wins over Senate committee with candid take on problems in Iraq" »
Enemies that fade into civilian crowds, using hospitals and schools as hideouts and watching every move you make from the shadows. How do American troops prevail against them?
By learning to tell apart the good guys from the bad. By winning the good guys to your side.
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (July 20, 2006) - Marines of the Personnel Recovery and Processing unit at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, carry the remains of a fallen service member into a waiting aircraft at Camp Taqaddum’s airfield for transportation to the United States. The mission of PRP is to inventory the personal effects, identify the types of wounds sustained, and prepare the remains of service members killed in the Al Anbar province for transportation to Dover Air Force Base. The Marine Corps’ Personnel Retrieval and Processing units, formerly known as mortuary affairs, serve as a stepping stone on the journey home for those killed while serving in what is arguably the most dangerous province for U.S. service members in Iraq. Called PRP for short, the units are made up of 51 reserve Marines and sailors from various units and job fields. At Camp Taqaddum, a main logistics base located between Fallujah and Ramadi, the Marines have converted an old Iraqi Air Force hangar into the processing center for those killed in the Sunni-dominated area west of Baghdad.
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT -- Even with only the first few rays of dawn and the unnatural glow of lights from a hangar early Monday, it was clear April Tripepi, pregnant with her second child, was fighting back tears. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Matthew Tripepi, held their 5-month-old son in his arms for the last time for six months. She could only manage to nod when asked whether she was proud of him.
Continue reading "Marines to deploy to Iraq, some for second or third time" »
Cpl. Brian M. Henner, a 22-year-old Marine from Rochester, N.Y., displays the Kevlar helmet he wore July 23, 2006, when he was shot in the head by an insurgent. Henner, a combat photographer with Regimental Combat Team 7, was shot in the helmet when insurgents, hidden in a near-by tree-line, fired upon Marines manning a vehicle inspection checkpoint. The incident took place in Haqlaniyah – one of three Euphrates River valley cities in the western portion of Al Anbar Province which make up the Haditha Triad region. “If I didn’t have it on, it probably would have went into the top of my head,” said Henner, a two-time veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. “It didn’t just graze, it dug in to the helmet, but that’s why we wear them, though.” Henner was photographing the Marines’ activities when the gun fight began, and was caught in the middle. After firing several rounds at the insurgents, he began crawling along the median away from the insurgents’ fire – that’s when he was shot in the head, he said.
Continue reading "Marine photographer says Kevlar helmet saved him from enemy bullet in Iraq" »
Cpl. Bryan D. Escobedo, a U.S. Marine and combat engineer attached to the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, carries lumber for use in the construction of bunkers July 27, 2006, at Camp Korean Village, Iraq. Bunkers are just one example of the various construction projects combat engineers frequently build to help protect Marines and Iraqi soldiers throughout the country’s Al Anbar Province. The engineers, trained in demolition, mine detection, and construction, operate in this vast desert stretching from the Jordanian border about 120 miles east towards the Euphrates River. Most of the engineers’ time is focused on beefing up security measures at the various U.S. military bases throughout Anbar’s western desert region. “We’re jacks of all trades,” said Cpl. Joshua T. Raney, a 21-year-old combat engineer attached to the battalion’s engineer detachment. “Without us, a lot of weapons caches, and IEDs would not have been found, and a lot of stuff wouldn’t have been built- we just make things a little easier for everyone.” In addition to the fortifications, combat engineers are keeping Coalition Forces safer by disposing of unexploded ordnance. Since their arrival in March, the engineers disposed of more than 500 pounds of ordnance – mortars, rockets, bombs, and other munitions. “We’re cutting down on the insurgents’ munitions,” said Raney. “For every piece we blow up, that is one less IED.” Escobedo is a 21-year-old from Houston, Texas.
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (July 27, 2006) -- If you’re a Marine in Iraq, there’s a new set of eyes scanning the mail you’re sending home.
Continue reading "X-ray system aids postal Marines in Iraq" »
-A group of Marines from 1st Battalion, 25 Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, move an insurgent rocket found while conducting Operation Spotlight. The operation took place in the Fuhaylat, south of Fallujah, Iraq where three hostages were rescued and several weapons caches were located and destroyed by Marines.
Continue reading "Marines rescue three hostages, uncover weapons caches in Operation Spotlight" »
Still considered one of Iraq’s most dangerous places, Ramadi has seen a surge in violence over the last several months despite continuing pressure on insurgents by Iraqi army forces, Marines and soldiers.
A “murder and intimidation campaign” against provincial government officials, near-daily roadside bomb ambushes and attacks on Marine outposts have forced leathernecks from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, based in the city, to take Ramadi back “section by section,” restricting civilian traffic into and out of the city and setting up more combat outposts with Army and Iraqi security force presence.
“This is pushing insurgents into a box,” said coalition spokesman Maj. Chris Perrine.
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, July 14, 2006
The Marines at Camp Fuji, Japan, are to officially welcome their new permanent commander Friday.
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, July 14, 2006
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine based on Okinawa was killed July 2 while conducting combat operations in Iraq’s Anbar province.
OBSERVATION POST OMAR, Iraq — Lance Cpl. Noah Welter has lugged his rifle and body armor down Route Mets so many times now the 21-year-old U.S. Marine has lost count.
“Our first patrol down this road turned into a five-hour hump-a-thon — in the rain,” the native of Snohomish, Wash., recalled as he scanned the route for signs of roadside bombs on Saturday. “Not fun.”
Continue reading "‘One step closer to not having to be here’ for Marines in Al Anbar" »
Camp Taqaddum, Iraq - Life on base is often monotonous when it isn't dangerous for the service members stationed here. The occasional mortar and rocket landing in the base's perimeter can break up daily routines.
Daily convoys leave the relative safety of the base braving improvised explosive devices to deliver supplies and transport troops to hotspots like Ramadi and Fallujah.
Continue reading "Jazz, Coffee Morale Medicine for Marines" »
Alternative rock band, Hollowell, plays for service members at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation building at Al Asad, Iraq, June 29. The Orange County, Calif., rock band played at several different bases in Iraq and Kuwait as a way to show support to the men and women stationed away from home.
KARABILAH, Iraq (July 7, 2006) -- Thanks to the work of Marines and Iraqi Security Forces, 800 elementary-aged girls will now have a school to attend this fall.
Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment unveiled a brand-new grade school in this city of about 30,000 on the Iraq-Syria border in western Al Anbar Province July 7, 2006.
Continue reading "Marines thwart insurgents’ attempt to destroy new Iraqi school for girls" »
COMBAT OUTPOST HAWK, Iraq (July 6, 2006) -- Marines with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment sleep at Combat Outpost Hawk, which is being constructed July 6 with help from Combat Logistics Detachment 115.
The detachment has been transporting Iraqi Army and Iraqi police throughout the city of Ramadi and has also been working to build combat outposts in an effort to establish an Iraqi Army and police presence in the city.
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (July 4, 2006) -- It’s the Fourth of July in Iraq.
By 9 a.m. the wind has picked up and the powder-fine sand it carries causes the Marines to squint their eyes. Besides the dull rumble from diesel-engine powered generators and trucks, the day is quiet, almost empty.
Continue reading "No holiday breaks for Marine mechanics in Iraq" »
A U.S. soldier from the Friedburg, Germany-based 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, renders honors to the memorial of Spc. Michael J. Potocki June 28, 2006, in Hit, Iraq, during a memorial service. Potocki, a 21-year-old native of Baltimore, Md., and 2003 graduate of Patterson Senior High School, was killed in action June 26, 2006, while conducting combat operations in Hit – a city of 30,000 in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province. Potocki is the second U.S. soldier killed in the region since the battalion arrived in February. “He was a new breed of infantry soldier, but more importantly, he was a helluva person,” said Potocki’s team leader, Cpl. William McCoy, during the ceremony. “He is what I would want another country to see an American as.”
Continue reading "U.S. Army battalion honors second fallen soldier since arrival in Iraq" »
RAMADI, Iraq (June 29, 2006) -- In recent days, the tempo of security operations have significantly increased in this insurgent stronghold.
As U.S. and Iraqi forces push further into the city they plan to hold the ground they take by setting up small outposts on the insurgents' doorstep.
Continue reading "Logistics Marines take on insurgency to entrench Iraqi Army in Ramadi" »
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Marines with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, move through the cover of smoke during a live-fire exercise on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms. Supported by machine gun teams, the Marines attacked multiple bunkers during the mock assault. Participating in the month-long Mojave Viper training, the battalion conducted platoon, company and battalion sized live-fire operations.
DETROIT - A Marine and one-time recruiter who appeared in Michael Moore's documentary film "Fahrenheit 9/11" has died in a roadside bombing in Iraq.
Continue reading " Marine in `Fahrenheit 9/11' killed in Iraq" »
HADITHA, Iraq (June 27, 2006) -- Marines here say a lieutenant who was leading Marines and Iraqi soldiers through the volatile streets of Haditha, Iraq, June 14, showed uncommon valor when he ran into a barrage of enemy gunfire to pull a wounded Marine to safety.
1st Lt. Rick Posselt, a 25-year-old from Crystal River, Fla., said he is not the Marine who deserves the recognition.
Continue reading "Marine lieutenant exposed himself to enemy fire to save another in Iraq" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (June 27, 2006) -- Marines from across station here enrolled in the Corporals Course supervised by Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
The course was started by the Marines from VMFA(AW)-533 and began its third course June 5.
Continue reading "Marines in war zone continue to train tomorrow's leaders" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (June 26, 2006) -- The thumping of helicopter blades beats over the noise made by service members scrambling to help a wounded person, and as the sound becomes clearer, they look up and see the dark silhouettes of two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters drifting in to land.
Continue reading "'Angels' descend on Al Asad, save lives" »
A Marine assigned to the Hawaii-based India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment pays his final respects to Cpl. Michael Estrella, a 20-year-old from Hemet, Calif., June 25, 2006, at a memorial service at the Marines’ base in Haditha, Iraq. Estrella was killed by enemy gunfire recently while on patrol with his platoon while searching for a suspected insurgent in western Al Anbar Province, Iraq. During the ceremony, Marines described Estrella as a “dedicated and professional Marine” who excelled at his job of being a radio operator. He often went without sleep to make sure his battalion had communication, the Marines said. Estrella was a 2003 graduate of Hemet High school and joined the Marine Corps in September 2003. He reported to 3rd Battalion in May 2004 and deployed with the unit to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom last year. His awards include the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment ribbon. The Hawaii-based battalion, also known as “America’s Battalion,” arrived in March and will be replaced by another Hawaii-based Marine unit this fall.
Continue reading "Hemet, Calif., Marine killed in Iraq remembered by fellow Marines, sailors" »
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, June 24, 2006
ARLINGTON, Va. — Poor communication between the Army and Marines, combined with Corps commanders’ decision to up-armor only a limited number of trucks at a time, put Marines in Iraq at increased risk from roadside bombs, a Government Accoubtability Office report found.
Continue reading "GAO: Poor communications put Marines at higher risk of IEDs" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (June 22, 2006) -- Blasting off into the wild, blue yonder can seem a little exciting while viewing it through a TV screen, and it can be fairly exciting for the men and women who pilot the enormous CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters for the Marine Corps.
Continue reading "Pilots meet challenges of flying in combat environment" »
BARWANA, Iraq (June 22, 2006) -- As Sgt. Brett Bartels stood in front of a military vehicle handing out hundreds of stuffed animals and soccer balls on a dusty road in Barwana, his goal was simple – make sure each child went home with a smile on his face.
Continue reading "Iraqis, Marines work together to rebuild lives in Al Anbar province" »
WASHINGTON — The United States has found 500 chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003, and more weapons of mass destruction are likely to be uncovered, two Republican lawmakers said Wednesday.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (June 21, 2006) -- Call it a little bit of justice.
Marine snipers from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment shot and killed an insurgent sniper and spotter preparing to shoot at passing Marines, June 16. And the insurgents were going to use a stolen Marine sniper rifle for the attack.
That rifle – an M-40A1 – belonged to the “Magnificent Bastards” of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, a battalion within the Regimental Combat Team 5 family. It was taken by insurgents when a team of four Marines were killed in a rooftop outpost June 21, 2004, in Ramadi.
Continue reading "Former ‘Magnificent Bastards’ react to sniper rifle recovery" »
BARWANA, Iraq - Marines assigned to the Hawaii-based L Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, search a house for insurgents, weapons caches and explosives during a patrol June 16. Despite the stunning blow to Iraq’s insurgency two weeks ago with the death of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Marines and Iraqi soldiers in this Al Anbar Province city are continuing the fight against terrorism by combating insurgent activity nearly daily. But while the Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrol the worn streets lined with pock marks from improvised explosive devices – homemade bombs that have bedeviled Coalition Forces – the Marines are reminded that insurgents are still working behind the scenes and planning attacks in this city of 30,000 located on the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad. Still, the Marines here say that even though it has been a long and grueling three months, the insurgency is beginning to crumble as local residents are warming up to the Marines’ presence and the Iraqi Army is becoming a more solid and independent organization.
(3/3 Lima)
Continue reading "Marines continue to combat insurgency after death of Al Qaeda leader" »
CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (June 20, 2006) -- Scout snipers from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment killed an enemy sniper and recovered a Marine sniper rifle lost nearly two years ago during a mission near Habbaniyah June 16.
The rifle was the one formerly used by four Marines of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment who were killed on a rooftop in Ramadi June 21, 2004.
Continue reading "Darkhorse snipers kill insurgent sniper, recover stolen Marine sniper rifle" »
BAGHDAD — Two U.S. soldiers missing since their checkpoint came under attack last week have been found dead, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Tuesday.
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Marine Cpl. Terrence Lambert will have to wait until his return to Alabama in the fall to hold his first child, but a satellite linkup in Iraq allowed him to witness her birth on Father’s Day.
Continue reading "Deployed Marine sees daughter’s birth via video linkup" »
Thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan may risk permanent brain damage by returning to combat with relatively minor but undiagnosed concussions, often caused by bomb blasts, military researchers say.
Continue reading "Concussions go undiagnosed in thousands of troops, doctors say" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a Web statement Monday that it had kidnapped two U.S. soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad.
CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (June 17, 2006) -- In order for the battalion commander to move throughout his area of operations, he must be able to count on the security of a special team of Marines.
For Lt. Col. Nicholas F. Marano, commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, that team is his personal security detachment, a Combined Anti-Armor Team called “CAAT Black” for short.
Continue reading "Support Marines brave Iraq’s roads daily in western Al Anbar province" »
HIT, Iraq (June 17, 2006) -- On the outskirts of this ancient city in southeastern Al Anbar province lies a tiny Iraqi Army post. A group of Iraqi Army officers sit on one side of a long table in a wooden conference room adorned with an Iraqi flag. On the opposite side of the table sits a handful of U.S. Marines.
Continue reading "Transition to certain Iraqi Army-led operations is hit and miss" »
AL BU HARDAN, Iraq (June 15, 2006) -- Marines and sailors gathered at a small headquarters outpost near the Euphrates River to pay respects to three fallen brothers.
Two Marines and one sailor lost their lives while conducting security operations in a village near the Iraqi-Syrian border. Their vehicle struck a mine on one of the region’s dangerous roadways June 9, 2006.
Continue reading "Marines near Iraqi-Syrian border mourn loss of three of their own" »
HAQLANIYAH, Iraq (June 13, 2006) -- In the afternoon of June 3, outside the Marines forwarding operating base located in the violent city of Haqlaniyah, three insurgents armed with automatic rifles and wearing face masks opened fire on Marines working in front of the barrier-laden base.
Continue reading "Insurgent attacks no match for Marines’ resolve" »
Soldiers tired of poor living conditions, irregular pay
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, June 11, 2006
HADITHA, Iraq — Iraqi soldiers in Al Anbar province are leaving their army in droves, draining much-needed manpower from fledgling Iraqi security forces and preventing U.S. troops from reducing troop strength in the volatile region, U.S. and Iraqi military officials say.
Continue reading "Iraqis in Al Anbar province leaving army in droves" »
Iraqi Army Cpl. Husein Abass Husein unloaded a box of prayer rugs for a local mosque. Operation Cool Carpet combined Marines with A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and soldiers from the Iraqi Army to deliver the rugs along with two new air conditioning units.
Continue reading "Operation ‘Cool Carpet’ bridges relationships" »
AL ASAD, Iraq - Two Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 run during a half marathon June 3, at Al Asad, Iraq. The run was in support of the Susan J. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Race for the Cure. Fourteen Marines ran 14 miles and earned $240 dollars to go towards breast cancer research. MWSS-274 operates under Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
What are we to make of the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
The hopeful view is that the death of this important commander and inspirational figure will deflate the terrorist influence in Iraq.
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq - Marines from Regimental Combat Team 7 prepare to board the back of a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter May 29 to practice off-loading and security procedures for a tactical rescue of aircraft and personnel, or TRAP. The Marines, part of the regiment’s provisional rifle platoon, haven’t been called upon to conduct a rescue mission since they deployed to Iraq four months ago, but still train regularly for the mission: Jump in a helicopter, fly to the scene of a down aircraft, set up security, and help recover the pilots or salvage crucial equipment from the scene.
Continue reading "Iraq-deployed Marines prepare for emergency rescues in Al Anbar province" »
WASHINGTON, May 13, 2006 – Serving on a military transition team may be the most important job in Iraq today, with members working with Iraqi units to realize President Bush's promise: "As the Iraqis stand up. We'll stand down."
Continue reading "Transition Teams Coach, Mentor Iraqi Units" »
BALAD AIR BASE, IRAQ – Army Sgt. John Jimison first felt the pain in his side while driving a military truck on a mission.
Continue reading "Kidney stones become soldiers’ silent enemy" »
HADITHA, Iraq (April 15, 2006) -- Arguably the most important mission of Coalition Forces in Iraq is assisting Iraqi Security Forces with eventually spearheading all security operations in Iraq.
The transition between the two military forces in Al Anbar Province will occur by year's end, according to Coalition officials.
Continue reading "Team of Marines mentor Iraqi soldiers on path to independent operations" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, IRAQ (April 10, 2006) -- Under direction of Marine Corps commanders in Iraq, wearing synthetic athletic clothing containing polyester and nylon has been prohibited while conducting operations off of forward operating bases and camps.
Continue reading "Popular clothing off-limits to Marines in Iraq" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Marine was shot and killed allegedly by an Iraqi soldier at a base near the Syrian border, the U.S. said Friday. The Iraqi soldier was then wounded by another American Marine.
Continue reading "Iraqi Soldier Allegedly Kills U.S. Marine Fri Apr 7, 7:20 PM ET" »
QAIM, Iraq - U.S. Marines along the volatile Syrian border have largely abandoned big bases to fan out over a dozen smaller outposts within cities — part of a resurrected Vietnam-era strategy to live among civilians and mentor local soldiers.
Continue reading "Marines Attempt to Stabilize Syrian Border" »
HADITHA, Iraq (April 6, 2006) -- Lance Cpl. Matt Calvert accepts the wound he received March 25 from a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq. It comes with the territory of being a Marine in a combat zone.
Continue reading "Marine from Missouri unfazed by combat injuries in Iraq" »
HUSAYBA, Iraq Last August, under daily attack from car bombs and mortars, the Marines took down the only bridge over the Euphrates River for miles around.
Now they are trying to rebuild it.
This is part three of a three-part series entitled "The Lifeline" where LA Times Reporter David Zucchino and photographer Rick Loomis follow five wounded troops through a system of military medical care more advanced than in any previous conflict. This series is not for the "faint of heart" and is very graphic, as are the accompanying slides and interactives that can be seen by clicking on the original link. Kudos to these reporters entering this touchy area and at the same time letting us meet, firsthand, another group of military heroes--the medics, the surgeons, the orthopedists, the opthmalogists, and all the rest of the medical staff that are there to take care of our boys.
part one is found at: http://www.marine-corps-news.com/2006/04/bringing_back_the_wounded_with.htm
part two is found at: http://www.marine-corps-news.com/2006/04/the_journey_through_trauma.htm
LAST OF THREE PARTS
THE LIFELINE
New Battle on the Home Front
When wounded U.S. troops return from Iraq, nearly everything has changed. Except, for many, the drive to keep on fighting.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 4, 2006) -- Outdoor temperatures sore above 130 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months here, so personnel will need to take proper precautions in order to keep themselves from falling victim to the dangerous side effects of heat injury.
Continue reading "Heat injury a factor as mercury rises in Iraq" »
This is part two of a three-part series entitled "The Lifeline" where LA Times Reporter David Zucchino and photographer Rick Loomis follow five wounded troops through a system of military medical care more advanced than in any previous conflict. This series is not for the "faint of heart" and is very graphic, as are the accompanying slides and interactives that can be seen by clicking on the original link. Kudos to these reporters entering this touchy area and at the same time letting us meet, firsthand, another group of military heroes--the medics, the surgeons, the orthopedists, the opthmalogists, and all the rest of the medical staff that are there to take care of our boys. part one is found at:
http://www.marine-corps-news.com/2006/04/bringing_back_the_wounded_with.htm
PART TWO
THE LIFELINE
The Journey Through Trauma
U.S. troops who survive the critical 'golden hour' after being seriously wounded in Iraq owe their lives to a fast-acting team of battlefield medics, pilots, nurses and surgeons.
This is part one of a three-part series entitled "The Lifeline" where LA Times Reporter David Zucchino and photographer Rick Loomis follow five wounded troops through a system of military medical care more advanced than in any previous conflict. This series is not for the "faint of heart" and is very graphic, as are the accompanying slides and interactives that can be seen by clicking on the original link. Kudos to these reporters entering this touchy area and at the same time letting us meet, firsthand, another group of military heroes--the medics, the surgeons, the orthopedists, the opthmalogists, and all the rest of the medical staff that are there to take care of our boys.
PART ONE
THE LIFELINE
Bringing Back the Wounded With Heart, Soul and Surgery
Injured troops are swept up in a lifesaving process unmatched in past wars -- reaching hospitals in minutes and the U.S. in days. But their agony doesn't end on the battlefield.
Continue reading "Bringing Back the Wounded With Heart, Soul and Surgery" »
Todd Pitman, who is West Africa bureau chief for The Associated Press, is embedded with U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment in Ramadi, Iraq. : MONDAY, March 31, 2 p.m. local/ RAMADI
Continue reading "AP Blog From Ramadi, Iraq By The Associated Press" »
U.S. military seeks to diversify a mostly Shiite fighting force
Qaim, Iraq -- They came by the hundreds. Iraqi men, mostly young but a few graybeards, milling about the desert or squatting in the sand with their robes tucked between their legs and turbans fluttering in the breeze.
Continue reading "Marines helping to line up Sunnis for Iraq's army" »
UBAYDI, Iraq (March 27, 2006) -- Iraqi soldiers have taken their first steps toward functioning entirely on their own In this remote region of northwestern Iraq.
Todd Pitman, who is West Africa bureau chief for The Associated Press, is embedded with U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment in Ramadi, Iraq. MONDAY MARCH 27- RAMADI
Continue reading "AP Blog From Ramadi, Iraq By The Associated Press" »
CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq (March 24, 2006) -- Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment never thought they’d see the Al Qa’im region of Iraq again when they departed their military camp here in March last year.
Continue reading "California-based Marine battalion starts second tour in Iraq’s Qa’im region" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (March 22, 2006) -- After spending seven months of routing out insurgents and stabilizing the Al Qa’im region in western Al Anbar Province, Marines from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment say they’re leaving the region in better shape then when they arrived last year.
As he sank into the couch in his parents' Freemansburg home, the shrapnel scar visible behind his ear, 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Tony Gilliard clicked through an electronic photo album of the guys he spent nine months with, fighting side-by-side in Iraq.
Continue reading "On war's anniversary, a family mourns, another worries" »
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (March 20, 2006) -- After enlisting in the Marine Corps more than a year apart, two brothers from Canton, Mich., have crossed paths in Iraq, while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Continue reading "Canton, Mich., Marine brothers cross paths in Iraq" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 17, 2006) -- Searching for weapons caches in Iraq requires hard work, patience and an eye for details.
Continue reading "For Amtrac Marines, finding weapons caches is well worth the effort" »
CAMP HABBINYAH, Iraq (March 18, 2006) -- Iraqi soldiers in Fallujah are rolling in armored humvees, just like their Marine counterparts.
Continue reading "Iraqi soldiers roll in armor, thanks to Marines" »
Three years after Baghdad fell, the Navy is poised to dramatically increase the number of sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan, filling gaps in Army and Marine Corps units.
The seamen, called "individual augmentees," support ground operations thousands of miles from the nearest port, in deployments that can be far different from the Navy's traditional role.
Continue reading "1,000 more sailors expected to join ground forces in Iraq" »
WASHINGTON — Before the war in Iraq, counterinsurgency was another word for quagmire.
But three years of fighting door-to-door in Fallujah and defusing roadside bombs from Basra to Mosul have forced the Pentagon to embrace this form of warfare that it had sworn off of as Vietnam collapsed 35 years ago.
Continue reading "Three years in Iraq force dramatic military changes" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Mar. 16, 2006) -- An AV-8B Harrier screams loudly as it slowly lowers itself to the runway. Four other Harriers circle above, waiting for their turn to land - the Flying Nightmares have arrived.
Continue reading "VMA-513 Nightmares ready to strike fear in the enemy" »
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (March 15, 2006) -- Iraqi soldiers are right on schedule with training requirements that will allow them to eventually relieve U.S. military forces in western Al Anbar Province, according to Marine officials here.
Continue reading "Iraqi soldiers on track for independent operations in Al Anbar Province" »
He left a desk job for the front lines of Fallujah—and a horror show few doctors ever see. How Richard Jadick earned his Bronze Star. (1/8)
CAMP SMITTY, Iraq(March 14, 2006) -- Marines and Soldiers attached to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment recently made a special delivery to the future of Iraq – the children.
Continue reading "Marines bring computers, web access to Iraqi schools" »
"A partnership between Regimental Combat Team 5 and the Iraqi Army here was cemented when commanders from the coalition shook hands yesterday."
Operation Iraqi Freedom was intent on spreading democracy, though naysayers broadcast it was an invasion. Those endorsing the Operation regard the motive being a liberation.
Five women sang and danced as they held up signs saying "thank God for dead soldiers" at the funeral of an army sergeant who was killed by an Iraqi bomb.
Continue reading "Hecklers harass families of US soldiers killed in Iraq" »
Diyara, Iraq -- The elderly mother is beside herself with grief. Her son was kidnapped a year ago. She's heard nothing about him since.
It's hard to tell her age. She wears all-black robes and a black scarf over her head, showing only her face from mid-forehead down. Her face is puffy and lined.
She speaks in Arabic, hands gesturing wildly, and little moans escape between sentences.
"She says, 'I die a little every day,' " an interpreter explains.
Continue reading "U.S. soldiers connect with residents in small Iraqi town" »
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq(March 9, 2006) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to want one.
Marines with Regimental Combat Team 5, based in Camp Fallujah, test-fired the latest in the Corps’ arsenal of weapons’ improvement, the M-32 Multiple shot Grenade Launcher. It’s a six-barreled, 40 mm beast of weapon that has just about enough attitude for Marines.
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (March 10, 2006) -- Marines of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment have a new way to blow off steam at the end of the day. All they have to do is strap on a set of gloves and take a swing at another Marine.
Continue reading "Donation from Boston keeps Shreveport, La., boxer swinging" »
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (March 9, 2006) -- Marine snipers here put the Corps’ latest sniper optic to the test and it proved to be spot-on. Proof is one less bad guy planting roadside bombs.
Continue reading "New scope proves worth with Darkhorse snipers" »
AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Mar. 9, 2006) -- In what has become a familiar routine, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, passed responsibility for casualty evacuation and general aviation support missions in Iraq Feb. 25 to HMM-268, MAG-16, 3rd MAW, ending another successful deployment to the newly democratic nation.
Continue reading "HMM-268 takes over CASEVAC and aviation support missions from HMM-161" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 8, 2006) -- Whether they’re sweeping for improvised explosive devices, reinforcing outlying posts or joining foot patrols, combat engineers with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, stay busy.
Continue reading "Marine engineers ‘dig’ broad mission in Iraq" »
CAMP TAHOUA, Niger (Mar. 8, 2006) -- A company of Milwaukee, Wis. based reserve Marines taught Nigerian soldiers the basics of security and stability operations (SASO) during exercise Shared Accord 06.
PRESS RELEASE
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq -- Regimental Combat Team 7 concluded a five-day long disruption operation dubbed Al Asad (Lion) Sunday morning.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 7, 2006) -- A partnership between Regimental Combat Team 5 and the Iraqi Army here was cemented when commanders from the coalition shook hands yesterday.
CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (March 5, 2006) -- Marines sit patiently on wooden benches and wait their turn to call home. A voice calls “Computer five, time’s up!”
Continue reading "Marines take refuge in Bull Pen to keep in touch" »
RUTBAH, Iraq (AP) - U.S. Marines used to patrol the streets of this city near the volatile Syrian border. Now they've penned it in with a wall of sand, leaving only three ways in or out.
While causing discomfort to the townspeople, the military says it is an effective barrier to insurgents and frees up troops for use in other parts of restive Anbar province in western Iraq.
Continue reading "U.S. Marines Wall in Iraqi City With Sand" »
Three military men, all from Upper Arlington, graduated from the same middle school. They traveled to Iraq on the same Navy ship, in the same unit. Now, they’re preparing to come back to the United States on that same ship. Although Navy Lt. Tim Burkhart, Marine 1 st Lt. Antonio Agnone and Marine Pfc. Bob Lane are all members of the 22 nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, they have never been together. But their families have. This week, their brothers, fathers, mothers and sisters gathered at Da Vinci Ristorante at Henderson and Reed roads and talked for hours.
Continue reading "Families unite behind Arlington trio in Iraq" »
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, SC (March 3, 2006) -- Units throughout the Marine Corps are continuously rotating into Iraq and Afghanistan, with one group of Marines replacing another so they can take a break from the high operational tempo. But, the Marines of one Fightertown squadron have taken very few breaks in between their deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
HUSAYBAH, Iraq - News travels slowly to American troops deployed in the desert plains of Iraq. Days after the bombing of a Shiite shrine convulsed the country in religious violence, word hadn't reached U.S. Marines some 160 miles away. (3/6)
Continue reading "News Scarce for isolated Marines in Iraq" »
KHAFFAJIYAH, Iraq (Feb. 26, 2006) -- Marines in the Haditha Dam region continued to keep insurgents on their heels during another counterinsurgency operation here Feb. 26.
Continue reading "Marines leave no place for insurgents to hide in western Al Anbar" »
Feb. 22, 2006
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Regimental Combat Team 5 successfully conducted a relief-in-place with Regimental Combat Team 8 and assumed responsibility for an area of operations in eastern Al Anbar Province today.
Continue reading "Regimental Combat Team 5 begins operations in Al Anbar Province" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 21, 2006) -- Navy Seaman Apprentice Bradley L. Jones has one good reason for getting better at handling his rifle in Iraq.
“I will protect my patients at all costs.”
Continue reading "For Headquarters Company, training is continuous" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 17, 2006) -- Cpl. Justin V. Novi summed up the mission with a simple statement.
“It’s a huge building to clear.”
Continue reading "Snipers keep eye on Operation Industrial Revolution" »
Though shivering in her new sleek, black skirt suit, Jessica Schuffert refused to take shelter from the cold and wind gusting through the hangar Monday at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
"I don't want to miss anything," said Schuffert, who was waiting for her husband of almost three years, Staff Sgt. James Schuffert, to return from a seven-month deployment in Al Asad, Iraq, along with about 110 fellow Marines from All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332 and 50 from Marine Aviation Logistics 31.
Continue reading "Moonlighters, Stingers return from Iraq" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- The patrol almost screams to a stop, with humvees speeding past the targeted vehicle only to turn suddenly and cordon off the traffic while Marines and Iraqi soldiers quickly climb out and secure the area. While the selected vehicle is rapidly emptied and searched thoroughly, another squad searches the occupants for anything that might link them to the insurgency and asks them if they have information that could prove helpful.
Continue reading "3/7, Iraqi Army work together making Ramadi streets safer" »
Editor's note: Antonio Castaneda, an Associated Press reporter, is embedded with Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment. Here is his first-person account:
Ramadi, Iraq - A loud "zing" echoed across the street, as if someone had swung an aluminum bat against a pole. I instinctively ducked, then quickly pressed up against the front- right tire of the car nearest me.
Continue reading "Iraqi sniper gives reporter a rude welcome to Ramadi" »
Trenton VanBoening — perhaps a future lieutenant in the making — was ready for his dad to come home from Iraq.
The 19-month-old boy was decked out in his own pair of desert cammies, the same kind his father — 1st. Lt. Simon VanBoening — wears when he’s in the field with his unit, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 5, 2006) -- Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, returned to the dust-blown streets and runways of Al Asad, Iraq, Feb. 5, replacing MAG-26 as the primary facilitator of aviation support in their area of responsibility.
Continue reading "Aviation authority transferred to MAG-16 in Western Iraq" »
Members of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533, the Hawks, and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 made the long walk to a transport plane Sunday as they prepared for the long trip to Iraq.
Continue reading "The call of duty ~~Marine squadrons deploy to Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 30, 2006) -- First Lt. Martin B. Keogh from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment was awarded the 2nd Marine Division Association’s Tarawa Award.
Continue reading "2/6 Marine recognized for superior leadership" »
CHERRY POINT — There were balloons, banners and a brass band, but the warmest welcome the 115 or so returning Marines received on Saturday came in the form of hugs from family members.
The VMAQ-1 “Banshees” Tactical Electronic Warfare squadron returned to Cherry Point following a 6 1/2-month stretch in Iraq.
Continue reading "Cherry Point unit returns from Iraq deployment" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 29, 2006) -- A Marine from Company F, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment was awarded the 2nd Marine Division Association’s Lt. Gen. Julian C. Smith Award for his leadership excellence while serving as squad leader for 1st Squad, 4th Platoon.
Continue reading "NCO recognized for outstanding leadership" »
(Marine Corps Airs Station Beaufort-AP) January 27, 2006 - About 110 Marines from the Air Station in Beaufort are heading to Iraq this weekend.
The squadron - known as the Hawks - will be heading to western Iraq. They will be joined by members of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2006 – The 8th Iraqi Army Division now has responsibility for military operations across two large provinces, a senior U.S. military officer told reporters in Baghdad yesterday.
Continue reading "Iraqi Army Division Takes Security Lead in Two Provinces" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Jan. 25, 2006) -- Reenlisting or separating from the Marine Corps is a decision each enlisted Marine reaches at some point in their career.
Gunnery Sgt. Antonio M. Hardy, the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) career retention specialist is on hand here to assist Marines considering “re-uping” while forward deployed.
AL ASAD, Iraq(Jan. 25, 2006) -- Marines and Sailors from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774 recently received a very personal message of appreciation.
Brigadier Gen. R. David Papak, the commanding general of 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, and Sgt. Maj. Jimmy D. Cummings, the Wing sergeant major, visited the Wild Geese of HMM-774, Jan. 18, at Al Asad, Iraq. The visit was much more than just a trip to inspect the front lines, Papak said.
Continue reading "'Wild Goose' hosts 4th MAW leaders in Iraq" »
As the United States confronts terrorism, military personnel have to make a cultural shift as they fight what officials now call "the Long War," senior DoD officials said.
Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview that the generation of servicemembers entering the military today must focus on how the United States will deal with extremist networks that threaten America and its allies.
Continue reading "Military Culture Must Change for 'Long War'" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq(Jan. 23, 2006) -- A Marine is never alone because around them at all times are fellow Marines taking care of them, watching their back and making sure they get home. Every Marine is a brother or sister to another Marine. (14th Marine Reg attached to 3/6)
Continue reading "Euless, Texas, brothers work together in Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq(Jan. 24, 2006) -- “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror; I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do,” Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote. (2/6 E. 4th Plt)
Continue reading "Experience pays off for Destin, Fla., native" »
By Monte Morin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, January 24, 2006
COMBAT OUTPOST SOUTH, Iraq — Right now it stands like a ghost town in the vast khaki expanse of western Iraq, but in the coming days this newly minted outpost could play a critical role in Iraq’s future security, U.S. military commanders said. (II MEF)
Continue reading "Outpost to raise Iraq’s border security prospects" »
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2006 – President Bush said today he will listen to military ground commanders, not polls or focus groups, when making decisions about force levels in Iraq.
Continue reading "Bush: Progress Continues in Terror War, But Threat Remains" »
Wherever Marines go, there are corpsmen following, guarding and watching over the wellbeing of the Marine unit. Seaman John Bradley was the corpsman with the notorious 28th Marine Regiment who raised the American flag on Mt. Suribachi during the invasion of Iwo Jima. (3/11)
Sgt. Adam L. Cann was killed in attack on Ramadi police station
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, January 19, 2006
BAGHDAD — The three military working dogs injured in this month’s deadly suicide attack on a Ramadi police recruiting event have been treated and returned to duty, medical officials told Stars and Stripes this week.
Continue reading "Injured military dogs back on duty, but without handler" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Jan. 19, 2006) -- Twenty-five-year-old Iraqi Army 1st Lt. Hussin, who’s been a soldier for five years, smiled at the thought of a promising future for Iraq and the hopes of defeating terrorists which plague his country. When asked if he thinks whether the country will divide or remain together he responded, “Together, but not just Iraq…all of the world.”
Continue reading "Iraqi Army confident in the future of Iraq" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Jan. 19, 2006) -- The commanding officer of 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), gives an order to one of his Marines to dance. Without hesitation the Marine starts “busting a move” to the hip-hop music that blares through the speakers.
AL ASAD, Iraq(Jan. 18, 2006) -- More than nine Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward)are members of the first Marine unit to begin training one of the two first Iraqi logistics regiments in the new Iraqi Army.
Continue reading "2nd MLG Marines are first to train Iraqi Logistics Regiment" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Jan. 18, 2006) -- Marines assigned to the 6th Civil Affairs Group, 2nd Marine Division, prove there is another side of the story to tell as they continue to carry out their missions to provide guidance within Al Anbar province, the largest province in Iraq.
Continue reading "Civil affairs continues making positive difference" »
HADITHA DAM, Iraq(Jan. 16, 2006) -- The job of lead vehicle gunner for a convoy in Iraq is one of the most dangerous and demanding jobs for a Marine, as insurgents continue to place roadside bombs aimed at injuring Marines, Iraqi soldiers, police and civilians.
(3/1)
Continue reading "Norwalk, Calif., native keeps commander safe" »
PROUD PARENTS — Leslie and Doyle Perkins look at a photo album and read letters from their son, Lance Cpl. Preston “Cody” Perkins, pictured in foreground. Cody Perkins, a member of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, also known as the “Thundering Third,” has been a Marine for just 21/2 years but has already been awarded three Purple Hearts. PHOTO BY PAULA MERRITT / THE MERIDIAN STAR
AL TAMAL, Iraq (Jan. 14, 2006) -- The last time Corporal Matt D. McGee was deployed to Iraq he was responsible for finding and destroying the enemy and maintaining his personal weapon and light armored vehicle.
Continue reading "Baldwin, Wis., native works alongside Iraqi troops" »
AL TAMAL, Iraq (Jan. 14, 2006) -- Seaman Bryan W. Stocks, a 20-year-old Kenai, Alaska, native and platoon hospital corpsman for 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, had a tough choice to make when he was considering enlisting into the Navy: nuclear physics or medicine
Continue reading "Kenai, Alaska, “doc” confirms calling in Iraq" »
HIT, Iraq (Jan. 14, 2006) -- For four long, backbreaking days, Marine combat engineers and infantrymen unearthed cache after cache of insurgent ordnance and weaponry in and around Hit, Iraq during Operation Hedgehog. (22nd MEU)
Continue reading "Operation Hedgehog unearths insurgent explosive caches" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Jan. 13, 2006) -- Cincinnati native, Cpl. Tasha M. Monz is on her third deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, proving the war in Iraq has become yet another major milestone for women in the military. (CLB8 MLG)
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- When someone jumps from an aircraft thousands of feet above the ground, you never see them without a parachute strapped tightly against their backs. Wearing the proper gear to ensure a safe landing is paramount for skydivers. The same rule applies to service members in Iraq. (8th ESB 2nd MLG)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- Perched high atop one of the buildings that is currently home to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), a small satellite transmitter dish is the first step in a process used to keep the American public informed of the unit’s role in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Continue reading "News distribution system makes its MEU debut" »
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, RAMADI, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- Lance Cpl. Alex Fox volunteered to deploy here in hopes of to make a contribution vice caught up in working parties at Lejeune. When Fox returned from his six-month tour in Iraq conducting security operations in the Walleed area along the Iraq-Syria border in March 2005, he decided he wanted to return. (3/10)
Continue reading "Tampa Bay, Fla., native helps protect Marines in Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 12, 2006) -- For two Marines from 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, the pain of being away from home is eased by the memories they can share of growing up in the same area.
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Jan. 11, 2006) -- It can be said communications is one of the central ingredients of modern combat operations in Iraq. Marines must be able to communicate with one another through the use of secure technology in order to plan, coordinate and execute missions vital to the success of the overall mission here. (3/6)
Continue reading "Chicago native keeps Marines, computers talking" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq(Jan. 11, 2006) -- Without a continuous flow of supplies, combat-ready units within the Marine Corps would cease to function. This is where Marines like Lance Cpl. Kevin J. Bourbon, a supply administration and operations clerk, play a big role in ensuring that does not happen. (1st LAR)
Continue reading "Southern Calif., Marine keeps Light Armor Recon running" »
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq(Jan. 9, 2006) -- Retired Marine Maj. Gene Duncan once defined Navy hospital corpsmen as, “Usually a young, long haired, bearded, Marine-hatin' Sailor with certain medical skills, who will go through the very gates of Hell to get to a wounded Marine.” (RCT-2)
Continue reading "Corpsman risks life, saves lives of two Marines" »
WESTERN AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (Jan. 9, 2006) -- For more than two weeks, Iraqi Army soldiers and U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, conducted sweeps along the Euphrates River shore to disrupt terrorist operations in the area.
Continue reading "Operation Red Bull disrupts terrorism in “Triad” area" »
LAKE THAR THAR, Iraq(Jan. 8, 2006) -- Marines with Mobile Assault Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, rooted out insurgents in remote areas of western Al Anbar province Jan. 5 to the 10.
Continue reading "Operation Long Horn impacts uncharted territory" »
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq(Jan. 8, 2006) -- As part of their tour of Marine forces in Iraq, a small delegation from Washington, D.C. recently visited the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) at Forward Operating Base Hit, Iraq.
Continue reading "Assistant Commandant and Medal of Honor recipient visit 22nd MEU (SOC) in IRAQ" »
BEAUFORT -- Seven-year-old Bryce and 6-year-old Kaylie Richardson squatted over a swath of white fabric, painting large red and blue acrylic letters for a "welcome home" banner Saturday morning at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. (Moonlighters Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332)
Continue reading "Families decorate banners for troops' return" »
Pentagon study: Enlarging shields could have saved 74 lives
FORWARD OPERATING BASE NEW MARKET, Iraq (Jan. 7, 2006) -- Seemingly alone in the vast Iraqi desert, a small group of Marines, sailors, and Iraqi soldiers are keeping a remote area of Iraq free of insurgent activity for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).
Continue reading "Waging war, and peace, on the front lines in Iraq" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Jan. 6, 2006) -- Corporal Eric J. Bell poked his head down from the gunner’s turret and spoke in a monotone voice to the Marines inside the humvee, “Well, Happy New Year guys.”
HIT, Iraq (Jan. 6, 2006) -- Pushing out from their combat outposts, Marines from Battalion Landing Team, 1st Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment, recently began conducting foot and motorized patrols in the city of Hit, Iraq. (1/2 BLT, 22nd MEU, and MMHS 261)
WASHINGTON – The commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq said Friday he suspects that al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq carried out the suicide bomb attack in Ramadi that killed dozens, including two U.S. troops, on Thursday, although he has no evidence to prove it.
Continue reading "Marine commander says al-Qaeda likely behind deadly Ramadi attack, but no proof" »
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An unreleased Pentagon study of fatal torso wounds to Marines killed in Iraq found that most might have been prevented or minimized if they had been wearing improved body armor.
Continue reading "Better body armor could have prevented Iraq deaths" »
Iraqi soldiers deliver two-month stockpile in Ramadi
By Monte Morin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, January 5, 2006
RAMADI, Iraq — It was no time for cigarettes and chai.
Continue reading "Marines provide escort as Iraqis unload critical medical supplies" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 5, 2006) -- Between work schedules, Marines and Sailors with 8th Communication Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD), completed more than two months of intramural style competition in Iraq with the presentation of the Commander’s Cup Jan. 2.
3/7 Marine: U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kevin Wollam, a rifleman with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, said he is enjoying his time in Iraq and understands that the sooner they can help the Iraqi Army become solvent, the sooner coalition forces will be able to leave Iraq in Iraqi hands. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane Suzuki
This is the son of MarineParents.com member KevsMom.
Continue reading "U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kevin Wollam" »
(CBS) In November 2004, a photo of a U.S. Marine made the front page of newspapers across the country. The picture is still one of the best-known images of the war. But the man himself has moved on, and is having trouble adjusting to civilian life.
HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Dec. 27, 2005) -- Known as one of a Marine’s best friends, the Navy field corpsman spends most of his time keeping Marines healthy and battle-ready while operating in the most hostile combat environments.
Continue reading "Santa Ana, Calif. native keeps Marines battle-ready" »
U.S. Marine Corps
Lance Cpl. Darin Wittnebel
HAQLANIYAH, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2005) -- In the town of Haqlaniyah, the “Raiders” of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, continue to patrol the streets every day, keeping the area safe from the ongoing insurgency.
Continue reading "Oconomowoc, Wis., native sweeps for IEDs in Haqlaniyah" »
'So much of what happens here never makes the nightly news.'
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, December 14, 2005
After nearly two years of persistent clashes between U.S. forces and insurgents in the Fallujah area, some local Iraqi leaders hope this week’s election can succeed where violence has failed. (2/2)
Continue reading "Marines in Fallujah take back seat for election security" »
Editor's note: This is an occasional series featuring stories of soldiers far from home and their loved ones here.
What it's like to be a Marine Reserve with a 5 year old son, and explain to him why Daddy must leave.
Hot meals, showers in short supply at smaller Iraq bases
KARMAH, Iraq — Lance Cpl. Aaron Snell was eagerly devouring his Thursday morning breakfast, the only hot meal served each week at this small outpost, known here only as “O-P Three,” just a few miles east of Fallujah. (2/2 Golf)
Continue reading "Some Marine posts have just the bare necessities" »
STAUNTON — It's 76 degrees in Baghdad today. There's not a snowflake in sight. And there's certainly no such thing as a silent night.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Dec. 9, 2005) -- On Nov. 10, 1992, two young men found themselves standing on the yellow footprints together aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. Now, more than 13 years later they reunited in Iraq for the first time since graduating recruit training. (5/14 & 8th Comm Marines)
Continue reading "Ops Chief, RP recount days in recruit training" »
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 9, 2005) -- Corporal Justin A. Dagostin keeps the 2nd Marine Division connected. The 23-year-old Manassas, Va., native maintains the communications equipment that allows Marines here in western Iraq to coordinate the complex military operations needed to bring stability to the province. (2nd Mar HQ BN- Comm Co)
Continue reading "Manassas native keeps Marines connected in Iraq" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, with support from the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and the local Iraqi Army unit, unearthed the largest cache of hidden insurgent weapons found by the unit near the Euphrates River Nov. 20.
Continue reading "3/7 Marines discover weapons caches during Operation Machete" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 9, 2005) -- Marines from Company C, 1st Combat Engineers Battalion, recently accompanied Combined Anti-Armor Team White on a raid Nov.1 to search local businesses for weapons caches and insurgent information. (3/7 and 1st CEB)
Continue reading "Combat engineers work with 3/7 to find IEDs" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq (Dec. 9, 2005) -- Across Iraq, service members celebrated Thanksgiving Day with turkey served in chow halls, turkey meals-ready-to-eat for those outside of bases, and services commemorating an event older than the United States itself. For some, it was a time to remember their families and friends back home, for others who were recently involved in combat against insurgents during Operation Steel Curtain, it was a moment to reflect and give thanks. (2/1)
Continue reading "Marines in Iraq reflect on Thanksgiving Day" »
MOVIE: Make Peace or Die: The First Days of War in Iraq with 1st Battalion 5th Marines
INTRO:
March 2003 - Thousands of troops are massed on the border of Iraq poised for war. Among the first to cross the line of departure is one of the most decorated units in the American military having served since World War I: First Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment. The Marine Corps infantry unit known as “1/5” (one-five) carries to battle a flag with its salient motto, “Make Peace or Die.”
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Not only is it a great gift idea to send a touch of home to your hero, but it also support a GREAT cause- $1 from every card comes back to MarineParents.com, Inc. for the care package project and $.50 from each card goes to a wounded soldiers organization.
Continue reading ""Wishes from Home" Talking Holiday Card" »
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Dec. 8, 2005) -- Marines are trained to deploy: Married or single. This includes single parents.
Few Marines rattled, none injured in IED attack (2/2 Golf)
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, December 9, 2005
KARMAH, Iraq — Walking back from a routine foot patrol, Lance Cpl. Matt Boggs was just outside the gate of his camp when a deafening explosion sent a plume of black smoke hundreds of feet in the air and knocked him flat.
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal has intensified the training for experienced explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians with the addition of the Advanced Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (AIEDD) Training Facility.
Continue reading "AIEDD Course Improves Explosives Disposal Training" »
Battalion in Anbar province ready to begin independent patrols
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, December 7, 2005
AL KARMAH, Iraq — Cpl. Ricky Gray was leading a patrol of Iraqi army soldiers a few miles east of Fallujah when a large flatbed truck rumbled along a back road toward the troops.
Continue reading "Iraqi soldiers making strides in training" »
RAMADI, Iraq — Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee dropped in on the leathernecks of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines today, in a visit to what a top commander here calls “the most dangerous place in Iraq.”
On patrol with the Raiders of Kilo Company in Haqlaniyah
HAQLANIYAH, IRAQ: The drive from Haditha Dam to Haglaniyah was fast and furious. The night starts with a ride in the back of an open 7 ton transport with a crew from Sky News and a team of Marines. The convoy roared down the roads at high speed during the night in blackout conditions, making turns a truck that large had no right making. The trip from the dam to Raider Nation, the foward position of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion,1st Marines, was low key save some interesting driving.
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - A Baton Rouge, La. native was presented the Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30 for injuries he suffered while deployed to Iraq in September. (2/2 Marine)
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, December 6, 2005
BAGHDAD — More than 500 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers have launched Operation Rams, the latest in a series of “disruption operations” targeting entrenched insurgents in the western Iraq city of Ramadi, the U.S. military said Monday.
Continue reading "U.S.-Iraq Operation Rams targets insurgents" »
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2005 – Quitting in Iraq before the mission is finished would be an invitation to more terrorist violence against the United States, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.
Continue reading "Rumsfeld: Quitting Is No Option in Iraq" »
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2005 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has changed the way it administers contracts for rebuilding Iraq, officials said.
Continue reading "Corps of Engineers Restructures Contracting Support in Iraq" »
Police officers were killed by insurgents in previous effort
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, December 5, 2005
KARMAH, Iraq — Even the police are scared in this mostly Sunni city just a few miles east of Fallujah.
Continue reading "Marines trying to establish viable police force in Karmah" »
NEW OBAEIDI, IRAQ - Lance Cpl. Michael Piacentini bends down, carefully removes a burlap sack and starts gently probing a mound of sand underneath with the blade of his six-inch steel knife.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2005 – The U.S. is already on the road to complete victory in Iraq, the president's national security adviser told Sunday talk show hosts today.
Continue reading "National Security Adviser Outlines Progress in Iraq" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 4 - Marines staked their claim to the abandoned youth center in Husayba last month with a Hellfire missile and two tank rounds that destroyed a corner of the building and part of the roof. (3/6)
Continue reading "U.S. Forces Try New Approach: Raid and Dig In" »
Operation Matraqa Hadidia (Iron Hammer) is in its final stages with the completion of construction of a long-term basing in the Hai Al Becker region on the eastern side of the Euphrates River across from Hit and approximately 170 km west of Baghdad.
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 3, 2005) -- Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment recently worked with Iraqi Army soldiers during Operation Shank in an effort to decrease the insurgent threat before the upcoming elections.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2005 – Operation Shank wrapped up today, officials in Iraq announced.
Continue reading "One Iraq Operation Ends, Another in Final Stages" »
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Ten Marines who were killed by a bomb blast in Iraq were part of an expeditionary force based in this Southern California desert base, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Continue reading "Ten Marines killed in Iraq were from Southern California base" »
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq — Approximately 200 Iraqi Army soldiers from 1st Brigade, 7th Division and 300 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, launched Operation Harba (Shank) today in Ar Ramadi.
WASHINGTON (Dec. 2) - Ten Marines were killed and 11 wounded by a roadside bomb near Fallujah, Iraq, in one of the deadliest attacks on American troops in recent months, the Marine Corps announced on Friday. A brief statement said the Marines were from Regimental Combat Team 8, of the 2nd Marine Division.
Continue reading "Bomb Kills 10 Marines, Wounds 11 More in Iraq" »
11 others wounded in Thursday’s attack in insurgent stronghold
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Ten U.S. Marines conducting a foot patrol outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah were killed by a roadside bombing, the U.S. Marines announced Friday. The attack is one of the deadliest against U.S. troops in Iraq in recent months.
Continue reading "10 U.S. Marines killed in bombing near Fallujah" »
AL AMIRIYAH, Iraq -- U.S. soldiers steeled themselves to the hot desert wind that stung their eyes, parched their throats and added grit to their sweat-drenched bodies. (2nd AAB)
Continue reading "Finding hidden caches can be an art form" »
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2005 – The success of joint Iraqi and coalition operations in Iraq will ensure a safe voting environment for Iraqi national elections, a senior military official in Iraq said today.
Continue reading "Iraqis Will Have Secure Voting Environment, General Says" »
HUSABA, Iraq - On a sandy soccer field guarded by snipers on nearby rooftops, just miles from Iraq's menacing border with Syria, U.S. and Iraqi forces on Wednesday celebrated what they considered progress: Iraqi forces gradually getting better at securing the border and the nearby towns.
Continue reading "Officials celebrate Iraqi troops' growing role in securing border" »
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, December 1, 2005
More than 2,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an offensive near the Euphrates River city of Hit, hoping to clear an area “not typically patrolled by Iraqi and U.S. forces,” officials said Wednesday.
Continue reading "U.S., Iraqi forces launch offensive near Hit" »
By Anita Powell and Monte Morin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, December 1, 2005
BAGHDAD — About 10 minutes after the chow hall opened for dinner Wednesday, soldiers and contractors were filling the place. In one corner, a television tuned to the British Broadcasting Corp. was showing live coverage of President Bush’s speech from Annapolis, Md.
Continue reading "Soldiers, Marines in Iraq not surprised by Bush's speech" »
Whitefish Marine tells story of being wounded in Iraq
Sgt. Caleb Pleasants watched a bullet ricochet off a ledge, then hit a wall and fall to the ground in a desert town near the Syrian border. (13th MEU Marine)
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq -Iraqi Army soldiers and U.S. Marines, Sailors and Soldiers began operations near Hit in the Hai Al Becker region. (13th MEU)
Continue reading "Operation Iron Hammer Begins, East of Hit, Iraq" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an operation in western Iraq to clear insurgents from a suspected safe area used to make car and roadside bombs, the military said Wednesday. (13th MEU)
Continue reading "New Campaign Vs. Iraq Insurgents Begins" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Dec. 1, 2005) -- In the air Wing, combat engineers don’t normally work a great deal with explosives. But, in Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, a detachment of combat engineers is working with the Untouchables’ explosive ordnance disposal Marines to change that.
Continue reading "EOD, Engineers stay ‘Untouchable’ in Iraq" »
The Marines and sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit face the prospect of going anywhere when they deploy - no corner of the globe, no snow-capped peak, sprawling city or dust-blown desert is off limits (1/8)
U.S. Dismisses Reported Display Of Force as Hype
BAGHDAD, Dec. 1 -- Tensions were high Thursday in the heavily insurgent western city of Ramadi, after officials and residents said about 250 armed fighters had held the streets for several hours after daylight. The U.S. military adamantly denied the reports.
BAGHDAD (AP) - Insurgents attacked several U.S. bases and government offices with mortars and rockets Thursday before dispersing in the capital of western Iraq's Anbar province.
By Joseph Giordono, Anita Powell, Monte Morin and Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, December 1, 2005
BAGHDAD — On the same day U.S. Rep. John Murtha sparked a renewed political debate over the war in Iraq, more than a thousand U.S. Marines were pushing through booby-trapped houses in the border town of Obeidi.
Continue reading "U.S. servicemembers in Iraq reflect on stateside war debate" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 1, 2005) -- There are a small group of warriors here whose weapons aren’t your typical M-16A2 service rifle, but tools that protect just as well. Their enemy is a small one. (2nd MLG)
FRANKLIN COUNTY — Marines serving in Iraq might have been fed well on Thanksgiving, but holidays in a war zone are just another day closer to going home, according to Pfc. Ashley Graybill, an ammo specialist from Franklin County stationed in Iraq.
Continue reading "Local Marine makes the best of holiday in Iraq, misses life on home front" »
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2005 – Two Task Force Baghdad soldiers were killed when their patrol struck a roadside bomb north of Baghdad today, military officials reported.
Continue reading "Two Soldiers Killed, One Injured in Separate Incidents" »
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2005 – U.S. and coalition initiatives to create well-trained and -equipped Iraqi security forces are paying off, with Iraqis taking on more of the fight, a U.S. Central Command general said Nov. 28 at the Heritage Foundation here.
Continue reading "Iraqi Security Forces Steadily Improving, But Still Need Support" »
Although the national media provides everyone with up-to-the-minute news of all the attacks, bombings, and other horrors of combat in Iraq and in Afghanistan, there are other facets of the effort to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as of the support provided to our troops in combat, which don’t get the coverage they deserve. That is the purpose of this column, in which information from various other sources will be presented.
When Marine reservist Daniel Bowman volunteered to serve in Iraq with another platoon, his three best friends in Gainesville were worried.
Continue reading "Four best friends to serve in Iraq together" »
On short notice, a reserve Marine artillery battery from El Paso learned a new specialty and then earlier this year headed to Iraq where its members worked in military prisons, guarded convoys and provided security for a major Marine operations base. (2/14)
Continue reading "Reserve Marine unit stocked with El Pasoans excels in Iraq" »
Supporting Marines On Ground
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2005 – A U.S. Marine engaged in combat operations against enemy forces near Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, was killed in an improvised explosive device attack Nov. 26, officials in Iraq announced today. (3/7 / 2nd MAW)
Continue reading "Marine Killed, Operation Tigers Continues in Iraq" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi troops have detained several suspected insurgents in the capital of Anbar province as part of the latest joint operation in the area dominated by Sunni Arabs, the U.S. Marines said Sunday.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2005 – A soldier assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in an improvised explosive device attack while conducting combat operations against the enemy in Hit, Iraq, Nov. 25, military officials reported today
Continue reading "Soldier Dies in Roadside Bomb Explosion" »
TAMPA - -- Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Dennis Hejlik is no stranger to tough assignments.
In Iraq a year ago, Hejlik was preparing his troops for an assault on Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold about 40 miles west of Baghdad.
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, November 26, 2005
Nearly 500 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers wrapped up Operation Lions on Thanksgiving, finishing the latest in a series of operations on the edges of Ramadi.
Continue reading "More than 20 arrested as Operation Lions wraps up" »
AL ASAD, Iraq - Chasing down a dream can lead people to the far corners of Earth, or into the depths of their soul. Capt. Brian Rolf, a Defiance, Ohio, native, fulfilled his dream at 30,000 feet.
Continue reading "Ohio, Native Living Dream, Supporting Marines from 30,000 Feet" »
'Duty' made Gaskin join Corps, but he didn't count on cancer (2/6 family)
Holiday bittersweet for U.S. troops far from home
U.S. Marines receive special Thanksgiving dinners at a U.S. Marine base near the Syrian border Thursday. (1st LAR)
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq(Nov 24, 2005) -- There is a small group of Marines here that epitomizes the idea that “every Marine is a rifleman.” They come from a mixture of jobs, but complete a patchwork that makes Taqaddum’s reaction team. (CLR 25)
Continue reading "Mixture of Taqaddum Marines make up QRF" »
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, November 24, 2005
After 17 days of sometimes-heavy fighting along the Iraq-Syria border, U.S. officials said Wednesday that Operation Steel Curtain has officially finished.
Continue reading "Operation Steel Curtain closes along Iraq’s Syrian border" »
AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - During the month of November, members of the U.S. Marine Corps are celebrating their 230th birthday. And regardless of where they are at the moment, this is how they celebrate: with a cake. The first slice is eaten by the commanding officer, the second by the oldest in the unit, the third by the youngest. (2/6)
Continue reading "Marines still living and dying in Iraq's most unforgiving province" »
The days run together for Cpl. Justin Miller. Monotony is the word of the day for this 20-year-old Marine from Lino Lakes who is stationed at Al Asad Airfield in northern Iraq.
AR RAMADI, Iraq(Nov. 23, 2005) -- Construction of bases for the Iraqi Army and U.S. military’s long-term security presence is steadily progressing in Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi
Continue reading "Marines look ahead to routing insurgents out of region" »
KARABILAH, IRAQ – There's a rumor circulating among the marines of the 2/6 that "hot chow" is coming.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2005) -- For many Marines, the Corps becomes a surrogate family as soon as young recruits step on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depots. But, for Lance Cpl. Shannon M. Flaherty, a Sewell, N.J., native, joining the Marine Corps was just another page out of her family’s history book.
Continue reading "Marine Corps family legacy carries on as father, daughter reunite in Iraq" »
AL QAIM, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2005) -- When faced with challenges, Marines are renowned for their ability to adapt and overcome.
Continue reading "Gunfighters’ maintenance controller keeps operations at full sprint" »
Iraqis seeking compensation line up outside base
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, November 22, 2005
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Abdul Nasser Gazi was one of more than 150 men who lined up outside the newly established U.S. Marine base in Husaybah on Monday to lodge complaints and request compensation for property damaged in a seven-day battle earlier this month.
Continue reading "Marines weigh legitimate claims against Husaybah humbug" »
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — The U.S. Marines keep saying the same thing to a local militia leader known as Abu Ali: Stop carrying your weapons. (3/6)
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Shortly after nightfall, Khalid Kadem was relaxing with his mother and sister when he heard a thud in the courtyard outside his home.
U.S. troops trying to persuade tribal militia to put down its weapons
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, November 21, 2005
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — The U.S. Marines keep saying the same thing to a local militia leader known as Abu Ali: Stop carrying your weapons.
Continue reading "Marines entangled in disarming situation in Husaybah" »
BAGHDAD — Standing in a pile of rubble that was once his home, a bandaged and bloody Jameel Younan Nissan described twin suicide bombs that killed seven of his neighbors near the Hamra Hotel.
Continue reading "Zarqawi's close family publicly denounces him" »
About 450 US Marines and Iraqi soldiers have launched a new military offensive in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi to hunt insurgents and search for weapons caches, the US military said on Monday.
Continue reading "US-Iraqi troops launch new offensive in western Iraq" »
Cutting the ratlines and quashing the insurgency in Western Iraq.
(Submitters note: This article includes LtCol Bryan P. McCoy, one of Marine Parents.com's member on our board of directors.)
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- During a recent civil affairs patrol, some of the Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment guard force were asked to come along as a security element. For the guard Marines, who usually spend their days and nights keeping watch from guard towers, getting the opportunity to participate in a foot patrol was an exciting opportunity that they have looked forward to since arriving in country more than two months ago.
Continue reading "San Jose, Calif., native helps CAG patrol through city" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- Third Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment’s commander, Lt. Col. Roger Turner, and sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Walter Kilgore, toured the city of Ar Ramadi Nov. 10.
Continue reading "Marine Corps birthday more than a ball for Marines of 3/7" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- Clearing out compounds and buildings that might potentially harbor insurgents is a hair-raising and sometimes deadly activity. It takes men of a certain quality to handle the unknown of what’s behind the closed doors and around shadowed corners.
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- During Operation Steel Curtain, the fight to clear Husaybah and Karabilah in western Iraq, Paintsville, Ky., native Lance Cpl. Scotty R. Price was designated by his leaders to carry a light antitank weapon, known as the LAW. (3/6 Marine)
Continue reading "Paintsville, Ky., native fires light rocket at insurgents" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- The infantry fire team is the lowest smallest unit and at the bottom of the infantry hierarchy… and maybe the most important. (3/6 MArine)
Continue reading "Nashua, N.H., native leads team in combat" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- The Marine Corps’ three B’s, beans, bullets and bandages, are said to be the only equipment a Marine needs to accomplish the mission while in Iraq. (RCT 2 Marine)
Continue reading "Bakersfield, Calif., native provides beans, bullets, bandages" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- Picture this scenario: A Marine rifle squad advances on a walled compound in western Iraq. When the point man reaches the gate, automatic weapons fire from inside riddles the wall and metal gate, missing the Marine by mere inches. (3/6 pics at ext link)
Continue reading "Antitank assaultmen face more than tanks" »
HUSAYBAH, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- The Marines of 3rd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, recently pushed through buildings, streets and the constant threat of improvised explosive devices and enemy attacks to bring stability and security to two Iraq border towns in western Al Anbar province
Continue reading "Marines drop ‘Steel Curtain’ on Iraq-Syria border towns" »
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 - In the tumultuous debate over renewed calls for a withdrawal from Iraq, each side argues that it stands shoulder to shoulder with the troops in the field and that the other side's approach is undermining military morale.
Continue reading "On the Front Lines, Many Say Morale Remains Strong" »
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. (Nov. 18, 2005) -- “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. The Marines don't have that problem.” — Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States; 1985
Continue reading "2/7's RBE Fights Battle Off Battlefield" »
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — About 350 Marines here and at Camp Pendleton are being trained as advisors to the Iraqi army, in the hopes that a strategy honed during the Vietnam War can be used to improve Iraq's military and hasten the withdrawal of U.S. personnel.
UBAYDI, Iraq, Nov. 16 - Five marines were killed and 11 wounded Wednesday in an ambush at a farmhouse while hunting for insurgents on the outskirts of this rural town, Marine officials said. It was the deadliest day for the Marines since beginning an aggressive sweep along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border early this month.
Continue reading "5 Marines Dead and 11 Hurt in an Ambush by Insurgents" »
U.S. forces sweeping through third Iraq border city
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, November 16, 2005
At least three U.S. Marines have been killed as Operation Steel Curtain pushes through a third town near the Iraq-Syria border.
Continue reading "Three Marines killed in heavy Steel Curtain fighting" »
FALLUJAH, IRAQ – Mixed emotions are written on Iraqi faces, as Sgt. Mindo Estrella leads a dusty foot patrol of US Marines in Fallujah. Smiles and furtive waves - even handshakes and shouts of "Good! Good!" - blend with angry, sullen stares.
Continue reading "One year later: Fallujah mending, but still volatile" »
Scores of detainees found in poor health, officials say
Continue reading "U.S. calls medics to Iraq police detention center" »
U.S. Marines patrol the city of Husaybah for the first time in more than a year.
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, November 14, 2005
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Driving through the marketplace, Sgt. Scott Wood saw many signs of daily life returning to the city center: children playing in the streets, men squatting near shops — and al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda hanging on a wall.
Continue reading "Marines trying to keep Iraqi town secure after assault" »
Two U.S. marines were killed and at least nine were wounded in ambushes and fierce street battles on Monday as thousands of American and Iraqi troops stormed Ubaydi, a riverside town near the Syrian border that the Americans contend has become a haven for foreign jihadists (3/6)
Continue reading " U.S. presses offensive on border with Syria" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 14, 2005) -- As the postal chief for the camp post office, he supervises Marines and helps bridge the gap between service members and their families. On Sundays, he leads the gospel service held at the camp chapel. (2nd MLG marine)
Continue reading "Marine postal chief takes reigns as chaplain" »
LEOMINSTER-- Matthew Burke has nothing but a positive attitude when speaking about his ongoing Marine Corps service in Fallujah, Iraq.
Continue reading "Iraq veteran tells of life 'over there'." »
AL TAQQADUM, Iraq (Nov. 13, 2005) -- For many, the flag is more than a symbol of the government. It represents the shared values of the people of the United States and their greatest ideal, freedom.
Continue reading "Gunfighters send U.S. flags flown in combat home to families" »
Moving room-to-room, the troops' eyes are peeled. It's strenuous, repetitive and potentially lethal work.
Continue reading "Straight up combat behind Operation Steel Curtain" »
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, November 12, 2005
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Even as explosions on the city’s edge shook the ground through the night, Marines celebrated their own inception with an annual birthday feast.
Continue reading "No MREs this night as Marines in Iraq celebrate Corps' birthday with steaks" »
BARWANA, Iraq(Nov. 10, 2005) -- Being an infantryman and standing security posts go hand in hand when in Iraq. While some are in security positions and others are regulating traffic, these posts are an important part of keeping Marines safe here. (3/1)
Continue reading "L.A. native mans posts to keep Marines safe" »
HUSAYBA, Iraq (CNN) -- As Operation Steel Curtain moved into day seven, the U.S. and Iraqi militaries had little direct contact with insurgents early Friday but faced plenty of danger on the streets of Karabila.
Continue reading " Explosive devices slow Marines in Karabila" »
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, November 11, 2005
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Marines on Thursday marched though garden courtyards, climbed over crumbling stone walls and ducked under clotheslines as they continued their house-by-house search of this Syrian border city and neared the close of one of their largest operations in months. (2/1)
AL ASAD, Iraq (Nov. 11, 2005) -- Getting through hard times together is a part of life Marines have grown accustomed to while deployed to Iraq. Any challenge that arises from storming an insurgent stronghold to repairing a jet engine, Marines are there for each other.
Continue reading "After losing home in hurricane, Bulldog keeps in good spirits, company" »
Camp Al Qaim, Iraq (Nov. 11, 2005) -- In northwest Iraq, insurgents trying to disrupt the Iraqi political process are said to flee in terror whenever they hear a helicopter approaching.
Continue reading "HML/A-369 flies high over Al Qaim thanks to maintenance crews" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Nov. 10, 2005) -- The Marines birthday celebration something respected in every clime in place the Marine Corps goes and today was no exception as the Marines of Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) gathered here to celebrated the 230th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.
While many Marines use the cover of darkness to secretly infiltrate and secure cities and towns across Iraq, Lance Cpl. Pedro L. Rangel is doing his best to be seen and heard. (RCT 2)
Continue reading " Marine Updates Iraqis as Troops Perform Missions" »
HUSAYBA, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi soldiers went on graveyard duty Thursday to help Iraqi civilians bury their dead in the aftermath of the U.S. Marine offensive in Husayba, near the Syrian border, as the main thrust of Operation Steel Curtain moved into Karabila to the east.
Continue reading " Marines move into Karabila; Iraqis bury dead" »
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, November 10, 2005
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Thousands of U.S. Marines swept across the eastern half of this desolate border city Wednesday night, finding limited resistance in a key area long considered an insurgent stronghold and passageway on the route from Syria. (3/6)
Continue reading "Marines set up shop along insurgents' route from Syria into Iraq" »
Curtain is beginning to fall on joint U.S.-Iraqi operation near Syrian border
Continue reading "Hopes fade of trapping many insurgents in western Iraq" »
The 1st Marine Division Association that meets monthly in a North Port restaurant has taken on a new assignment: They're planning on being "Santa's Helper" to a bunch of front-line troops serving at a camp in a remote section of western Iraq named: Camp Korean Village.
Continue reading "You can make sure 'The Spear Tip' in Iraq has Christmas, too" »
AL KHAFFAJIYAH, Iraq (Nov. 8, 2005) -- While many Marines use the cover of darkness to secretly infiltrate and secure cities and towns across Iraq, Lance Cpl. Pedro L. Rangel is doing his best to be seen and heard. (RCT 2)
Continue reading "Merrillville, Ind., native passes word to Iraqis" »
TIME's Chris Allbritton, with Marines in Huseybah, finds that the U.S. has turned former enemies into allies by fighting their pro-Qaeda tribal rivals (2/1)
Continue reading "Making Tribal War Work for the U.S. in Iraq" »
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — Two thousand Marine infantrymen completed a four-day sweep through the city Tuesday and continued their advance into a suburban strip leading east to the riverside town of Karabilah. (2/1)
The Marine Corps' top officer said Monday that he is comfortable with the size of his force, but acknowledged that the Pentagon is reviewing troop levels as part of an ongoing review of defense capabilities, strategies and plans
Continue reading " Marine Corps leader comfortable with troop levels" »
The members of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, are creeping through the mean streets of Iraq's meanest town when their mission comes in.
November 08, 2005 - AR RAMADI, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2005 -- Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers are fighting alongside Marines near the Iraq-Syria border in Operation Steel Curtain, which began over the weekend.
Continue reading "Steel Curtain drops on terrorists near Syrian border" »
BAGHDAD — Marines killed five insurgents and captured 10 others in a city west of Baghdad as American forces there stepped up their campaign to suppress deadly roadside bombs, the U.S. military said Tuesday. Roadside bombs killed at least seven Iraqi security troops across the country.
Continue reading "Marines kill five insurgents, capture 10" »
Even Saddam didn't enjoy full control over the far-western tribal belt, so what can the Americans hope to achieve - and what will happen when they leave? Lindsey Hilsum is travelling with the US marines (3/6 embedded reporter)
AL ASAD, Iraq (Nov. 6, 2005) -- Two hours into a deep sleep, he awoke to the sound of bullets flying and alarms screaming as heavily armed al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (MEWS 1)
Continue reading "Marine awakes to terrorist attack, awarded Bronze Star for valor" »
Operation targets insurgents near Iraq's border with Syria
Camp Al Qaim, Iraq (Nov. 6, 2005) -- While conducting combat operations in northwest Iraq, scout snipers from 3rd Battaltion, 6th Marine Regiment found themselves in a firefight with insurgents.
Continue reading "Gunfighters save sniper’s life in midst of battle" »
HUSAYBAH, Iraq — U.S. forces nearly completed their operation to clear this Syrian border city on Monday, encountering little resistance. (3/6)
Continue reading "Offensive on western Iraq city nears end" »
HUSAYBA, Iraq Insurgents armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades battled about 3,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops Sunday in the gritty streets of Husayba in the second day of an offensive to rout Al Qaeda from its stronghold along the Syrian border. (3/6)
Continue reading " U.S. and Iraqi troops besiege insurgents" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq Nov 6, 2005 — About 3,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by jets launched a major attack Saturday against an insurgent-held town near the Syrian border, seeking to dislodge al-Qaida and its allies and seal off a main route for foreign fighters entering the country.
Continue reading "U.S.-Led Forces Attack al-Qaida in Iraq" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq — About 3,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by warplanes dropping 500-pound bombs assaulted a town near the Syrian border Saturday reputed to be a crossing point for foreign fighters. House-to-house searches were planned to root out all resistance and hamper the guerrilla network operating in the Euphrates Valley.
In a crucial test, multiple battalions of the Iraqi Army also are deployed (3/6)
Continue reading "Syria border operation takes toll on Sunni town" »
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi troops battled insurgents house-to-house on Monday, the third day of a major offensive against al-Qaeda insurgents in a town near the Syrian border, and the U.S. command reported the first American death in the operation.
Continue reading "U.S., Iraqi troops storm town near Syria; 1 Marine killed" »
HUSAYBA, Iraq, Nov. 5 - Thousands of American and Iraqi troops laid siege on Saturday to this town near the Syrian border in one of the largest military assaults since American-led forces stormed the guerrilla stronghold of Falluja last year, Marine Corps officials said.
Continue reading "Major Offensive Hits Insurgents on Iraqi Border" »
AL TAQQADUM, Iraq (Nov. 5, 2005) -- Whether he is flying behind a .50 cal machine gun or turning wrenches on the flightline, three consecutive deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom have shaped him into an experienced sergeant of Marines.
Continue reading "No such thing as failure for Marine flying casevac missions" »
DOD Press Article
American Forces Press Service
Continue reading "Operation Steel Curtain Moves Into Husaybah" »
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, November 5, 2005
ARLINGTON, Va. — Technology for advanced roadside bombs is crossing the border from Iran to Iraq, but it is unknown whether the Iranian intelligence service is involved, said the British general in charge of multinational forces in southern Iraq.
Continue reading "British general: IED technology may be coming from Iran" »
Anoka High School 1996 graduate Tom Wilberg knows the wiles of Iraq well. (3/6)
Continue reading "Wiles of Iraq are war, more for Tom Wilberg" »
While the bombs used against them keep getting bigger and the development of the next best vehicle may still be five more years away, officials say the Marines who drive Iraq's deadly roads in the meantime can at least count on having the best available armor on all of their Humvees by next month.
Continue reading "Marines' Iraq Humvees to be 'up-armored' by December" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Witnesses saw what they believed was a weapon fired at a U.S. helicopter that crashed in Iraq, a U.S. military official said Thursday.
Continue reading " U.S.: Hostile fire suspected in Iraq copter crash" »
WASHINGTON – When the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force resumes responsibility for volatile Anbar province in Iraq in February, the Marines will be bolstered by 18 battalions from the new Iraqi army, plus a large number of Iraqi police and border security forces, Lt. Gen. John Sattler said.
Continue reading "On new tour, Marines to get big boost from Iraqi battalions" »
CAMP RIPPER, Iraq (Nov. 3, 2005) -- After a long day’s work here, Marines need a way to relieve stress and relax from the rigors of being in a combat zone. Nothing serves better than a good workout. (RCT-2 / 3/25 K & L Co)
Continue reading "Memorial gym helps service members relieve combat stress" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 3, 2005) -- Marines from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines recently assisted members of the local Iraqi Security Force and 6th Civil Affairs Group in delivering more than $500,000 of medical supplies to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital here Oct. 25. (3/7 Lima Co. Wpns CAAT Blue / 6th CAG)
Continue reading "Company L works with ISF on humanitarian mission" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Nov. 2, 2005) -- The 3rd Mobile Assault Platoon took sniper fire all day as they conducted a relief in place with 1st Mobile Assault Platoon. (3/6 Weapons / RCT 2) / pics at ext link)
Continue reading "Marine shown importance of gear, hard way." »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 2, 2005) -- Over 200,000 Iraqi people in Al Anbar Province recently made their way to polling sites for Iraq’s Constitutional Referendum. The voters safely made their voices heard without even seeing the forces that were instrumental in making it possible.
Continue reading "Election Support Teams help ensure Iraqi vote" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 2, 2005) -- With the current improvised explosive device threat in Al Anbar province, and throughout Iraq, the U.S. military has added armor on its vehicles to ensure the safety of service members serving here.
Continue reading "AVA International, Marines get Iraqi Security Forces back in fight" »
Camp Blue Diamond, Ar Ramadi, Iraq (Nov. 2, 2005) -- The 2nd Marine Division is progressively receiving the additional combat power that its commanders have requested to conduct the counter-insurgency operations in the Al Anbar province.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 3, 2005) -- The mission of postal Marines in Iraq is vital to the morale of troops serving in operations, and one Marine here is helping in the fight, one package at a time. (PD 6 Service Co. H&S; 2nd FSSG)
Continue reading "Columbus, Ga., native aids in fight, one package at a time" »
(CBS) BAGHDAD A U.S. Marine attack helicopter crashed in near Ramadi on Wednesday, killing two Marines, and two other service members were killed in the city the day before by a roadside bomb, the military said.
Video Clip of 3/4 Marine recovering after 4/19/2005 injuries sustained while in Iraq.
The runners completed the goal in spite of distractions such as an unimproved course
of rocks and gravel and an improvised explosive device detonating on the horizon.
Continue reading "Deployed Troops Run Marine Corps Marathon" »
MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (Oct. 28, 2005) -- A recent recruit training graduate received a special opportunity at the Peatross Parade Deck Oct. 21.
Continue reading "Video teleconference brings father, son together" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 30, 2005) -- Keeping the KC-130Js of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 in the air requires maximum cooperation between the squadron’s multiple moving parts.
Continue reading "VMGR-252 air crews make mission possible in Iraq" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 30, 2005) -- Gunnery Sgt. Rose M. Noel, the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26 electronic counter measures repair center noncommissioned officer-in-charge, is the ultimate family person. One of her families is in the United States and includes her children and mother. Her other family is the Marine Corps, and more specifically, her fellow Marines in MALS-26.
Continue reading "Injured Marine returns to duty, receives Purple Heart" »
AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 31, 2005) -- The golden hour is the amount of time they have to save life, limb or sight. Every second faster they move could mean the difference between life and death.
Continue reading "Every second counts as Greyhawks save lives" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 31, 2005) -- The last time 5th Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th Marine Division, was deployed to a combat zone Franklin D. Roosevelt was president and the United States was in a world war against the Japanese in the South Pacific.
TIKRIT, Iraq — The incoming rocket makes a nasty, whooshing sound as it passes over your head, a noise that tends to freeze you in place the first time you hear it.
Continue reading "In Iraq, U.S. soldiers focus on mission — not danger" »
Iraq has always been warm. Now it's hot.
That's because Pvt. Jake Lybrook, a 21-year-old Camp Lejeune Marine who is currently deployed there with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, is featured in the current issue of Cosmopolitan magazine as one of America's 50 sexiest bachelors. (3/6)
Continue reading " Camp Lejeune Marine featured in Cosmo's 50 sexiest bachelors" »
HADITHA, Iraq - The Marines call it a necessary evil - taking over houses and buildings for military use. For the Iraqis who become unwilling hosts, it can be anything from a mild inconvenience to a disruption that tears apart lives. (3/1)
Continue reading "Away from bases in Iraq, GIs often become univited guests" »
HADITHA, Iraq — The Marines call it a necessary evil — taking over houses and buildings for military use. For the Iraqis who become unwilling hosts, it can be anything from a mild inconvenience to a disruption that tears apart lives. (3/1)
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- In a city once wracked by insurgent turmoil, hundreds of native troops with the Iraq Intervention Force conduct daily security and stability patrols in the neighborhoods and marketplaces here today. (2/6 detachment)
Continue reading "Iraqis assuming bigger security role as Fallujah continues progress" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- For many people a birthday means a day off. It’s a time to celebrate the successful passage of another year of life and to look forward to the year that lies ahead. It’s a time of celebration with family and friends, relaxation and gifts. (2/6 Fox)
Continue reading "‘Devil Doc’ celebrates 28th birthday in Iraq" »
BARWANA, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- Marines with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion uncovered a cache of weapons after receiving a tip on the site’s approximate location. (1st LAR / RCT-2 / 2nd Brigade Combat Team)
Continue reading "1st LAR finds weapons cache in underground bunker" »
BARWANA, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- While many service members view a deployment to Iraq as a long separation from their family, Cpl. Yousef A. Badou sees it as a chance to visit his family who live in Kuwait near a U.S. military base. (1st LAR / pic at ext link)
Continue reading "Kuwaiti-born Marine on third deployment in Iraq" »
HADITHA, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- Seven members of 6th Civil Affairs Group, Detachment 3, Team 5 spend each day here helping rebuild a war-torn city so people can live normal lives again. (6th CAG / 3/1)
HADITHA, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- Even though the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment aren’t fighting insurgents face-to-face, they are still fighting an explosive enemy that lurks beneath them as they patrol the city.
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Oct. 28, 2005) -- Someone once wrote that an army lives off its stomach. This axiom holds true even today, with all the current technological accoutrements of modern war. (3/6 H & S)
Continue reading "Supply keeps Teufelhunden Marines aimed in right direction" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 27, 2005) -- On the runways of Al Asad, the Marines of Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 repair roads and maintain equipment so flightlines built during the Saddam Hussein era can support modern Marine Corps aircraft. (2nd MAW / pics at ext link)
Continue reading "Untouchables keep Al Asad flightlines ready for war" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 27, 2005) -- On the runways of Al Asad, the Marines of Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 repair roads and maintain equipment so flightlines built during the Saddam Hussein era can support modern Marine Corps aircraft. (2nd MAW / pics at ext link)
Continue reading "Untouchables keep Al Asad flightlines ready for war" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Marine Lt. Col. Steve Grass will be running in a Washington marathon this weekend, even though he's in Iraq.
Continue reading "Marine In Iraq To Run MS Marathon Remotely" »
SADAH, Iraq — It was, Cpl. Jereme Roodhouse agreed, just like a snipe hunt. As a church camp counselor in his younger days back home in Michigan, Roodhouse had led campers on nighttime hunts for the mythical animal. The joke, of course, was that there is no such thing as a snipe. (3/6)
Continue reading "‘Snipe hunts’ prove to be a hit or miss affair" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq(Oct. 26, 2005) -- Some service members walk away with a snack, maybe a can of soda or a pack of cigarettes, but one thing that everyone walks away with is a smile on their face. (2nd FSSG / pics at ext link)
Continue reading "Marines bring smiles to front-line troops" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 26, 2005) -- The sound of magazines being slapped into weapons and bolts chambering rounds cuts through the dust-filled air. The men adjust their flak jackets and Kevlar helmets to ensure the maximum amount of comfort over the next two hours. Once these final preparations are made, they all look at their leader. Every man is in his place and knows his role in the mission. They won’t move however, unless they receive the order to do so. (2/6 F Co / pics at ext. link)
Continue reading "Erie, Penn., native leads seasoned squad of Marines" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 25, 2005) -- ‘Man’s best friend’ is a term of endearment that has been used by dog lovers for years, and in Iraq that brotherhood continues saving the lives of hundreds of service members. (att. 2nd FSSG)
Continue reading "Military dog handlers find satisfaction in serving at the front" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 24, 2005) -- A voice from the speaker system projects throughout the camp requesting assistance in helping a fellow human being. Without hesitation, eligible service members stop what they are doing to support the request--they know every second counts. (CLR 25 / pics at ext. link)
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 24, 2005) -- The current operational tempo of the Global War on Terrorism means many Marines are deploying to combat zones on a yearly basis. Back-to-back combat tours can cause headaches for Marines and heartaches for their families, but for Sgt. C. Alexander Wolf, it’s just another day at the office. (2nd MAW)
Continue reading "Kokomo, Ind., native rides again, on fourth deployment to Middle East" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 24, 2005) -- Sgt. Maj. Courtney K. Curtis had never served in an aviation combat unit. After enlisting in the Marine Corps as an amphibious assault vehicle crewman, Curtis had spent all his time in the Fleet Marine Force with Marine Corps ground units. (Marine Attack Squadron 223- 2nd MAW / pics at ext. link))
Continue reading "VMA-223 Sgt. Maj. brings unique experience, keeps Marines focused" »
AL AMARIYAH, IRAQ (Oct. 23. 2005) -- The convoy of assault amphibian vehicles came up on a cluster of houses here during an operation late last summer. After cordoning off the area with the tracked vehicles, infantrymen dismounted from the armored vehicles, providing another level of security for the ‘cordon and knock’ operation. (2nd AAB & 2/7 / photos at ext. link)
Continue reading "Green Dragons’ repelled insurgents, explosives" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 14, 2005) -- One of the biggest challenges, and key factors in creating a stable Iraqi state is helping to create and train a national army that can protect and uphold the principles of freedom that Coalition Forces is fighting. (3/7 Kilo photos at external link)
Continue reading "MITT teams building ISF up with hard work" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 23, 2005) -- Once they turned on helicopters as they flew into combat. Now, they are enshrined with visions of Iwo Jima, Sept. 11, kabars, Purple Hearts and Marines patrolling the deserts of Iraq. (pics in ext. link)
Continue reading "MALS-26 Patriot creates unique art in Iraq" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 23, 2005) -- To protect lives, they devote all their energy, no matter what challenges arise.
Continue reading "Bulldogs in Iraq ready for any challenge" »
RAMADI, Iraq, Oct. 22 - The Bradley fighting vehicles moved slowly down this city's main boulevard. Suddenly, a homemade bomb exploded, punching into one vehicle. Then another explosion hit, briefly lifting a second vehicle up onto its side before it dropped back down again. (3/7 Lima and Kilo in depth)
Continue reading "Unseen Enemy Is at Its Fiercest in a Sunni City" »
AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- October 2 began as another hot and dusty day in Iraq. By day’s end, however, the Marines of 3rd Platoon, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines defeated local insurgents in a decisive small-arms battle. (2/2 Easy photos in external link)
Continue reading "Easy Company turns tide of enemy attack" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- The challenge of the military is a draw for many. For Lance Cpl. Troy White, the choice boiled down to which path would provide the biggest test. It didn’t take him long to come up with the right answer – The Marine Corps. (3/7 Lima 2nd Plt. / photos at external link)
Continue reading "Owosso, Mich., native excited to serve in Iraq" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- With each passing day, the people of Iraq take another step toward self-sufficiency and away from the horrors and oppression they have lived under for most of their lives. On Oct. 15, the people of Ar Ramadi participated in the referendum vote on a proposed national constitution. If approved, it would be a major leap forward in the struggle for democracy. (3/7 6th CAG and Kilo 2nd Plt / photo at external link)
Continue reading "3/7 works with ISF, IECI during national elections" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- To help with training operations involving the Iraqi Security Force, Marines from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, helped build a new berthing area for Iraqi troops working out of the Snake Pit base. (3/7 Lima and 1st CEB / photos at external link)
Continue reading "3/7 Marines construct living space for ISF" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- Being a Navy corpsman is one of the most demanding and respected jobs in the military. Not only are they expected to be fully capable of performing life-saving field medicine under fire, they also must maintain the standards and discipline of the Marines they work with. For Seaman Allen Pham, a corpsman with 2nd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, the challenge of deploying and working with the best was part of the appeal.
Continue reading "Oxnard, Calif., native gets experience to succeed" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- Marines from 6th Civil Affairs Group and 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment’s recently conducted a presence patrol to survey the Ramadi citizen’s willingness to vote, determine the level of support for the proposed constitution and to see if the local schools needed support. (CAG photos at ext. link)
Continue reading "Members of CAG and 3/7 meet the people of Ar Ramadi" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- Two platoons from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, along with two Army units and a company from the Iraqi Security Force, took part in Operation Bowie, Oct.2 through the 4 in order to disrupt insurgent positions in southern Ar Ramadi.
Continue reading "Marines sweep through Ar Ramadi during Operation Bowie" »
AMARIYAH, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- Marines and Iraqi soldiers moved through the town of Amariyah and the settlement known as Ferris Town during the early morning hours of Aug. 25 and 26. (2nd AABn- photos included in external link)
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- The high school football and soccer player from Moncks Corner, S.C., had the option of going to college on a scholarship. Seeking personal self-improvement, the strapping young man instead joined the smallest branch of the military, the Marine Corps.
Continue reading "High school athlete takes on Marine challenge" »
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 22, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. Jason M. Crawford tracks the numerous convoys moving through the Al Anbar province.
Continue reading "Conowingo, Md. native manages transportation web" »
Picture this scene if you will.
Two relatives who have not seen each other in several months share a meal in a crowded cafeteria by catching up and shooting the breeze.
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 21, 2005) -- It is believed that the first pieces of mail to be delivered in history were carried by Persians on horseback as early as 500 b.c. Since then the world has utilized mail delivery for everything from simple correspondence to business transactions totaling untold amounts of money. (CLB8 / pics at ext. link)
Continue reading "Postal brings home to front lines of Iraq" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 20, 2005) -- Sergeant Craig Meltzer did not want to leave his wife and 2-month-old daughter at home while he deployed to Iraq's Al Anbar province for six months. But, as much as he hated to leave his wife and daughter, the idea of watching his Marine family deploy without him was unthinkable. (2nd MAW)
Continue reading "'Bulldog' deploys with two families in mind" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 20, 2005) -- Venture to the deep southern parts of the United States and you will hear the sounds of the famed genre of blue grass music.
Continue reading "Marine finds inspiration in blue grass roots while serving in Iraq" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 20, 2005) -- For many, getting a four-year degree from a college or university is the path to accomplishing their career goals. However, for a number of people, the cost of attending those schools is prohibitive. Private First Class David Shellito Jr., found a way to pay for his school, as well as gain valuable leadership skills when he joined the Marine Corps. (3/7)
Continue reading "Edgewood, Iowa native gets college and whole lot more" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 18, 2005) -- One country boy from Hilmar, Calif., ensures service members receive medical attention here, while on his third deployment since joining the Corps three years ago.
Continue reading "Ambulance driver aids service members, extends tour" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 19, 2005) -- In the eyes of Josey Wenger, the Marine Corps offered a chance to test himself in the most strenuous of circumstances – War. Private First Class
Wenger, a rifleman with 2nd platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, decided to become a Marine to find out more about himself. (3/7)
Continue reading "Peoria, Ill., native becoming a man in the Corps" »
HADITHA, Iraq (Oct. 15, 2005) -- Iraqi Security Forces and Marines with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment provided security for the constitutional referendum as citizens cast their vote here Oct. 15. (3/1 / pics at ext. link)
Continue reading "Pomona, Calif., native supports Iraqi referendum in Haditha" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq, Oct. 18, 2005 — U.S. Army Sgt. David C. Harrington felt a tight knot in his stomach as he gave the command over the high frequency radio for his team to start up their heavily armed Humvees and move out on their patrol.
Continue reading "Soldiers, Marines Team Up to Secure Camp" »
HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Oct. 18, 2005) -- The use of dogs as guardians of military camps to protect against surprise attacks dates back to ancient Egypt. Today, dogs are not only guarding bases but also patrolling with Marines of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Iraq
Continue reading "Man’s best friend patrols beside Marines" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 16, 2005) -- Every day of work for the Moonlighters of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332 brings a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice paid by Marines, Soldiers and Sailors in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 15, 2005) -- The Marines, soldiers, and sailors of Regimental Combat Team-2, along with their partnered Iraqi Security Forces, have helped pave the way for thousands of Iraqi citizens throughout the western Al Anbar province to take to the streets today and vote on the Iraqi Constitutional Referendum.
Continue reading "Successful referendum in western Al Anbar Province" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 15, 2005) -- The streets were quiet as the long awaited day for the referendum began Saturday morning. Vehicle traffic was banned within the city, so the Iraqi police could ensure better security throughout the day.
2d FSSG (Fwd) Marines & Soldiers Alerted to Weapons Caches
Oct 15, 2005
Continue reading "United States Marine Corps Press Release" »
BAGHDAD, Oct. 15 -- Large numbers of Iraqi voters ignored sporadic outbreaks of violence and voted Saturday in a constitutional referendum that would increase the role of Islam in the government and formalize Iraq's democracy. But insurgent firefights with U.S. Marines and militant attacks on polling places were lowering voter turnout in some areas of the Sunni west.
AL ASAD, Iraq (10/15/2005) -- Sergeant Maj. Courtney K. Curtis had never served in an aviation combat unit. After enlisting in the Marine Corps as an amphibious assault vehicle crewman, Curtis had spent all his time in the Fleet Marine Force with Marine Corps ground units.
Continue reading "VMA-223 Sgt. Maj. brings unique experience, keeps Marines focused" »
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's deeply divided Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds took their struggle over the nation's future to the ballot box Saturday, voting in a fierce competition over a new constitution aimed at establishing a democracy after decades of dictatorship
Continue reading "Turnout appears steady in historic vote on constitution" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, IRAQ (Oct. 14, 2005) -- Temperatures broke the three-digit mark without a sign of relief in sight, but this did not stop Marines from various units coming together to help provide security and administrative support to the Iraqi people during training for the upcoming elections.
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 13, 2005) -- You cannot find Marines without sailors and Oct. 13 was no exception as the Marines and sailors of 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward) gathered here to celebrated the 230th birthday of the United States Navy.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Oct. 14, 2005) -- Some people go their whole life wondering if they ever made a difference. Marines don’t have that problem. –Ronald Regan, 40th President of the United States of America. (2nd FSSG CLB 8)
Continue reading "Loganville native proud to serve third tour in Iraq" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 13, 2005) -- Nestled amongst the abundance of tents here is a place where nothing short of miracles are performed at the hands of skillful individuals. This rag tag platoon is an assortment of doctors, nurses and hospital corpsman from all over the country. (2nd FSSG CLR 25)
Continue reading "Taqaddum Trauma Platoon fights for life" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 13, 2005) -- Marines from three Marine Air Control Squadrons recently expanded the scope of sight in Iraq’s skies.
Continue reading "ATC detachment keeps eyes to the skies in Al Asad" »
HIT, Iraq (Oct. 13, 2005) -- Navy Seabees and Marines from Regimental Combat Team-2 and Soldiers from Task Force 2-114, Mississippi National Guard, repaired a section of bridge here yesterday that was heavily damaged by an insurgent car bomb September 4.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 13, 2005) -- As the commandos came aboard, the stern looks on their faces, hardened from months of battling insurgents, turned to smiles as they greeted Marines operating the KC-130J Hercules.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 10, 2005) -- You take the flag, march it to the flag pole, call the commands and fly the colors. A member of the color guard for Marine Light Attack Squadron 167, Lance Cpl. Nick R. Baham, a Denver native, has done it a hundred times. However, on Oct. 10, it was different.
Continue reading "Marine supports mom, raises breast cancer awareness by flying flag" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 11, 2005) -- A longtime saying and source of pride barked out by virtually every Marine at some point during their career. A saying that speaks more to the diversity as well as like-mindedness of Marines to tackle any situation with what’s available and ultimately accomplish the mission, than anything else. (2nd FSSG CLB-8)
Continue reading "Maintenance Company only pit stop Fallujah needs" »
Release # 1013-05-0712
Bomb-making factory found during search
Oct. 12, 2005
Continue reading "United States Marine Corps Press Release" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 11, 2005) -- Sand storms, unrelenting sunlight and the constant flow of dust can wreak havoc on the electrical parts of an aircraft’s engine. (MWSS-272)
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 11, 2005) -- In the final weeks of their deployment, the “Warhorse” lifted the “Blue Devils” into Al Anbar province in support of security and stabilization operations.
WASHINGTON -- When Iraqis go to the polls Saturday to ratify or reject their constitution, they'll give the world and the 152,000 U.S. troops there the most recent snapshot of their progress or peril.
Continue reading "Troops, families await Iraq election analysis" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Oct. 11, 2005) -- After serving nearly 13 years in the Marine Corps respectively, two brothers with 8th Communication Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD), have found themselves side-by-side in the same unit serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom here.
Continue reading "Brothers watch each others backs in Iraq" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 10, 2005) (Oct. 10, 2005) -- When the Marines of Maintenance Company, Combat Logistics Battalion-8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward) receive a call for a vehicle recovery, it usually means another unit has a vehicle down, but today the Marines had a unique mission ahead of them.
Continue reading "Maintenance Company recovers one of their own" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 10, 2005) -- Punk rockers have made their mark on society for more than 20 years, entertaining audiences with distorted guitars, brash lyrics and energetic performances; but, one has made his mark in another important way.
Continue reading "Punk rocker serves in Iraq, focuses on change" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 10, 2005) -- Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774 recently assumed duties from HMM-764, marking the beginning of their second combat deployment in as many years.
Continue reading "HMM-774 hits ground running after third rotation with sister squadron" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 9, 2005) -- The 6th Civil Affairs Group, working with Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), delivered school supplies and other gifts to children at an elementary school in Hawran Wadi, Iraq, Oct. 8.
Continue reading "Marines, Soldiers work together to win Iraqi trust" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct.9, 2005) -- Whether turning wretches, loading ordnance, building airframes or flying combat missions, the Marines at Al Asad, Iraq, are all building a record of excellence. (2nd MAW)
Continue reading "MAG-26 surpasses 50,000 mishap-free, combat flight hours" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 9, 2005) -- Originally a refugee from Vietnam, the U.S. Sailor wanted to give back to his adopted country and he did it by volunteering to serve in Iraq, alongside Marines.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 8, 2005) -- Soldiers from the Nebraska National Guard recently arrived at Al Asad to relieve their comrades and continue support for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Continue reading "New Guard unit assumes command, supports Al Asad Marines" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 7, 2005) -- He grew up in the Deep South, in small-town Mississippi playing baseball for his high school in the spring and hunting in the fall.
Weapons cache found buried in courtyard of mosque (3/1)
Continue reading "Marines find insurgency's deadly tools in Haditha" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 6, 2005) -- Thought to be one of the four rivers to flow from the Garden of Eden and known to be the heart of ancient civilizations like Sumeria and Babylonia, the Euphrates River now supplies water for coalition forces based in the Al Anbar province. (2nd MAW)
Continue reading "'Untouchable' utilities foil insurgent’s schemes" »
Sada, Iraq -- Moving almost soundlessly, the Marines sprinted up to the sandstone wall surrounding the flat, yellow mosque, then hunkered down -- backs against the wall, their heads turned to look over it, M-16s at the ready
Continue reading "A delicate mission -- busting into mosque" »
Ramadi, Iraq — The Iowa National Guard soldiers pulled in close around their company commander for the mission briefing.
This one had come up fast, he said, and there wasn't much time to get rolling. It would be a demolition mission on the edge of Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold. (Nat. Guard and Marines at Camp Blue Diamond)
Continue reading "Iowans work quickly to foil insurgent attacks" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 5, 2005) -- Marines and Sailors here continue to reiterate a vital concept while deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom -- safety.
Continue reading "Safety essential to mission success in Iraq" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 5, 2005) -- Marines and Soldiers stationed at Al Asad, Iraq, gathered at Camp Gettysburg for a memorial service remembering seven soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Continue reading "Marines, Soldiers remember fallen at Al Asad" »
BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq (Oct. 4, 2005) -- A Marine turns the dial and presses the lever of the safe opening it to reveal its contents - enough money to purchase more than 40 homes in some places. The safe not only encloses more money than the Marine has ever held in his life, it also represents the responsibility and trust that the Marine Corps has endowed into him.
Continue reading "Financial responsibility rests on Marines shoulders" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq(Oct. 4, 2005) -- Clapping, singing, and even dancing sounds like something that would be taking place in the halls of a huge musical auditorium, but for service members here, it is inside of a plywood building where their celebration occurs.
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 4, 2005) -- “Mount Up!” says a Marine at the front of the convoy.
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 4, 2005) -- Two Marines from Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332 are making the unit’s deployment a family affair.
Continue reading "Brothers unite as Moonlighter maintainers" »
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2005 – The second day of Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, or "Iron Fist," resulted in successful engagements against terrorists in and around Sadah, about 12 kilometers east of the Syrian border, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported Oct. 2.
Continue reading "Iron Fist' Comes Down Heavy on Terrorists" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 3, 2005) -- The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is riding a little safer these days thanks to recent improvements to its fleet of humvees.
Continue reading "Wing wheels get upgrade from armor team" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 1, 2005) -- It is said that experience is the best teacher, the common denominator that unites people of different backgrounds who have lived under similar conditions and tackled similar challenges. (RCT 8)
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Oct. 3, 2005) -- From behind the scenes, cooped up in a small office that looks more like a large walk-in closet, one Marine stationed here provides a vital service the II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) command element could not do without. (II MEF HQ)
Continue reading "Philly native follows grandfathers' legacies" »
Karabila, Iraq -- The U.S. Marines' broad sweep of insurgent strongholds in western Iraq met stiff resistance Sunday in this ancient smuggling town, a key crossroad for militants believed to be infiltrating from Syria. (3/6)
Continue reading "Foreign fighters in western town stymie Marine bid to sweep out area" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Oct. 3, 2005) -- Amidst the noises created by the operating forces here daily, nothing penetrates the ear drum more precisely than the cannon blasts emanating from the outer perimeter of the base. (1/11)
Continue reading "“Beastmasters” provide Camp Fallujah with counter battery fire" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 2, 2005) -- He is one of thousands of Marines arriving to Iraq within the past month. The affable and personable Marine is also one of many volunteers who have requested to come here.
Continue reading "Southern Calif., reserve Marine one of many volunteers in Iraq" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 2, 2005) -- Moving quickly in the midst of outgoing artillery fire here, the cannoneers work methodically and with precision as they deliver devastating salvos in support of Marines operating within the nearby area.
Continue reading "Michigan Marine keeps howitzer in fight" »
HADITHA, Iraq Oct 2, 2005 — Periodic U.S. offensives across Iraq's huge western region aim to keep insurgents on the run. But stamping them out completely is another matter: Once the assault ends, the militants usually come back.
Continue reading "Troops 'Sweep' through Lawless Iraq Cities" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Oct. 3, 2005) -- Born and raised in the Dominican Republic until the age of 10, Lance Cpl. Elio Ortega and his family moved to the United States in 1995 to begin a life in the land of opportunity. (1/11)
Continue reading "Dominican Marine helps “Beastmasters” send rounds down range" »
AL ASAD, Iraq(Oct. 2, 2005) -- For one native of Phoenix, N.Y., here, the work ethic his parents instilled in him at an early age, he carried on in the Corps and continues to find an inner satisfaction of accomplishment in completing the mission. (2nd Marine Division 2nd Combat Logisitcs Group FWD)
Sada, Iraq -- The door of the old, white deep-freezer was wide open. Inside lay a rusty propane tank. Wires ran from it to a large battery, which, in turn, was connected to a round black switch.
QAIM, Iraq Oct 2, 2005 — About 1,000 U.S. troops, backed by attack helicopters and warplanes, swept into a village near the Syrian border Saturday in an offensive aimed at rooting out al-Qaida militants and stemming violence ahead of a crucial vote on a new constitution.
Continue reading "Marines, Insurgents Clash in Iraqi Village" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 2, 2005) -- Under the Middle Eastern sun, the artillery crew rushed around their massive artillery gun, doing all the procedures needed to fire high explosive rounds. One of the crewmen, a tall and bespectacled young man with dark hair and protective eyewear, quickly loaded the charge needed to send the powerful round toward the given target.
HADITHA DAM, Iraq - Cpl. David Kreuter had a new baby boy he'd seen only in photos. Lance Cpl. Michael Cifuentes was counting the days to his wedding. Lance Cpl. Nicholas Bloem had just celebrated his 20th birthday.
Continue reading " Last Marine in Unit Mourns 11 Lost Friends" »
Outside Sada, Iraq -- The mortar rounds hit in the early morning. The first one, a harbinger of the assault to come, whooshed up from the sleepy border town of Sada at around 5:30 a.m. Friday, landing in a burst of sparks several hundred yards short of the sandstone cliffs where U.S. Marines were camped out.
Continue reading "Little sleep for Marines as mortar fire comes close" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military launched Operation Iron Fist in Anbar province early Saturday in an effort to dislodge a stubborn insurgency in western Iraq, a military statement said.
Continue reading "U.S. launches Operation Iron Fist in Iraq" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Oct. 1, 2005) -- With summer temperatures topping out near 120 degrees Fahrenheit and the slightest breeze potentially kicking up storms of fine sand and dust, Iraq can be an extremely harsh environment for most electronic equipment, even ruggedized military equipment. (2nd FSSG- H&SBn; Comm Co. 8th ESB)
Continue reading "MUX Marines adapt, overcome harsh Iraqi environment" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 1, 2005) -- Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., are keeping Al Asad’s fuel supply flowing, or rolling in their case
Continue reading "'Untouchable' truck crews keep fuel rolling" »
Fallujah, Iraq (Oct. 1, 2005) -- One native of the Virgin Islands here joined the Marine Corps after moving to Florida in search of a better life. (RCT 8)
Continue reading "Platoon sergeant trades Caribbean for Corps" »
QAIM, Iraq (Reuters) - Around 1,000 U.S. troops, backed by helicopter gunships, attacked towns in the far west of
Iraq on Saturday, in the latest push to track down al Qaeda militants they believe are hiding near the Syrian border.
Continue reading "US forces hunt militants in western Iraq" »
BAGHDAD, Iraq The U-S military has launched a new offensive against what it says is a "known terrorist sanctuary" in western Iraq.
Continue reading "U-S military begins new offensive in Iraq near the Syrian border" »
JALABAD, Afghanistan (Sept. 30, 2005) -- Marines and Sailors from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, use the Marine Corps Dragon Eye, the smallest functioning unmanned aerial vehicle, in an effort to minimize friendly casualties and maximize surveillance during missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Dragon Eye flies high to maximize surveillance" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 30, 2005) -- The Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 1 Banshees, based at Al Asad, Iraq, are playing host to two Navy squadrons supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom from late September to early October.
Continue reading "Banshees of VMAQ-1 ensure smooth transition for Navy partners" »
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi and U.S. forces are preparing to seize five towns along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border that have fallen under the control of terrorists, an Iraqi official said yesterday.
Continue reading "Military ready to raid five western towns" »
Outside Sada, Iraq -- As the crimson sun rolled behind the Taraq an-Naja Mountains, a group of U.S. Marines scraped their shovels across the infertile, rocky soil of western Iraq, trying to set their mortar launchers deeper into the dust. (3/6 Wpns Co)
Continue reading "On lookout for insurgents, Marines yearn for home" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 28, 2005) -- Starting in October, Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen here will have the option of beginning the anthrax vaccination program.
Continue reading "Anthrax vaccine offered to service members" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 29, 2005) -- One team of Marines operating with 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, bound together after facing the effects of a deadly improvised explosive device here.
FALLUJAH, Iraq—When the Marines attacked through the city last November, inside 17 houses they found cell blocks, chains screwed into ceilings, blood-splattered walls, the flags and propaganda pamphlets of al-Qaida, and mutilated corpses. There was a torture house somewhere on just about every major street—one torture chamber for every 20,000 residents. The Jolan district in the northeast, where the 2nd Iraqi Battalion was working, had the highest incidence of intimidation and killings. (2/7)
Think female Marines are any safer than their male counterparts in Iraq?
Tell that to Sgt. Alisha J. Harding.
Continue reading "Marine recounts deadly incident in Iraq" »
CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq (Sept. 7, 2005) -- On the verge of coming home, they still remember their first impressions of Fallujah in early March. It was desolate, ruined, and filthy. The staccato sound of gunshots and tank cannons still seemed to echo through the abandoned city streets and crumbled buildings months after major conflict had ended.
Continue reading "Humanitarian heroes homebound after creating ripples of hope in Iraq" »
AL ASAD, IRAQ (Sept. 28, 2005) -- When duty in Iraq called twice in two years, they were ready and continued their steadfast support of the Iraqi people and their desire to live in freedom. (HMM 764/ MAG-26/ 2nd MAW)
AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 28, 2005) -- Army soldiers have been getting defensive around Marines in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, but only for a good cause (2nd LAAD Marines)
Continue reading "National Guard unit gets defensive for Marines" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq—When a rocket-propelled grenade was fired near their fortified house in the Jolan district of Fallujah, the Marine advisory team and their Iraqi soldiers went to investigate. Finding that the shooter had fled and that the dust-caked residential area was quiet, Lt. Col. Jim MacVarish, the senior adviser on Mobile Training Team 7, returned to his house to plan the next day's operations. (1/6 Marines)
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Sept. 28, 2005) -- Most Marines in Iraq consider themselves lucky when they walk away from one improvised explosive device attack, but two, or even three? (2nd Tanks)
Continue reading "Third IED attack doesn’t faze TOW sergeant" »
Outside Al-Ubaydi, Iraq -- From a short distance, the town of al-Ubaydi looked peaceful, even serene. Poplar trees and date palms threw shade on cookie-cutter concrete houses nestled in the silt-rich valley of the Euphrates River. The turquoise onion dome of a sandstone mosque presided over the town's southern frontier, just 300 yards north of the dusty hillock where Marine Sgt. James Sawyer's armored humvee stood. (3/6 Marines)
Continue reading "U.S. patrols draw fire as border towns empty" »
Navy doctor reflects on service in Iraq. (served with 3/8)
Continue reading "'It is still pretty dangerous out there'" »
AL ASAD, IRAQ (Sept. 27, 2005) -- The languages of the brain are pictures, sounds, feelings, tastes and smells. Under the stress of living in a combat zone, these languages become razor sharp. Marines in Iraq must be constantly vigilant of their surroundings and the personnel around them.
Continue reading "Masters’ in psychology helps Master Guns lead troops, create leaders" »
Hunter spent much of their first two years at Ole Miss side-by-side.
The friends lived in the same dorm their freshman and sophomore years and passed the time by attending a lot of backpacking and road trips together with friends from the Ole Miss ROTC.
Continue reading "Friends reunite overseas after three years" »
Kathy Wright can't replace her Marine son who was killed in Iraq, but later this week she will honor his request and adopt the company mascot, a dog named Beans. (enterer's note: 3/25)
Continue reading "Marine's wish honored as mascot comes home" »
BROOK PARK, Ohio - The mascot of this town's beloved battalion that lost 14 Marines in the Iraq war is on his way to his new home.
Continue reading "Dog serving as Brook Park Marines mascot coming home" »
(CNN) -- U.S. Marines took down a sign warning Iraqi citizens not to cooperate with the Americans. The blue sign with yellow writing bears the signature of al Qaeda in Iraq, the terrorist group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It stood along Iraq's desert highway leading into Qaim, near the Syrian border. (RCT-2)
Camp al Qaim, Iraq -- A senior U.S. Marine commander said Monday that insurgents loyal to militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had taken over at least five key western Iraqi towns on the border with Syria and were forcing local residents to flee. (3/6)
FALLUJAH, Iraq—Marine Staff Sgt. Gordon Van Schoik of Battalion 2/7 found the two insurgents digging under the hardtop of Route Boston at 8 in the morning. The discovery wasn't luck. Weeks earlier, a little farther down the highway, an improvised explosive device had blown up under a Humvee, killing Pfc. Romano Romero, 19, of Long Beach, Calif. He was the 160th American to die in that violence-racked city and the first fatality suffered by 2/7.
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 26, 2005) -- While cooking up a meal, ready to eat field ration on the evening of Sept. 21, Seminole, Fla., native Cpl. Sean D. Thompson, 23, anti-tank assaultman and hummer driver, heard a hollow thump in the distance. (3/6) (RCT-2)
Continue reading "A Night of Chaos: Marine Mobile Assault Platoon stirs up enemy" »
AL AMARIYAH, Iraq(Sept. 26, 2005) -- After graduating high school in 1992, and attending community college for one year, Gerald Garcia transitioned into the civilian work force. (2nd Marine Division, 3rd RECON Echo Co. Iraqi Security Force Plt.)
CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, Japan(Sept. 26, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. Christina J. Humphrey received the Purple Heart Medal for the wounds she suffered in Iraq during a ceremony on Camp Courtney Sept. 23.
Continue reading "Okinawa Marine is wounded in action, praised at home" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 26, 2005) -- The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sergeant Major John L. Estrada, visited Camp Taqaddum Sept. 25.
Continue reading "Commandant and Sergeant Major of Corps visit TQ" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- College students across America are in class, studying, working on projects and preparing for mid-term exams in a couple of weeks.
Continue reading "Northern Virginia college student serving as Marine in Iraq" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- When the majority of people aboard the camp are preparing for bed, there are Marines scattered throughout walking their post. These protectors stand watch in the stillness of the night with their weapons loaded, providing security against those who might do harm to the members of the camp. (II MEF HQ)
Continue reading "Portland, Ore., native keeps night watch going" »
This week, Marshall County will prepare to welcome home it's Marines. (3/25)
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Marines from 1st and 3rd Squads, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and members from the local Iraqi Security Forces recently participated in a raid to capture four men suspected of attacking Coalition Forces during the previous month. (3/7 Lima)
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- As insurgents continue to launch attacks on multinational forces, Marines continue to beat them back using every means possible to include close air support. (4th RECON attached to 3/25)
Continue reading "Ft. Collins, Colo., native “cleared hot” in Iraq" »
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- After re-enlisting into a new job field in the Marine Corps, Cpl. Ebern H. Wiley deployed to Iraq where he found himself not only working as a mechanic but also filling a billet from his old field.
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. That's a philosophy Marines like Cpl. Mike Goebel take to heart.
Continue reading "Dearborn Marine's team engineers new ways to help Iraq" »
CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- The reconnaissance company of the 7th Iraqi Battalion recently received a rules of engagement class from Maj. Michael E. Sayegh in the effort to provide security and stability to their country. (RCT 2)
Continue reading "ISF soldiers get Rules of Engagement training at Camp Ripper" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 22, 2005) -- “Is everybody in condition one?”
“Yes sergeant!”
“Alright, let’s move.”
CLR25 2nd FSSG
Continue reading "MPs stay step ahead of insurgency’s efforts" »
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- While on a routine patrol pushing out from their field operation bases here, a squad of Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment faced a dire situation.
Continue reading "Stranded squad fights way to extraction point" »
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- “Incoming, SVBIED!” is the last thing Marines remember hearing before a huge explosion rocked the building. (3/25 I co.)
AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- General Michael Hagee, 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada, 15th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, visited Al Asad, Iraq, Sept. 25.
SAQLAWIYAH, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- In post-war Iraq, prolonged firefights and urban house-to-house conflict are uncommon. The country's roadways, however, remain perilous as insurgents continue lacing them with homemade roadside bombs to target passing U.S. and Iraqi military convoys.
Continue reading "Alpha 1/6 HQ Marines keep the line ready to fight" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- It’s the hardest thing to do, especially in a brotherhood as close as the Marine Corps. Saying good-bye to one of your own, a fellow Marine lost on the battlefield. The Marines of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment recently paid their respects and honored their own when a memorial service was held for Lance Cpl. Shane Swanberg, who died from indirect fire Sept. 15.
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- As part of continuing operations to eliminate the insurgency in Ar Ramadi and to help acquaint the incoming 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment to the neighborhoods they will be responsible for, 2nd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment recently conducted a number of patrols to find both insurgents.
Continue reading "Trial by fire, incoming Marines come under attack" »
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- On the battlefield, the difference between life and death is often very small. Little things like proper first aid skills and administration of ‘buddy aid’ often prove to be the difference between Marines coming home safe or not at all. (3/7)
AR RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Some people know, even as a small child, what they want to do with their life. Lance Cpl. Chris Snell has wanted to be a Marine for as long as he could remember, and now his dream has come true. (3/7 Wpns CAAT)
Continue reading "Bloomington, Ind., native follows family footsteps" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- One of the common aspects of operations in the Al Qa’im area of responsibility is the routine discovery of hidden weapons caches, mines, explosives and even insurgents.
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Corporal Jessica L. Curtis knows the roads here like the back of her hand.
Continue reading "San Francisco native keeps Marines talking" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Breakups can be painful. For Cpl. Joseph Mahoney, however, he claimed to have found something bigger and better after the final farewells were said.
Continue reading "Team “Ghost Rider” storms through Fallujah to provide security" »
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Corporal Andrew C. Britten and other Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment participating in Operation Sword conducted presence patrols near the newly constructed forward operating base in Hit.
Continue reading "Company L patrol Hit to disrupt insurgency" »
CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- The police motto, ‘To Protect and to Serve,’ is often lettered across police vehicles in many towns and cities in the United States. As Marines with Regimental Combat Team-2 begin to police this area of Iraq for insurgents, one sergeant knows this routine all too well.
Continue reading "Springfield, Mass., police officer serves in Iraq" »
Col. Thomas F. Qualls stepped off the CH-46 Sea Knight, dropped to his knees and spread his arms.
His family ran into them.
SAQLAWIYAH, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- The crisp air heralded the arrival of a new day, one filled with renewed hope and fresh beginnings for the citizens of Saqlawiyah. This farming village on the outskirts of Fallujah had remained nearly untouched by the military's helping hand until April, when Coalition and Iraqi forces began operating in the area.
Continue reading "Kansas Marine's team, stateside charity bring about big changes in Iraq" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- Years ago in “The Big Apple,” Justin Henshaw lived a life many might envy and few would consider trading.
Continue reading "Big-city Marine learns value of small pleasures in Corps" »
HADITHAH DAM, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- In the midst of emergencies, decisions made by emergency personnel often mean life or death. One Marine with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, who is also an EMT and volunteer fireman, understands the choices that civilian rescue teams make and is applying it to his first deployment to Iraq.
Continue reading "McConnelsville, Ohio native fire-rescue member" »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- Dallas, Ga., native Cpl. Richard E. Scarlett III spent his entire life around the Marine Corps, traveling to the various Marine posts around the globe, long before he could even vote, drive, pay taxes, or even wear the uniform of a United States Marine.
Continue reading "Dallas, Ga., native serves to follow dad’s footsteps" »
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. Anthony S. Loftin has all the hallmarks of a working man. His blackened fingernails, grease-covered hands and dirt-smudged face are tell-tale signs of the work he does as a mechanic. Few know, however, of the contributions he has made toward keeping the Marines and sailors living and working here in the Al Anbar Province safe.
Continue reading "Newport native puts welding skills to work" »
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, RAMADI, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- The treacherous desert environment takes it’s toll on the hundreds of vehicles and thousands of weapons and communications equipment used to conduct daily military operations in the western region of Iraq.
Continue reading "St. Charles native helps keep 2nd Marine Division running" »
AL ASAD, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- The Tactical Air Command Center security guards here recently received support from two “Untouchable” Marines.
Continue reading "'Untouchable' engineers lend support to TACC security" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Sept. 24, 2005) -- He is known for being a high spirited Marine who could have been a class clown in high school, however the Cuba native knows what it takes to get the job done under difficult circumstances here.
Continue reading "Motor-T Marine presses on after stumbling block" »
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 24, 2005) -- The Marines of Explosive Ordnance Disposal seem like regular guys at first glance. They enjoy computer games, watching movies, reading magazines and keeping in touch with family members.
KARBILAH, Iraq
(Sept. 24, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. James M. Howard, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment and soldiers from the Iraqi Security Force discovered evidence of foreign fighters in the town of Karbilah while participating in Operation Rohme (Spear).
Lots of smiling faces and spirited embraces were at the Marine Corps Armory in Jackson Saturday morning.
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.(Sept. 23, 2005) -- There are countless threatening missions and operations taking place daily in Operation Iraqi Freedom, some of which are convoy operations.
Continue reading "Artilleryman is knocked off feet, returns for more" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Sept. 23, 2005) -- A father and son share many things. These things may include looks, habits, talents, or simply a last name. But for a father and son who were reunited here Sept. 22, their bond was their commitment to their nation and each other.
Continue reading "Father, son reunite on sands of Taqaddum" »
AL ASAD, IRAQ (Sept. 23, 2005) -- For many people, doing two jobs at once is an unwelcome burden. For hard-charging Marines, it’s a welcome challenge, and a chance to become better at both.
Continue reading "Deuce XO takes reins of command, flies combat missions in Iraq" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Sept. 23, 2005) -- “All I could see was a big cloud of dust and smoke and people running all over the place to get away from it,” said Staff Sgt. Jose Mercado, recalling his memory of the North Tower of the World Trade Center as it collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. “I didn’t know what was happening. It was total chaos.” (2/25 Marines)
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Sept. 23, 2005) -- More than 400 service members have lost their lives in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom due to non-hostile incidents since March 2003 according to www.Defenselink.mil.
Continue reading "F Company keeps eye on road, safety first" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 22, 2005) -- A Marine from Salinas, Calif., received the Purple Heart during a ceremony here Sept. 15.
Continue reading "Salinas, Calif., Marine receives Purple Heart" »
Focus: National Security
Focus: Hurricane Relief
Continue reading "President Discusses War on Terror and Hurricane Preparation" »
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 22, 2005) -- Currently, an Armor Installation Team (AIT) consisting of 15 Marines and nine Civilian Marines from within Marine Corps Logistics Command (LogCom) are in-theater working towards completing the installation of armor on all the Corps’ remaining rolling stock.
Continue reading "LogCom armor installation team lends a hand" »
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 21, 2005) -- The day after finding a cache underneath a hotel, Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment patrolling in the area were given a mission to search a shop less than a block from the hotel.
Continue reading "I Company find IED materials during patrol" »
CAMP HIT, Iraq (Sept. 22, 2005) -- Being born a twin is an uncommon occurrence, but an even more unusual occasion is when two identical twins get a chance to hold a reunion on the sandy terrain of Iraq.
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Ar Ramadi, Iraq (Sept. 22, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. Jorge T. Villafuerte may be small in stature but he’s big on results
Continue reading "Long Island City native fills big shoes in Iraq" »
Two northwest suburban mothers say their Marine sons experienced cold nights while serving in Iraq, and they are concerned about other U.S. troops still in the Persian Gulf region as cool weather approaches again.
Continue reading "Marines' moms: Nights get cool in Iraqi autumn" »
CAMP TAQADDUM, IRAQ ((Sept. 21, 2005) ) -- Many service members deploying to Iraq for the first time have a variety of expectations; hot sand, hot weather and hot zones are among those, but few expect regular hot meals.
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 21, 2005) -- When Sgt. Keith M. Wagner, a squad leader with 3rd Platoon, K Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, learned he would be deploying to Iraq last year, he enrolled in the Survival Level Arabic Course to communicate with the people.
Continue reading "Squad leader uses language skills on patrols" »
HADITHAH, Iraq (Sept. 21, 2005) -- While patrolling through the city of Hit, Marines with 1st Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment decided to rest in a nearby house to escape the sweltering heat.
Continue reading "Marines befriend Iraqi children, invest in future stability of region" »
'Do they think we're fighting a war?' On patrol with the U.S. Marines near Fallujah
HIT, Al Anbar, Iraq (Sept. 20, 2005) -- As a young boy growing up in Pakistan, Lance Cpl. Sajjad H. Rizvi, witnessed terrorists killing people of his faith and terrorizing those who wouldn’t comply with their way of life. More than a decade later, with memories of his past weighing heavy on his mind, Rizvi has dedicated himself to bringing terrorists to justice as a United States Marine.
Continue reading "Shiite Muslim Marine fights the war on terrorism with Company L, 3/25" »
When many people think of lawyers, they often think about professionals working in their penthouse offices on the top floor of a high-rise office building in a big city.
Continue reading "Marine lawyers keep fellow Marines’ minds in the fight" »
WAYLAND -- Marine Cpl. Dustin Howell, injured last year while serving in Iraq, said he was "dealt a bad hand, and now I've got to play it."
Continue reading "Marine home, playing 'bad hand' he was dealt" »
Hurt trying to find missing American, he summons memories of those killed in Iraq
200 Marines with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment left Camp Lejeune on Sunday. They are being sent to Iraq's Al Anbar province, according to 2nd Lt. Shawn Mercer, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division.
About 600 Marines and sailors returning from Iraq early Thursday were diverted to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort after conditions at North Carolina's Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point were deemed too treacherous because of Hurricane Ophelia.
The Milwaukee Bucks and five partner groups hosted 500 family members of the United States Marine Corps Fox Company stationed in Iraq when the team faced the Chicago Bulls at 6:00 p.m. The Fox Company is the Milwaukee-based company of the 2nd Battalion 24th Marines Reserve Unit.
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 10, 2005) -- On July 15, 2005, Orlando, Fla., native Sgt. David S. Bateman, assistant radio chief, communications platoon, Headquarters & Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division enlisted in the Marine Corps… six weeks later, he found himself serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Continue reading "Former Marine, golf professional reenlists in the Marines, deploys to Iraq." »
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 10, 2005) -- The Camp Lejeune-based 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division took control of the Al Qa’im area of operations in Western Iraq during a turnover ceremony here Sept. 10, 2005.
Continue reading "Teufelhunden Battalion takes reins from the Betio Bastards" »
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 4, 2005) -- Following an attack on Company I, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment’s forward operation base, engineers with 4th Combat Engineer Battalion rushed to repair the base’s defenses.
Continue reading "4th CEB improves and rebuilds defenses at firm base after SVBIED attack" »
KARABILAH, Iraq (Sept. 4, 2005) -- Iraqi Security Forces along with Marines and Sailors from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, conducted counter-insurgency operations in an attempt to isolate and neutralize anti-Iraqi forces and to destroy insurgency strong points here.
Continue reading "Company L moves civilians out of harm’s way before destroying car bomb facility" »
HIT, Iraq (Sept. 4, 2005) -- Petty Officer 3rd Class Aragorn T. Wold’s day was just beginning when the corpsman with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, heard screaming and small arms fire.
Continue reading "3/25’s Devil Docs save lives in heat of insurgent attack" »
AL AMIRIYAH, Iraq (Sept. 2, 2005) -- In preparation for the upcoming elections in Iraq, Iraqi Army Platoon, Echo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, along with the rest of 3rd Recon, kicked off Operation Southern Fire in Al Anbar province August 25. (2nd AAB & 2nd Tanks / pics at ext. link)
Continue reading "Iraqi Army Platoon kicks off Operation Southern Fire, prepares for referendum" »
Huguenot resident Capt. Raymond Lopes was lucky to get out with his life, but wants to finish the job
Continue reading "Injured Marine hopes to return to Iraqi battlefield" »
CAMP RAMADI, AR RAMADI, Iraq (Aug. 15, 2005) -- Insurgents have Cpl. Nicholas H. Cole and other combat engineers with 4th Platoon, Company A, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, to blame when they revisit their weapons cache sites and find them empty or destroyed. (1st CEB)
Continue reading "Weaverville Marine annihilates insurgents" »