6 posts tagged “3/6”
Honoring the dead from wars past isn't something that stops once hostilities end. When Marines from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, rolled up their tents and packed their wagons to head home earlier this month, the last thing they did before they left was clean up a British cemetary from World War 2. Our correspondent with 3/6, Lance Cpl. Christopher Zahn, writes to tell us how that effort went.
CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq – There is an unofficial rule for Marines that says to always leave a place in better condition than when they found it.
With that goal in mind, Marines from Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, gathered in formation in the early morning hours of one of their last days in Iraq. Their task wasn’t any normal working party or police call, but one that brought them to hallowed ground. Their mission was to clean and restore the British Royal Air Force Cemetery at Camp Habbaniyah.
“We spent seven months here and we’re living a part of history,” said Lt. Col. James F. McGrath, 41, from Laurel, Md. “We’re sitting in a place that has history that dates all the way back to World War I. I thought it fitting that the Marines get over there and recognize what kind of history they are part of. I thought by getting over there they would be able to see those headstones and it would be embedded in their minds where they could end up. Plus it was a good thing to do in terms of just helping the area out, making it look better and trying to get it to return to normal.”
The cemetery is one of the more potent reminders of the history of the base, which was created in 1927 by a treaty between Iraq and Britain. The base was the site of a pivotal battle in World War II that kept allied oil supplies out of German hands in May 1941. The base last flew the British flag in 1959, but the remains of 289 Britons and Polish service members are still buried here.
The cemetery was neglected and abused in the years that followed the departure of British forces. After the invasion in 2003, the camp was occupied by Coalition Forces. Since then, there have been several cleanup projects by Army and Air Force personnel stationed at Habbaniyah, with the most recent one taking place in September 2006. After the most recent clean sweep, however, the cemetery again needed some caretaking.
With the rising sun on the horizon, the Marines began the solemn business at hand. Weeds were removed, trash was picked up and fallen gravestones were gently placed back in their places.
“Once again I’m amazed at what happens when a few Marines put their backs into something,” said McGrath, the battalion commander. “Just like we’ve done the whole time we’ve been here, we put a little heart and soul into everything we’ve done and made a difference.”In just a couple hours of hard work the task was completed and the cemetery was transformed into a place worthy to pay respect to the men and women buried there. The joy of completing the project was mixed with sober thoughts as the reality sunk in.
“It gives you a sense of pride helping out and making things look better,” said Cpl. Jeffrey T. Hall, 21, from Eaton, Ohio.
Many Marines took a last lap around the graveyard, surveying their work, and reading the headstones of those who lay there. One epitaph summed up what many were thinking as they looked upon the resting places of those who gave their lives for freedom: “He answered willingly the call and he who gives himself gives all.”
We blogged some about the tribal awakening taking place in Anbar Province earlier in the week, and I wanted to share a short vignette about a practical outcome of said awakening.
I visited one of our training centers for the Provincial Security Forces, or PSF. What these are are non-traditional security forces composed of tribesmen from the greater Fallujah area. When I went, a new class composed mostly of Iraqis from the Albu Issa tribe, on the sweeping tract of land running from just west of Fallujah just on the other side of the Euphrates all the way south to Amiriyah. This is the third class held so far.
These guys are being trained to become a legitimate sort of police auxiliary force, tasked with defending their tribal areas, fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist groups. Once made official, the plan is to have them funded by the Ministry of the Interior for weapons and gear, as well as receiving a paycheck from the Iraqi federal government, according to Maj. Mark Clingan, the operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. I interviewed Maj. Clingan today and he had quite a bit of interesting information to pass along, most of which will be in a future post.
However, there was something he said that was very revealing and I feel sheds quite a bit of light on exactly what is happening, and why it is significant:
There really is in Al Anbar Province a huge awakening. You could almost call it a revolution where the Iraqi people are tired of the empty promises and lies of (Al Qaeda) and want to take back their own neighborhoods. The (indigenous counterinsurgency forces) which are growing up from the roots is an indication of that. By taking the ICF and turning them into PSF, now we’ve equipped them, we’ve given them the training and now we’re also legitimizing them and making them more of the process, and the local and national government recognizes them. (This recognition) includes funding from (Iraqi Ministry of Interior) and paychecks for individuals. It also puts them on the road to potentially becoming full-fledged (Iraqi Police), and also it means that they are able to act within the authority of the Iraqi government and sanctioned by the Iraqi government.
Things just feel
There is still significant work to be done, no doubt about that. Watch some of the cable news shows and read some of the mainstream papers. It would be difficult not to find an article about Anbar that does not discuss in depth precisely what is going on.
"Stay tuned" for more information forthwith on this topic.
Our correspondent with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Lance Cpl. Christopher Zahn, brings us a recap of the battalion's latest operation, Operation Riverwalk:
The tribal awakening in Al Anbar made an enormous impact on an operation by Marines and sailors from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, recently.
“We clearly see that the Iraqi citizens have grown tired of what the insurgency has to offer; they do not want any part of it,” said Brig. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus, ground forces commander for Multinational Force West, during a recent news conference.
This weariness aided the “Teufelhunden” Battalion, based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., when they swept the countryside around this town south of Fallujah May 4. Local residents turned out to point the Marines toward caches and alerted them to homemade bombs, called improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, during their patrols.
“The Iraqi people are starting to realize that, unlike the Ottoman Empire or the British occupiers, the American military is not a military of occupation,” said Maj. Mark H. Clingan, 36, from Westminster, Md. “We are here to rid the country of the insurgency and allow the Iraqi’s their own self determination. That’s why the local nationals are now standing up to Al Qaeda and assisting Coalition and the (Iraqi Security Forces). This awakening is allowing us to focus our forces in areas where the enemy is seeking safe haven.”
This riverside area on a peninsula south of Fallujah has turned into base of operations for insurgent activity. Tight control over surrounding areas like Amiriyah to the east and Habbaniyah to the west have forced them into an ever-dwindling supply of terrain unoccupied by Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces.
The 72-hour operation, dubbed Operation Riverwalk, denied the enemy this terrain and disrupted his ability to plan and equip to target both the Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Security Forces in and around the city of Fallujah.
Read the rest of this story here.
And for those of you who have always wanted to know what a (relatively small) IED cache looks like:
As I've indicated before, one of the biggest assets we have on the ground here is our interpreters. Most often they are contracted through one of the companies who are in the linguistics biz with the government, but every so often we get a Marine who can speak Arabic while performing his normal daily routine. One of these invaluable assets is Lance Cpl. Mohamad Salameh, a Saginaw, Mich., native, and infantryman with 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6. Lance Cpl. Stephen McGinnis, one of our combat correspondents, recently wrote a story about Salameh and I thought I would post some snippets here. You can read the rest of the story here, albeit without photos. (usmc.mil is not friendly with our limited bandwidth, which is one of the many huge advantages of our Vox page here -- not to mention our fabulous readers and neighbors who interact with us on a daily basis)
Salameh, like all Marines, is a rifleman first. He goes on foot patrols, fills sandbags and clears houses, but all the while assists his Marines by breaking the language barrier.
“He is awesome. He will call out a vehicle (checkpoint) and is the first one to reach the vehicle,” said Staff Sgt. Jason R. Hart, a 29-year-old Personnel Security Detachment platoon commander from Saginaw, Mich. “He has a lot more authority than a civilian interpreter. He is Marine that speaks Arabic. He is not an interpreter, he is a grunt.”
That's a biggie: He is an infantryman first and foremost. Of course nowadays being a grunt means a lot more than kicking down doors and shooting straight. We spend a lot of strategic capital making sure even the lowest-ranking of ground-pounders know the value of positive interactions with the local populace. Salameh -- and other Marines like him -- make sure those interactions proceed at a normal pace without having to wait for external translators.
Salameh has a good grasp on the context of the struggle in which we currently find ourselves immersed:
Salameh lived in Lebanon until he was 19 and lived through many years of strife in his native country, so he has a good understanding of the Iraqi people.
“I know exactly how they feel. I lived through the civil war in Lebanon. Being Middle Eastern and looking at the situation in Iraq, I believe we are doing the right thing for these people,” he added. “We are serving the people and the community of Iraq for their freedom. It is time for them to be able to live their lives and speak their minds rather than being ruled by a dictator and we are fighting for that.”
I hope this gives you a key-in to how we view this fight. The rank-and-file Marine Corps understands that now we are fighting to give Iraqis a decent life under a fairly-elected government who provides for the needs of its constituents. Yes, there is a lot of debate at home and abroad about the ins and outs of Iraq, but to those of us who see these people day in and day out, we can't help but feel a little bit of a human bond between us and them. They are real people to us, not soundbites on the news. They deserve the opportunity to raise their children without fear of bombings, abductions, beheadings and sectarian reprisals. Every day, and with every Marine like Salameh who arrives in-country, we take another step toward achieving that goal.
Ask any civilian head honcho and he will tell you that highly-trained, dedicated and loyal personnel are the key to long-term success. Maybe I'm overgeneralizing by saying "any head honcho" but I'm sure not many would disagree. Be that as it may, the Marine Corps has always been held to a higher standard. We have, through personal and organizational courage, daring and boldness, established a reputation for ourselves as fearsome warfighters: "No better friend, no worse enemy."
Lance Cpl. Christopher Zahn brings us yet another outstanding story from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, but this time it's not about equipment or operations, it's about a Marine, and the Marines he leads. We cultivate leadership in our young Marines so they can eventually lead and make the same caliber of leathernecks we have been blessed with for the past 232 years. Vox neighbors, please meet Sgt. Dwight Rodriguez.
Sgt. Dwight Rodriguez recently received one of the highest forms of recognition for his outstanding leadership by being named the 2nd Marine Division non-commissioned officer of the year.
The process began when Rodriguez, an Atlantic City, N.J., native, won the NCO of the year award for his unit, the Camp Lejeune-based 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. Next, he won the same award for the 6th Marine Regiment, something he found out shortly before deploying to Iraq to lead Marines during combat operations in Al Anbar province. Winning the battalion and regimental awards put him in the running to be the NCO of the year for the entire division, which announced its winner after Rodriguez deployed.
“I found out over here,” said Rodriguez, 21. “I didn’t think I would make it that far. I thought I would only win battalion level. It was exciting for a minute, but then I realized the reality: I’m still over here.”
Division NCO of the Year is a significant award. There are three divisions in the Marine Corps: 1st Marine Division based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., 2nd MarDiv in Camp Lejeune, and 3rd MarDiv based out of Okinawa, Japan. So of course he's one of three DNCOY in the Marine Corps this year. But he didn't win the award because of shiny boots and good-looking uniforms. No, he has been leading Marines through Iraq for much of his Corps career. Now he runs a squad of infantrymen through the very difficult path of transitioning the Iraqi Security Forces to run the security picture in Al Anbar Province. It is a difficult task to be sure, but both the ISF and Rodriguez's Marines are handling the task beautifully, thanks in part to Rodriguez's leadership and high expectations:
“It’s not about glory or anything like that,” said Rodriguez. “When I first came in (the Corps), there was this squad leader, Sgt. Ruiz. He inspired me, he always told me to never lower my standards, always keep them high and keep getting higher and higher. It stuck to me up to this point. Every time I go out there its like, ‘Okay, keep them up to the standards always.’”
Those high standards have rubbed off on his squad members. They no longer need to be reminded of the basics, or schooled on what to expect due to his leadership.
“It’s gotten to that point where he doesn’t have to tell me what to do all the time because I know what to do,” said Cpl. Phrarada A. Phanthavong, 21, from Cornelius, Ga. “I know what he expects from me and everyone else in the squad. I know what he expects of his squad and I keep it like that.”
There's a maxim in the Marine Corps that goes: "Keep your troops informed." The maxim is articulated because an informed Marine means a Marine who can make good tactical decisions that often have strategic implications in the blink of an eye. Rodriguez, like all Marine leaders, works hard at making sure his Marines are in the loop. This "loop-keeping" means that each section of his squad, called fire teams, can operate with a good deal of independence while still maintaining eyes on the objective, so to speak.
Leading in combat is vastly different from leading in garrison. Execution of orders in combat may mean immediate danger, or even the possibility of being killed or wounded. Subordinate Marines need to know why an order is given and how it is to be executed; a task and a purpose. Above all, Marines need to feel that the leader giving the order is a capable leader.
“He goes that extra step just to make sure someone is really prepared,” said Lance Cpl. Bryan R. Dempsey, 19, from West Islip, N.Y. “He makes sure everybody knows what’s going on. The way he handles things you can just look into his eyes and see that everything is just money to him, that he knows everything that’s going on.”
The Marine Corps has a fine legacy of leadership. A legacy Marines like Rodriguez help to propogate to another, younger generation of Marines who will eventually find themselves at the helm of our great organization.
There were some requests in the comments for updates about interactions between Coalition Forces and Iraqis that weren't violent. They happen all the time, every day. Our combat correspondent with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Lance Cpl. Christopher Zahn, penned an update about the battalion's civil activities in their area of operations. What do you think about this? Is it surprising that Americans are involved in such activities?
March 24, 2007
Those roots were set a little more firmly in the greater Husaybah-Sharqiyah area March 24, when a landmark town hall meeting was held at a school in Habbaniyah. It represented a huge step forward in the progress of the area; progress that is a bit ahead of what’s happening in other areas of Al Anbar Province. The meeting was well-attended by the tribal and elected leadership of the area, along with high-ranking representatives of the Iraqi Security Forces and 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.
“The tribes are reinserting their power and resisting the insurgency,” said battalion commander Lt. Col. James F. McGrath, 41, from Laurel, Md. “This meeting was simply a manifestation of that resistance. The fact that in just a matter of three weeks, we have had a couple of town hall meetings in (different) areas (of our area of operations), and then this large meeting takes place … demonstrates that the populace is not going to be as tentative as they once were.”
The meeting was spent discussing ways to improve the security picture in the region, as well as providing basic services such as power and electricity. It was left to the locals to find a way to accomplish these tasks using their own government’s resources and not depend on the Marines for that support.
“I would rather not (do it), because they need to seek those services through their government,” said 1st Lt. Curtis L. Thomas, 28, from Lacrosse, Va. “That’s part of the transition in the provincial control of Iraqis. I’m just a temporary fix and it’s up to them to request (basic services) through their respective director generals, or the mayor. They can request it through their government and their government can provide funding.”
The meeting came about when one of the Marine company commanders worked with the local leaders in his area to
The Marines of the “Teufelhunden” battalion began reaching out to all the religious, government, military, and tribal leaders. They gave a date, a location, a time and promised to facilitate everything else, to include bringing the mayor of Habbaniyah.
Marines from W Company, as well as Iraqi soldiers and police, coordinated to provide joint security for the meeting. Armored Humvees and roving security police operated around the schoolhouse in an overt show of force to deter any enemy attack.
“The most important part was that this wasn’t Coalition-led,” said McGrath. “This was the mayor, the governance leading me. (The mayor) is legitimate and he is demonstrating his legitimacy to the people.”
The Iraqi Army and Police presence lent even more credibility to the meeting in the eyes of the local Iraqis. It proved that the local security forces are serious about helping water the seeds of democracy and help it take root in their country.
“The police chief and the assistant division commander who were at the meeting reinforced that,” added McGrath. “You didn’t have a meeting with lightweights: You had a meeting with just about all the heavyweights in the area in terms of Iraqi security and governance.”
The Marines had already seen one positive result before the meeting began. A month and a half ago they had rocks thrown at them by schoolchildren during a visiting the local school to see if it needed any improvements.
“In the meeting yesterday, the school principal stood up, apologized and explained how they disciplined the children,” said McGrath. “Now we come by that school and we get absolutely nothing like that. We get a warm reception.”
That small gesture epitomized the attitude that was prevalent throughout the meeting. The Iraqi leaders, both civil and military, were willing to take the steps to solve their problems. Everything the Marines have done for them so far are merely small steps; together are they capable of taking the leaps forward to a more secure Iraq. Perhaps the events Habbaniyah and the steps forward the local leaders are taking will catch on in other regions as well.
“If we are ever going to get the huge steps forward that we need to achieve,” said McGrath. “It has to be an Iraqi solution to an Iraqi problem. We can read all the books we want and we can study all we want, but we’ll never understand the culture as well as the local Iraqis do. Our solution, though well-meaning, will never be the ideal solution. The Iraqis can generate the ideal solution and it will be accepted.”
My Groups
-
U.S. Marine Corps Updated: 3 days ago
-
Deployed Troops (host) Updated: 3 days ago
-
DINFOS Graduates Updated: 4 days ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
