12/30/2009 By Lance Cpl. Walter D. Marino , Regimental Combat Team 7
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — What is known as Cowboy Road to Marines in southern Afghanistan is also known as a road notorious for IEDs. Marines with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion set out to eradicate that problem by building two observation posts specifically between the most hit areas on the road, Dec. 16.
“We’ve been hit a lot on these roads,” said Lance Cpl. Sherwin O. Charles, a motor transport operator, for Alpha Company, 2nd CEB. “With these posts, well be able to monitor the traffic, and in turn make it safer for Marines.”
Through first-hand experience, 1st Lt. Chase B. Wheeler, platoon commander, for Alpha Company, 2nd CEB. Knew all to well, the threat his Marines were helping exterminate.
“There have been a lot of IEDs planted here,” said Wheeler. “I’ve been on this road before with 1st CEB. The purpose of putting these observation posts up is to always have visibility on the road, so that we can own the road and not need route clearance. Were going to do whatever it takes to own the road. I feel confident and glad this is happening. It needs to happen.” Marines were not the only ones pleased with the mission on cowboy.
The increased Marine presence in the area as well received by the local Afghan people, said Mirwais Ahmadi, an interpreter for 2nd battalion, 2nd Marines.
“Seven months ago, the Taliban had a school teaching children. Now the children are going to mosque,” said Ahmadi a translator for 2/2. “The people say the security the Marines bring allows the children to go to school with no problems.” Ahmadi explained the Afghans anguish over the Taliban’s activity in the area.
“An IED blew up on four civilians on a tractor and killed them. Right now all the people hate the Taliban. If they have the ability they help the Marines, they do. When we came, they gave us bread and chai (tea). The people are happy about us here,” said Ahmadi.
During the operation, members of the Afghan National Army assisted in providing security. Ahmadi translated their thoughts on the mission.
“It’s good that these places are built so that they can’t build IEDs,” said Masood, a soldier, for the Afghan Army. “The people are happy too, because it means the people are going to be safe too.”
For two days the Marines worked hard, chopping down shrub and trees, building protective barriers and building roofs and sleeping areas for the posts. When their work was done, Marines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines stepped in ready to man the post.
“Before we set up this post, we would take the back roads,” said Lance Cpl. Ethan E. Coleman, a mortarman for 2/2. “Now that we’ve taken this road, it’s going to allow us more movement for our supplies. They didn’t see us moving here freely before, but now they do. Our progress builds the Afghans confidence. When we asked the locals what they thought, they said, it was a good idea and they were happy.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Marine Engineers Fortify Observation Posts in Afghanistan
Pvt. Andrew Steven Gariza
Remembering July 20, 2007
Basic Marine Graduation Ceremony
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA
Company A
Platoon 1009
Merciful Lord, we praise you for you are truly an awesome God. You are worthy of all honor, glory, and praise. We thank you Lord, for all you've done in us and through others. We have opened ourselves to you, for you have shown yourself to us, and many of us know you more closely now then ever before. We have strengthened our bodies and sharpened our minds, learning to calm our fears and hearts over these last three months.
Bless our Drill Instructors O Lord. We thank you for their sacrifice and commitment to us. Give them rest and a sense of satisfaction in what they have accomplished. Bless all our leaders, from our President to our squad leaders. Help them to lead us with truth and righteousness. As we move forward to serve our country, we ask that you would go with us leading us and filling us with boldness and courage, so that we may always worthily serve you granting us victory as we seek to bring freedom and a lasting peace to others through your holy name we pray. Amen
Friday, December 25, 2009
U.S. Army Taliban Captive
CBS 25 December 2009
The Taliban released a video showing a U.S. soldier, believed to be Private First Class Bowe Berghahl, who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan.
In the video, Pte Bergdahl gives identifying details about himself such as his rank, date and place of birth, and deployment details.
"This is just going to be the next Vietnam unless the American people stand up and stop all this nonsense," he says.
US Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith has condemned the video in a statement, saying Pte Bergdahl had clearly been forced to read a prepared statement. He said releasing the clip on Christmas Day was an affront to the soldier's family and against the teachings of Islam. The Pentagon has said Pte Bergdahl was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment in Paktika province.
He vanished from his base, near the border with Pakistan, just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. The military has been trying to locate him ever since, and a reward has been offered for his safe return. He is believed to be the first soldier seized in either Iraq or Afghanistan for at least two years.
Friday, December 18, 2009
2 Million Troops Have Deployed Since 9/11
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 16:30:29 EST
The numbers, as of October 2009, show that more than 2 million men and women have shouldered those deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once.
Here’s a look at how the numbers break down by service:
• Army. More than 1 million soldiers have deployed since the beginning of the wars. These 1 million soldiers have completed 1.5 million deployment events, with 352,700 deploying more than once.
In October, 172,800 soldiers were deployed to the war zones.
• Navy. More than 367,900 sailors have deployed since the beginning of the wars, with 147,200 deploying more than once. In all, the sailors have logged 595,700 deployments.
In October, 30,000 sailors were deployed.
• Marine Corps. More than 251,800 Marines have deployed since the start of the wars, completing 392,900 tours. More than 106,400 have deployed more than once.
In October, 20,900 Marines were deployed.
• Air Force. More than 389,900 airmen have deployed since 2001, with 185,500 going more than once. In all, airmen have completed 771,400 deployment events.
In October, 31,500 airmen were deployed.
• Coast Guard. More than 4,370 Coast Guardsmen have deployed since 2001, with 650 deploying more than once. The Coast Guard has 5,333 deployments on file, and in October, 438 were deployed.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
War in Afghanistan: Hall of Mirrors
The Afghan people find themselves stuck in the middle, between Taliban threats and US marines who don't know who to trust. It's a frustrating hall of mirrors for the American forces tasked with winning hearts and minds.
War in Afghanistan: hall of mirrors
Monday, December 14, 2009
Marines Clear Taliban Stronghold During Operation Cobra's Anger
12/14/2009 By Story by Cpl. Zachary Nola, Regimental Combat Team 7
NOW ZAD, Afghanistan
Once an urban district and home to thousands, "The Greens," an area within the Now Zad region of Afghanistan quickly became a ghost town, when Taliban fighters procured the area from which to launch combat operations.
With the Taliban in control and the civilian population gone, the area's alleyways were quickly laced with improvised explosive devices, its orchard's filled with bunkers and fortified fighting positions, and its adobe homes stocked with weapons caches and enemy fighters.
While few coalition units have dared to enter The Greens, the Marines and sailors of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, did exactly that Dec. 8-9 as part of Operation Cobra's Anger.
The Marines of Lima Co. moved swiftly to clear compounds, homes, alleyways and orchards, and it quickly became clear the Taliban had become complacent in the safety they believed The Greens provided them and were unprepared to deal with such an assault.
"We went in there for our first time and there wasn't anybody occupying the area, but we did find a lot IED making facilities, [homemade explosives], pressure plates and stuff like that," said Lance Cpl. Stewart Heim, 20, a rifleman with Lima Co. "It definitely showed us the Taliban were occupying [the Greens], and using it as a centralized place between towns."
Lima Co. also confiscated illegal drugs, Taliban propaganda and uncovered tunnel systems used by enemy fighters.
"We found their tunnel systems which pretty much run throughout the whole Greens," said Heim, a native of Staunton, Ill. "So we've definitely seen that they have the capability to survive us dropping bombs on them."
Lima Co. came to the area expecting their Taliban rivals to defend the ground they've controlled for many months. With the Marines rapidly chipping away at Taliban caches and exposing fighting positions, an attack by Taliban forces to save what supplies remained, seemed even more imminent.
"Walking through The Greens was kind of iffy. You didn't know where you wanted to step, where to step, where not to step. You never knew what to expect around a corner," said Lance Cpl. Michael R. Evans, 19, a combat engineer attached to Lima Co., 3/4. "You'd open up a door and might see a chicken or a dog and it would surprise you since you knew there was nothing out there."
Enemy fighters chose not to engage the Marines and instead left the dirty work for the many IED's positioned throughout the area.
While the IED's were numerous, the Marines' sharp eyes, training and metal detectors were able to locate all devices encountered before they could inflict casualties.
"We found them the way we should find them, instead of having someone stepping on them and having to be [medically evacuated]," said Evans, from McKenzie, Tenn.
The Marines continued to push farther into the area, destroying IED's along the way, gathering information and slowly but surely, breaking the Taliban's reign over the area.
After two days of defying Taliban threats and venturing farther and farther into the area, the Marines returned to friendly lines to refit and resupply.
While many alleyways in the area remain to be negotiated, the Marines set an example for Afghan national security forces and coalition forces to follow, and energized the mission to rid Now Zad of Taliban influence and return it to the Afghan people.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Marines to Lead Obama's Afghanistan Surge
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2009
Fresh Marines to Arrive Before Christmas, Spearheading President's Expected 30,000 Troop Increase
New infusions of U.S. Marines will begin moving into Afghanistan almost as soon as President Obama announces a redrawn battle strategy, a plan widely expected to include more than 30,000 additional U.S. forces.
Mr. Obama will try to sell a skeptical public on his bigger, costlier war plan Tuesday by coupling the large new troop infusion with an emphasis on stepped-up training for Afghan forces that he says will allow the U.S. to leave.
Mr. Obama formally ends a 92-day review of the war in Afghanistan Tuesday night with a nationally broadcast address in which he will lay out his revamped strategy from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He began rolling out his decision Sunday night, informing key administration officials, military advisers and foreign allies in a series of private meetings and phone calls that stretched into Monday.
Military officials said at least one group of Marines is expected to deploy within two or three weeks of Mr. Obama's announcement, and would be in Afghanistan by Christmas. Larger deployments wouldn't be able to follow until early in 2010.
The initial infusion is a recognition by the administration that something tangible needs to happen quickly, officials said. The quick addition of Marines would provide badly needed reinforcements to those fighting against Taliban gains in the southern Helmand province, and could lend reassurance to both Afghans and a war-weary U.S. public.
Speaking to "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith Tuesday morning, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs defended the months-long process of deliberation Mr. Obama took to make his final decision.
"Everybody involved really worked hard with the President to make this policy better than it would have been had we announced it after only a week," said Gibbs.
Thirty thousand more troops would be 10,000 fewer than Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander in Afghanistan, requested, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin. The president hopes to make up at least some of the difference with contributions from NATO allies.
"This is going to be an international effort," Gibbs told "the Early Show". "This is not one country, or one region of the world's problem."
"I think NATO will come through with a couple thousand and so I think we'll still be somewhat short of what Gen. McChrystal proposed," Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution told CBS News.
Martin reports that the commandant of the Marine Corps has said his troops will among be the first in - about 9,000 into the Taliban heartland in Southern Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear whether that contingent of 9,000 would be deployed by the end of 2009, or would be staggered.
Aides to McChrystal say the rest of the buildup will consist of two combat brigades from the Army plus trainers for Afghan forces and support troops to construct all the new facilities that will be needed.
It will take upwards of a year to get them all there, but when the buildup is complete, the United States will have nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, concentrated in the South and East of the country where the insurgency is the strongest. The North and West will have to wait for NATO to send more troops.
"My best guess is the North and West of the country continue to fester a little bit more than we would like," O'Hanlon said.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in remarks Monday to business executives in New York, stressed that the administration's strategy is to go after not just the al Qaeda terror network but also the Taliban militants allied with it in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"As long as Afghanistan and Pakistan struggle to control their borders and extend their sovereignty to all their territory, the door is open to bad actors, and the result can be an environment in which terrorist groups thrive," she said.
The war escalation includes sending 30,000 to 35,000 more American forces into Afghanistan in a graduated deployment over the next year, on top of the 71,000 already there. Mr. Obama's announcement is the culmination of more than three months of debate over whether and how to expand U.S. military involvement in a war that has turned worse this year despite Obama's previous infusion of 21,000 forces.
Mr. Obama also will deliver a deeper explanation of why the U.S. must continue to fight more than eight years after the war's start, emphasizing that Afghan security forces need more time, more schooling and more U.S. combat backup to be up to the job on their own. He will make tougher demands on the governments of Pakistan and, especially, Afghanistan, and will provide a fresh path toward disengagement.
"This can't be nation-building," Gibbs told Smith. "It can't be an open-ended forever commitment, and I think that's what the president will outline."
With U.S. casualties in Afghanistan sharply increasing and little sign of progress, the war Mr. Obama once liked to call one "of necessity," not choice, has grown less popular with the public and within his own Democratic party. In recent days, leading Democrats have talked of setting tough conditions on deeper U.S. involvement, or even staging outright opposition.
The displeasure on both sides of the aisle was likely to be on display when congressional hearings on Mr. Obama's strategy get under way later in the week on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Obama was spending much of Monday and Tuesday on the phone, outlining his plan - minus many specifics - for the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, India, Denmark, Poland and others. He also met in person at the White House with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
A briefing for dozens of key lawmakers was planned for Tuesday afternoon, just before Mr. Obama was set to leave the White House for the speech against a military backdrop at West Point.
The Afghan government said Tuesday that President Hamid Karzai and Mr. Obama had an hourlong video conference. Mr. Obama was also going to speak with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
In Afghanistan, rampant government corruption and inefficiency have made U.S. success much harder. Mr. Obama was expected to place tough conditions on Karzai's government, along with endorsing a stepped-up training program for the Afghan armed forces along the outline recommended this fall by U.S. trainers.
That schedule would expand the Afghan army to 134,000 troops by next fall, three years earlier than once envisioned.
Military officials said the speech is expected to include several references to Iraq, where the United States still has more than 100,000 forces. The strain of maintaining that overseas war machine has stretched the Army and Marine Corps and limited Mr. Obama's options.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Half Boy Half Man
The average age of the military man is 19 years.
He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.
Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country.
He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.
He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark.
He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
He is self-sufficient.
He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other.
He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle.
He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.
If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed..
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . . A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'
Friday, September 25, 2009
Attacks Kill 4 Soldiers, Marine
Associated Press
Published: Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 9:43 p.m. MDT
KABUL — Five U.S. troops died in attacks in southern Afghanistan, military officials said Friday, adding to this year's record death toll as American public support is dwindling for operations in the country that once hosted Osama bin Laden.
The Obama administration is debating whether to add still more troops to the 21,000-strong influx that began pouring into Afghanistan over the summer. Most of those have gone to the south, where they've been assailed by roadside bombs and ambushes as they battle to take back Taliban-controlled areas.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, told "60 Minutes" that the strength of the militant group took him by surprise when he arrived this summer.
"I think that in some areas that the breadth of the violence, the geographic spread of violence, is a little more than I would have gathered," he said in the interview to be broadcast on Sunday.
This has been the deadliest year for American troops since the 2001 invasion to oust the Islamic extremist Taliban. The five deaths announced Friday bring to 214 the number of troops killed so far this year, well ahead of the 151 who died in all of 2008
Four soldiers died Thursday in the same small district of southeastern Zabul province. Three were killed when their Stryker vehicle triggered a bomb in its path, and the fourth was shot to death in an insurgent attack, said U.S. military spokesman Lt. Robert Carr. The Stryker brigade arrived in Zabul as part of the summertime surge to try to secure the region ahead of Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Marine was fatally shot while on foot patrol in southwestern Nimroz province, said Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a military spokeswoman.
The U.S. is on track to have 68,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of 2009, but the Pentagon said McChrystal would ask this week for as many as 40,000 new forces. Some question the wisdom of sending more troops to support a government facing allegations of widespread fraud in last month's disputed vote.
On Friday, election officials agreed to recount results from a sample of 10 percent of polling stations with suspect results in a push to release long-delayed results before winter makes any runoff vote impossible. Though preliminary results show President Hamid Karzai winning, there are enough questionable ballots that the recounts could force him into a runoff with his top challenger.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
US Marines Huge Firefight Iraq 2009
August 22, 2009
2 U.S. Marines died as a result of small arms fire by enemy forces while supporting combat operations in Cykla, Iraq war 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July!
We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of which we should be eternally grateful.
I watched the flag pass by one day, it fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it, and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform so young, so tall, so proud, with hair cut square and eyes alert he'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil? How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night, when everything was still. I listened to the bugler play and felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times that Taps had meant 'Amen'. When a flag had draped a coffin of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, of the mothers and the wives, of fathers, sons and
husbands with interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea of unmarked graves in Arlington. No, freedom isn't free.
Enjoy Your Freedom & God Bless Our Troops!
Friday, April 3, 2009
God's Busy
A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.
One day the professor shocked the class when he came in looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, 'God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes.
The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.
Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, 'Here I am God. I'm still waiting.
It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him, knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.
The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked, stunned, and sat there looking on in silence.
The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, 'What the heck is the matter with you? Why did you do that?'
The Marine calmly replied, 'God was too busy today protecting American soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So, He sent me.'
And all God' s people said -- AMEN!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
God Bless The United States of America This Memorial Day
Karla Comfort received many looks and even some salutes from people when she drove from Benton, Ark., to Camp Pendleton, Calif., in her newly-painted, custom Hummer H3 March 2. The vehicle is adorned with the likeness of! her son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, and nine other Marines with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division who where all killed by the same improvised explosive device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.
For Karla Comfort, having the vehicle air brushed with the image of the 10 Marines was a way to pay homage to her hero and his fellow comrades who fell on Iraq's urban battlefield.
"I wanted to let people know (Marines) are doing their jobs honorably, and some of them die," said the 39-year-old from Portland, OR "I don't want people to forget the sacrifices that my son and the other Marines made."
Leading up to her son's death, Karla Comfort had received several letters from him prior to his return. He had been deployed for five months, and Comfort "worried everyday he was gone until she got the letters and found out the date he was coming home," she said.
Marines knocked on the front door of her home in Farmington, Mich., at 3 am with the dreadful news.
"I let my guard down when I found out he was coming home," she said. "There are times I still cannot believe it happened. It's very hard to deal with."
Karla Comfort came up with the idea for the rolling memorial when she and her two other sons attended John's funeral in Portland, Ore.
"I saw a Vietnam (War) memorial on a car, and I said to my son Josh, 'we should do something like that for John,' she recalled. "He loved Hummers."
She purchased the vehicle in January and immediately took it to Airbrush Guy & Co. in Benton, Ark., where artist Robert Powell went to work on changing the plain, black vehicle into a decorative, mobile, art piece.
"I only had the vehicle for two days before we took it in," she joked.
Two hundred and fifty man-hours later, Powell had completed the vehicle. The custom job would have cost $25,000. Out of respect for Karla Comfort's loss and the sacrifices the Marines made, Airbrush Guy & Co. did it for free. Comfort only had to purchase the paint, which cost $3,000.
"I love it," she said. "I'm really impressed with it, and I think John would be happy with the vehicle. He would have a big smile on his face because he loved Hummers."
Karla Comfort gave Powell basic instructions on what to include in the paint job. But in addition to the image of her son in Dress Blues and the faces of the nine other Marines, there were several surprises. "He put a lot more on than I expected," she said. "I think my favorite part is the heaven scene."
On the left side of the vehicle, a detail of Marines are depicted carrying their fallen comrades through the clouds to their final resting place. The American flag drapes across the hood, t! he word s, "Semper Fi" crown the front windshield and the spare tire cover carries the same Eagle Globe and Anchor design that her son had tattooed on his back.
"All the support I have been getting is wonderful," she said.
Karla Comfort decided to move back to her hometown of Portland, and making the cross-country trip from Arkansas was a way for her to share her son's story. It's also her way of coping with the loss.
"Along the way I got nothing but positive feedback from people," she said. "What got to me was when people would salute the guys (Marines). It's hard to look at his picture. I still cry and try to get used to the idea, but it's hard to grasp the idea that he's really gone."
