1/6 Marines in Douchebagistan

US Marines facing a 'different war' in Afghanistan

A foot patrol for one platoon of Marines ends with a dash under a hail of bullets across a heavily-mined poppy field.

The soldiers have been pinned down in a muddy mound, the thorny weeds cutting through skin. They recover soon enough, however, manoeuvring away from the Taliban's crosshairs and driving them away with heavy machine-gun fire.

"I pray in the morning and at night, hoping that someone up there is looking after me," says Lance Corporal Justin Blancas, serving with the Marines 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment Alpha Company's 2nd Platoon.

"I have already made my peace with God because this war is different, it's not conventional," the 23-year-old bespectacled Chicago native says.

"These Taliban have learned their lesson. They adapt as fast as we do, but we are bound by our strict rules. They are not," he adds, panting after a 100-metre dash for cover behind an abandoned mud house.

"It can be a death run like this every day."

Read the rest here

Sounds Like A Win To Me

From the Fearless 1st Marines in Iraq.

Regimental Combat Team 1 completes third Iraq tour

.....on Sept. 1, the regiment handed over control of security in the region to the Government of Iraq following the notable Provincial Iraqi Control ceremony in Ramadi, Aug. 26, during which local Iraqi leaders signed a Command and Control Memorandum of Understanding.
The success the regiment is having on the battlefield today is the result of five years of Coalition forces’ sacrifices, but a lot of credit should also go to Iraqi security forces and the military training teams who trained them.
Iraq’s army and police units have grown from a “fledgling police and military force to a fully capable and operational counterinsurgency force in an amazingly short amount of time,” according to Maj. Tony Barrett, the RCT-1 intelligence officer.
“Al Anbar has not had this good of an outlook in the millennia-long history of its people,” said Barrett. “There are constantly improving essential services, increasing
political rivalries that are not turning violent, multiple internal and foreign investment firms looking to invest in al Anbar and a sustained reduction in violence that is making this all possible.”

"Improved services", "sustained reduction in violence"

Sounds like a win to me.

Marines Doing Good Work

The hoopla and huge sighs of relief brought on by Senator John SIDNEY McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate shouldn't keep us from remembering that we still have Marines in Iraq doing good things.

The 1st Marine RCT-1 is in Fallujah and turning on the power. See pics and read more here.

FALLUJAH, Iraq – Nearly 10,000 Fallujah homes were restored with electricity access thanks to Marines working closely with the Fallujah City Council to deliver 35 new generators throughout the city.

Civil Affairs Team 2, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, in direct support of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, along with Sheik Hamid Ahmad Hashim al-Alwani, chairman of the FCC, announced the delivery of the 32nd generator during an Iraqi press briefing Aug. 27 at a site in the city where one of the generators has been producing power for the last three months.

“From the time we arrived in January, there was a local demand for generators throughout the city,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Byron Yoshida, team leader, Civil Affairs Team 2. “Initially, the project was sub-divided by precincts and eventually it became a city-wide project of providing the 35 generators.”

In early March, an informal Iraqi committee was formed and locations for the generators were proposed to Marines with Team 2. Since then, Team 2 has worked closely with contractors to deliver the units.

Each generator will provide anywhere from 100 to 300 homes with electricity within a 300 meter radius. Yoshida said he anticipates having all of the generators delivered in time for the end of Ramadan celebrations, which occur Oct. 1.
While some neighborhoods receive power from privately-owned generators, the new units are available to all residents for minimal fees and are managed by trained Iraqi operators.

“We trained and certified operators who are responsible for keeping residents connected and keeping the generator operating using preventive maintenance,” Yoshida said. “The operators are obligated to ensuring the generators provide a minimum of seven hours of power on a daily basis to offset the shortage of national power.”

Sheik Hamid said he is grateful the generators arrived in time for the hotter portion of the summer and for Ramadan, but noted they are a short-term fix for a larger problem. The city had previously used hydroelectric power produced by the Haditha Dam, which has not been in full operation for several years due to neglect by the Saddam regime

Marines Doing Stuff

from the Fearless 1st Marine RCT 1

MUDIQ, Iraq (July 7, 2008) – The transition of authority in the al Anbar Province from Coalition forces to the Iraqi government is a priority in the province. However, this cannot be accomplished without the trust and support of the Iraqi people.

To strengthen their relationship with local Iraqis, Marines of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, conducted a combined medical engagement here July 6.

“The people need to see our presence – know we are here to help them,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. McDonald, a corpsman with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines. “Our support through (medicines), food, stickers, suckers and interaction with the children is very important.”

Female Marines were on hand to search Iraqi women and children in accordance with Muslim traditions.

“Having us there really fostered a positive image, showing the Iraqis that we care enough about them to (respect their traditions),” said Capt. Lisa M. O’Brien, the communications officer for Marine Wing Support Squadron 374. “We’ve seen at least 300 people today and without the girls here helping it would make it hard on not only the Marines, but the Iraqis as well.”

Attending her first CME, Lance Cpl. Amanda R. Carnagey, a 20-year-old Marine from Vancouver, Wash., said she was a little nervous before coming to the CME, but calmed down eventually and had fun interacting with the Iraqi people for the first time.

Yep, we definitely need to get all the troops out of Iraq cause we're most certainly losing. We can't win, the dhimmis said so, so just pull 'em all out and bring 'em home before we wind up winning this thing and making the dhimmi's look stupid.

Ooops, too late.