Friday, November 05, 2004

What's In Your Green Book?  

Marines and Soldiers are rarely without their "green books." What's in yours?





Pfc Jon "Snake" Ashley/3rd Battallion, 1st Marines: Snake used to be a motorcycle mechanic and had a ponytail that reached the middle of his back.




He joined the Marines a little later in life -- boot camp at 29 -- because he always wanted to be a Marine. Now he's a Humvee gunner with two tours of Iraq under his belt. At home he raises snakes— thus the nickname. His mom is taking care of his two red-tailed boa constrictors while he's deployed.






In his green book:

"A photo of my wife -- she has more tattoos than I do -- she does them herself."

"A card my oldest girl sent me during the war."







Lt. Terry Huston/3rd Battallion, 1st Marines: "A map of Washington, D.C. My wife and I just bought a house there. That's my next posting."


Discuss

Kevin 8:42 PM

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Shooting Layla  

Who is the dashboard diva visiting in Iraq this week?




"Big Al" Maldanado of Long Island, NY. Big Al is in charge of supplying the entire 3rd Marine Battallion, 1st Marines with ammo. He joined the Marines after losing friends during the 9/11 attacks.

Reader Item:
A Vietnam Vet named Russ sent this poem my way. Interesting take on the role of the military in our society.

The Sheepdogs

Most humans truly are like sheep
Wanting nothing more than peace to keep
To graze, grow fat and raise their young,
Sweet taste of clover on the tongue.
Their lives serene upon Life’s farm,
They sense no threat nor fear no harm.
On verdant meadows, they forage free
With naught to fear, with naught to flee.
They pay their sheepdogs little heed
For there is no threat; there is no need.

To the flock, sheepdog’s are mysteries,
Roaming watchful round the peripheries.
These fang-toothed creatures bark, they roar
With the fetid reek of the carnivore,
Too like the wolf of legends told,
To be amongst our docile fold.
Who needs sheepdogs? What good are they?
They have no use, not in this day.
Lock them away, out of our sight
We have no need of their fierce might.

But sudden in their midst a beast
Has come to kill, has come to feast
The wolves attack; they give no warning
Upon that calm September morning
They slash and kill with frenzied glee
Their passive helpless enemy
Who had no clue the wolves were there
Far roaming from their Eastern lair.
Then from the carnage, from the rout,
Comes the cry, “Turn the sheepdogs out!”

Thus is our nature but too our plight
To keep our dogs on leashes tight
And live a life of illusive bliss
Hearing not the beast, his growl, his hiss.
Until he has us by the throat,
We pay no heed; we take no note.
Not until he strikes us at our core
Will we unleash the Dogs of War
Only having felt the wolf pack’s wrath
Do we loose the sheepdogs on its path.
And the wolves will learn what we’ve shown before;
We love our sheep, we Dogs of War.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Discuss

Kevin 9:04 PM

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Dispatch: Military Vote:  

Military Vote: Where Do Frontline Marines Stand On the Eve of Election, Battle?

Dateline: Near Falluja

Though many Marines here profess a deep interest in the outcome of the U.S. presidential race—most don't have much time to pay close attention. Nearby a squad from Weapons Company assembles and sites their 81mm mortar tubes while the heavy "whoomp" retorts of a 50-caliber sniper rifle pulsate across the firing range a thousand meters away. On the eve of the U.S. election they are busy preparing for battle, perhaps the fiercest they may experience in Iraq—the fight for Falluja.

The idea of quelling the symbolic heart of the insurgency prior to Iraq's January elections has become somewhat of an obsession, both for the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and the Bush Administration.

But the question that has echoed nearly as loudly as weapons fire here—"when will the offensive begin." The smart money answer, though still not specific, has always been—"after the U.S. Presidential elections," the race too tight, the risk too great for President Bush to begin an attack, which, with heavy collateral damage, could be bad p.r. regardless of the outcome.

Battalion Commander for the 3.1 Marines, Lt.Col. Willy Buhl says the Marines have been ready for some time.

"Plans have been ongoing since April and Regimental Combat Team 1 has been ready on our division commander's order to enter Falluja as required. I could tell you that within 48 hours we're prepared to do that at any time really. We have been."

With four-months experience on the frontlines of Falluja, his "Thundering Third" could be the proverbial "tip of the spear" in any Falluja offensive--a job many here say they're eager to begin—especially after so much time fighting a phantom enemy that prefers to take it's toll invisibly with roadside bombs.

But regardless of who is elected commander in chief on Tuesday—the Marines know President Bush, at the request of Prime Minister Allawi, will be the one to greenlight the U.S. military on Falluja if it's to be taken by force.

But there are concerns how a new administration might impact the use of the military here in the future.


Navy Corpsman Santos Gonzalez, 22, of Pontiac, MI is a line medic for India Company. He says he voted absentee for Bush.

"If Kerry is elected all the hard work we've done here—all the who were injured and killed—it will be pointless," says Santos. "He says he won't pull us out—but eventually he'll be pressured. President Bush is more strongheaded. We need someone like that."

Staff Sergeant Jason Spangenberg also voted for Bush and claims to be an active Republican Party member-- but he says both men's positions are very similar when it comes to the military and Iraq.

"Kerry's not a bad man," says the 29-year old with Headquarters and Services Company, "and it wouldn't be a disaster if he were elected. In fact, it probably wouldn't change what we're doing here in Iraq at all."

"I've always voted Democratic. But whoever wins I think will do the right thing," says Sgt. Luis Alejandro, 29, of Fresno, California, "Whichever way, we'll still be here for "OIF" 8,9, 10 (Operation Iraqi Freedom) – until we fix it."

The military usually takes an active role in helping soldiers and marines exercise their civic responsibilities when it comes to voting—providing non-partisan political education classes on the candidates and assistance in requesting absentee ballots for those deployed overseas.


But because of problems in getting mail to frontline units combined with slow response from service member's home state —there are still some serious snafus.

Corporal Elton King, 25, of Battle Creek, Michigan requested an absentee ballot two months ago. It arrived three days ago—two weeks past the final deadline for mail in ballots.


"I'm very upset about it. This would've been by first year voting," says King. "I would've voted for Kerry. I'm a die-hard Democrat and I don't like Bush. In the four years he's been in—nothing he's promised has come happened."

Twenty-year old Private First Class Kyle Hammons of Austin, Texas received third-degree burns on his hand after his convoy hit a roadside bomb—and he still believes President Bush should continue the job of commander in chief.

"I think people back in the U.S. are getting fed up with the war with all the casualties—and want us to pull out. But I agree with President Bush, we need to stay, " says Hammons. "It sucks while you're here—but when you get home you can feel proud about what you did."


Battalion maintenance chief Sgt. Ian Moore, 32, of Scottdale, Georgia has a keen verbal dexterity and a pol's instinct for saying something well—without giving away too much.

"Socio-economically and ethnically—I tend to fall more in line with the Democratic Party—but I still have to decide what's best overall."

He says he voted for Kerry—but fully understands his obligations to the current President.

" I'm also an active-duty Marine in a war zone. I'll go when and where my commander in chief tells me."

Moore says that he doesn't believe the Marines fit the stereotype of the conservative military—but that they do tend to think alike in some ways.

"I think Marines are very mixed politically," says Moore, "but there is a certain "Marine-Think," meaning we're very mission-oriented. We want to get the job done."

And that applies he says—whether on the eve of an election, battle—or both.

Discuss

Kevin 6:11 AM

Monday, November 01, 2004

Things They Carry  

What Do You Carry for Comfort or Luck in the War Zone?

214 Marines Reserves /Dallas Texas -- Currently Based at Camp Abu Graib Near Falluja.



Lance Corporal David Murphy: "A rosary, my grandmother raised me Catholic."




Lance Corporal David Mitchell: "A buddy gave me this coin with the 23rd Psalm... though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."




Lance Corporal Adam Bradley: "A picture of my fiance."




Lance Corporal Stephen Batchelder: "This Texas quarter. It reminds me of home."



Staff Sgt, Jason Spangenberg / 3rd Battallion, 1st Marines: "This picture of my wife and daughter. It's the same one I carried during the war. I had to laminate it for this tour."


Discuss

Kevin 4:57 PM