SwiftVets.com

[lthrneck]

Here are some of my random thoughts with regard to our deployment, my Marines, and the up coming Iraqi elections.
#1. Dan Rather was down at Forward Operating Base Lutayfiyah (known in 2/24 as FOB ROW, which stands for Ramey, O'Donnell, and Warns, 3 of our Fallen Heroes from G Co) to do a piece on 60 Minutes II Wednesday night of this week. We believe the piece focuses on the contrast between the Marine Corps philosophy and the Army's here in Iraq. Our philosophy is one of engagement. Every Marine is like a police officer on a beat. We do foot patrols constantly, have staged our Companies in smaller bases in smaller towns, and our Platoons and Squads in even smaller towns. We live among the Iraqi people, and like a cop on the beat we know who the good guys are and who the bad ones are. We constantly gather intelligence, and conduct targeted raids on the bad guys continuously. We work very closely with our Iraqi National Guardsmen, and routinely patrol along side them. We have had tremendous success. We have found more weapons caches than any other unit, we have sent more thugs to Abu Grayib than any other unit, and we have gained control of the so-called "Triangle of Death", one of the worst areas in the country. We do all this at the lowest possible level, and IT WORKS! Not to be critical of our Army brethren, but they tend to set up large Bases, and engage the people through large scale raids, and large motorized patrols. It doesn't work, as the bad guys know when they're coming, and they fail to gather the continuous intelligence you need to win an insurgency. Basically, we think we are doing it right, and have the results to prove it. Please watch 60 Minutes II and let me know how it turns out.


#2. With Dan Rather's visit the Marine's got a chance to vent. Not at how bad the conditions are, or how they missed home, or how they didn't have the equipment they needed to win. No, they got a chance to vent at the media, and they gave Mr. Rather an ear full. The jist of their comments was this: 'Why isn't the American media reporting the real story, which is that we are winning this war"? If it bleeds it leads, is going to lose this war not the actions on the ground. We all need to wake up and realize that this is 4th Generation warfare. It is not about killing, occupying territory, and securing the objective. It is about one thing and one thing only. PUBLIC OPINION. Terrorists can not touch your courageous fighters when it comes to combat. Our equipment, training and resolve are way to good for them to really be much of a military threat What they can do is detonate a few cowardly roadside bombs, or convince some poor distraught young Arab that to die for Allah is a guaranteed free pass into heaven, which gets some media coverage on the U.S. cable networks, and voila, instant success. They aren't really doing anything from a military, or strategic point of view, but when the American people turn on the T.V. day after day what do they see. 45 seconds worth of footage that make them believe there is this massive uprising of Arabs over here kicking our ass. We are not the target of our cowardly enemy. You are. This war is about information, and dis-information, and right now because of the Dan Rather's of the world our enemy is winning. Has anyone done a piece on the schools opening up in Yusufiyah, or the boom in commerce in the Mahmudyah market, or the fact that most of the people do not like the insurgents? No, it doesn't play well on T.V. Well, please don't fall for the media's portrayal of this war, it is just simply not based on the truth. This country is on the verge of the first democratically elected government in the region's history. We are winning!


#3. Today we met with our Battalion Staff counterparts from the 507th Iraqi National Guard Battalion, the "Fighting Panthers", and at the end of the brief the Colonel from the ING made the following comments through his interpreter. "It is time that we put our differences aside, it is time that we as a country think about our children, this election is for them, we fight for them, and I would be willing to put myself between a car bomb and the polling station, so they can have democracy in the future". This coming from a man that has had two teenage sons murdered by the insurgents. He has lost about over a 100 men to the insurgency and struggles with insurmountable problems everyday. He believes in democracy, and he believes that the Americans are going to help deliver it. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Colonel Muhameed and the men of the 507th.


#4. On Friday of this past week one of the friendly Sheiks was holding an wedding for one of his sons. The insurgents drove an ambulance up to the outdoor event and a suicide bomber detonated 2,000lbs of explosives. 18 innocent people were killed and another 30 were wounded. Why? Because this Sheik boldly displayed signs advocating the election. If you think the radical Islamic extremist don't fear democracy more than anything you've missed the point. Democracy puts an end to their movement. For with democracy they will no longer have the ability to enslave their people through fear and terrorism. It is a painful process, but there is much hope here. The Sheik is more supportive of the election now than ever before.


#5. Lastly, I'd just like to say how proud I am to be apart of this historical day. This is a bleep in history, but one day hopefully it will be viewed like the "Shot that was heard around the world". Never has a Muslim country had a free election. Up until about two weeks ago, we didn't think we would have polls in our area, as the legend of the "Triangle of Death" lives on in Baghdad and pollsters were to afraid to come here. We have provided them a secure means of transportation, and secure sites. Each major city in our AO will now have polling stations, there will be an election, and it will be conducted by Iraqis for Iraqis. Your Marines are helping make history! You should be very proud of them.
Semper Fidelis,
Major C.M Caponi

S-6

2nd Battalion, 24th Marines

FOB Mahmudiyah, Iraq


"COMMUNICATING MAYHEM"
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[Tom Poole]

[lthrneck]

I'm not active military. Former Marine Vietnam era. Dan the Marine washed out in bootcamp.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[lthrneck]

Here's another story I'm sure we won't see on the news.

In the Fight
Applause in the Airport? Beyond the Beer Commercial ...
It Happens ... It Really Happens
By Matt Friedeman, PhD
February 10, 2005

(AgapePress) - Rick from Winona, Mississippi, called my state-wide talk radio program this week. Sometimes, you get a phone call that ought to be read in the broader market.

On the program that day we were discussing the report that some Europeans were disgusted with the Super Bowl commercial of American soldiers getting applause in an airport. The critics thought it too extreme in its patriotism and a possible incitement to further war.

At any rate, Rick (he asked us not to use his full name) called to talk about his experience coming back recently from the fields of war. His words (and they are worth your time reading, only lightly edited):

"I heard you talking about the Super Bowl commercial. I'm a Marine, a re-con Marine. I just got back from overseas, the second week of December, actually. I was injured overseas, so that's why I'm home now.

"But the whole time I was [there, in recovery] we watched the news to see what's going on. And we saw the protests, and we saw what the media was saying about what's going on, and we were worried about what we were actually going to face when we came home. We didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you. From the news media we were seeing, the whole country was basically telling us we're a bunch of jerks.

"I thank God that the troops that are there don't see the news coverage. I thank God every day, because there'd be ten times the number getting killed, just because it would so un-motivate [sic] them.

"Back to the story: there were seven other soldiers that came home with me that day. We flew into JFK, and we were talking on the way back: What's going to happen? What will we be facing? Is it going to be like the Vietnam era, are there going to be people spitting at us?

"We didn't know. We had that much trepidation about it.

"We get into JFK, we step out of the breezeway into the main terminal, and directly in front of us was an elderly gentleman carrying a bag. And he immediately stopped, set his bag down, and the first thing we all thought was, 'Oh, Lord, here we go already.' He just stopped and looked at us for a second, and then tears came to his eyes and he saluted us.

"And -- I'm breaking up now [editor's note: with tears] -- every one of us just started crying like babies. Everybody in the terminal -- I kid you not, at least two to three hundred people -- just started clapping, spontaneously. To me, it was so much worth what we were doing, to realize that people over here actually get what we were doing. We weren't over there because it's fun. We're over there doing a job.

"When I saw the Super Bowl commercial, I just started bawling like a baby again because that was something totally unexpected. We had no idea that people actually appreciated what we're doing, from what we see on the news. We thought we were going to come back and get eggs thrown at us. It was so refreshing to know that what we were seeing on the news is just a bunch of garbage that's being concocted by the media, that 99.9 percent of the country doesn't believe that way.

"I have a couple of more months of recovery. I got hit with a concussion and have some internal damage, but I'm feeling up, doing well, and hopefully I can get back over there with my boys."

It caused some tears in this talk show host's eyes to know there were tears in his. Appreciation, smiles, handclaps -- they can go a long way when a nation is at war, regardless of what the media and some Europeans might think.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[gocars]

lthrneck: Ditto for me......great post!

Did Rather really wash out of Marine bootcamp? IMHO he's as full of crap as a well-fed goose and I also think he and Kerry should get together and swap combat stories.

gocars
101st Airborne
'Nam 67-70
U.S. Army Rangers Lead the Way!

[lthrneck]

yup thats a true story, Rather got the bump from Boot Camp.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[lthrneck]

Intresting quote in this article when asked about the mission, basicaly the lt told him to F' off we fight for each other. Recall those days. This is kinda bad though it means the liberal CS'ers are getting to these guys.

Subject: John Hillen on "Our Best and Bravest"


> Members and Friends,
>
> We are pleased to share with you the essay below by
> John Hillen, FPRI Trustee and Director of our
Program
> on National Security, as posted on National Review
Online,
> February 28, 2005. -- Alan Luxenberg
>
> Our Best and Bravest:
> A Young Marine Officer Talks about Fallujah
> By John Hillen
> National Review Online, Feb. 28, 2005
>
> I went to a presentation by a young Marine infantry
> lieutenant last week about the platoon he led in the

> assault on the insurgents in Fallujah a few months
> ago. It was fascinating stuff for us military types
--
> acronyms were being slung with abandon. Some
> points were particularly worth noting and sharing:
>
> * The intensity of combat in Fallujah: Of the 46
Marines
> in this lieutenant's platoon, 20 were evacuated for
wounds
> during the three days of fighting and only four
emerged
> completely unscathed.
>
> * Some 20-odd insurgents were captured by his
> company during the battle, but there was not a
single
> Iraqi amongst them. Muslims from all over the world,

> they were aspiring jihadists who had found easy
recruiting
> networks through their local Mosques in their home
countries,
> which plugged them right into the insurgency.
>
> * Most chose not to be captured. When surrounded in
> buildings and repeatedly told to surrender, they
chose
> to fight on and become martyrs.
>
> * Many of the insurgents were injecting themselves
> with stimulants, bringing to mind the Moro guerillas
in
> the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century.
>
> * Intel was sparse to nonexistent at his level -- a
figure-it-out
> picture. His intelligence preparation of the
battlefield
> amounted to urban-combat drills. When the operation
> kicked off, he took his men into their assigned
sector of
> town, found what insurgents were there (usually by
taking
> their fire), and then used fire and maneuver to
destroy them
> or compel their surrender.
>
> * Iraqi forces fighting with them were a mixed bag,
ranging
> from very courageous and dependable to downright
sympatico
> with the insurgents.
>
> * The "gloves off" rules of engagement in Fallujah
had a
> profound effect in other trouble areas, where the
populace
> became remarkably more cooperative and engaged
> with the Marines after word leaked of the Americans'

> tough approach with the jihadists in Fallujah.
>
> Incidentally, some sophisticate tried to prompt the
young
> officer into musings on how he and his Marines felt
> about the mission in Iraq and our purpose there. The

> lieutenant gave a gold-plated answer, noting that
his
> focus was on his Marines and his Marines' focus was
> on each other, which provided the platform for any
> purpose. As in all wars, ultimately the men fight
for
> each other -- perhaps one could even say firstly
they
> fight for each other. He also noted, though, that
> among the things they stumbled on in Fallujah was
> a torture house (he showed pictures) with hooks
hanging
> from the ceiling, black masks, knives, al Qaeda-like

> jihadist literature, and other more gruesome
evidence
> of what went on there. "Nobody had a problem
focusing
> on why we were there," he said, with Gary
Cooper-like
> understatement.
>
> Twenty-four years old, a Tufts graduate from a
> well-to-do family, he chose to go into Marine
infantry
> and along with that rigorous training he attended
the
> Army airborne school and even the special-warfare
scuba
> school, one of the most physically demanding courses

> the American military has. This is the caliber of
the
> young officers leading our combat
> troops on a confused and complex battlefield. This
> generation of young combat leaders is going to be
> a great resource for America for a number of years
to
> come, whether they stay in the military or pursue
other
> ventures.
>
>
> Regards, Alan Luxenberg
> Foreign Policy Research Institute
> 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 610
> Philadelphia, PA 19102
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[lthrneck]

Intresting quote in this article when asked about the mission, basicaly the lt told him to F' off we fight for each other. Recall those days. This is kinda bad though it means the liberal CS'ers are getting to these guys.

Subject: John Hillen on "Our Best and Bravest"


> Members and Friends,
>
> We are pleased to share with you the essay below by
> John Hillen, FPRI Trustee and Director of our
Program
> on National Security, as posted on National Review
Online,
> February 28, 2005. -- Alan Luxenberg
>
> Our Best and Bravest:
> A Young Marine Officer Talks about Fallujah
> By John Hillen
> National Review Online, Feb. 28, 2005
>
> I went to a presentation by a young Marine infantry
> lieutenant last week about the platoon he led in the

> assault on the insurgents in Fallujah a few months
> ago. It was fascinating stuff for us military types
--
> acronyms were being slung with abandon. Some
> points were particularly worth noting and sharing:
>
> * The intensity of combat in Fallujah: Of the 46
Marines
> in this lieutenant's platoon, 20 were evacuated for
wounds
> during the three days of fighting and only four
emerged
> completely unscathed.
>
> * Some 20-odd insurgents were captured by his
> company during the battle, but there was not a
single
> Iraqi amongst them. Muslims from all over the world,

> they were aspiring jihadists who had found easy
recruiting
> networks through their local Mosques in their home
countries,
> which plugged them right into the insurgency.
>
> * Most chose not to be captured. When surrounded in
> buildings and repeatedly told to surrender, they
chose
> to fight on and become martyrs.
>
> * Many of the insurgents were injecting themselves
> with stimulants, bringing to mind the Moro guerillas
in
> the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century.
>
> * Intel was sparse to nonexistent at his level -- a
figure-it-out
> picture. His intelligence preparation of the
battlefield
> amounted to urban-combat drills. When the operation
> kicked off, he took his men into their assigned
sector of
> town, found what insurgents were there (usually by
taking
> their fire), and then used fire and maneuver to
destroy them
> or compel their surrender.
>
> * Iraqi forces fighting with them were a mixed bag,
ranging
> from very courageous and dependable to downright
sympatico
> with the insurgents.
>
> * The "gloves off" rules of engagement in Fallujah
had a
> profound effect in other trouble areas, where the
populace
> became remarkably more cooperative and engaged
> with the Marines after word leaked of the Americans'

> tough approach with the jihadists in Fallujah.
>
> Incidentally, some sophisticate tried to prompt the
young
> officer into musings on how he and his Marines felt
> about the mission in Iraq and our purpose there. The

> lieutenant gave a gold-plated answer, noting that
his
> focus was on his Marines and his Marines' focus was
> on each other, which provided the platform for any
> purpose. As in all wars, ultimately the men fight
for
> each other -- perhaps one could even say firstly
they
> fight for each other. He also noted, though, that
> among the things they stumbled on in Fallujah was
> a torture house (he showed pictures) with hooks
hanging
> from the ceiling, black masks, knives, al Qaeda-like

> jihadist literature, and other more gruesome
evidence
> of what went on there. "Nobody had a problem
focusing
> on why we were there," he said, with Gary
Cooper-like
> understatement.
>
> Twenty-four years old, a Tufts graduate from a
> well-to-do family, he chose to go into Marine
infantry
> and along with that rigorous training he attended
the
> Army airborne school and even the special-warfare
scuba
> school, one of the most physically demanding courses

> the American military has. This is the caliber of
the
> young officers leading our combat
> troops on a confused and complex battlefield. This
> generation of young combat leaders is going to be
> a great resource for America for a number of years
to
> come, whether they stay in the military or pursue
other
> ventures.
>
>
> Regards, Alan Luxenberg
> Foreign Policy Research Institute
> 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 610
> Philadelphia, PA 19102
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!