IV Troop Stories & Articles

Hey Cindy Sheehan
The Last Word
BY: Resa LaRu Kirkland
http://www.warchick.com/

Your 15 minutes of fame are over. No one cares what you have to say. As always the last word will be written by someone like Casey Sheehan, not his glory mongering, America hating, anti-Semitic mother. Someone who, like your son, actually grasps what’s at stake. Someone who knows there are things out there bigger and more important than himself.

Someone who does believe that America and its freedoms aren’t just worth fighting and dying for, but are worth fighting and dying in order to bring to peoples who have never known them.

And this goes for the hippy press too. Your lies are unraveling in pure Dan Rather/Mary Mapes “Let’s make up a story” fashion. So listen up, you modern-day Goliaths, because I found a David to bitch-slap you to hell.

He is SPC Keith A. Nations, from Marmaduke, AK, and for the past 8 months he has been restoring hope and creating belief in Afghanistan. He is part of Cco 391st Combat Eng. Bn., Spartenburg, SC. His story is the reason I fell in love with warriors…America still grows only the best. He knows that our press has been lying to us. He gets the word over there, and is as disgusted as the rest of us. In fact, when he first thought I was a journalist—horrors, now that it is that most foul word that the hippy press has turned it into!—he wouldn’t speak to me. Because of the continuing lies that the hippy press tells ad nauseam about our soldiers, these magnificent men view them as the enemy, and rightly so. Read anything those commie wannabes write and their vitriol hatred for these men who fight for their freedoms shines through. They did it to our warriors in Vietnam, and their desperate attempt to do it again would be hilarious if it wasn’t so damned evil.

When he found out that I write military history, and am writing my FORGOTTEN WARRIOR series on men of valor from the Korean War, that all changed. He knew at once that I was a friend, not a foe. You hear that, hippy press? Our fighting men view you as a foe. Well, what’s good enough for them is good enough for me. I have reserved a special place in my catalogue of hatred for these particular foes.

So enemies of America—I’m talking to the ones here in my beloved nation—be prepared for a world of hurt. (Spelling/grammatical changes made in the following excerpts.)

I’m here to fight, not to just sit back and draw a paycheck from our tax payers. I was making more money back in the states than I do here. But to me that doesn’t matter. I came back in the army to do what I set out to do for many years of prior service, and that was to protect my country and protect innocent people from ever having to worry about things like 9/11 ever happening. When it did happen I was furious, madder than hell. The first time I tried to get back in I was too old. Then one day I went to a recruiter and he said, “Well take you right now! Prior servers are desperately needed.” The first thing I did was volunteer to kick ass over here and so far I think I have proven to be an asset at 39 years old…I think what our Pres. Bush did was the most upstanding and right thing. He is the only president that has ever done the right thing, and that has grabbed his balls and shown the world we may have been asleep for many years and had a pussy for a president but now we ain’t taking shit. It took a lot of guts to take American men and women and put them in war, but hell, that’s what our military is there for; that’s what we do and we do it proudly! I truly love my country and the people. We may be mean to each other a lot of times but if we all had the same personalities it would be awfully boring.

I have seen first hand what the Taliban and Al Qaeda are capable of still doing and still want to do to us. I’ve seen what they have done to their own people over here and I’m telling you, America should see what we’ve seen. They would know then how lucky they really are! That’s all I can say about that, Resa. When we roll into their towns, the children hold up their little hands and laugh and holler at us. They run to an American soldier because they know when they see us they don’t have a damn thing to worry about; we’ll protect them and give them that thing that no other military has ever given them: love and protection. This country wants us here and they need us here. And by God, we need to be here. I am so honored to be a part of all this, and I would gladly and honorably lay my life on the line and fall if I have to—to ensure my country and Afghanistan is rid of the self-righteous, hateful, no good bastards called Taliban and Al Qaeda. Not only are we keeping our own beautiful country free, but we are keeping 2 other countries free. Now tell me: are we one hell of a military or what?

Keith, you bet your American ancestry…you are one hell of a military!

Have any of you read anything like this in the New York Times, or seen anyone blathering about it on CBS? No you haven’t, and you won’t either. The MSM and their Klan hate everything about Keith and his core values. They are desperately trying to force us to believe that the average American is against the war, wants open borders, wants every earthly language to be the “official” language of America, just loooooooves Islam but hates other religious people, and that Cindy Sheehan speaks for all mothers everywhere.

Well, I’m a mom, and she doesn’t speak for me. I have a feeling that she doesn’t speak for Keith’s mother either; after all, such a noble man surely had a good and unselfish mother teaching him.

These aren’t the baby-killing war mongering rapist/murderers the press has shoved down our throats for the past 40 years. These are men with tender hearts and spiritual souls. They are hope in khaki uniforms. And lest there be any doubt that they are still needed, I’ll let Abu al-Zarqawi erase those for you: "First, chase out the invaders from our territory in Palestine, in Iraq and everywhere in Islamic land. Second, install Sharia (Islamic law) on the entire Earth and spread Islamic justice there…The attacks will not cease until after the victory of Islam and the setting up of Sharia.”

Stephen Ambrose once said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that in Europe in the 1930’s, if you saw a dozen teenagers or twenty-somethings walk into a village, armed with guns and tanks, it meant torture, rape, theft, and death…unless they were Americans. Then it meant C-rations, candy, medical care, and freedom. The same will someday be said about turn of the century Afghanistan, and it won’t be said because of the press, it will be said because of the Keiths. The American warrior has to be the most spiritual being on earth, for they are willing—every damned day—to die not only for their friends, but for any brother in need of hope and freedom.

I AM A PROUD AMERICAN SOLDIER. I GO WHERE OTHERS FEAR TO GO, I DO WHAT OTHERS FEAR TO DO, AND I GLADLY LAY MY LIFE ON THE LINE EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR PEOPLE I DONT KNOW AND FOR PEOPLE WHO DONT KNOW ME. I AM A PROUD AMERICAN SOLDIER…IS THERE ANYTHING MORE HONORABLE THAN THAT? I AM ONE DAMNED PROUD AMERICAN SOLDIER.

“For people I don’t know and for people who don’t know me.” Let’s see Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite do that. (Don’t hold your breath.)

Keep the faith, bros, and in all things courage.

Major Terror Plot Against U.S. Ignored
By: Carl Limbacher, NewsMax.com

The mainstream U.S. media outlets have failed to report a major terrorist plot against the U.S. - because it would tend to support President Bush's use of NSA domestic surveillance, according to media watchdog groups.

News of a planned attack masterminded by three Algerians operating out of Italy was widely reported outside the U.S., but went virtually unreported in the American media.

Italian authorities recently announced that they had used wiretaps to uncover the conspiracy to conduct a series of major attacks inside the U.S.

Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said the planned attacks would have targeted stadiums, ships and railway stations, and the terrorists' goal, he said, was to exceed the devastation caused by 9/11.

Italian authorities stepped up their internal surveillance programs after July's terrorist bombings in London. Their domestic wiretaps picked up phone conversations by Algerian Yamine Bouhrama that discussed terrorist attacks in Italy and abroad.

Italian authorities arrested Bouhrama on November 15 and he remains in prison. Authorities later arrested two other men, Achour Rabah and Tartaq Sami, who are believed to be Bouhrama’s chief aides in planning the attacks.

The arrests were a major coup for Italian anti-terror forces, and the story was carried in most major newspapers from Europe to China.

"U.S. terror attacks foiled,” read the headline in England’s Sunday Times. In France, a headline from Agence France Presse proclaimed, "Three Algerians arrested in Italy over plot targeting U.S.”

Curiously, what was deemed worthy of a worldwide media blitz abroad was virtually ignored by the U.S. media, and conservative media watchdog groups are saying that is no accident.

"My impression is that the major media want to use the NSA story to try and impeach the president," says Cliff Kincaid, editor of the Accuracy in Media Report published by the grassroots Accuracy in Media organization.

"If you remind people that terrorists actually are planning to kill us, that tends to support the case made by President Bush. They will ignore any issue that shows that this kind of [wiretapping] tactic can work in the war on terror.”

"The mainstream media have framed the story as one of the nefarious President Bush ‘spying on U.S. citizens,’ where the average American is a victim not a beneficiary,” commented Brent Baker, vice president of the Media Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to encouraging balanced news coverage, "so journalists have little interest in any evidence that the program has helped save lives by uncovering terrorist plans."

The Associated Press version of the story did not disclose that the men planned to target the U.S. Nor did it report that the evidence against the suspects was gathered via a wiretapping surveillance operation.

Furthermore, only one American newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, is known to have published the story that the AP distributed. It ran on page A-6 under the headline "Italy Charges 3 Algerians.” The Inquirer report also made no mention of the plot to target the U.S. - although foreign publications included this information in the headlines and lead sentences of their stories. Nor did it advise readers that domestic wiretaps played a key role in nabbing the suspected terrorists.

One obvious question media critics are now raising: Did the American media intentionally ignore an important story because it didn't fit into their agenda of attacking President George Bush for using wiretapping to spy on potential terrorists in the U.S.?

"It's clear to me," says AIM's Kincaid, "that they're trying their best to make this NSA program to be an impeachable offense, saying it is directed at ordinary Americans. That's why they keep referring to this as a 'program of spying on Americans' - whereas the president keeps pointing out it's a program designed to uncover al-Qaida operations on American soil."

MP Battalion CO's Report

Subject: Iraq Report from a Battalion CO

A message from COL Jim Brown, written on his last night in Iraq.

It is my last night in Iraq. Tomorrow night I will begin the long journey home as we depart BIAP and fly to Kuwait and then fly on to our homes in Germany at 0300 the next day.

Cindy has forwarded me a lot of your discussions of strategy in Iraq, discussions about Nate Sassman, the media and questions about the way ahead. I just wanted to share with you some observations that I have now in my 12th month here and on the eve of our redeployment.

I commanded the 18th Military Police brigade for its second rotation to Iraq. We were among the first brigades to return having served in OIF I. 45% of my unit were returnees-tremendous heroes. Several of them stop-lossed from approved retirements. I looked them in the eye and told them that we needed them and they never complained. In fact the two that this applied to did incredible feats in supporting our team here. The morale of our Soldiers in the mission was very high. Only three of our Soldiers in the headquarters chose not to reenlist and all three have clear plans for their futures. All our other eligible soldiers reenlisted here among us in Iraq.

Our mission in Iraq was to support all Iraqi Police Services in Najaf, Karbala, Diwaniya, Kut and Hillah (ancient Babylon). We were charged with developing the Iraqi Highway Patrol into a Federal law enforcement Agency and establishing a training academy for the highway patrol, building a national headquarters for the highway patrol and contracting for the construction of all Iraqi Highway  Patrol Headquarters. We also were in charge of the security of our corps Main Supply Routes in the most embattled areas of our lines of communication and the escort of convoys. Finally, we were in charge of Abu Grhaib and Camp Bucca Detention Facilities. In the fall, our mission changed dramatically to where we ran all detention operations for all theater level detainees in Iraq.

As with most units in the Army, we accomplished our mission with excellence, values and the compassion that has marked American Soldiers since our inception as an Army. We had no scandals due to NCOs and Officers selflessly serving with our soldiers 24/7 and enforcing standards and combat disciplines that keep Soldiers alive, alert and successful. If something didn't look right we investigated right away and took immediate action to correct any minor deficiencies before they were allowed to fester and create the impression that the standards were not enforced. our soldiers responded to their NCOs and junior officers with pride and confidence-they represented you well 24/7.

Leading a brigade that included up to 4,000 members of Army Reserve, national guard and Active battalions as well as two active U.S. Air force expeditionary Security Forces Squadrons (Battalion equivalents), two US Marines Corps companies, and one Airborne Battalion Task Force, my CSM and I committed ourselves to a program of leader development sessions to insure that all leaders had a common understanding of standards and that we professionally grew as a joint team. It was an amazing ride. In order to lead, coach and mentor this team, we were on the road constantly and we logged just over 40,000 miles in our HMMWVs to do this. This gave us a tremendous situational awareness and experiences that were perhaps not completely unique, but are shared by a fortunate few who got to traverse Iraq as we did. I'd like to offer some insights into the strategy here, the media and our enemy here that I have formed over the past year.

STRATEGY
Who ever designed the plan for the transitional government here is a genius. The employment of three elections in one year, while frenetic, has first taught the value of voting and then has allowed those who didn't previously vote to step forward and join in the process. When the first election occurred in the end of January, I had been here two months. Up to the 30th, I had seen very few women in public. On the 30th of January, I was in Najaf, Karbala, Hillah and Diwaniya and I saw thousands of excited citizens streaming to the polls to vote. Many of the voters were women. It was so exciting to see them finally have a voice in their future. The Iraqis did a great job of securing their country that day and it was the first true democratic election in Iraq. The election resulted in an Iraqi transitional government that had the charter of drafting a proposed Constitution for the Iraqi people. The government achieved this and the second election on 15 October was a referendum to see if the people would approve the document. Participation in the second election now included large numbers of Sunnis-many who would oppose it, but they were voting to let their voice be heard.

Two days before the nation-wide referendum, we conducted the referendum actually in our major detention centers at Abu Ghraib and CampBucca where half of our detainees chose to vote on the referendum as well! The vote was observed by UN workers and went extremely well. The election throughout Iraq was more successful than the first as it included a growing number of participants. People like to be heard. They like to vote and we are seeing democracy move forward here in Iraq. The evening before the election, I stopped in a village just South of Scania near Najaf. I had the opportunity to speak with a village elder who told me with great pride about the fact that he now had a cell phone, red car and TV with satellite.  He showed all off to me and told me that "without the American Army, none of this would ever have been possible, Saddam never allowed us to have these things." He was so excited about the vote the next day and he i insisted that we join him for his Ramadan supper as the sun was just setting. I thanked him, but told him I had to be heading on---the reason I had stopped is that the temperature in my vehicle had been over 140 degrees for several hours and we needed a break! I also was fascinated to see his village as it looked like it came out of the pages of the Bible, the only differences being electricity, satellite dishes and cars! The third election this year is now coming and it will be to elect the first true Iraqi Parliament-I expect that due to the trend with the past two elections that the turnout for the next one will be the highest yet.

It is too costly not to vote and to risk going under represented. This is why I think the framers of this process were geniuses. They have educated the populace as to the value of participating in democracy all prior to actually electing the first government. The momentum of democracy is gathering steam and people want their voices to be heard.

OUR ENEMIES
We have learned a lot about our enemies this past year. One of the most significant events was the interception of the Al Qaeda strategy letter from Al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan to Al Qaeda leaders in Iraq. The letter demonstrates that our enemies are waging a global war against us and all free peoples. The desired end state of our enemies is to take us from a multi-cultural society with freedom of religion and thought to an eighth century caliphate dominated by a religious zealot who will tell us what to wear, what to think and how we are to worship. This war has truly become one of good versus evil. We are fighting an enemy that threatens the whole world and he has declared that this is the decisive battleground for the struggle: "As for the battles that are going on in the far-flung regions of the Islamic world, such as Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Bosnia, they are just the groundwork and the vanguard for the major battles which have begun in the heart of the Islamic world." (Letter from al- Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi p. 2). What I have seen of our enemies here tells me that we are fighting in the right place. We have all seen people butchered because they worship in different mosques than those of our enemies-men, women and children. My personal experiences here have shown me an enemy far more evil than I have encountered anywhere else.

On 20 March 2005, one of our squads was involved in a very famous fight against an ambushing element of 45-50 highly trained insurgents that sought to annihilate a supply convoy. Fortunately, our squad was only three minutes behind the convoy and immediately attacked into the flanks of the enemy. As the squad of 10 initially attacked, they were going at 1 to 5 odds. The odds changed immediately with the loss of the third team to rifle fire that critically wounded the team leader and driver of the third vehicle while wounding the gunner as well. The medic of the squad was in this vehicle and fought to hold the attackers at bay while kicking the wounded bodies under the vehicle to save them from further injury.

The lead vehicle of the squad had been hit by an RPG right as they turned into the enemy and the gunner was thrown down into the vehicle. Thinking he was dead, the squad leader, SSG Timothy Nein, began to climb towards the gun when the gunner came to and jumped up on the .50 Cal and returned fire. The enemy was filming this attack up to this moment as the .50 Caliber machine gun killed the cameraman with its first burst of fire. SSG Nein and SGT Hester both charged into the enemy positions and killed many of the enemy in close quarters combat. At the end, 27 enemy were killed, 7 WIA and one was captured with no injuries. This heroic action, which resulted in three Silver Stars for valor including the first to a woman since WWII, has been well reported in the Washington Post and now Soldier of Fortune Magazine. What is not reported is that in the cameraman's pocket was another film. It was of a beheading that the sesame insurgents had done in the day prior. The victim was a man of different religious belief. He was also bound with hand-cuffs. The insurgents we fought and killed were extremely well armed and they were all carrying hand-cuffs. Their vehicles, which were destroyed by the .50 cal gunner as well, were all parked with trunks and all doors open. It seemed that the enemy wanted to take US hostages and they clearly showed what they intended to do with them.

This summer, one of our squads came across three vehicles on the side of the road. 15 people had been taken out of the vehicles and machine-gunned. Five were already dead, but the squad called for a medevac and began to treat the wounded. What they didn't realize at the time was that only two of those vehicles belonged to the victims. The third was a VBIED that had been placed there waiting for our MPs to lend life-saving aide. When it went off, it wounded 11 of our heroes, but miraculously killed none.

Just last month, my squad and another MP Squad were intended victims of a similar ambush when I saw three men hooking up a tow truck to a broken vehicle shot by a sniper. As the men fell and pleaded for help, an MP Squad directly in front of me responded right away, pulling the men from the scene. I moved my security squad into a security position guarding the MPs as they went to work. We had pulled our vehicle next to the victims in a blocking position. Scanning for the sniper, I told my Soldiers to keep stay in the vehicles and scan for the enemy. Right then an explosion went off in the median. My gunner shouted "IED!" It seemed like a plausible tactic, but it wasn't a very large IED. Right then another went off and we realized we were being mortared. We took several more hits and shrapnel damage before reinforcements tipped the scales our way. What an evil enemy we face.

LTG Vines reminds us that this is an enemy who would kill every man, woman and child attending a sports event in the US and call it a good day. I'm thankful that I have been here with my brave and heroic Soldiers to face this enemy and stand up for freedom here. It is my belief that we are fighting an enemy who has both the capability and the will to follow us home if we don't win this fight here. I don't want my grandchildren to face the terror that our enemy would want to impose on them.

MEDIA
There has been much concern about our media reporting only the bad in this war and not what is going well. I have had the opportunity to work extensively with our media and I have almost always found them fascinating, informed and engaging. I have not been overly disappointed with our coverage. I do get a sense when I see CNN playing in a mess hall that you will see much more gore in one week of CNN than the average Soldier in a year of service here.  There are some exceptions among us, but you get a lot more of it bombarding you there at a faster rate than most of our Troops have here. When the media reports bad news about Soldiers it is because that is the exception.

American Soldiers are expected to be moral and to employ their weapons and force in accordance with our Rules of Engagement and the vast majority do. So when an aberration occurs it does make the news. I found out personally that the thing that most disturbs the American people is when our soldiers are undisciplined. The average troop may be college aged, but he/she is expected to act like a Soldier and not a sophomore on spring Break.

Fortunately we haven't had a problem with that here, but I did get some high adventure when the antics of some troops prior to our arrival here hit the news after we were here!

There is a lot of good news to report on here and to see how much the Iraqi Army and Police have improved in year is simply miraculous. In late September, I was driving from Um Qassr to Baghdad and was just north of Basra where our FM communications were in a momentary blackout. We came upon a bus of religious Pilgrims that had been returning from Najaf to Basra and the driver had apparently fallen asleep and flipped the bus.

It was a tragic scene of carnage with the roof of the bus crushed in and one woman still pinned inside and another man dead inside. Another Army medic, was applying an emergency measures to try to establish an airway for another woman whom we were fighting a losing battle to save. A team of our Soldiers worked feverishly to cut the trapped woman out of the bus and we set up two casualty collection points. I was able to get a medevac request out through my FBCB2 Computer in my vehicle and we where now working to stabilize patients and calm them. Right then the Highway Patrol showed up in the trucks we had given them and began to evacuate the wounded to local hospitals. They did everything that you would expect of the Highway Patrol in California or New York! It was so wonderful to see the team that we had raised, trained and outfitted doing exactly what we had envisioned! Together we saved more than a few lives that day. There is much good news indeed.

CONCLUSION
I just want you all to know that I leave here in the continued belief that it was very important to come and work to transform this ravaged country to a democratic representational government. There is much hope ahead for Iraq. The output of fuel is only 40% of its possible capacity at present and in the future they will be much more able to stand on their own. The true wealth of Iraq is not oil  though, it is fresh water and soil. I have been amazed how much land the people here can cultivate using Nebuchadnezzar's canals and ancient farming methods. I have no doubt that in the future-with modern irrigation and farming methods, Iraq will feed most of this region of the world.

This war will go on for some time in my opinion. But it also has been going on for sometime as well. Our enemies tried to blow up the World Trade Center in February 1993 and they never stopped till they achieved their evil objective. This war has actually been going on since the late70s. We must continue this fight until we have won it. The cost is very real. For the 18th MP Brigade this time it was 10 more heroes who have given up their lives for our Freedom. The 18th MP Brigade has now lost 28 heroes in the Global War on Terror and there are many who have been wounded. Please keep their sacrifice and their families, loved ones and comrades in your hearts. I ask that you specifically pray for:

SGT Leonard Adams, HHD 105th MP Bn
SPC Jonathan Hughes, B/1-623 FA
SPC Eric L. Toth,A/1-623 FA
PFC Michael R. Hayes, 617th MP Co
SPC Ryan J. Montgomery, B/1-623 FA
SSG James D. McNaughton, HHC 306th MP Bn
SGT William A. Allers, 617th MP Co
A1C Elizabeth N. Jacobson, 586th Expeditionary

Security Forces Squadron
SGT Steven Morin, A/1-133 FA
SGT Christopher T. Monroe, HHC 785th MP Bn

Well, tomorrow we begin movement back to our wonderful families. I wish you could see these heroines and heroes whom we know as our best friends, encouragers and confidants.  Just today, Cindy was back at Landstuhl visiting and ministering to our newest wounded. The incredible strength, patriotism, sacrifice and service of our spouses is most humbling to me. I hope that my comments have helped some of you to at least see some more of the perspective that our great teammates and heroes like Casey Haskins, Kenny Dahl have been sharing. God bless you all, and God bless our wonderful Soldiers and Spouses.

Jim Brown Baghdad, 4 Nov 2005

James B. Brown
COLONEL, MILITARY POLICE COMMANDING
18th Military police brigade
CAMP VICTORY APO AE 09342

A Letter From A Marine Leaving Iraq

Editor's Note: This is a recent letter from 1st Lt. Brian Donlon USMC to a group of friends and supporters with whom he had stayed in contact during his deployment to Iraq. It was provided to DefenseWatch by a mutual friend.

To All,This will be my final letter from Iraq. I will be leaving the country in the next week and should be home in the United State soon after. Spring is now here in Iraq. The weather is pleasantly warm with the occasional sunny day.

On a recent trip, I flew in a helicopter north of Baghdad over miles of small farms, criss-crossed by irrigation canals, each surrounded by bright green fields. It all gave an impression of timelessness, life unchanging but for the season. In the days since the elections it has been very quiet here and all my Marines remain safe. Everyone is very ready to go home.

Before I give my final impressions of Iraq, I have one final experience to relate. Recently, I spent several days in Fallujah. As the largest battle fought in this war and the most brutal fight for the Marine Corps since Vietnam, the name, "Fallujah," tends to engender visions of smoke and fire, death in the streets. I cannot speak for the condition of the city before and during the assault, but what I witnessed was perhaps the most secure and peaceful urban area I have yet encountered in Iraq, including the Green Zone.

For four days on security patrols in and around the city, I did not even once hear the report of gunfire in anger or the echo of an explosion. Of course, when you systematically kill or capture every insurgent in a completely cordoned city and search, blast or burn every single structure, you can expect resistance to become light or nonexistent.

My hosts were the warriors of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, who fought along the regiment's right flank during the battle and back-cleared the entire northern sector of the city following the operation's conclusion. These men fought a grisly, tedious and exhausting battle street-by-street, block-by-block for almost two months. For all my imagination, until I walked the streets, listened to the stories, saw the pictures and read the after-action reports, I had no concept of what a fight it had been.

Covering enemy dead with ponchos as they went, they killed Muj (as they nicknamed the insurgents) in the streets or toppled buildings on top of them with mortars, artillery and aerial bombardment. They shot dogs and cats caught feasting on the dead, found the mutilated corpse of aid worker Margaret Hassan, discovered a torture chamber with full suits of human skin and refrigerated body parts right out of "Silence of the Lambs," opened a cellar with chained men who had starved to death and broke down doors to find rooms full of corpses, hands tied behind their backs, bullet holes in the back of their heads. These are just in the pictures I saw.

The enemy they encountered was fanatical and often fought as if pumped up on drugs. His ethnicity was varied and his tactics ranged from insurgents attempting to cross the Euphrates River on inflated beach balls to houses detonated on top of Marines as they entered the first floor.

As I listened to the stories, I had visions of Henry V's warning before the walls of Harfleur to "take pity of your town and of your people, whiles yet my soldiers are in my command; whiles yet the cool and temperate wind of grace o'erblows the filthy and contagious clouds of heady murder, spoil and villainy."

I thought of all the times in history where invaders had systematically destroyed a city, extinguishing the population and sowing salt in the earth.

Yet, for the battle damage on all sides, the city of Fallujah had more children and a more industrious citizenry than any other I encountered here in Iraq. Almost every house had been re-occupied following the invasion, gutters cleaned of garbage, white flags flying over newly patched garden walls, "Family Inside" written in large letters in both English and Arabic. Marines control access to the city; Marines mediate civic disputes; Marines provide food, water and are protecting those who are repairing city infrastructure; Marines patrol the streets, policing both the citizens of Fallujah and the Iraqi Army who sometimes abuse their authority.

Fallujah is a city on lockdown and ironically is probably the safest and most progressive place in Iraq right now. I now understand why the citizens in a nearby neighborhood here in Baghdad worriedly asked the Army command we are attached to, "What have we done? Why are Marines here?" when we began to patrol there.With that experience, I more or less close my time here in Iraq. I have a few more hurdles to overcome before I am home but now all tasks are related to ensuring a safe journey there. Reflecting on what I have seen here in Iraq, the overwhelming emotion I feel is of pride, not in myself or even in my Marines, but in being an American.

Patriotic sentiments tend to gravitate between cliché and taboo in the sensibilities of popular culture, but if I was not defined before as a "patriot," I am now. I am very proud to have been a small part of this effort and to come from a nation where not only could such an effort be sustained but whose aim was the betterment of another people a world away.

A few months ago, I was walking at night through a logistics yard and as I weaved between mountainous stacks of crates stamped with the names of a dozen nations, I was struck by how fortunate I was to be an American. The perspective bordered on the sublime. Just outside the wall lived people in poverty and squalor who had been subjected to their lot by a tyrannical ethnic and political minority who shrugged off human misery with the medieval belief that it was the "will of Allah." Not much has changed in the Middle East in the last few thousands of years, except for the religion and identity of the tyrant in question. Just south of where I sit now, in the city of Babylon in the 5th Century B.C., the Persian Xerxes planned his doomed invasion of Greece, his logisticians collecting mountains of supplies, compiled from the labors of subject millions.There is no difference between that tyrant 2500 years ago and Saddam Hussein whose palaces dot across this country like vainglorious lesions, one built just miles away from here, complete with fresh water dolphins in artificial lakes, observation towers with night clubs, and irrigated tree-lined walks, built in the midst of international sanctions levied against his country.

As I stood dwarfed by piles of water bottles and phone cable, I realized two distinctions. The first is this: as countless millions of dollars are spent, what American citizen can truly point to the cost that this war has had on his quality of living? What a magnificent nation we live in where we can wage so massive an effort without bankrupting our citizenry in the process.

The second contrast is our motive: for all the insinuations of imperialism, corporate benefit and hawkish war-mongering, the most dramatic moments I witnessed here revolved around an election, not an exploitation. What other nation would spend such sums to give a people so far away self-determination?

I am not advocating war. Being so far from home for so long, smelling and seeing the dead and placing Marines in harm's way are not truly enjoyable experiences. Yet I agree wholeheartedly with the much-criticized statement by [Lt.] General [James N.] Mattis, it is fun to wage war against a foe who seeks only his own self-gratification, who tortures, murders and abuses the weak. You can opine all day long about Wilsonian self-determination, but without the will to do what is necessary to make such visions reality, they remain mere words.

In short, as I give my farewell to this country in the next week, I leave with overwhelming pride in being an American and an unshakable belief, based in what I have seen here, that this effort will not fail. Whatever comes in Iraq, the impact of this invasion will not be as that of every other conqueror, relegated to a wind-worn mound of stones in the desert.

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read these often-verbose letters. Just being able to write to this audience has been a great stress relief. I especially want to express my gratitude to those who have written to me both electronic and snail mail, sent care packages and kept me in their thoughts and prayers. This was without a doubt the best experience of my life thus far and would have not been so without the support and generosity you have shown my Marines and me.

Semper Fi!

Out.

Brian Donlon

THE MARINE

We all came together,
Both young and old.
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold. In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way.

I give you the right
To talk of your peace.
To stand in your groups,
and protest in our streets.

But still I fight on,
I don't bitch, I don't whine.
I'm just one of the people
Who is doing your time.

I'm harder than nails,
Stronger than any machine.
I'm the immortal soldier,
I'm a U.S. MARINE !

So stand in my shoes,
And leave from your home.
Fight for the people who hate you,
With the protests they've shown.

Fight for the stranger,
Fight for the young.
So they all may have,
The greatest freedom you've won.

Fight for the sick,
Fight for the poor
Fight for the cripple,
Who lives next door.

But when your time comes,
Do what I've done.
For if you stand up for freedom,
You'll stand when the fight's done.

By: Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert, US Marine Corps
USS SAIPAN, PERSIAN GULF

Marine Sergeant Herbert Hancock - USMC Sniper

"This time we were killing terrorism from more than 1,000 yards." - Marine Corporal Geoffrey Flowers, spotter for Sergeant HancockSergeant Herbert Hancock was credited with the longest kill shot in Iraq - 1,050 yards. That's 3,150 feet, or roughly 10 football fields. He used a M40A3 with a twenty power scope. He and his spotter (Corporal Flowers) made that shot after fighting for hours in Fallujah while insurgents were shelling his compound. Sergeant Hancock is a Bryan, Texas, police officer when not protecting his fellow Marines. Corporal Flowers is a college student from Pearland, Texas.

The rifle used:

Marine Corp M40 A3 Sniper Rifle

Specs:

These are individually hand made by the USMC Armorers at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

Caliber - 7.62 mm NATO (.308 Win)

Weight - 7.5 kg (16.5 lb)

Overall Length - 1.124 m (44.25 in)

Barrel Length - 610 mm (24 in)

Barrel - Schneider Match Grade SS #73

Magazine Capacity - 5 rounds

Sight - Unertl 10x with Mil-Dots and BDC; specially designed for USMC

Stock - Fiberglass McMillan Tactical A4

Max Effective Range - 915 m (1000 yd)

The movie clip link below is a night vision movie from Iraq, showing live action against Iraqi insurgents. The pictures were taken from an AC130 Specter gunship two and a half miles away. The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and planning to ambush an American convoy which followed a short while after the pictures were taken. They were setting up for the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass by. Turn your sound up. The level of effort these crews put forth to control the enemy's antics is commendable, and their marksmanship with those electronically controlled 40mm cannons is astounding.

Download Clip

This ain't Hollywood.....
" War is hell Gentlemen. If it wasn't we'd love it too much."
Robert E. Lee

View more video clips at Military.com Shock & Awe

Subject: Good answer

December 9, 2005 (CNN) While interviewing an anonymous US Special Forces soldier, a Reuters News agent asked the soldier what he felt when sniping members of Al Quaeda in Afghanistan.

The soldier shrugged and replied, "Recoil."

The USS San Francisco Collision
Click On Button Below, To Read

Click Here
To See A Destroyer Hit With A MK 48m Torpedo
The Damage Is Quite Impressive!

RUMMY - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Secretary Rumsfelds visit to Iraq.....not newsworthy, just one 1SG's opinion

To All, this is a shotgun blast response to the media reports on Secretary Rumsfeld's visit to our Camp. I was fortunate enough to be there and even shake the man's hand. When the media reports were released concerning the event, I could not believe what I saw and heard. There are over 12,000 troops on our base. Only 2,000 or so had the opportunity to attend the gathering and I can tell you, those were hotly contested seats. Not as the media would have you believe, so we could voice our displeasure, but rather to have the opportunity to see and hear the man we admire.

Mr. Secretary spoke for 10 minutes or so on the war in Iraq and what freedom meant to the people of Afghanistan. He was there for the recent elections and shared his wonderful insight. After his prepared remarks he opened up the floor for questions and made it very clear that nothing was off limits.

Folks, this is extremely unusual for a dignitary to do. Also, we as leaders, were instructed to not screen our soldiers' questions. They were to be honest and from the heart. Mr. Rumsfeld fielded a number of questions, took down notes for the ones he did not have answers to and genuinely enjoyed talking to the soldiers. Afterward, he spent over an hour with the enthusiastic troops who literally mobbed him and would not let him leave. He smiled for all, shook hands and had pictures taken.

It ended only when his security forced us away. He was applauded, he was given a standing ovation and he was loved. He stood there like a professional, like a man, and he took the heat because that's what leaders do. And yet somehow, the American media turned that wonderful event into a "disgruntled troops meet with Secretary Rumsfeld" headline. Incredible.

The morale is high, the equipment is good and improving daily. Disregard what you read and hear from the media and trust in the American fighting men and women to do the right thing. We have excellent leadership and are doing what we signed up to do.

1SG Timmy Rikard

The Mosque Shooting

After watching the footage of the Marine killing the guy in the Mosque, here are a couple of points on shooting wounded guys in Fallujah:

Looks like self-defense to me.

1) The guy was a terrorist.

2) He was breathing.

What’s there not to understand?

Any questions?

P.S. For those learning-impaired (morons/Leftists/bleeding hearts/liberals)
out there, here’s a nice little picture to make it clear:

Semper Fi!!! Good Job Marine!!!

*** UPDATE ***

The Marine Corps announced on May 4, 2005, that this Corporal will NOT face court-martial.

A review of the evidence showed the unnamed Marine's actions were "consistent with the established rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict," said Maj-gen. Richard F. Natonski, commanding general of the 1st marine Division in San Diego.

Like I said "good job Marine . . . . Semper Fi"
. . . . Webmaster