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| Monday, 26-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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James Cathey, Jr. arrives!
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Introducing James Cathey, Jr.
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The 2nd LT and Katherine
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2nd LT James Cathey, Sr.
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Katherine Cathey delivered her bouncing baby boy the other day. James Cathey, Jr! What a good lookin' little rascal he is. Ya' done good Kat and God Bless You and little James!
Be sure to check out the site. It has some really great video of Mom and the Newbie!  - JHD
http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_360124608.html
Dec 26, 2005 1:34 pm US/Mountain
War Widow Finds Christmas Gift In Newborn Son
Bill Stuart
Reporting
(CBS4) DENVER A woman who lost her husband in the Iraq war gave birth to their son a couple weeks before his due date. The early Christmas present brought hope and joy after a year of war and tragedy.
The baby will never meet his father. The father will live in this Christmas gift, sent to comfort grieving hearts on earth.
"I've been kind of afraid that once I had him I would get even more upset about Jim having passed away, but having him has actually helped me," Katherine Cathey, a widow and mother said.
Second Lt. James Cathey, Katherine's husband, died one month after he arrived in Iraq. He was killed instantly when he entered a booby trapped building ahead of the Marines under his command. Two days later, his wife Katherine learned that their baby would be a son.
Before Jim was buried, Katherine Cathey spent the last night with her husband. When she closed his coffin, she placed an ultrasound picture of their baby over his heart.
The baby was not due until Jan. 1. Early in the week before Christmas his mother and grandmother felt something was not right so they went into the hospital.
"They got a heartbeat when they put the monitor on but they weren't sensing that he was moving at all," Katherine said. "I was very scared."
Doctors rushed Katherine into the operating room.
"They all for the most part knew I had lost my husband and I couldn't go through losing the baby too," Katherine said.
After an emergency caesarean section, James Cathey Jr. (Jimmy, for short) arrived strong and healthy. He was an answer to so many prayers.
"I just looked at his face and that's when I started crying because I thought he's so beautiful," Katherine said. "I really feel like Jim has watched over me and the baby a lot."
Jim was the kind of son who would make any family proud. He graduated from CU with honors in just 3 years. He led his men by example. He had a sense of humor and he had a sense of honor. Although he never got the news, he knew in his heart that this baby would be a boy.
"His dad was such an amazing person that if he's anything like his dad he will be an amazing person too," Katherine said.
Jimmy also has an amazing mother.
"She's been so strong," one relative said. "She's been an inspiration to all of us."
Katherine Cathey, a widow before her first wedding anniversary, has a true Christmas gift.
"When Jim would sleep, he did this funny thing with his lips and the baby does the same thing," Katherine said. "I felt, in a way, like I had him back kind of. He makes me really happy. So happy that you cry."
Katherine has made a separate peace far from the battlefield that took her husband and Jimmy's father before his time.
"I'm at peace knowing that my husband loved me very much and I loved him very much," Katherine said. "We brought a child into this world. He's a miracle and he'll be something that will bring joy to my life for the rest of my life."
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| Saturday, 17-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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Commander's Update!
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17 December 2005
Warlord Families and Friends,
This letter is late due to operations in support of the National Election. I’m sorry for the delay. I know it seems like time stands still with your Marine or Sailor being gone but it is already mid-December! I remember arriving in Iraq and thinking how far off the constitutional referendum and governmental elections seemed. Now the new Iraqi constitution is complete and a new government is elected from the voting yesterday. Though the results are still pending, voter turnout was very high demonstrating that we have reached initial stages of success in Iraq by allowing the people to exercise democratic rights and decide their own future.
Our mission will continue with the training of the Iraqi Security Forces of the Police and Iraqi Army. They are currently assuming responsibility for more battle space and security. The Iraqi Security Forces will continue to assume greater responsibility and control and will be the ones who ultimately achieve long-term stability for their new government to lead the country into the future. The Iraqi Police continue to improve and they will support the Iraqi Army. Their combined actions will secure the future, ultimately assuming complete responsibility.
We have had a number of media representing agencies from across the world and continue to publish stories. These have been and will continue to be posted onto this website for you to track what the Warlords have been doing.
Even with Christmas Day this week, operations will continue unabated. Despite this requirement, Marines will take time at some point to celebrate and remember family at home. I ask that during this holiday season, you take time to think of each Marine and Sailor and keep them in your prayers. Your support and thoughts arrive daily in the forms of cards, letters and packages. Regularly large amounts of packages arrive on trucks and deposits of their contents are spread throughout the battalion area. Of special note, I would like to thank the efforts of Jayme Alexander who organized our “Secret Santa” project. “Secret Santa” has ensured every Marine and Sailor of the Task Force received a care package during the holiday. I’ve been impressed with the amount of care and love that went into each box. Many Marines and Sailors were mailed packages from complete strangers. Their generosity is matched only by the appreciation of the Warlords they support. Thank You Jayme and all of those who participated.
We have been blessed with more great news on the arrival of new Warlords to our families. My heart and appreciation goes out to these selfless parents who continue to balance the love of their country with the love of their own families.
The following Warlords had recent additions:
HN Roberto and Raquel Pena-Rodriguez Anthony H&S
HM2 Patrick and Natalie McElhinney Cain H&S
Cpl Christopher and Suzanne Johnson Katherine H&S
In closing, I can’t help but mention the magnitude of the professional and dedicated efforts of your Marines and Sailors. I realize it’s often very difficult in a Counter Insurgency (COIN) environment for them to see and measure the strides in progress and mission accomplishment. However, when you evaluate their performance off the priorities of the Task Force, I suggest it becomes vividly clear.
• #1. Train and Develop Iraqi Army (IA) and Iraqi Police (IP)
Our IA’s were the first battalion to assume battlespace in all of Al Anbar Province. They have executed their duties superbly and the level of violence is down and metrics of security vastly improved. We are preparing for increased assumption of battlespace before we finish our tour. The IP’s are firmly entrenched in Karmah and continue to show improvement each day and week.
• #2. Safe and secure October Referendum and December National Election
Both elections went without incident. Perhaps more importantly, the level of voter turnout was greater than in any other area of the Al Anbar Province. This is a reflection of the local populace’s confidence in their security and thirst for some form of Democracy. In my view, Mission complete!
• #3. Capture and Kill the enemy
As stated above, the levels of violence have been significantly reduced. Due to our hot pursuit and tenacious offensive operations, numerous high-value targets have been detained or have fled the country. Task Force 2/2 has over fifty percent of the Regimental Combat Teams detentions and we represent only one of three infantry battalions in that organization.
Simply said, your Warlords are doing magnificent work. They continue to take the fight to the enemy and remain grounded on our Marine Corps core values. We will stay on the offensive and keep the momentum and tempo of operations in our favor. I again thank you for your continued support. Please have a safe and happy holiday and never forget how much we miss you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I remain Semper Fidelis,
James J Minick
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| Monday, 12-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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Stars & Stripes Golf - Karmah
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?article=33664
Some Marine posts have just the bare necessities
Hot meals, showers in short supply at smaller Iraq bases
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, December 13, 2005
KARMAH, Iraq — Lance Cpl. Aaron Snell was eagerly devouring his Thursday morning breakfast, the only hot meal served each week at this small outpost, known here only as “O-P Three,” just a few miles east of Fallujah.
“We haven’t had hot dinner in, like, months,” Snell said as he shoveled scrambled eggs, bacon and fried potatoes from a cardboard tray.
Although the relative luxuries of Camp Fallujah are just a few miles away, many Marines at smaller bases spend weeks — or even months — at a time without returning to dining hall food, hot showers, laundry services and Internet access.
“We used to go back once a week, but the risk was just too high,” said 1st Sgt. Craig Yohe, of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment’s Company G.
The risk is roadside bombs, one that has dramatically altered these Marines’ lives and the tactics they use in this persistently dangerous patch of Anbar province. Limiting nonessential vehicle travel has been a key element to this battalion’s strategy for staying safe.
“We have changed everything we do,” said Maj. Christopher Dixon, executive officer of the 2/2 Battalion, which is based at Camp Fallujah but has dispersed most of its Marines to small bases across the countryside north of the city.
Changes since Dixon’s battalion arrived in July include converting many vehicle patrols into foot patrols, which allow troops to detect roadside bombs more easily. They use helicopters for operations, if possible. And all logistics are consolidated into large and infrequent convoys, sent at strategic windows of time after checking the main routes for bombs.
That has helped drive down the number of roadside bomb attacks — from 41 in June and 40 in July to just 14 in October and eight in November, according to data provided by the battalion.
Some 15 Marines from the 2-2 Battalion have been killed since they arrived in July, most of them victims of roadside bomb attacks.
For the Marines posted at the small bases, day-to-day life has few amenities.
“I haven’t had a shower in two months,” said Cpl. Michael Fournet, 27, from Louisiana who was living with his platoon at an abandon police station in Karmah.
Lance Cpl. David Rogers from Rochester, N.Y., said he recently wore the same camouflage fatigues for about six weeks in a row without washing them.
Lance Cpl. Matt Boggs said he had not checked his e-mail in nearly two months.
Each Marine is permitted to use a satellite phone for one 10-minute phone call each week. Mail arrives about once a week at O-P Three, an Iraqi residence surrounded by sand-filled barriers and razor wire.
Many of the Marines are so tired of Meals, Ready to Eat that they now subsist on packaged tuna fish, ramen noodles, Spam and other prepackaged food sent in care packages from home.
Despite their relative isolation, many Marines maintain a steady supply of cigarettes and chewing tobacco and insist their assignment to these isolated posts is not entirely unpleasant.
“I enjoy being out here,” said Cpl. Austin Collom from Nashville, Tenn. He said he usually makes a night trip to Camp Fallujah once every two weeks, when he can eat at the chow hall around midnight before returning again before dawn.
“There’s work that’s got to be done out here, so we might as well get it done,” Collom said. “I enjoy being out here with the squad; we’ve been pretty close.”
“There’s too many people at Camp Fallujah who take it for granted, people who get to go to the chow hall every day,” Collom said.
Photo - Andrew Tilghman / S&S
Several U.S. Marines enjoy Thursday morning breakfast, the once-a-week hot meal at their small post outside Fallujah.
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| Saturday, 10-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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LCpl Brandon Wesley WIA
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Photo # 1
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Photo # 2
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Since Brandon's story just came out I thought I'd combine the two entries. A double shot of Jarhead! Heh! 
http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/200512121082
Liberty, Ky. native endures Corps hardship
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200512121082
Story by Pfc. Terrell A. Turner
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 09, 2005) -- Marines go through stressful situations and face hardships on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s the loss of a brother in arms, other times it’s a personal hardship or a painful circumstance that can alter a Marine’s career in an instant.
For Lance Cpl. Brandon J. Wesley of Liberty, Ky. that day came for him when he sustained an injury while deployed fighting in the Global War on Terrorism.
Wesley was a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in July. While part of a reaction force his team responded to rocket-propelled grenade fire.
The team took off after the enemy and was overtaken in a firefight. Wesley jumped a wall for cover and tore his knee.
“I have surgery this month (November) followed by six months of rehab,” Wesley said. “After that I have another surgery, followed by six more months of rehab. I’ve got a long road ahead of me.”
The injury occurred while the 20-year-old was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Wesley will have six months left in the Marine Corps when he rehabilitates. He plans to make use of his time as he recovers.
“During this time I will be taking college classes,” Wesley said.
When his enlistment ends Wesley won’t return for another tour of duty, but he still wants to stay close to the Marine Corps.
“I have two options in mind for now,” Wesley explained. “I would like to work for the government. I would also like to be a game warden on base. I always liked hunting and fishing so that would be a dream job.”
Wesley’s injury forced him to leave friends behind in Iraq, but still can positively reflect his time in the Corps.
“It’s sad to hear about my friends getting hurt and knowing I’m powerless to do anything about it,” Wesley admitted. “After all that has happened, I’m still glad I joined the Corps and did what I could.”
# 1 - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 9 2005) - Marines go through stressful situations and face hardships on a daily basis. For Lance Cpl. Brandon J. Wesley of Liberty, Ky. that day came for him when he sustained an injury while deployed fighting in the Global War on Terrorism. Photo by: Pfc. Terrell A. Turner
And from 11/30/05:
Ah yes, the LCpl sittin' back in the Wounded Barracks hobnobbing with the elite politariat! Wait 'til the boys come home and give him grief! he-he! Juuuust teasing! 
The LCpl has excellent taste in reading material as well! I have plenty of Louis L'Amour books to send if you run out of reading material LCpl! All the knuckleheads got my W.E.B. Griffin's last time but I still have some L'Amour.
It's really good to see some pics of the guys that gave so much for their Brothers! God Speed LCpl Wesley. Here's hoping you get well soon! - JHD
PhotoID: 200512117319
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Operation/Exercise/Event:
gov
Caption:
# 2 - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.--Lt. Governor of N.C., Beverly E. Perdue, visits with Lance Cpl. Brandon Wesley Dec. 1 at the Injured Support Unit barracks here. Wesley, 20, is a native of Liberty, Ky., and was injured in Iraq while serving with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Wesley is rehabilitating in the wounded warrior barracks.
Photo by: Sgt. Tracee L. Jackson
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| Friday, 9-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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LCpl Johnny Burra WIA
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http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/C30E334D376493D4852570D50048367B?opendocument
Rochester, N.Y. native receives Purple Heart
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200512128845
Story by Pfc. Terrell A. Turner
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 9, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. Johnny R. Burra was injured in combat after only a year and a half in the Marine Corps. With a broken foot and a shredded leg, the Rochester, N.Y., native’s only duty is to heal. He doesn’t even have to wear his uniform, but everyday you see him wearing it, with his combat boot on his good foot. He’s a Marine through and through.
The rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment was awarded the Purple Heart medal here Nov. 30 for injuries received while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
While attached to a reaction force, Burra’s group was performing improvised explosive Device dsweeps in Karmah, a city outside of Fallujah. Afterwards, as the team headed back to the base, their humvee was hit by an IED less than five meters away. The humvee continued forward until it flipped into a canal.
“I thought I was going to drown,” Burra explained about his experience. It took us a while to find the surface and we had another Marine pinned under the humvee.
“We helped each other get out of the humvee until more Marines came to aid us,” Burra continued. “Then they called for a wrecker (truck) to pick up the humvee and free the Marine pinned underneath. Then we were medically evacuated.”
The 19-year-old received shrapnel to both legs and suffered from a broken left foot.
Now Burra resides at the Wounded Warrior Barracks. He received surgery to remove metal from his legs, and had the bone in his foot set with screws and plates. He has six months of limited duty to recover.
After his healing process Burra will return back to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment where he will complete his first enlistment.
Burra graduated from Irondequoit High School in 2004 where he played baseball and football. During sports seasons, Burra had nearly 1,400 students depend on him among other players to represent their school.
Now Burra works with a team of Marines and millions of Americans depend on Marines like him to represent their country. Burra already plans on continuing to serve the Corps after his first enlistment.
“I plan on reenlisting and staying infantry,” Burra said. “I have family members who are Marines and it’s something I always wanted to do.”
Photos: MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Nov. 22, 2005) – Lance Cpl. Johnny R. Burra was injured in combat after only a year and a half in the Marine Corps. The rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment was awarded the Purple Heart medal here Nov. 30 for injuries received while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by: Cpl. Michael J. Escobar
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| Thursday, 8-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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LCpl Brandon Love WIA
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http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/83D281100D63DD13852570CF0060FD5E?opendocument
Wounded Charlottesville, Va. Marine looks toward uncertain future
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 2005126123923
Story by Cpl. Mike Escobar
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 6, 2005) -- Like many of his brothers-in-arms wounded in the line of duty, Lance Cpl. Brandon Love stoically accepts his fate while looking to the future with hopeful eyes.
Love, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, was presented the Purple Heart Medal Nov. 30 for wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Iraq’s Al Anbar province in September. But despite the heavy weight of what this award represents, the 19-year-old native of Charlottesville, Va. spoke only of recovering and getting back in the fight.
“I’m still motivated, and I hate being over here knowing that I still have friends over there (Iraq),” said the 2004 Waynesboro High School graduate.
Love added that he wished to rejoin his comrades, but that a long, uncertain road awaits him toward this goal. He recalled the events of Sept. 23, and how, in the blink of an eye, his life was forever changed.
He and several of his teammates had been driving in a convoy outside of Karmah, a city outside Fallujah. Love said he had noticed a black Jeep Grand Cherokee that had pulled over on the side of the road, something military forces ask Iraqi citizens to do for the safety of the passing convoys.
“It blew up when we were about ten feet away,” Love recalled, adding that the vehicle-borne
explosive injured seven people in his humvee.
“I woke up, and there was blood and smoke everywhere. All I could feel was this warm, sticky feeling running down my right arm,” Love continued. “I didn’t know what was going on, so I just got my rifle and held (perimeter) security until the helicopters landed (to evacuate the wounded Marines).”
Medical personnel later explained to him that he had suffered shrapnel wounds to his right arm, and that the blast had blown out both of his eardrums.
Love was sent stateside to receive further medical care, and currently resides in Camp Lejeune’s Wounded Warrior Barracks. He is pending further medical review to determine whether he is to be medically discharged from the Corps.
“I still have shrapnel in me, and I can’t feel half of my right hand,” Love stated. “I can’t straighten it out or close it all the way, and I can only type by moving my whole arm around, not just my fingers. I can hear fine out of my left ear, but my right one is still not as good as it used to be.”
Love said he hopes to be given extra time to recover, and to one day be evaluated as fit for duty.
“I need to get better and get back to duty, but if I can’t be combat effective, I don’t want to hold my unit back.”
# 1 - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Lance Cpl. Brandon Love, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, is presented his Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30. The 19-year-old Charlottesville, Va. native suffered shrapnel wounds and busted eardrums when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy while he and his unit had been conducting combat operations in Iraq’s Al Anbar province in September. Photo by: Cpl. Mike Escobar
# 2 - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Lance Cpl. Brandon Love, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, right, poses for a photo with Brig. Gen. Joseph Mcmenamin, 2nd Marine Division (Rear) commander, shortly after receiving his Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30. Love, a 19-year-old Charlottesville, Va. native, suffered shrapnel wounds and busted eardrums when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy while he and his unit had been conducting combat operations in Iraq’s Al Anbar province in September. Photo by: Cpl. Mike Escobar
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| Wednesday, 7-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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LCpl Ryan Cahill WIA
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http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/3D715277B87DACD2852570CF00642A86?opendocument
Looking on the bright side: Baton Rouge Marine on the road to recovery
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200512613144
Story by Cpl. Mike Escobar
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 6, 2005) -- A Baton Rouge, La. native was presented the Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30 for injuries he suffered while deployed to Iraq in September.
Lance Cpl. Ryan Cahill, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and several members of his unit had been searching for improvised explosive devices in Karmah, a city outside Fallujah, at the time he was injured.
“The IED went off about five to 10 yards from the humvee I was driving,” said the 19-year-old Cahill.
“There was a lot of confusion that followed, because I didn’t know where anyone else was,” he continued, explaining that his surroundings were ‘smoked out’ from the dust and debris the blast had kicked up. “The shrapnel had come up from underneath the humvee. I ended up with a nice-sized piece of shrapnel lodged (on the underside of) my right knee.”
Cahill, a 2004 graduate of Tara High School, added that his humvee continued coasting for approximately 80 yards further. He was unable to see where he was going and had lost mobility in his right leg.
Shortly after, the vehicle tumbled into a nine-foot deep canal running alongside the rural road.
Cahill was subsequently sent stateside to receive medical care, and he currently resides at the Wounded Warrior Barracks here. Under the care of the Injured Support Unit (ISU), he claimed to have experienced an 80 percent recovery, a number that increases as the weeks go by.
Within this barracks, Cahill said he and fellow rehabilitating Marines are given ample time to relax and recover as they attend their surgeries and physical therapy sessions at the nearby sports medicine clinic.
Cahill cited this care as a determining factor in his recovery.
“The program here is really awesome,” he said. “I feel I’ve received the best medical attention possible. I’ll be back to full duty eventually.”
Nevertheless, he often deals with boredom and restlessness as he waits to someday rejoin the infantry. He jogs, lifts weights and converses with his fellow Marines to spend what he describes as his ample free time.
“Sometimes it seems like there’s nothing to do here, but at least we’re getting plenty of sleep,” Cahill stated. “I know some of the guys in my unit who are still over there would give anything just to spend one day in my shoes.”
“Every day has its ups and downs, and sometimes, I start wondering if I’ll ever be able to do everything the way I used to,” he continued. “Whenever I get down about something, I think about that and remember that I still have my leg, so I really have no room to complain.”
# 1 - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Lance Cpl. Ryan Cahill, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, is presented his Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30. The 19-year-old Baton Rouge, La. native suffered shrapnel and other wounds in September after an improvised explosive device detonated near the vehicle he had been driving, causing it to tumble into a nearby canal. Cahill and his teammates had been conducting an IED sweep in Karmah, a city outside Fallujah. Photo by: Cpl. Mike Escobar
# 2 - MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Lance Cpl. Ryan Cahill, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, right, poses for a photo with Brig. Gen. Joseph Mcmenamin, 2nd Marine Division (Rear) commander, shortly after receiving his Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30. Cahill, a 19-year-old Baton Rouge, La. native, suffered shrapnel and other wounds in September after an improvised explosive device detonated near the vehicle he had been driving, causing it to tumble into a nearby canal. Cahill and his teammates had been conducting an IED sweep in Karmah, a city outside Fallujah. Photo by: Cpl. Mike Escobar
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| Tuesday, 6-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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2/2 Fox - Stars & Stripes!
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Cpl Shampaner
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Fox on the move!
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Fox got some press! Woo-Hoo! Now if we can find some H&S stuff we'll be good to go! 
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=33451
Marines scour area around Fallujah for arms
U.S., Iraqi militaries preparing for Dec. 15 elections
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, December 4, 2005
AL KARMAH, Iraq — About 250 Marines rolled out of Camp Fallujah shortly after dawn Friday and moved into a small, poverty-stricken neighborhood for a house-by-house search of an area believed to be an insurgent stronghold.
Supported by fixed-wing aircraft and accompanied by about 25 Iraqi soldiers, the Marines swept through the swath of ramshackle homes about five miles east of Fallujah on the edge of restive Anbar Province.
Two men were detained and no major weapons caches were uncovered in the mostly Sunni village during an operation designed to limit insurgents’ ability to mount attacks in the run-up to the Dec. 15 national elections.
“I’m not surprised we didn’t find anything,” said Capt. Mike Estes, commander of Company F of the 2nd Marine Battalion of the 2nd Marine Regiment.
“We’ve searched through that area several times and we just wanted to go back there to remind them that they still cannot stage weapons in that area.
“And we want to keep insurgents on their heels before the elections.”
The operation is among many expected to unfold across the country in the coming weeks, as U.S. troops and Iraqis prepare for the first nationwide elections to pick a constitutional government.
A security lockdown imposed last year in and around Fallujah has pushed insurgent activity into the surrounding areas, where several small Sunni towns, like this one, have seen a surge in violence.
On Friday, insurgents fired on the Al Karmah police station and a small firefight ensued. No injures were reported.
The day before, one Marine on a foot patrol was severely injured by a roadside bomb. Another roadside bomb exploded Thursday and caused minor injuries. Also on Thursday, insurgents fired on a patrol of Humvees just outside Al Karmah, Marines said.
As the Marines moved through the residential area, a psychological operations truck with large speakers and an Arabic language recording told residents of the search and urged their cooperation.
While Marines provided nearly all the logistical support for the sweep, about two dozen Iraqi soldiers joined them in the actual house-to-house search.
“We’re trying to put an Iraqi face in the operation,” said Cpl. Andrew Harrison, who led a team of Marines through the house searches. “We’re just kind of supervising them.”
In one home, Marines became suspicious of a man whose identification card said he was 19, but who looked much older.
“There is no way this guy was born in 1986,” 1st Lt. Brandon McDaniel said as he spoke to the man and inspected the ID card.
After a further search, Iraqi soldiers found two rifles and six magazines of ammunition. Current law prohibits families from having more than one rifle and two magazines of ammunition per home.
They also found several Iranian-language videotapes and several audiotapes of Islamic religious leaders.
The Marines arranged the weapons, ammunition and tapes and told the man to sit down while they photographed him with the suspicious items. Standard procedure calls for Marines to photograph detainees with whatever suspicious items they have in their possession.
“Here, like this, this looks more guilty,” Cpl. Keith Shampaner said as he told the man to put one of the rifles in his hand.
But Harrison told Shampaner to get out of the way so he could take a photograph. “You don’t have to pose him,” Harrison said.
A woman at the home who identified herself as the man’s sister said the man knew nothing about the guns. She said she was hiding the guns for her other brother, who is in prison.
Also during Friday’s daylong operation, a second man was detained after Marines recognized him as a person seen behaving suspiciously during a previous incident in the area. The man was seen watching a group of Marines and making phone calls from a place where the Marines were later attacked.
The neighborhood searched by Marines was lined with dusty, unpaved roads, and most homes had only cinder-block walls and sparsely furnished rooms.
A nearby Marine camp has taken fire from the neighborhood at least six times in recent months. It lies just off a major route leading north from Fallujah that many Marines refer to as “IED Alley” because of the frequency of roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices.
At one home, a woman said her husband died after the Marines shot him several months ago.
At another, a woman holding a small child on her hip said she did not mind the search.
“They have searched my home before,” the woman, the wife of a car mechanic, said through a Marine translator. “At first it was scary, but now it is OK. The Marines and the Iraqi soldiers are here to help us.”
Andrew Tilghman / S&S
# 1 -Cpl. Keith Shampaner tells an Iraqi detainee how to pose for a photograph with the gun Marines found in his home. Standard procedure calls for Marines to photograph detainees with whatever suspicious items they have in their possession.
# 2 -Marines ride back to Camp Fallujah in a truck after spending the day on a house-by-house search in a neighborhood north of the base.
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| Monday, 5-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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Some singles from various places!
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LCpl CJ Cooper 2/2 Weapons 2nd
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IA and Operation Shanty Town
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SSgt. Keith Bibbs Baghdad 11-28-05
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Brand new Dad LCpl Hutchinson got one on the MNF site of one of our local ATL area Marines, LCpl Cooper from Fayetteville, GA. Good stuff! The hi res was a btmp so I couldn't upload it though but the pic is pretty clear in small jpeg. ( http://www.mnf-iraq.com/Photos/Dec/Hi-Res/04.jpg ) 
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.htm
KHARMA, Iraq - Lance Cpl. C.J. Cooper, from Fayetteville, Ga., with 2d Squad, Weapons Platoon, 2d Battalion, 2d Marines, hands a flyer to an Iraqi child explaining the intention of the coalition forces in the area during Operation Shanty Town.(Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison, 2d Marine Division Combat Camera) (Released)
KHARMA, Iraq - An Iraqi soldier with 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division, takes cover outside a doorway while his fellow soldiers search a home for weapons during Operation Shanty Town. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison, 2d Marine Division Combat Camera) (Released)
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Keith Bibbs and his team from 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Battalion Public Order Brigade, 2nd Marine Division, provide security during a raid in the Zafraniyah District in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 28, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Teddy Wade
KHARMA, Iraq - A Marine with Weapons Platoon, Company F, 2d Battalion, 2d Marines, hands a flyer to locals that explains the intentions of the coalition forces in the area during Operation Shanty Town. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison, 2d Marine Division Combat Camera) (Released)
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| Sunday, 4-Dec-2005 00:00 |
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Golf Company and Karmah!
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I do not usually post various articles unless they are from the Corps site but this one is obviously of high interest to not only 2/2 but Golf folks as well. This is the complete Stars & Stripes article. - JHD
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=33471
Marines trying to establish viable police force in Karmah
Police officers were killed by insurgents in previous effort
By Andrew Tilghman, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, December 5, 2005
KARMAH, Iraq — Even the police are scared in this mostly Sunni city just a few miles east of Fallujah.
“I don’t want the police to go into the market to buy food, it might be dangerous,” said the soon-to-be police chief here, Col. Njaem Abddal Anfos, said during a recent meeting with U.S. Marines.
“You’re police!” an apparently stunned Lt. Col. Jim Minick told the Iraqi officer. “If you can’t go buy food, then who can?”
The exchange came at a meeting last week as U.S. troops try to install a new police department in this city of roughly 50,000 before next week’s national elections.
Like several other cities just outside Fallujah, this dusty and densely populated city has become a staging ground for insurgents operating just outside the ring of security checkpoints that restrict access to the volatile urban center.
Before the new batch of police move in, the Marines are trying to lay out their expectations for the new security force, which will be an extension of the existing Fallujah District Police Department.
“There is one thing you need to understand,” Lt. Col. Bill Mullen, the operations officer for the Fallujah-based Regimental Combat Team 8 -RCT 8, told the designated Karmah police chief and several other Fallujah police leaders.
“The police will not be sitting inside the police station afraid to go outside. It’s very important the police push out into the neighborhood,” Mullen said.
“From the day you set foot out there, you are going to be in charge of that town. If you get attacked, you need to show them that that kind of behavior is not acceptable.”
For several months, the Marines have patrolled the city of Karmah every day with few problems.
The marketplace bustles with commerce. On one recent afternoon, hundreds of residents milled about as a falafel stand sold snack foods, fish salesmen cleaned fresh cod at a sidewalk stall, and old men stared out shop windows, sipping dark, syrupy tea from tiny oriental glasses.
Nevertheless, a previous effort to set up a police force this fall ended in failure, and the police bracing to move in here may have good reason for fear.
Shortly after the constitutional elections in October, the Iraqi police first tried to set up a permanent security force after U.S. forces paid $315,000 to renovate a police station.
But within days, a throng of masked insurgents accosted four officers patrolling through the bustling market place. In a public show of force, the insurgents demanded the police surrender their American-bought flak vests and Kevlar helmets, then shot the men, leaving their bodies lying in the midday sun.
About two weeks later, insurgents mounted a full-scale assault on the police station with a barrage of bullets and rocket-propelled grenades, sending the dozens of police fleeing and ending any semblance of police presence in the city.
Since early November, Marines have occupied the station to prevent insurgents from taking over or destroying the structure.
Now, Marines from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment here are waiting for a new crop of police to show up and try again in preparation for next week’s nationwide elections to select local and national officials.
The initial effort to set up a police department was “a token effort” with just a few dozen officers, said Maj. Kevin Clark, the Iraqi security forces coordinator for RCT 8.
Problems were compounded by the fact the police were not getting paid due to financial problems at the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, Clark said.
And many of the police were hired from Fallujah and other cities rather than from Karmah itself.
“To a certain extent, we had to adjust our plan and start recurring some people from the area,” Clark said.
The Marines want to support the new police force, but that effort is complicated by local politics that prohibits them from openly training and working with the police.
“If they see us out with the coalition forces, they will follow our families and children and they will kill our families and children,” Col. Njaem Abddal Anfos told the Marines.
“I am honored to work with you. But I am just telling you the nature of our society. Please don’t take offense to it.”
Minick nodded and said, “No offense taken.”
Local police are a critical piece of the plan for long-term stability in Iraq, said Capt. Joel Schmidt, the company commander who oversees the city of Karmah.
“It’s huge,” he said. “In the long run, who takes care of civil affairs? The police. If you are trying to have a democracy, the army focuses on the external problems and the police handle internal ones.”
“We say this is a counterinsurgency, but in many ways this is really just about countering crime,” Schmidt said.
Photo - Andrew Tilghman / S&S
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Jim Minick meets with Fallujah police officials to discuss setting up a new police department in the suburban city of Karmah.
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