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VOLUME 75, EDITION 13
The
GL BE SERVING CAMP LEJEUNE AND SURROUNDING AREAS SINCE 1944
Burial at Sea
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit underway, engaged abroad | 6A
26th MEU pays honor to comrades | 3A THURSDAY MARCH 28, 2013
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Simulated combat scenario hones warriors’ skills CPL. PHILLIP CLARK 2nd Marine Division
Photo by Cpl. Michael S. Lockett
Marines assigned to the Black Sea Rotational Force inspect an AT-4 rocket before firing at live-fire range during exercise Agile Spirit at Vaziani Air Base, Republic of Georgia, March 19.
VAZIANI AIR BASE, REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
MEU Marines train, fight alongside Republic of Georgia soldiers CPL. MICHAEL LOCKETT
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
M
arines and sailors assigned to the Black Sea Rotational Force 13 participated in a live-fire range with soldiers of the Georgian army during exercise Agile Spirit 13 at Vaziani Air Base in the Republic of Georgia, March 19. Marines from Black Sea Rotational Force 13 taught Georgian soldiers the characteristics of Marine Corps infantry weapons systems before giving them a chance to fire them. The Georgian soldiers practiced with service rifles, light and heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, and rockets “Very rarely do we have the opportunity to use a range this big,” said 2nd Lt. Philip Hanf platoon commander with Easy Company, Black Sea Rotational Force 13. “In the coming days,
we’ll learn how they operate on the squad and platoon scale.” The service members engaged targets as far as two kilometers on the range, becoming accustomed to firing the weapons in basic courses of fire. This acclimatization will help serve both services in the future in joint operations, as their knowledge of each other’s weapons systems and tactics allows them greater flexibility and comfort. “We’re doing this range as part of Agile Spirit, with the bilateral training. We get some hands on with their weapons and they get some hands on with ours,” said Capt. Thaddeus Haltom, commander of Easy Company. We learn how they do things, and we get to build camaraderie while we do it, said Haltom. “The training events here, and using the live ammunition, are really beneficial for the Marines and the Georgians,” said Sgt. Douglas.
Photo by Cpl. Michael S. Lockett
Lance Cpl. Denetro Clifton currently assigned to Black Sea Rotational Force 13, holds a 60mm mortar round preparatory to firing during exercise Agile Spirit 13 at Vaziani Air Base, Republic of Georgia, March 18.
Fallen brothers from first battle remembered CPL. JEFF DREW
2nd Marine Division
As the country reflects on the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the ground war in Iraq, one battle stands alone. It’s the battle that drew first blood against the untested Marines and sailors of 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines. It’s the battle where 18 Marines gave everything for their country and for the Corps. It set the stage for a war not only against uniformed soldiers, but against militant insurgents concealed within an innocent populace – the battle for An Nasiriyah. Capt. Matthew Martin, then the Company A executive officer of 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, speaks with a solemn tone, painting a lucid image of controlled chaos, and Marines, many fighting for the first time side-by-side, 10 years ago. “That was the first time I had been in combat,” said Martin. “My initial reaction, well, have you ever heard of flight or fight? It was fight. When we were fighting, there were no other thoughts but to protect the Marine to our
left and our right, keep it tight and repel the enemy, and that’s exactly what we did.” The days prior to the battle on March 23, 2003, the Marines of 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, assembled anxiously at the border, waiting for the President to give the word to go. “When we were in Kuwait,
staged south of the line of departure you could see a lot of Marines were thinking about what lay ahead of them,” said Lt. Col. David Sosa, the current battalion commander. “Once we crossed the line it was a very busy time for the Marines and sailors and I think they were very focused on the job at hand,” he said as he
Photo by Cpl. Jeff Drew
Flowers lay at the base of a memorial in a tribute to the Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment who gave their lives in the battle for An Nasiriyah.
reminisced of his time as the battalion’s operations officer. Their two-day journey from the border left little time for sleep, yet the beleaguered battalion moved quickly toward their objective on orders to secure and protect the bridges surrounding the city. Marines are always able to adjust fire and adapt to developing situations, but in war, rarely does anything go as planned. “They say ‘don’t fall in love with your plan,’ and we definitely didn’t,” said Martin, then a 1st lieutenant. “That’s when the plan started changing.” Reports started rolling in that an Army unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, to include Pfc. Jessica Lynch, had taken a wrong turn in the city and been ambushed. Several soldiers had been killed and captured and were under heavy fire. Alpha Company and other lead elements of the battalion rushed toward the units’ smoldering vehicles in an effort to rescue the remaining soldiers. Once the soldiers were recovered, the battalion continued toward their objective. SEE FALLEN 11A
Marines and sailors with 2nd Marine Division, conducted a command post training exercise March 18-20, aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The command post training exercise is follow-on to Bold Alligator, where Marines simulated commanding division units in a combat scenario involving the restoration of sovereignty of an occupied fictional nation. “The commanding general has two priorities, the first (is where to supply) forces in a foreign country. The number two priority is the command and control of the division,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. Andrew Hampton, the operations chief for 2nd Marine Division. “This scenario was built in order to exercise the commanding general’s command and control functions, and as a part of this exercise we have response cells that simulate all the division units.” The command post training exercise headquarters was where all command staff and subordinate commands were located, and when they were given a scenario they had to react accordingly to complete the mission. “Our goal is to be prepared, so if we get the call to go forward to an expeditionary environment we can pick up and move. Everything we are using here is what we would be using deployed and can be run off of generators. We are mobile and still capable of completing a task,” said Hampton. “We would pack all this up in a (shipping container), deploy and as quickly and proficiently as possible set everything up so we can start completing the missions from the commanding general.” Even though this was primarily a chance for the command staff to practice what it would be like to deploy, the junior Marines used it as a learning experience as well. Division Marines of all job fields trained for months getting familiar with common weapon systems. “Our job out here is to be the SEE TRAINING 11A
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