Marines Sound Off About The Iraq War Options

[Marine]

War-weathered
Marines return home
By Audrey McAvoy
Associated Press

http://starbulletin.com/2005/05/27/news/story7.html

Twenty-six Marines from one of the Marine Corps' most heavily deployed battalions returned from Iraq yesterday, just as some 150 of their colleagues prepared to ship out next week.

"It's great," said Gunnery Sgt. Miguel Rodriguez as he took a break from issuing orders to a crew unloading gear from a truck at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe. "My family's here -- it's great to be back home."

It was Rodriguez's second deployment to Iraq with the 3rd Radio Battalion, meaning he has only had just a few months to spend with his 3-year-old son.

Of the 400 troops in the battalion, 100 are deployed, while an additional 150 will leave for Iraq on Wednesday, said Lt. Joseph O'Connor, the operations officer for those in the battalion who have stayed in Hawaii.

Another group is due to leave in December to support another Marine Expeditionary Unit in Iraq.

"We're deployed all the time," O'Connor said. "It's because they have a skill set which is so critical to the Marine Corps."

The 26 who returned yesterday provided secure lines for commanders in Iraq to talk so nobody else could listen in. They would also disrupt enemy communications.

"Sixteen-hour-plus days, sleep when you can, eat when you can," said Rodriguez of his days on the ground in southern Baghdad. "And just helping out."

The battalion served in Iraq from October through last month after leaving Hawaii in June.

A low-key celebration greeted the troops when they pulled up at the base at Kaneohe Bay in a white military bus. A brass band played in the background while a small group of women whose husbands serve in the same battalion held up a white sign that said "Welcome Home."

"It's just a blessing to see these guys come home safe," said Julie Coate, 47, from Hobson, Mont. "My husband's here, and he's not leaving until next week but it's interesting to watch these reunions because you get almost just as choked up almost as when your own husband is coming back."

Kaneohe Marines have suffered a large share of the casualties in the war in Iraq.

A total of 43 Marines from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, also based in Kaneohe, have been killed in the war. Twenty-six of them died in January when their helicopter went down in western Iraq.

[Marine]

Civil Affairs provides medical aid escorts Iraqis to medical facility
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200552774034
Story by Lance Cpl. Athanasios L. Genos



CAMP DELTA, Iraq (May 27, 2005) -- The siren went off at the medical facility down the road and the Marines from 5th Civil Affairs Group, working with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment quickly put their gear on and headed out into the night knowing one of the citizens needed aid.

Marines in a Civil-Military Operations Center provided convoy security for the local ambulance drivers who made stops at Iraqi homes for patients in need of urgent medical care.

“We took the ambulances to the people who needed help and I was one of the Marines who provided security during the escorts,” said Lance Cpl. John E. Fleming, a motor transportation operator and Salisbury, Md., native working with the CAG.

The ambulance security was part of Operation Clear Decision, an operation consisting of cordon and knock missions to root out weapons caches and insurgents throughout the city. The ambulance security allowed local citizens – who were concerned with traveling to medical facilities during the operation – to be transported to hospitals and medical facilities in an expedient manner.

The siren signaling the first medical run was also a herald for the future. Medical cases requiring escort through the city by the CAG Marines increased as the operation continued.

As word of the ambulance escort spread, more people came to the medical facility in need of medical attention. Some needed to be moved to a hospital and were seen by the local doctor.

“I am one of the Marines who drives and provides security when we are out in the cities doing our jobs,” said the 2003 Parkside High School graduate. “Being a reservist, I volunteered to go with CAG when they deployed here.”

Fleming and the rest of the Marines in the group pushed forward as the escorts continued in to the morning hours. Many of the houses that had patients were spread throughout the city and it took much of the morning to get the patients escorted to where they needed to go.

After completing the escorts, the Marines returned to the CMOC where they formed a group that handed out soccer balls to children. The Marines then walked the streets to speak with adults about other services the CMOC provided during Operation Clear Decision.

Maj. Mark Fuller, Team 2 commander, Detachment 2, 5th CAG and his Marines walked through the somewhat empty streets stopping to spread the word about the medical aid, claims assistance, and food service available at the CMOC

When Fuller and his Marines came across children along their patrol route, they would give them toys and soccer balls.

“Giving out soccer balls and toys to the children is a fun thing to do,” Fleming said. “I enjoy getting out and doing things like that. I love being in the Marine Corps and getting to be here doing our job.”

[Marine]

I hope all are having a nice holiday and don't forget what the holiday was established for.

[Marine]

Memorial Day remembered in Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005530141030
Story by Cpl. C. Alex Herron



AL ASAD, Iraq (May 30, 2005) -- Along with all the normal cookouts and outdoor activities associated with Memorial Day, service members here took part in a ceremony to commemorate the real reason for this day of remembrance: to honor all service members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The service was highlighted by scripture readings, guest speakers and patriotic classics.

“Having a day set aside to remember our fallen comrades means a lot,” said Sgt. James Elrod, administration noncommissioned officer in charge with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2. “Having a service here with our fellow service members is a great experience. I think we all have more of an understanding of what this holiday means than the average guy on the street back home. A lot of us have lost brothers, friends and mentors because of war and a time to sit and reflect on their sacrifice is a good reminder of what is important.”

After the scripture readings, a herald from each military service spoke their thoughts of Memorial Day.

“We are here to remember the warriors who gave their lives for freedom,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Andrew McDonald, one of the four guest speakers. “They all died trying to make the world a better place, not just for us, but for the freedom of people all over the globe.”

“Many soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for what was right,” said Army Maj. Terry Jones, the adjudant with the 561st Command Service Group. “Each loss was felt by a family, a community and a nation. Losing a fellow soldier is the hardest thing to overcome, but it is important to remember they died for a great cause-- freedom.”

The end of the ceremony was marked by a medley of patriotic medley of music. Together the musicians sang and played songs that gave all attendees a moment to reflect on the soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines who died before them in the name of freedom.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed for the first time in 1868 by Gen. John Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. That year flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial Day was officially recognized as a holiday in New York in 1873. After World War I, the southern states also joined in the holiday after it was changed from honoring those who died fighting in the Civil War, to those who died in any war, according to Lt. Margaret Siemer, the Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 chaplain.


*For more information about this story please e-mail Cpl. Herron herronca@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil*

[Marine]

First sergeant remembered on Memorial Day in Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story by: Computed Name: Cpl. C. Alex Herron
Story Identification #: 200553171820




AL ASAD, Iraq(May 31, 2005) -- Memorial Day took on special meaning for Marines of 6th Engineer Support Battalion May 30. A memorial service was held here in honor of First Sgt. Michael S. Barnhill who was killed in the line of duty when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in the Al Anbar province late May. Marines and sailors in the unit reflected on the man they respected as a great Marine.

“Barnhill hated leaving the wire,” said Maj. Sean J. Riddell, the Alpha Company commander with 6th ESB. “But the only thing he hated worse was knowing his Marines were out there, and there was nothing he could do if something happened.”

World War II veterans define courage as being afraid, but going anyway, said Riddell.

“By that definition, Barnhill was a very courageous man,” Riddell said. “He hated leaving the wire, but he did it for the Marines. He was old enough to know he wouldn’t live forever, but young enough to know he wanted to do a lot more with his life.”

After the opening remarks, four of Barnhill’s younger Marines gave eulogies in honor of their fallen mentor.

“He helped out his junior Marines even when he didn’t have to,” said Sgt. Justin Babbit. “He was buoyant and loud. His personality was one of the defining personalities of our company. I had never met a bigger, tougher man who showed his love for his junior Marines.”

Barnhill was a Marine who expected all of his Marines to always look out for each other – the example he set each day.

“My first meeting with [First Sgt. Barnhill] was at a company formation before the unit was to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003,” said Cpl. James Peterson. “When he stood in front of me to ask me why my dog tag had not been placed in my left boot like he had instructed I responded that I was new and had not heard the order. Then he proceeded to explain why that was no excuse. His [Peterson’s] noncommissioned officers should have passed the word. That is what he expected of them, to look after their junior Marines just like he did.”

His door was always open for advice, help or if you just needed someone to talk to, according to Lance Cpl. Jared Tjaden.

“He always found a way to make you laugh,” Tjaden said. “He always made sure his Marines were taken care of.”

Barnhill, who was scheduled to retire in December, leaves behind a wife, Joanna, and three children, Michael, Michelle and Ashlee, and a unit that will carry on and continue their mission in his honor until they return to California to properly grieve the loss of their leader, mentor and friend.


*For more information about this story please e-mail Cpl. Herron at herronca@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil*

[Marine]

True meaning of holiday witnessed in Iraq
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
Story by: Computed Name: Staff Sgt. Ronna M. Weyland
Story Identification #: 200553133027




CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(May 30, 2005) -- It has been thirty-four years since Congress declared, in 1971, the last Monday in May would become a national holiday to honor service members who gave their lives to protect America’s freedom and the freedom of others around the world.

“On Memorial Day and all year long, we pray for the families of the fallen and show our respect for the contributions these men and women have made to the story of freedom,” said President George W. Bush in the Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day 2005 proclamation. “Our grateful nation honors their selfless service, and we acknowledge a debt that is beyond our power to repay.”

In a combat zone, the usual celebrated day-off of work is not present, nor is the presence of barbecues and picnics, but the sentiment and meaning behind the day is very real.
“Something about being in a combat zone magnifies your understanding and respect for those who have died,” said Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Phillip E. Lee, 8th Communication Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD). “You know now first hand the price that was paid… the ultimate sacrifice made by many who did not know us but chose to fight so that we might live in “the land of the free.”

This year in Iraq, many tears were shed, moments of silence were taken and names were read from the “memorial roll call” of service members killed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During the roll call here 52 names were read, while the bag pipes played in the distance and a bell tolled after each name, while two Marines held the freshly unfurled National Ensign at a service held Sunday morning. The names represented the service members who have died since II MEF (FWD) took over operations March 27.

“Today, the flag still waves over the land of the free and the home of the brave because of what you are doing and now it also represents a new kind of freedom to the people of this country,” said Lee at the end of the Memorial Day service Sunday.

A memorial relay run also took place throughout the day Monday.

“I have friends that died here in Iraq during the beginning of the war two years ago,” said Lance Cpl. Nestor B. Serrano, 21, a Los Angeles native with Data Platoon, Bravo Company, 8th Comm. Bn. “I am running to honor them.”

Service members ran in pairs, carrying the same American Flag unfurled the day prior, for 15 minute intervals from sunup to sundown as part of a relay to honor fallen comrades.

Even those who didn’t know anyone personally still ran.

“This [run] is in honor of all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice of their life,” said Staff Sgt. Thomas H. Schisler, 37, native of Ocala, Fla., Data Plt., Bravo Company, 8th Comm. Bn.

The flag was carried by approximately 185 runners who covered 100.5 kilometers (or 62.5 miles) between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Please feel free to publish this story or any of the accompanying photos. If used, please give credit to the writer/photographer, and contact us at: cepaowo@cemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil so we can update our records.

[Marine]

Cobras strike in support of border fight
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005530142150
Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (May 30, 2005) -- The quiet air of the camp is broken as the whoop-whoop of two AH-1W Super Cobras taking to the sky fills the area.

The Coyotes of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775 are off, again, to support the Marines on the ground.

Since their arrival here at the end of March, the small detachment of Coyotes has been providing close air support with their Super Cobra attack helicopters.

“We are here to support Marines along the Syrian and Jordanian borders,” said 1st Sgt. George J. Blackham IV, detachment first sergeant and native of Gibsonia, Pa. “We are their primary means of close air support for convoys, raids, casualty evacuation, and other ground operations.”

With infantrymen from the 2nd Marine Division manning remote outposts and conducting ground operations against foreign fighters along the borders, close air support remains vital to their success.

“We serve as a deterrent force,” said Maj. Michael H. Ward, AH-1W Super Cobra pilot and native of Columbus, Ohio. “In the event we are needed, we have the fire-power to serve as an offensive force for those Marines on the ground.”

With only a fraction of the Marines of the squadrons’ main body, which is currently serving in Al Taqaddum, the Korean Village Coyotes are working each day to ensure the Cobra’s strike.

“Our birds are dedicated around the clock to support the ground mission,” said Lance Cpl. Nathan G. Minarchick, flightline mechanic and native of West Decatur, Pa. “We need to have all the aircraft up so that when we get the call, we are ready to go.”

Based out of Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Johnstown, Pa., the Coyotes have been activated since January 2004. In March 2004, the Coyotes deployed for the first time to Al Taqaddum and Camp Korean Village for six months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Marines of HML/A-775 represent each military duty status: active duty, reserves and active reserves.

“Since our activation, things have come together nicely,” said Lt. Col. Michael B. McNeil, detachment officer-in-charge and native of Shelton, Conn. “It’s like a seamless blend, and regardless of their duty status, they are coming together to accomplish the mission.”

Because of their small size, the Korean Village Coyotes are gaining experience in all the aspects of aviation maintenance. Minarchick said cross-training the Marines helps out in other areas and expedites the maintenance process.

“Everybody learns from each other, so that we can help each other out to accomplish the mission,” said Lance Cpl. Frank L. Luhn, avionics technician and native of Columbus, Ga. “We depend on each other and work together, even if it’s not in our specialty.”

As the Coyotes reach their halfway point in the deployment, they remain focused on providing the best air to ground support for the Marines stopping the flow of anti-Iraqi forces into the country.

“When we see these infantry Marines around the camp, they come up and thank us,” Blackham said. “They tell us, ‘when we call for air cover, you guys are there.’ That means a lot to us, knowing that we are making a difference.”

*For more information about the Marines or news reported on in this story, please contact Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis by e-mail at defilippisrc@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil*

[Marine]

Somerton native sets standard for Marines in Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005630234
Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis



CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (June 3, 2005) -- At age 12 Miguel A. Arballo saw something on television that would become a life goal for him.

The image of a Marine in a dress blue uniform stood out in his mind as he told himself, “That’s what I want to do.”

Arballo was born in San Luis, Mexico. In 1989, his family came to the United States, and in 1996, he became a citizen.

“In the recruiter’s office, seeing all those videos on what Marines do, the opportunity for travel and adventure motivated me to become a Marine,” the 2000 Cibola High School graduate said. “They told me about all the training I would receive and the opportunities to see the world, and I saw that as a way to point my life in the right direction.”

On July 25, 2000, at the ripe young age of 17, the Somerton, Ariz., native took his first step to making his dream a reality when he stepped on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.

Arballo completed basic training three months later and after Marine Combat Training, he attended the Motor Transportation Operator’s School at Fort Leonardwood, Mo.

In Missouri, he learned the basics of operating the Marine Corps’ array of vehicles, including the humvee and larger, heavier trucks.

When the duty station assignments for the Marines of his graduating class came out, Arballo said he was shocked and excited about his new orders. In January 2001, he was stationed in Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. with the Marines of ‘America’s Battalion,’ 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

“That’s where my opportunity to travel started,” he said. “I knew I was going to travel, but two months later we were on our first deployment. I thought to myself, ‘wow’ the travel thing is true, because as soon I got there, we were constantly on the move.”

During his three year tour with 3/3, Arballo traveled to Hawaii Australia, Okinawa, Japan, Korea, main-land Japan, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong on training evolutions and unit deployments.

“I got what I wanted,” he said. “I have been to almost every country in South East Asia.”

During his first year with the Marines of 3/3, something happened to our nation that Arballo would never forget. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 would change his perspective on his military service.

“Because of the time difference, we were all asleep when the attacks occurred, we found out later,” he recalled. “That’s when I realized, this isn’t just about travel, all that training we have been doing is for something far more important.”

After that dark day, the battalion set its focus on continued training. The Marines had new motivation, and Arballo said the Marines took their jobs a lot more seriously.

“Although I never deployed with 3/3 to support the Global War on Terrorism, the training I received there would help me out a lot when I eventually did,” he said.

Arballo would indeed deploy to support the fight against terrorism. After his tour with ‘America’s Battalion,’ he received orders to Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz., to serve with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371.

“They told me that MWSS-371 was a non-deployable unit,” he said. “Seven days later, we were packing for Kuwait.”

Arballo and a small detachment of Marines from MWSS-371 left for Kuwait in February, 2004, to provide heavy equipment and logistical support to unload a flood of gear and vehicles arriving into the country to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“Once we settled in, we split up the detachment into two shifts,” he recalled. “For six weeks straight we unloaded cargo from ships. I have never seen so many vehicles and gear in one place. As soon as we finished unloading one ship, there was one to take its place.”

Once he returned from Kuwait, Arballo didn’t find much time to rest. When his detachment returned in April 2004, they began training for a new mission and another deployment to support the stability and security of the people of Iraq.

“When we got back we got right into training,” he said. “Being in motor-T, we focused mainly on convoy operations.”

Arballo was placed on the squadron’s advanced party, and arrived in Iraq on January 31. Spending a few short days at the squadron’s headquarters in Al Taqaddum, Arballo, and a small detachment, came to support airfield and base camp operations here.

“Besides accomplishing our primary mission here, we support the ground forces here and in the surrounding area,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to support our fellow Marines directly. We trained to do a mission and we are doing it well.”

Since his arrival here, Arballo has been the detachment’s operations chief and platoon sergeant, responsible for the tasking and tracking of missions and the morale and welfare of his Marines.

“I have had a great opportunity to pass on all the things I have learned and been taught as a young Marine to my Marines,” he said. “It’s been a great lesson in leadership. I was blessed with great leaders as a young Marine, and now it’s my turn to lead Marines.”

Recently, he has been serving with the detachment’s explosive ordnance disposal team, providing security for the technicians as they combat improvised explosive devices in the surrounding area.

“They needed a solid leader, because the mission is so important,” he said. “Our EOD team is out there a lot. By providing security for them while they work, it allows them to focus on their mission instead of their security.”

Due to return to his fiancé and daughter in August, Arballo is preparing for his wedding next spring and looking forward to finishing up college and earning a degree in criminal justice.

“The Marine Corps has given me many great opportunities,” he said. “I have been able to see the world, develop leadership skills and serve my country during a time of need.”

*For more information about the Marines or news reported on in this story, please contact Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis by e-mail at defilippisrc@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil*

[Marine]

In this undated photo released by the US Marines on Monday, June 6, 2005, a marine removes a shell after a large weapon cache containing various weapons, bombs and IED-making materials were discovered by Marines from 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, Company B, 1st Platoon, and soldiers from Engineer Battalion, Company C, 224, near Karmah in Iraq's al-Anbar province. (AP Photo/USMC, Sgt. Paul Mancuso )

[Marine]

Forces find vast network of underground bunkers


The Washington Post


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 05. 2005 8:00AM


BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces searching Iraq's western province of Anbar yesterday uncovered a network of bunkers hidden in a vast underground quarry and equipped with air conditioning, food and a wide assortment of weapons, a Marine spokesman said.

The quarry, near the town of Karmah, was as long as three football fields and had been separated into rooms that apparently had housed insurgents, the spokesman, Capt. Jeffrey Pool, said in a statement. "Within the various rooms making up the facility, Iraqi security and coalition forces discovered four fully furnished living spaces, a kitchen with fresh food, two shower facilities and a working air conditioner," Pool said.

The weapons stored in the facility included mortars, artillery shells and rockets, according to Pool, who added that night-vision goggles and cell phones also were found.

Over the course of three days, Pool said, combined American and Iraqi forces assigned to the 2nd Marine Division discovered about 50 caches of arms and ammunition in Anbar.

The restive province has long been a stronghold of the Iraqi insurgency and a conduit for bringing foreign guerrillas into the heart of the country. One month ago, the Marines mounted a seven day-assault in far western Anbar aimed at wiping out foreign insurgents there and their means of support.

In neighboring Ninevah province, local authorities, tribal leaders, police and U.S. military officials negotiated an agreement designed to halt fighting in the town of Tall Afar.

[The_Bammo]

Used Once And Thrown Away


"U.S. casualties from Iraq war hidden away at Walter Reed."
By Nicole Colson
Socialist Worker, June 3, 2005

SINCE GEORGE W. Bush launched his “war on terror,” more than 25,000 U.S. troops have been medically evacuated from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan--about half of them injured by bombs or bullets.

Many of the most seriously wounded will eventually find themselves at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Walter Reed is considered the nation’s premier military medical facility. But some patients tell a different story--of a vastly overcrowded facility, where they don’t receive adequate treatment.

Many of the wounded are returning home from Bush’s war for oil and empire to discover that their personal battles are far from over. NICOLE COLSON reports on the crisis at Walter Reed.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE FLIGHTS almost always land at night--and the wounded are brought off planes in the dark. Kept away from the news cameras, the nightly parade of the injured who arrive at Maryland’s Andrews Air Force base from U.S. Army medical facilities in Germany are driven--sometimes in vans or school buses converted into ambulances--to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the nation’s top military hospitals.

These soldiers have gone from the front lines to the back door--brought back to the U.S. under the cover of darkness to keep them hidden from the media and the public.

According to the Pentagon, the soldiers arrive at night because “operational restrictions” at a runway near the military’s main hospital in Germany, where the wounded from Iraq are brought first, affect the timing of flights.

But Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Operation Truth, an advocacy group for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, told Salon reporter Mark Benjamin that there is a different reason. “They do it so nobody sees [the wounded],” Rieckhoff said. “In their mindset, this is going to demoralize the American people. The overall cost of this war has been...continuously hidden throughout. As the costs get higher, their efforts to conceal those costs also increase.”

For the nearly 4,000 U.S. troops wounded in Iraq who have been brought through the doors of Walter Reed as of March, the personal cost of the war is staggering. Despite the Bush administration’s repeated claims of reaching a “turning point” in the occupation of Iraq, the 250 beds at Walter Reed have been filled to capacity since the invasion--and before that, since the early days of the war on Afghanistan in 2001.

In late 2003, press accounts reported that medical staff at Walter Reed staff were working 70- to 80-hour weeks to handle the influx of patients. Overcrowding was so bad, in fact, that a number of the less seriously wounded were sent to stay in hotels near the hospital--transported during the day to Walter Reed for outpatient treatment. The situation is no better today--though it is more hidden than ever because of the media blackout that the Pentagon has tried to throw over Walter Reed.

Among the patients, the number of seriously injured--suffering from burns, amputations, brain damage, infection and combat stress--show anything but a “turning point” in Iraq.

Ironically, the main reasons for the overflow of seriously injured are improvements in body armor and the use of better medical technology on the battlefield. Because of this, many soldiers today are surviving with more severe injuries than in previous wars.

According to Pentagon statistics, approximately 6 percent of the more than 12,000 troops wounded by bombs or bullets in Iraq or Afghanistan have required amputation--three times the rate in Vietnam. About 20 percent have head or neck injuries, and many more have suffered breathing and eating impairments, blindness or severe disfiguration. Dr. Roy Aaron of Brown Medical School in Rhode Island told the Boston Globe in December that the Veterans Affairs system “literally cannot handle the load” of amputees.

A recent USA Today report found that between January 2003 and January 2005, more than 400 cases of traumatic brain injury--usually the result of a bomb or rocket attack--were diagnosed among wounded soldiers at Walter Reed alone. Slightly more than half of those were left with some form of permanent brain damage.

http://www.vaiw.org/vet/modules.php?op=mod...order=0&thold=0

[The_Bammo]

IN NOVEMBER 2003, when the Bush administration was still claiming that U.S. soldiers were being greeted as “liberators” in Iraq, Ellen Barfield managed to visit Walter Reed. A member of the national board of directors of Veterans for Peace, Barfield and three others members of the group went to the hospital to visit wounded troops, bringing them gifts and offering to talk.

She described meeting two Iraq war vets, one with a badly shattered leg and the other with a wound caused by being shot through both hips--bad enough, Barfield told Socialist Worker, that both were certain to be “fairly messed up for the rest of their lives.”

As she and the others were leaving the hospital, they saw a soldier walking the halls of Walter Reed who was missing both hands. “Different people are affected by different wounds differently, but I think that would be a really hard thing to experience,” she said. “Those are the things that kind of hit me the hardest.”

Barfield said this was the last visit to Walter Reed that Veterans for Peace was allowed to make. “We tried again, and they didn’t even ever respond to our request,” she said. “They figured out who we were, and we were on the no-go list. And it wasn’t just us. They got really touchy about everyone.”

Patrick McCann, an activist with Vietnam Veterans Against the War, says that he remembers meeting one soldier during a Veterans Day vigil outside Walter Reed in 2003. “Number one, he had both of his legs blown off mid-thigh by a rocket-propelled grenade,” McCann said. “Not mid-calf, but mid-thigh--above the knee...The guy was in complete shock, to the point that he was denying the injury, as if it was a hangnail or something.”

McCann said he wonders about that soldier today. “This guy was still very jingoistic,” McCann said. “He talked about some little Iraqi kid flipping the bird at him, and he shot at the kid. I said, ‘Well, I hope you didn’t hit him.’ And he said, ‘Well, I tried to.’ I wonder where that guy is, 18 months later, because I bet the reality has sunk in now.”


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FOR J.D. (a pseudonym), the reality of Walter Reed has sunk in--only too well.

A patient at the facility last year, J.D. joined the Army in 2002--after being assured that there were no plans for deployment overseas. “But once I get there, and we’re in basic training, that’s when we find out about they’re going to send people to Iraq,” J.D. told Socialist Worker. “I thought, ‘Okay, what have I put myself into?’ But it was too late already.”

After serving in Iraq for 11 months, J.D. was taken to a hospital in Iraq after suffering mysterious symptoms. J.D. was sent back to the U.S. to Walter Reed, where doctors diagnosed cancer. Since then, J.D. has undergone surgery at Walter Reed--although doctors have not been forthcoming about the exact procedures.

J.D. says that there is no history of cancer among family members and is convinced the illness was caused by exposure to depleted uranium--possibly during a night when the camp in Iraq came under fire for two hours. The next day, the platoon sergeant said the attack was friendly fire.

“He explained to us that the unit in charge of the camp was testing some new equipment, and they were testing it on the Iraqi side,” J.D. says. “Our camp is divided from the Iraqi side only with a fence...They test everything on the Iraqi side. They don’t care who they kill, what kind of damage they do, because they’re Iraqis. So they don’t care.”

For months, J.D. asked doctors to perform a test to measure for depleted uranium--but they haven’t responded. “The other day,” J.D. said, “I had an argument with one of my doctors because he said, ‘Oh, that’s nothing, uranium doesn’t really cause cancer like you think.’”

J.D. says that “there are a couple more soldiers in this hospital who are young people who have no history of cancer, and they have leukemia or lymphoma or other types of cancer. And the only one thing we all have in common is that we all were in Iraq. There is another person who is trying to get that test done, and they keep on--not refusing, but they avoid the subject.”


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OTHER PATIENTS at Walter Reed have reported similar treatment. Often, they say, the situation is even worse when dealing with injuries that can’t be seen--the post-traumatic stress and other psychological problems resulting from witnessing and participating in the horrors of war.

Reporter Mark Benjamin interviewed 14 soldiers receiving psychiatric treatment at Walter Reed over the course of a year. His conclusion: “[T]he Army’s top hospital is failing to properly care for many soldiers traumatized by the Iraq war.”

According to Benjamin, therapy is mostly administered by “a rotating cast of medical students and residents, not full-fledged doctors or veterans,” with a heavy reliance on medication. Even more troubling, however, is that the Army seems bent on denying that the stress of war caused the soldiers' mental trauma.

“When you get [to Walter Reed], they analyze you, break you down and try to find anything wrong with you before you got in [the Army],” Spc. Josh Sanders told Benjamin. “They started asking me questions about my mom and my dad getting divorced. That was the last thing on my mind when I’m thinking about people getting fragged and burned bodies being pulled out of vehicles. They asked me if I missed my wife. Well "expletive deleted", yeah, I missed my wife. That is not the ***** problem here. Did you ever put your foot through a 5-year-old’s skull?”

Then there’s the case of Spc. Alexis Soto-Ramirez, who served with a unit of the Puerto Rico National Guard. Suffering from chronic back pain that became excruciating during the war, Soto-Ramirez was diagnosed with “psychiatric symptoms” that were “combat-related.”

He was sent to Walter Reed’s “Ward 54”--the in-patient psychiatric unit--where he was supposed to get the best care the military had to offer. Instead, less than a month later, he was dead--having hanged himself with the sash from his bathrobe.

René Negron told Benjamin that he visited Soto-Ramirez at Walter Reed shortly before his death and that “he was real upset with the treatment he was getting. He said: ‘These people are giving me the runaround...I’m getting more crazy being up here.’”

Soto-Ramirez’s medical records illustrate the military’s “bottom-line” thinking. “Adequate care and treatment may prevent a claim against the government for PTSD,” wrote a psychologist in Puerto Rico before sending him to Walter Reed.

“The Army doesn’t want to get into the mental-health game in a real way to really help people,” said Col. Travis Beeson, who was flown to Walter Reed for psychiatric help during his second tour with one of the Army’s special operations units in Iraq. They want to Band-Aid it. They want you out of there as fast as possible, and they don’t want to pay for it.”

As of March, of the 244,054 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan discharged from service, more than 12,000 had been in VA counseling centers for readjustment problems and symptoms associated with PTSD. According to a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “will produce a new generation of veterans at risk for the chronic mental health problems that result, in part, from exposure to the stress, adversity and trauma of war-zone experiences.”

But if the experience of soldiers at Walter Reed is any indication, the U.S. government will turn its back on this newest generation of battle-scarred veterans--just as it did with soldiers returning from Vietnam.

Patrick McCann says this disregard for the health and welfare of veterans is part of a familiar cycle. “They say that one in four Iraqi war vets--I’m not talking about Gulf War vets, I’m talking about this one--one in four Iraqi war vets who have returned have already been in for medical treatment,” he said.

“VVAW used to have this slogan: Used once and thrown away. You’re beginning to see that now, and it’s going to balloon in geometric progression.”

Josh Brand and Laura Lising contributed to this report.

Adding insult to injury

SPC. ROBERT Loria lost his arm when a roadside bomb blew up his Humvee in Baquba in February 2004. After hospital stays and therapy at Walter Reed, Loria was getting ready to return home to his family in early December.

But instead of his last paycheck, the military had something else for him--a bill for nearly $1,800.

According to the military, Loria was “overpaid” family separation pay for his time as a patient--where he was learning to get along without his right arm. They also claimed he owed money for his travel between Fort Hood, the base where he was stationed in Texas, and Walter Reed. As a final insult, they billed him $310 for “missing equipment.”

Loria’s bills were finally taken care of--after a media storm prompted some politicians to step in. But the bitterness he and his family are left with is palpable. “They want us to sacrifice more,” his wife Christine told the Times Herald-Record. “My husband has already sacrificed more than he should have to...Him being blown up was supposed to be the worst thing, but it wasn’t. That the military didn’t care was the worst.”

http://www.vaiw.org/vet/modules.php?op=mod...order=0&thold=0

[The_Bammo]

Why Go To College,
When You Can Be
Cannon Fodder?
Do You Know What Your Kids Are
Watching On 'Educational' TV At School?
By Dr. Teresa Whitehurst
3-2-5

I learned something new yesterday. Channel One News, the "educational" TV show that my daughter Isa and millions of other American kids watch every morning at school, is busy recruiting our teenagers into the military.

"Mom, they're really aiming at the black kids, and the Hispanic kids too. I'm so sick of seeing those military ads everyday. "The Power of One", and all that lots of my friends are falling for it!"

This is especially upsetting to Isa because several of her black friends, 18, 19 and 20 years old, have been shipped to Iraq. Some were promised they wouldn't have to be in combat, but would be doing "mechanical work", "communications", or "wiring".

It seems doubtful that, when push comes to shove, kids who've been promised such jobs will be allowed to avoid combat. One of her friends has already been shot "in an embarrassing place"; he's being treated overseas instead of the US so that he can be sent quickly back into combat in Iraq. Mr. Bush's military needs warm bodies, able or not.

I stopped the car and asked, "Wait a minute. What do you mean when you say you're 'seeing those military ads every day'?"

"We have to watch this short thing every morning in homeroom called 'Channel One News'," Isa explained with a weary tone. "It's educational, supposedly. You know, the day's news, so we'll be up on current events. But in between the stories, there are more and more ads for the Army and the Marines."

I thought about "No Child Left Behind" and the malignant purpose behind that sweet-sounding act that Mr. Bush and his men (and at least one journalist paid $250,000 by the White House) have continuously promoted to trusting parents across the US. After catching my breath I asked,

"Are you saying you're being recruited through the TV you watch during homeroom?" She nodded. I asked again, "What do your teachers think about this? What about Mr. Hitchens (not his real name), who told you privately that he's antiwar? Doesn't he say anything against it?"

Persuaded Away from College, Towards the Military

"No, I think the teachers and the kids are so used to it at my school that they don't even notice anymore. I mean, the other day I was walking to Sociology class and heard the ROTC instructor telling the kids, "Okay, this is how you hold your M-16". The whole culture of the school is military these days, so nobody notices anything unusual about this. And I think the few teachers who aren't prowar or proBush are afraid to get in trouble if they say anything that doesn't sound pro-military."

As noted in my recent articles on military recruitment and the coming draft, for two years my daughter and I have been fighting the aggressive and often sneaky efforts of military recruiters to sign her up. Certainly they don't want her for her physical prowess-she weighs 98 pounds-so I can only assume they want her for other reasons. Either they've seen her high verbal scores, or they just want young bodies--even a tiny one--to serve as cannon fodder.

With a military recruiter present every day in the cafeteria, military "speakers" visiting classrooms, and huge recruiting posters in the guidance office, perhaps it's not surprising that teachers and even guidance counselors have been influenced by the constant hum of "enlist, enlist, enlist". Students at Isa's school are told that, yes, they could consider college, but that it's "very expensive" and "may not guarantee you a job", while the military "will pay for college" and "practically guarantees you'll have a great career". Oh, and "a big cash bonus right now if you sign up today!"

Joining the military is presented as the one and only path of honor, heroism, and service to one's country. Many students, not surprisingly, want to be heroes or get out of poverty, so they're signing up in droves. College recruiting is a rarity at this school, and at her previous school, as well. Ah, but military recruiters are constantly lurking around, spending quality time with fatherless boys, handing out materials, giving "aptitude tests" (played down as "just helping you figure out what you're really good at"), handing out Marine bumper stickers, and otherwise making their smartly-uniformed presence known.

"It's just everywhere", Isa continued. "Here's an example: In gym we don't exercise or play sports like we used to do-now we "sound off", just like in the military, while running and doing jumping jacks, push-ups, and pull-ups. The freshmen are told to shout, "one, two!", then the sophomores are supposed to answer, "three, four!", and then the whole group of us has to say "Sound off!" I mean it's ridiculous Mom! How are you supposed to exercise while you're shouting at the top of your lungs?"

As I started driving again, I took a moment to reflect on this "military culture" that's replacing the educational culture in America's public schools. Surely Channel One News, which parents and educators have criticized from the start as nothing more than a way to let corporations advertise their products directly to kids without their parents' knowledge, wouldn't go so far as to market the military to children as a (better, more heroic, more exciting) alternative to college? Surely they wouldn't override Mom and Dad by sneakily recruiting through "educational" TV at school? Would they? Could they?

Dr. Teresa Whitehurst is a clinical psychologist and writer. Her most recent book describes the nonviolent guidance of children, Jesus on Parenting: 10 Essential Principles That Will Transform Your Family, Baker Books, 9/2004. You can contact her at DrTeresa@JesusontheFamily.org

http://rense.com/general63/cadn.htm

[Cloudy]

School is one place kids shouldn't have to be bambarded with ads for anything

A lot of schools have Channel One. They offer the schools (or used to) free tvs and equipment in return for the kids having to watch them every day.

[ghostgovt]

School is one place kids shouldn't have to be bambarded with ads for anything

A lot of schools have Channel One.  They offer the schools (or used to) free tvs and equipment in return for the kids having to watch them every day.

You are absolutely right Cloudy.... it's all about pushing heavy pro war propaganda and fake promises all the time onto kids or desperate adults. In this day and age govt/military propaganda seems to have tripled compared to 5 years ago. I only hope some of these kids finds the TRUE facts prior to signing up into Sam's green machine and turn away from it.

I wonder why it's not law for recruiters to show in great detail to potential sign ups all the damages that war does to humans? Well, we know why they don't include it in their 'sale pitches' but it should be mandatory that every prospective sign up sees visuals of many injured returnees with hospitals full of the injured...... and the dead soldiers as well as the serious PTSD problems too. They need to know all of that extensively, along with the bonus money, GI bill, and college education offers that baits them into the service. As far as I am concerned, if these kids could see hrs of films and pictures (by the very recruiters who hustles them) of what war does to ppl, and how they stand a good chance of coming home with body parts missing or stuffed in a body bag, and then they still want to serve this corrupt govt... then their choice is on FAIR TERMS.

All they get is propaganda and lies ... same same as the rest of Americans under this corrupt regime.

[The_Bammo]

[The_Bammo]

Bush announces movement of US troops and major realignment plan by the US military.

Photo - AP

As The War Goes On
By Naman Crowe
Wednesday June 8, 2005

I’d like to start this column off the way I begin my lectures: "We’re here for two reasons, for me to talk and you to listen. And if you get through before I do, please raise your hand."


The most hopeful trend that I see taking place in America today is the growing separation between the stupid and the less stupid.


On the other hand, the most ominous trend is that there are more people on the stupid side than on the less stupid side.


But, of course, as former President Bill Clinton would say, that depends on what you mean by "stupid."


So let’s look a moment at the word "stupid" and decide on an agreeable definition. To save time, let’s borrow from the mind of Albert Einstein and state bluntly that "stupidity" is relative.


To save even more time, let’s say "stupidity" is what I say it is. That’s all you need to know in terms of this particular lecture. Stupidity is not what you think it is, but what I think it is.


If you disagree with that and think that you have a better understanding of what stupidity is than I do, keep it to yourself or send me a postcard. I’m not interested in what you think. Try to remember why we’re here, for me to talk and you to listen.


Like I said, if you get through before I do, please raise your hand. And in the meantime, shut the hell up. I say that out of love and respect for the human intellect. If you can’t listen, get up and leave and let someone else take your seat.


One of the most primeval signs of stupidity is the inability to listen with an open mind to the possibility that you have not really done any intelligent thinking in years and that your thinking mechanism is rusted shut.


For example, consider this, there has never been a human that did not have a great sea of stupidity in their own mind which requires an almost constant vigilance and struggle just to keep one’s head above water from conception to the grave.


We are born much more stupid than intelligent. And we are born into a world that is much more stupid than intelligent. Our environment - from our family and playmates, to our churches and schools, the things we read and the things we see and hear on our TVs, to the workplace, the marketplace and all other places where people congregate and socialize – is like a sea of stupidity soaking into our brains without letup, leaving minds by the countless millions as dead as drowned rats way before the individuals are literally and physically dead.


If you can’t see that, the probable reason for it is that you are one of the drowned rats that make up the majority of the earth’s population. You’re brain dead when it comes to intelligent reasoning and thinking in the wide and far reaching sense of the term.


But before we get into the wide and far reaching range of reasoning and thinking, let’s look a moment at short sighted intelligence to see if there are clues that might indicate a probability that the individual has either arrived or is on their way to being brain dead, in the figurative sense.


For example, when a man covers his bald head by coming his hair across the top of his head, that is an example of short sighted intelligence. Ironically, the man in his vanity, thinks that no one will notice what he’s done. In his desire for a more becoming head, he has given the public a clue to both his silly vanity and his short sighted intelligence – which is to say his stupidity - and has made his head even more unsightly than it was.


This is not absolute evidence that the man is brain dead, it’s just a little clue that he has a little trouble thinking beyond his own bald head and seeing himself the way that others see him. It may be an indication that he has trouble with intelligent reasoning and thinking in the wide and far reaching sense, and may end up floating in the sea of stupidity with the other dead rats.


Before going any further, let me remind the class that being stupid or brain dead, in the sense that I’m talking about, has nothing to do with a person’s job or position in life. The brain dead – those without the ability to think and reason in the wide and far reaching sense – have held positions from presidents, congressmen, popes, preachers and judges to heavy equipment operators, wheelbarrow pushers and grave diggers.


President George W. Bush showed that he was brain dead when he claimed that he was guided by a higher power in his decision to attack Iraq. He was brain dead when he decided that that higher power wouldn’t mind him lying about his reasons.


The fact that neither he nor anyone else that helped instigate and bring the war about has yet to admit any wrongdoing is a further indication of stupid, lying, brain dead thinking on their part.


The vast majority of Americans showed that they were brain dead when they responded with flag waving approval for the attack on Iraq and voted him into office for a second term even after it became obvious that he had lied about his reasons for the attack.


Vice President Chaney showed again the other day that he is brain dead when he insinuated to a graduating class of cadets that Iraq was attacked because Saddam Hussein was harboring terrorists. Everyone in that audience that applauded the remark, which was the overwhelming majority of them, showed by their response that they are brain dead.


Everyone in America who has swallowed the Bush propaganda that we are fighting a War on Terror, rather than taking advantage of the 9/11 attacks to overthrow other nations and install puppet Democracies, regardless of how much terror and death results, is brain dead.


When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, with the support of the Bush administration, criticized China recently for increasing its defense budget, it showed that he was brain dead.


Everyone in Bush’s administration is a brain dead liar, from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to spit-haired Paul Wolfowitz, Bush’s nominee for president of the World Bank. Everyone that Bush nominates to any position is brain dead. Every congressman that supports him is brain dead and every American that supports him is brain dead.


Not only do we have a greater stockpile of weapons of mass destruction than all other nations combined, we’re building more of them at a faster rate than all other nations combined.


Bush and his war machine is even working on plans to take our nuclear capabilities up into space so that we can fire destruction down from the heavens and eliminate any nation that comes against us, as if we were God.


Anyone who doesn’t realize that we have no right to rule the world this way is brain dead. Why should the rest of the world believe that we are like Jesus and would never fire our weapons or attack another country without first being attacked ourselves?


If the great majority of Americans were not brain dead, they would realize that it is America itself that is causing nations around the world to increase their defense capabilities and seek out nuclear arms.


If the vast majority of Americans were not brain dead, they would realize that we are the root cause of terrorism in the Middle East, in Iraq and Palestine, because of our policies and the way we use our power.


It is impossible for the brain dead to see far and wide, beyond their little shiny dome of vanity and hypocrisy. If they could they would realize that the only way to bring about peace in the world is for America to conduct itself in a peaceful way.


Instead they comb their hair over their bald heads and claim that they have freed Iraq and conceived a democracy in a strange land. The less stupid people of the world have no trouble seeing through all that.


They know that Iraq, nor any other nation occupied by a foreign force, will ever give up the fight – whether it be through terror or armies – to determine their own political destinies and their natural rights of independence and freedom from the domination and occupation of American might.


But what can you expect when the blind lead the blind and the brain dead lead the brain dead, leaving the less stupid with nothing to do but scratch their heads and wonder how we ever got into this mess and how are we going to get out of it?


If you are not among the brain dead, but among the less stupid, you should be feeling a funny, sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach by now, as if you were in an aircraft at high altitude when suddenly you hear the sound of silence and you’re dropping at a high speed toward the ground.


We’re at that point where the line between the stupid and the less stupid is just a state of mind and we’re all going to go down together because there are more of them than they are of us, and they have the controls.


The final, most ironic thing of all, is the fact that it is the highest values of the brain dead – their moronic religious beliefs which allow them to lie, kill and praise God all in the same breath – that will destroy the world and all the life in it.


Is there any hope at all? Can we be saved? It’s possible. If we keep going in the war mongering way that we’re going and manage to stir up a few more wars and bring about the deaths of a few more hundred thousand, including a good number of our own – without bringing on Armageddon - many in the ranks of the stupid but who are not yet certifiably brain dead may come over to the side of the less stupid, putting us in the majority.


But I figure the odds of that are about a million to one. And even if the less stupid does, by the grace of God, become the majority, I doubt that that would be enough to change the fate of the world at this late date.


From the moment that humanity first tied the lead weight of moronic religion around its neck and jumped into the sea of stupidity, it’s just been a matter of time before it drowns itself like a bunch of rats, along with everything else that it is tied up with it, including the innocent and the hope of a clean, sustainable planet teeming with life the way it was before we changed it.

http://www.canadiancontent.net/commtr/article_778.html

[big sky brad]

The Marines have missed their recruiting goal for 5 straight months.

What do you think the reason for that could possibly be?

[Frenchy]

The Marines have missed their recruiting goal for 5 straight months.

What do you think the reason for that could possibly be?

The Navy has a better 401K plan??

[Marine]

I thought I'd give you a brief update on 1st Sgt Brad Kasal. Last week he went back to Bethesda hoping to have bone graft surgery, however his leg had not been "stretched" back to it's original length yet, so he came home to Oceanside, CA, where the "stretching" continues. He has this incredible quadruple halo device on his right leg, which has adjusting bolts that acutally stretch his leg. His leg bones are growing back on their own (I know that is not proper terminology, but it fits) and he may not "need" a bone graft, but wants one if it will cut a month or so off his recuperation time. You see, Brad wants to be able to pass the PFT (physical fitness test) so he can make Sgt Major in the fall.

He is such an inspiring individual.

There's obviously nothing I can add to this. Semper Fi.