POLITICS1
Goes to War with the
1st Battalion/23rd Marines
Archive:
September 2004
Editor's
Note: Politics1 "adopted" the 1st Battalion/23rd
Marines -- an infantry battalion of reservists from Texas
(and neighboring states) deployed to Iraq in August 2004.
Lt James Crabtree, a regular Politics1 reader, belongs to
the battalion and he submits regular dispatches to us. Anything
you can do to show support for these brave yound men and women
is greatly appreciated (regardless of whether or not you support
the war). If you'd like to send them any care packages --
and they'd certainly be appreciated -- please send them to:
Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S Co, Unit 41900,
FPO, AP 96426-1900 -- and James will distribute whatever
you send to many of the Marines in the 1/23d.
SEPTEMBER
30, 2004:REPORT FROM IRAQ: OF TALK
RADIO AND BAD CRABS. Time for our latest report from
Iraq. Our friend and special correspondent Lt. James Crabtree
of the 1/23 Marines gives us his latest update from their
location in northwestern Iraq.
Dear
Readers of Politics1.com,
Hello once more from Al-Asad, Iraq. The other day I was
eating lunch in our chow hall with one of our battalion
surgeons, LCDR Levett, when he told the following joke.
I liked it so much that I'm going to repeat it here:
One day a young Marine was standing at attention in
a formation for inspection. When the commander came
in front of the Marine he looked him over closely and
said, "Marine, your jacket is frayed."
The young Marine quickly said, "No sir! This is a Marine
jacket. It's not afraid of anything!"
Well,
all continues to go well out here. Yesterday we were able
to get a bunch of the Houston area Marines on the phone
to say hello to their families and loved ones over the
airwaves of "The Sam Malone Morning Show" on
KRBE 104.1 FM in Houston. We made the call around 3 pm
our time and got cut off once while on hold, but we were
finally able to get through. About 20 minutes before we
were going to call all the phones in the tent had gone
dead. Fortunately our satellite dish reacquired the signal
and everything was fine. All of the Marines were in a
line and had been told to keep their comments quick in
order to get everyone on the air before the segment ended
or we got cut off again. I'm glad to say it went exactly
as planned. I received emails later in which people told
me that they could hear everyone real well and that the
station even replayed the segment a few more times later
that day. Sam Malone was great, too. He asked about sending
care packages and such. The show wants to make our call
a regular feature on the last Tuesday of each month. It
was a big boost to the morale of those that got to call.
We have many more Marines that weren't able to make it
because of patrols, convoys, work, etc. Hopefully we can
get them in next time.
It
was very surreal calling in to a 6 am radio show from
a tent in Iraq at 3 pm local time. The strangest moment
was when they had us on hold right before going on the
air and you could hear the Houston morning traffic report.
Traffic? What's that? I guess if there were no IEDs on
Loop 610 it'd be a pretty good traffic day in our opinion.
I'm
also working on setting up some calls to radio stations
for Marines from areas outside Houston. The other day
I got a great email from Sammy Allred of the "Sammy
and Bob Show" on KVET radio in Austin. For political
folks, this is the station LBJ and Congressman Jake Pickle
started after WWII -- thus the VET part of KVET. Anyway,
they are the #1 rated morning show in Austin and have
been around for years. They want to have us on and are
working on the details right now. I've also been in touch
with a reporter from the Shreveport Times and he's interested
in interviewing the troops we have from that area.
An early morning moon over our camp yesterday.
We've
received a lot of nice emails and letters the last few
days from families telling us how much they enjoy the
updates. I want to let them know that I plan to cover
every section and company while we are out here. Some
have specific requests to write about their loved ones.
Trust me, we'll be here for at least six more months so
I should have time to get to them. And yes, we do have
some Marines with us from Oklahoma. On the same note,
the profiles I do are on Marines and sailors that volunteer.
I don't want to write a profile on someone that doesn't
want me to. So, if you know someone over here that wants
to be in an update have them see me. I'm pretty easy to
find.
I
have one final anecdote, of some personal embarrassment,
to share before getting back to work. The other day our
chow hall served crab. I was hungry, it looked good, and
I hadn't had any since I could remember. About an hour
after eating the crab my eyes started to itch and burn.
I figured I had gotten some sand in them. About 10 minutes
later I was in our evening staff meeting when LCDR Levett
(the same one that told the joke) said I looked flushed.
After I quickly finished briefing my portion of the meeting
the battalion commander asked if I was ok and said it
looked like my eyes were popping out. A few second later
I was on my way to our Battalion Aid Station (BAS) to
get hooked up to a benadryl i.v. drip to stop my reaction
to a bad crab allergy. I felt like I was going to pass
out and my throat was starting to constrict. The doctor
and the corpsman were impressive with how quick they went
to work. It was even more impressive considering they
hooked me up in the dark since the power had gone out.
I'm glad they were as close by and as skillful as they
were. Needless to say, I won't be eating any more crabs
again, but I'm glad to know we have some true professionals
over here to provide us our medical care. Of course, everyone
got a good laugh out of it later. Our battalion XO, Major
Sheridan, probably had the best line when he said:"The
Crab can't eat crab."
Corpsman at Al-Asad - Top row (l-r): HMCS Kelley, HM1
Brennen, HM2 Lowry, and HM2 Bohorques.
Bottom row (l-r): HM2 Turner, HM2 Jackson, and Hm2 Chandavong.
More
Corpsman at Al-Asad - Top row (l-r): HMC Slaton, HM3 Petraglia,
HM2 Clutts,
HM1 Elliott, HM1 Dickson, and LCDR Levett.
Bottom row (l-r): HM3 Elias, LCDR Willis, and HM2 Nelson.
Thank
you, as always, for reading these updates and for all
of the great letters, emails, and care packages that you
send us. I know I say this in every report, but it's the
truth and needs to be said every time. We couldn't do
the things we do out here without knowing that we have
people that support us. Thank you!
Semper
Fi,
James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages (food items
that won't melt, batteries, books, magazines, baby wipes,
etc.), please address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23
H&S Co, Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James
will ensure that whatever you ship gets distributed to the
Marines in the 1/23.
SEPTEMBER
26, 2004:AN ATTACK ... AND OUR LATEST
REPORT FROM THE 1/23 MARINES. For those who did not
see it, the following newspaper report on a 1/23 Marine
was published Wednesday in the Shreveport
Times:
A
Local Marine has Been Injured in Combat While Serving in
Iraq.
Jacob
Schick, a lance corporal with Bravo Company, 1/23rd Marines,
a reserve unit headquartered in Bossier City, was injured
early Monday Shreveport time, his mother, former local actress
and singer Debbie Schick said."I heard from him last night
about 10:30 when he called me," his mom said from a passenger
waiting area at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. She was waiting
to board a flight to Bethesda, Md., where the military is
flying him for further medical treatment. "He said 'Mom,
I need you to listen, I'm in the hospital here at Landstuhl
(the U.S. military hospital in Germany) and I'm OK." "He
told me 'I've been hit and my left arm has a compound fracture
and my left leg has a compound fracture.' Then I couldn't
understand what he was saying to me, and his nurse came
on the phone and told me she'd been on the Medevac flight
with him and that 'his right foot has been amputated.'"
Schick
said her son came out of surgery at Landstuhl on Tuesday
afternoon and was OK. "Jacob is a very tenacious young man,
a competitor, the guy who is always getting people riled
up," she said. Schick, 22, the son of Shreveport banker
Woodrow C. "Woody" Schick, joined the local Marine unit
shortly after his graduation from Coppell (Texas) High School
in 2001, his mom said. In the last year or so he has divided
his time between the Dallas area and Shreveport, she said.
Woodrow
Schick directed all media inquiries to the local Marine
unit spokesman, Capt. John Scripture. Scripture said Schick's
injuries resulted "from an explosion while conducting combat
operations in the al Anbar Province of Iraq." Scripture
said the unit was trying to get further details of the action
in which Schick was injured, but so far has been unable
to do so. "I did talk to Maj. (Mike) Miller today (Tuesday)
and he couldn't give me information over an unsecure land
line, so I don't have the full story," Scripture said. Miller
is the company's commander.
The
unit left Shreveport in early June for desert training at
TwentyNine Palms in the California high desert, and arrived
in Iraq around three weeks ago, Scripture said. The unit
is scheduled to return in April.
"I
know that God has Jacob in the palm of his hand," his mom
said. "I'm proud of what Jacob's done and the country should
be proud, too. Those boys believe in what they're doing.
The hardest part for him will not be overcoming his physical
handicap, but not being with his brothers in war."
I
reprinted the above article for you because it relates to
the latest report from our friend and special correspondent
Lt. James Crabtree of our "adopted" 1/23 Marines
in Iraq:
Dear
Politics1 Readers,
As many of you already know from a news articled recently
posted in the comments blog (reprinted above), our battalion
sent its first Marine back home to the states this week
due to combat injuries. I won't rehash all of the details
since the Shreveport Times and the Gannet News Service
already ran the article. I will say though that Lance
Corporal Schick of Bravo Company was seriously wounded
when his vehicle hit a landmine that had been placed by
those that seek to kill us. The quick and skillful response
by the Marines in his platoon, and especially the Navy
Corpsman, helped to save his life. Lance Corporal Schick
will receive the Purple Heart and is now at the military
hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. You can write to him and
his family at
LCpl
Jacob Schick
Attn: Marine Corps Liaison
8901 Wisconsin Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20889
I'm
sure they would appreciate any letters or cards that you
wish to send them.
In
other news, our life here continues to be a busy one.
It pains me that I can't share in more detail all of the
heroic things that these members of 1/23 do on a routine
daily basis. When we finally get back home to America
there will be some great stories to tell. For now I want
to turn to a profile of some very creative Marines and
their robot. Hope you enjoy it.
The call of "Bubba up!" may not be one that most people
would recognize, but to the warriors of 1/23's Combat
Engineers of 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 4th Combat
Engineer Battalion, it means its time for their remote
controlled robot named Bubba (above) to go into action.
The brainchild of Lance Corporal (LCpl) Howard Akers --
a 23 year-old heavy metal band member from Harrisonburg,
Virginia -- Bubba is a robot that literally can mean the
difference between life and death for those that from
time to time may deal with landmines and IEDs (improvised
explosive devices).
The
robot is stunningly simple in concept and yet rather sophisticated
in its machinery and design. His small camera allows the
Marines to remain a safe distance from any suspicious
objects and yet see through the hand-held video screen
(above) everything Bubba sees. For security reasons the
actual speed, distance, and other operational aspects
of Bubba cannot be revealed, but suffice it to say, he's
already been used here in Iraq several times and always
gets the job done.
LCpl
Akers does not have the stereotypical background of a
Marine. Having had long hair before he entered the Corps,
he was seen as a bit of a black sheep in his family because
he decided to join the USMC. It's certainly not something
his parents would have envisioned. He says they were hippies,
however he is probably lucky that he was not given a typical
flower child name like Moon or Rainbow or else his drill
instructors would have given him no end of grief. When
not serving as a reservist with the Combat Engineer Company
out of Lynchburg, VA, he makes his living as a member
of a heavy metal band named KounterKulture. In fact, the
name of the robot came from his alternate stage persona
of Bubba Hornswagle. When LCpl Akers first approached
his platoon commander, Capt Jonathan Kuniholm, about the
idea of making a robot he was told to focus on his job
and not to worry about any offbeat ideas. After seeing
the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Marines in action
during training in California, however, LCpl Akers was
able to convince Capt Kuniholm that they could make a
robot that would provide the Combat Engineers the same
safe standoff from dangerous situations that the EOD robot
provides for their Marines. Capt Kuniholm -- also a reservist
-- made a phone call to one of his private-sector business
partners, Chuck Messer, of the North Carolina company
they run named Tackle
Design. Messer and another partner, Kevin Webb, quickly
donated the parts, design plans, and manpower to assemble
Bubba and then shipped him out to the CEBs in 29 Palms,
CA. They were also able to get another firm named Traxxas
to donate parts for Bubba, as well.
LCpl Akers and LCpl Swenson, with Bubba
LCpl
Carl Swenson, 20, of Richmond, VA also became involved
with the Bubba project early on. A student at John Tyler
Community College in Richmond, he was working security
for a Target store to earn money for tuition and hopes
to one-day graduate with a degree in criminology. Now,
along with LCpl Akers, he is the other half of the Bubba
handler team. Together they run, maintain, and transport
Bubba. It's a task that they enjoy. Watching them with
Bubba is much like seeing a couple of young kids playing
with a cool toy. Capt Kuniholm says that many Combat Engineer
Marines are "the type of people that as kids loved to
blow stuff up and play with firecrackers. We're still
that way today." In fact, LCpls Akers and Swenson were
part of the unit that recently blew up some caves that
the battalion found that had been used as hiding and staging
places for Anti-Coalition Forces.
It
has been said that necessity is the mother of all invention.
With the creation of their robot, LCpls Akers and Swenson
have shown that not only can that invention serve to save
lives, but it can also be realized with a little bit of
know-how, imagination, and the dreams of the little boy
inside every Marine, no matter how old they may be.
And
finally, to all of you who check out these articles each
week, thanks for reading these updates. It makes me feel
better to know that there are so many of you out there
who are keeping us in your thoughts and prayers each day.
I don't think we will ever be able to explain how much
that means to us. Every time we get a pen-pal letter,
a care package, or free magazines from the likes of National
Geographic, The Economist, Texas Monthly, or The Weekly
Standard, it brings a small piece of the rest of the world
into our lives. Thank you!
Semper
Fi, James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages (food items
that won't melt, batteries, books, magazines, baby wipes,
etc.), please address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23
H&S Co, Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James
will ensure that whatever you ship gets distributed to the
Marines in the 1/23. If you'd like to read more about our
adopted 1/23 Marine battalion in Iraq, please click
here.
SEPTEMBER
21, 2004:P.S. SEND MORE CARE PACKAGES.
Here's the latest report -- more pix and less words this time
-- from our friend and special correspondent Lt. James Crabtree
of our "adopted" 1/23 Marines in Iraq:
Dear
Politics1 Readers,
I'm staying busy right now and will have a more in-depth
update to you in a few days. I just wanted to share some
photos with you that I like.
This is our sunset over "Can City" ...
but I also think it resembles the planet Tatooine from Star
Wars.
Me in front of my field desk (and laptop) and Texas flag.
It's one of my better pictures, I think
Above
and below: A crater that 1/23 Marines run past on the old
runway whenever
we get a chance to work out. It's from the war and is pretty
good sized.
These craters are all over the place!
Also,
we are getting so many Marines and sailors volunteering
for the KRBE 104.1 FM radio program that I've decided to
include all that want to take part. My plan is to try to
let each one say their name and a quick hello to whomever
they have that might be listening. We still don't know how
long "The Sam Malone Show" wants us on the air,
but I'll do everything I can to let the guys get on even
if for just a few seconds.
Please
keep the packages and letters coming. They've slowed down
the last few weeks and we still have plenty of troops that
would love to have them.
As
always, thanks and take care.
Semper
Fi, James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages (food items
that won't melt, batteries, books, magazine, baby wipes, etc.),
please address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S Co,
Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James will ensure
that whatever you ship gets distributed to the Marines in
the 1/23.
SEPTEMBER
17, 2004:ROSH HASHANAH
GREETINGS FROM 1/23 MARINES IN IRAQ. Here's the
latest report from our friend and special correspondent Lt.
James Crabtree of our "adopted" 1/23 Marines in
Iraq:
Dear
Politics1 Readers,
Happy Rosh Hashanah. Hope all is well. The 2/7 finally caught
their last freedom birds home and now we no longer have
to wait in line at the chow hall or for the phones. At least
not nearly as long of a line as before. Also, the new Commanding
General of the Division must have done away with "Gas Mask
Wednesdays" (see my older stories if you don't remember
this) because we are no longer conducting that "drill."
Life is good!
Also,
a local radio station in Houston has asked us to call their
morning show on September 28th at 6:10 am their time (3:10pm
ours). It's called the "Sam Malone Show" on KBRE
104.1. I'm not from Houston and have never heard the show
-- and I doubt it's the same Sam Malone that ran the bar
on Cheers -- but they ran the request through our Marine
HQ in Houston and it sounds legit. I'm working on getting
three or four local Houston area Marines to be part of the
call so that their friends and families can hear them. We
give you more details as we get them.
Here's
the newest profile for our "Get To Know Us" campaign.
Hope you enjoy it. This week we profile SSgt Ray Wagner
of Los Angeles, California. And, right up front, the SSgt
also asked me to mention that he's single and that any ladies
over 40 who want to contact him should feel free to do so
at: 1/23 H&S Co S-6, Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900.
Who knows, I guess that could work. Ha.
In the world of Marine Corps communications there is a
popular saying of "You can talk about us, but you can't
talk without us." Much like the umpire in a baseball game
that is unnoticed until he blows a call, the hard working
Marines of 1/23's comm. section are often overlooked until
someone's radio stops working. The Marine charged with
helping to make sure that the comm Marines continue to
toil in relative obscurity is the battalion Comm Chief,
SSgt Ray Wagner. A graduate of Blair High School in Pasadena,
he still has deep roots in the L.A. area and considers
it his home. His parents still reside there and his brother
even works on the TV show "Las Vegas" that airs on NBC.
At
the relatively young age of 44, SSgt Wagner is seen by
most Marines to be one of the more "salty" and experienced
Staff NCOs in the battalion. Having entered boot camp
during the first year of the Jimmy Carter administration
in 1977 SSgt Wagner ended his first active duty tour in
1981. In 1991, after ten years in the civilian world,
he decided to rejoin the Corps in time to fight in the
first Persian Gulf War. Having been gone for such a lengthy
period he had to start over as a 30 year old PFC. Since
then he has been deployed overseas eight times and has
actually spent each of the last three years deployed somewhere
in the global war on terrorism. This tour with 1/23 is
his first time with a reserve unit and ironically he was
sent to Houston to be a full time active duty Inspector
and Instructor Marine as a payback and to keep him from
deploying yet again. He has no complaints however. When
it comes to deploying he says, "This is what we do." He
also remarks that "the Marines of 1/23 tend to be older
and more mature" than many he had dealt with on active
duty and is impressed that they can do what they do off
of only one weekend a month and two weeks a year of training.
SSgt
Wagner's days in Iraq are spent ensuring that each and
every phone, radio, and data network in the battalion
is up and running. This requires countless hours of preventative
maintenance and trouble shooting as well as a strong working
knowledge of how exactly to keep a network of cables,
antennas, wires, handsets, receivers, transmitters and
batteries operational in an inhospitable desert environment.
The Marines live on the mantra of maneuver warfare and
rely on the idea that they can "shoot, move, and communicate"
with each other at all times. Faulty or non-existent comm.
negates it all.
When
not spending his time in the world of comm or on deployments,
SSgt Wagner is an avid rugby enthusiast and player. In
fact, he's been playing actively since 1981 and was a
member of the Armed Forces Rugby team in the last '90's,
coached the All-Marine Rugby team in '98, and even managed
the US Women's National Rugby team to a 23-19 victory
over Canada in August of 2001. During his off hours back
in Houston he coaches a women's rugby team. Upon his return
to America after this tour he plans to return to college
to finish his degree and will retire from the Marines
in Feb '07. He also smiles and says that he plans to "eat
a big greasy cheeseburger and have a beer." And if that
cheeseburger and beer happen to be in L.A. while watching
a rugby match, then all the better.
Thanks
as always for all of the great letters, emails, and packages.
I've also had a lot of Marines tell me their families really
love reading these updates. I write them in my spare time
and love hearing that folks enjoy them.
Semper
Fi, James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages (food items
that won't melt, batteries, books, magazine, baby wipes, etc.),
please address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S Co,
Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James will ensure
that whatever you ship gets distributed to the Marines in
the 1/23. If you'd like to read more about our adopted 1/23
Marine battalion in Iraq, please click
here.
SEPTEMBER
13, 2004: THE
1/23 MARINES TAKE CHARGE. Special correspondent Lt. James
Crabtree of our "adopted" 1/23 Marines in Iraq updates
us on their transfer ceremony, visiting dignitaries, local customs,
and a reminder of the dangers faced:
Dear
Politics1 Readers,
Greetings once more from our humble home in the desert where
all of the unemployed teachers have no class. Just kidding --
I'm sure the Iraqi teachers' unions wouldn't appreciate that
joke. Well, everything continues to go fairly well for the battalion.
Operations continue at a busy pace and the Marines and sailors
continue to excel.
Last
week one of our trucks hit a landmine while on a road convoy,
but the biggest damage to any of the people involved was a bruised
thumb. This demonstrates that the area in which we serve is
a dangerous one, but that the training and the equipment we
have over here is doing its job. I share this information because
I want to paint as accurate a picture as possible about our
lives over here without violating operational security. After
all, the last thing I would ever want to be is a "Baghdad
Bob" enemy propagandist. However, as we have yet to see
a reporter or news organization in our battalion's area, perhaps
these report will be the only news the world is going to get
about the 1/23 Marines.
The
big event over here this week was that we had our transfer of
authority ceremony with the departing 2/7 Marines on the 9th
of September. I've included the "press release" like article
below that I wrote up to send into the USMC and Marine Corps
Reserve web pages. Its pretty matter of fact and not very colorful,
but when was the last time you saw a colorful or entertaining
press release out of the Department of Defense? I wish all of
you could have seen the ceremony. The assorted groups of Iraqis
that showed up for the ceremony wore everything from modern
western style clothing to traditional Arabic robes and head
coverings. They all seemed to enjoy themselves, too. They arrived
at the ceremony 45 minutes late and the food for their feast
afterwards was over an hour and half late, but they were all
delighted. Iraqis run on their own sense of time. The phrase
"Insha' Allah" which means "God willing" covers virtually everything
for most Iraqis. Whether or not they get up in the morning and
go to work could be covered by it. For some, everything is "Insha'
Allah" in the sense that things will happen when they happen
or will arrive when they arrive. Needless to say, this is very
different for Marines who are used to the idea that if you aren't
15 minutes early for something you are late. Here is the "press
release":
In a simple and solemn ceremony held here today in front of
a former Iraqi Air Force building that now serves as the command
post for a Marine infantry battalion, the Marines of 2/7 transferred
authority to the Marines from 1/23. This was a day in which
the Marines of 1/23 had been working towards for over six
months. As an infantry battalion of reservists based out of
Texas and Louisiana, the activation notice had been issued
in March and lives and careers had been placed on hold. Now
finally months of training and preparation had all come down
to this one symbolic moment.
With
local Iraqi dignitaries, officers and soldiers of the Iraqi
National Guard, and members of the Iraqi Police Force looking
on, LtCol P.C. Skuta bade farewell to those Iraqis he had
served with for the past seven months and wished them well.
He referred to the Iraqis as "brothers" and it was
apparent that his departure from this area is one filled with
optimism for the young nation's future. 2/7, an infantry battalion
from Twentynine Palms, California, had many notable accomplishments
during their seven month tour in this area of operations.
They thus established the region as a quintessential example
of how mutual respect and cooperation with the Iraqi government
will help the process of Iraq becoming the only democratic
Arab nation in the Middle East.
LtCol Skuta of 2/7 and Col Fahad of the Iraqi National Guard
LtCol
Skuta's remarks were followed by those of Col Fahad of the
local Iraqi National Guard Battalion. The tall and lanky Iraqi
spoke of the efforts that the Marines from 2/7 had made over
the past seven months to improve his country and he offered
his heartfelt gratitude. Upon the completion of his comments,
Col Fahad hugged LtCol Skuta and kissed him on each cheek
as a customary Arab showing of respect. LtCol G.D. Stevens,
the battalion commander of 1/23, then spoke of stepping humbly
into 2/7's shoes and of his strong determination to continue
the tasks and missions that 2/7 had undertaken.
A
Marine color guard from 2/7 then retired their colors, and
was followed by the marching on of the colors from 1/23. With
SgtMaj David Miller's uncasing of the 1/23 colors (pictured
above), the transfer was complete.
The
rest of the event was spent with Iraqis snapping photos with
Marines and showing off their new police squad car. There
was later a traditional Iraqi meal served in the battalion
conference area for all of the Iraqis present. LtCol Stevens
also met with one of the prominent local Iraqi sheiks. The
operations officers from each battalion quickly returned to
the Command Operations Center once the ceremony was completed
in order to radio to higher headquarters that 1/23's call
sign of "Lonestar" was now in effect.
The
other notable event that took place on the 9th was that the
battalion raised the Lone Star flag over our headquarters building.
This was the idea of the battalion commander even though he
was born in Connecticut and now resides in California. We aren't
allowed to fly the Stars and Stripes and I'm sure you can guess
how the Marines feel about that, but no one said anything about
state flags! 1/23 has also fully moved into all of the office
spaces and we have the Texas flag up in the S-1 office as well.
Well,
that about covers it for this update. We've gotten some great
feedback on the profile of Cpl Garcia-Ovando from the last update
and I've had a lot of Marines want to volunteer for future profiles.
The next "Marine of the Week" will be SSgt Wagner of our battalion's
communications section. Thank you as always for all of the great
letters, packages, and emails. With 2/7 finally heading home
soon hopefully the lines to the phone center will not be as
long and the Marines and sailors will be able to call home.
It also means that the members of 1/23 will all be living in
the cans. I know they are looking forward to that.
Semper
Fi, James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages (food items that
won't melt, batteries, books, magazine, baby wipes, etc.), please
address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S Co, Unit 41900,
FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James will ensure that whatever
you ship gets distributed to the Marines in the 1/23. If you'd
like to read more about our adopted 1/23 Marine battalion in Iraq,
please click here. FYI: I found another
site that has a good
history (with a few pix) of the Al-Asad Airbase where the
1/23 are stationed.
SEPTEMBER
8, 2004: GREETINGS FROM "THE LONESTAR RANCH"
IN IRAQ. Here's the latest report from our friend and
special correspondent Lt. James Crabtree of our "adopted"
1/23 Marines in Iraq:
Dear
Politics1 Readers,
Greeting once more from the lovely Al-Asad, Iraq, where
the time flies like an arrow, but the fruit flies like a
banana (actually I think that's an old Groucho Marx line).
Anyhow, the election results are in from the first free
and democratic election in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq.
After all the precincts have reported in, here are the winners:
The
Command Post will now be named "The Hacienda."
The chow hall is now known as "The Corral."
The camp name winner was "The Lonestar Ranch."
The Gym will be called "The Sweatbox."
At
first the media called the mascot race for Gore, then for
Bush, then it was a toss-up, but ultimately the winner was
the soon to be infamous ... COMBAT ARMADILLO! He'll be giving
a victory speech later this evening.
In
other news, all remains well here. The Marines and sailors
of our battalion continue to do an awesome job. In fact,
every day they become more familiar with our AO (Area of
Operations) and more proficient with their tasks.
Well, enough about that. It's time to turn to a new feature
I hope to do each week entitled "Get To Know Us."
The weekly GTKU feature will focus on the individual Marines
and sailors in our battalion -- introducing you to a different
one each week -- to provide you with a small glimpse into
their lives both at home in America and here in Iraq. This
week -- our inaugural issues -- we profile Cpl Jorge
Garcia-Ovando ...
The days begin early in Al-Asad, Iraq for 28 year-old
Marine Corporal Jorge Garcia-Ovando of H&S Company 1/23.
By 0500 (or 5 a.m. to civilians) he has already begun
to make his rounds to ensure that the 14 Marines that
are under his charge as the assistant squad leader are
taken care of. This involves everything from making sure
the Marines' weapons are clean and their ammo ready, to
checking on how much sleep they had and how much food
they were able to eat. They stand post for 24 hours at
a time, are then part of a reaction force the next day,
and on the third day they provide security for convoys.
On the fourth day the Marines start the cycle all over
again. It's not an easy task by any means, but it is one
that Cpl Garcia-Ovando volunteered for -- and he couldn't
be prouder of his Marines or the role he carries out.
Originally an administration Marine in the battalion's
S-1 section, he was forced into the rotating guard force
out of necessity of numbers. In fact, his duties on the
guard force are the very essence of the Marine Corps and
the backbone of the battalion. Without the security provided
by the Marines on post and patrol its doubtful much of
what the battalion does would be successful.
Back
in March 2004, Cpl Garcia-Ovando was an accounting major
at North Harris College in Houston, Texas and was enjoying
the life any regular civilian might. Born in Guatemala
to a family of accountants and raised in the San Fernando
Valley of California, he was happily engaged to Marie
Corral (herself a student at the University of Houston).
Cpl Garcia-Ovando had served for four years on active
duty with a Marine aviation unit (MAG-11) at Marine Corps
Air Station Miramar, CA from 1995-99 and had been a part
of the basketball team that won the base basketball championship
at Miramar in 1996. One day his friend Sgt Elias Herrera
told him that 1/23 was being activated and sent to Iraq
in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Something inside
of Cpl Garcia-Ovando told him that he wanted to go to
Iraq, as well. He says he quickly made up his mind to
rejoin the Marines because "I love the Marine Corps and
I felt it was my duty to come here with my brothers."
Shortly thereafter he showed up at the battalion's headquarters
and was made a member of the unit. Since that time he
has undergone two weeks of training at Ft Polk, LA and
a couple of months in the desert of Twentynine Palms,
CA. Today, he is enjoying a free, all expense-paid trip
to the sunny sands of Iraq.
The most challenging aspect of his days here is dealing
with the heat during the hottest part of the day with
temperatures often reaching upwards of 120 degrees. When
wearing a Kevlar helmet, a flak jacket with a collar protector
and SAPI (Small Arms Protective Inserts) plates, while
carrying a weapon and ammo and standing on the hot desert
ground, it is easy to see why that aspect would be the
worst. That challenge however, is easily out weighed he
claims by the esprit-de-corps that comes from being here
with his fellow Marines.
Upon
the successful completion of this tour Cpl Garcia-Ovando
looks forward to returning home to Houston and to his
fiancée. He plans to transfer to the University of Houston
and complete his degree and will be able to one day look
back with a great sense of satisfaction on his service
to his nation. More satisfaction, he believes, than an
accountant could ever add up.
Thank
you as always for all of the great mail and thanks especially
to Ron Gunzburger for all he continues to do for our battalion.
We're glad to see he made it through the hurricane and hope
that all is well with his friends and family.
Semper
Fi, James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages (food items
that won't melt, batteries, books, magazine, baby wipes, etc.),
please address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S Co,
Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James will ensure
that whatever you ship gets distributed to the Marines in
the 1/23. If you'd like to read more about our adopted 1/23
Marine battalion in Iraq, please click
here.
SEPTEMBER
2, 2004: VOTING, PHONING HOME, GETTING MAIL. Lt.
James Crabtree of our adopted 1/23 Marines gives us the inside
scoop on the first democratic election to be held in Iraq:
Dear
Readers of Politics1.com,
Howdy
once again from the blazing sands of Al-Asad, Iraq. We are
proud to announce that our battalion is conducting one of
the first free and democratic elections in this nation.
Actually, the election is amongst the 1/23 Marines for what
we'll call our camp, as well as our chow hall, gym, mascot,
and command post ... so don't get too excited. Hopefully
we won't have any pregnant, dimpled, or hanging chads.
The
2/7 battalion that we are replacing was known as the War
Dawgs and thus they named everything around here like a
Cleveland Browns fan might have done. They called their
camp the Dawg House and so forth. Well, since our battalion
is approximately 89% Texan or Louisianan, our Headquarters
and Service Company Commanding Officer (Maj Hayward) has
come up with the idea of having an election to rename everything
in a manner closer to our roots and heritage. Every Marine
here gets a vote and the results will be announced within
the next week. I guarantee we won't have a "Saddam Hussein
- 100% of the vote"-like results since several of the
"candidates" are pretty good. For your amusement
here is our list. I'd be curious as to what the readers
would vote for (I'll check out the blog comments y'all post
here).
Command
Post - Vote for one: a. Mission Control, b. Lonestar, c.
The Ponderosa (wasn't that set in NV?), d. The Hacienda,
and e. The Astrodome
Chow
Hall - Vote for one: a. Texas Pete's, b. The Corral, c.
Cajun Kitchen, d. The Trough, e. Cookie's Chuckwagon.
Gym
- Vote for one: a. Hammerhead's, b. The Sweatbox, c. The
Iron House, d. House of Fury, and e. Hans and Franz's (bet
you didn't know they were from the German Hill Country of
TX?)
Camp
- Vote for one: a. San Jacinto, b. Junction, c. Lukenbach,
d. Shiner, e. Tejas, and f. Lonestar Ranch
Mascot
- Vote for one: a. Rattlesnake, b. Combat Armadillo, c.
Javelina, d. Jackalope, e. Horned Frogs, and f. Yosemite
Sam (no word on if Warner Bros would allow it. Ha!)
I've
also enclosed some more pictures to give you a better feel
for our little corner of the world.
As
you can see, the phone center is small and cramped, and
is made out of used wood and other assorted items -- but
it works and we're glad to have it.
Today
was also the day we finally got a ton of mail. It filled
up an entire 7-ton truck and it took a working party to
unload and sort it all.
Thanks
to all of the families and friends of the battalion that
sent letters and care packages. It's a good problem to have
when there is so much mail that you need extra Marines to
help handle it. Keep the mail coming!
Before
and after of the Iraqi Air Force. This was a pre-war Iraqi
mural boasting about the power of Saddam's air power. Next
you'll see the reality ...
Finally,
here is a photo of one of the typical bombed out old Iraqi
jets that litter this base. I guess in some weird way they
ad a certain element of character to our surroundings. They
also make good navigational items. I've actually heard a
Marine tell another Marine that he could reach a certain
area by "taking a right at the first destroyed jet...."
Later
this week I plan to start my "Get to know us" effort of
profiling a different Marine each week from 1/23. My first
volunteer is Cpl Jorge Garcia-Ovando of Houston, Texas,
and I will hopefully have his picture and profile into the
webpage soon.
Thanks
again for everything!
Semper
Fi,
James
If
you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages, please address
the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S Co, Unit 41900,
FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James will ensure that
whatever you ship gets distributed to the Marines in the 1/23.
