Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : 'NATION BUILDING' & CIVIL-MILITARY AFFAIRS (including CIMIC)
Marines head to Iraq with new mission by Seth Hettena 
Marines head to Iraq with new mission Saturday, March 13, 2004 By SETH HETTENA Associated Press Writer CAMP PENDLETON -- Devil dogs. Leathernecks. The few, the proud. The Marines drill the gung-ho, warrior ethic into its men and women, who are trained to attack and win. But the 20,000 Southern California Marines headed for Iraq are expected to show the majority of the Iraqis a softer side. One year after the Marines stormed across the desert into Baghdad to defeat Saddam Hussein's forces, troops from Camp Pendleton are taking over control of western Iraq from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. The area of responsibility includes the Fallujah area where anti-American attacks have been most prevalent. This time, the Marines' mission is to provide security and help the Iraqis rebuild their nation. They believe the best way to do that is with healthy helpings of restraint and sensitivity. "It's not just kicking down doors and flipping over couches," Staff Sgt. Alex Carlson, who is based at Twentynine Palms in the Southern California desert, said as he left for Iraq in February for a second tour. "Anyone can be loud and aggressive but it's a thinking man's game definitely over there now." Before deploying, troops were instructed on how to behave politely in Iraq. Wave and smile, according to interviews with more than a dozen Marines. When talking to Iraqis, remove your wraparound sunglasses and point your guns away. Don't shake hands with your left hand. Don't show the soles of your feet. And stay away from Iraqi women. A few hundred Marines received one month of intensive Berlitz instruction in Arabic, although most will have to rely on interpreters and Arabic flashcards with questions such as "Do you need any food?" and "How can we help?" The goal, Marines say, is to win the trust of the Iraqi people and hopefully, gather the key intelligence needed to thwart the anti-American insurgency. "We could go in and mow everybody down and you could create order in a few weeks but that's not our goal," said Marine Capt. Steve Coast, 35. In an ambitious move, the Corps will station one platoon from each battalion in an Iraqi village to "take the fence down" between the locals and the troops, said Maj. Jim Griffin of the 1st Marine Division. The "Combined Action Program" is modeled after a Vietnam War operation that was credited with building trust with the locals and gathering information that could be used against the Viet Cong. "We hope to build relations with the people out in the villages," Griffin said. "It's to help win the hearts and minds of the local populace." Griffin said the details of the program were still being worked out. Marines in the villages would be as safe as their comrades in traditional bases. Countermeasures that he declined to discuss were being taken to ensure their safety, he said. Maj. Gen. James Mattis, the commander of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division, distills the Marine ethos in Iraq as "do no harm." In preparing for the upcoming deployment, commanders at Camp Pendleton have drawn on the Los Angeles Police Department's procedures for patrolling areas overrun by gangs, Marine Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee told Congress in February. To be sure, not everyone in Iraq will see the Marines' softer side. Commanders say Marines can defend themselves if attacked, but should avoid civilian casualties at the same time. To practice how, a group of Marine reservists trained on a San Diego movie set arranged to resemble an Iraqi village. They were screamed at by actors -- women wearing veils and men with traditional Arab head coverings. The scenario had the Marine company fixing a school, when they got word that a terrorist was inside a nearby cafe. At the cafe, Marines found their restraint quickly put to the test. "You are filthy like pigs," yelled one patron. Out of earshot, the friendly cafe proprietor took Marines aside and pointed out the terrorist -- a man sitting quietly in the back of the cafe. The Marines hustled him out of the cafe, while trying to placate the patrons who resented the intrusion. The Marines were members of the 3rd Civil Affairs Group, who will find themselves on the front lines of the effort to rebuild Iraq and win over the hearts and minds of its people. The civil affairs Marines are the direct link between military commanders and the Iraqi people, who want them to fix their problems right away. They are sent to hospitals, schools and water facilities to find out what their needs are. "The task ahead of us is huge," said Lt. Col. Frank Ricapito, 43, an executive at a Bay Area biotech firm who serves as the civil affairs unit's deputy commander. "It's not something we've ever done before on this kind of scale." Many of the Camp Pendleton Marines are returning to a country they left only in September and saying goodbye to spouses and children with whom they only recently reacquainted. Unlike last year, the situation in Iraq seems more stable, said Marine wife Kimberly Eggers. Her husband, she said, won't be "heading in to face the unknown." Last year, spouses back home went for weeks without hearing from their husbands and wives as they advanced from Kuwait to Baghdad. This time, Marines will be able to keep in e-mail contact with their families -- something of crucial importance to the troops. "No deployment is easy. Deployments are tough. There's no way of getting around it. But I think this time it'll be a little bit better," said Lt. Col. Tom Collins. |