USMC Archives
Knowing Your Neighbors
By Bull Nav
A couple of months ago, back when it was still cold and snowy, we were enjoying a Saturday afternoon at home. One of my son's buddies was over as were some other folks when the doorbell rang. It was the 80-something woman from two houses down, and boy was she frantic. Her boyfriend, who was recovering from hip replacement surgery, had fallen off a barstool and could not get up from the floor. She needed some assistance to get him up and into a bed. I put on my boots and headed over to their house where I was able to lift him up and carry him over to the bed. Apparently, his hip had popped out causing him to fall off the stool. Needless to say he was in a lot of pain.
I figured that's what neighbors are for, that's what you do. You help out.
This past Sunday, my family and I were out in the garage getting ready to do some yard work, when Jim (the gentleman I had helped out a couple of months ago) drives up and pulls into our driveway. He wanted to thank me for helping him out, which really did not seem like a big deal to me. He explained all the hip surgeries he has been through, and where he had worked, and we just generally had a nice conversation. I had not really talked with him before as he has only been in the neighborhood for about 2 years and we generally don't see them much.
As we were talking, he noted my crutches and asked what happened. I explained that I had ruptured my achilles tendon at drill at Great Lakes a while back and he answered that his son had gone to boot camp there. He further explained that he had done his boot camp at Parris Island.
We started sharing military experiences, and he stated that the worst time he spent in the Marines was when he was in Korea and trying to sleep on the ground at 30 below zero.
I noted that I had read a couple of accounts of the Chosin Reservoir and how it was bone chillingly cold for the Marines up there.
"That's where I was," he answered.
Needless to say, I was floored.
I didn't have a comeback for that, except to shake his hand and thank him for his service. We continued to talk for a while more until we were done.
He headed on home and my wife and I got on with the yardwork, with a new found respect for the man down the street.
24 MEU On the Attack
By Bull Nav
U.S. Marines in helicopters and Humvees flooded into a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan's most violent province early Tuesday in the first major American operation in the region in years.Several hundred Marines, many of them veterans of the conflict in Iraq, pushed into the town of Garmser in predawn light in an operation to drive out militants, stretching NATO's presence into an area littered with poppy fields and classified as Taliban territory.
After sitting around for weeks in Afghanistan, waiting for NATO to come to a "consensus" on how the Marines were to be employed, they have finally been let loose. I expect they will be successful and clear the Taliban out of the area. My concern is that the bad guys will simply retreat back into the safe haven of Pakistan where they are untouchable.
But you know they are ready to go:
One Marine in Charlie Company, Corp. Matt Gregorio, a 26-year-old from Boston, alluded to the fact the Marines have been in Afghanistan for six weeks without carrying out any missions. He said the mood was "anxious, excited.""We've been waiting a while to get this going," he said.
Understatement.
MRAP Review
By Slab
In January, my team traded out our well-worn M1114 Up-armored HMMWV for a 4X4 JERRV, one of the models of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles purchased by the Marine Corps. We were pretty excited to have the new vehicle, especially after our first look inside. I mean, the thing looks like the Cadillac Escalade of tactical vehicles. The IED threat in our little slice of Al Anbar had long since dropped to non-existent, but it felt good to have something that was specifically engineered to combat the threat, you know? It didn't take long for the novelty to wear off, however, and by the end of the deployment we had taken to operating mainly from a Humvee again. The MRAP is a superb EOD and convoy security vehicle (the acronym JERRV stands for Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle), but it is merely a passable utility and/or fighting vehicle. The thing was obviously designed with the EOD mission in mind, and if any operator input was incorporated into the design, it clearly did not come from the infantry community.
On the good side, it is obviously better equipped to resist blast-type mines and IEDs than any other vehicle in the inventory. On top of the increased protection, the MRAP has a fantastic communications system installed, much better than what we had in our Humvee. Most ANGLICO Humvees look like Monster Garage rejects - additional antennas installed in weird places, additional radios installed in all sorts of unauthorized fashion, all trying to maximize the communications capability of our vehicles. Here we had a vehicle that came with brand new multiband radios, all tied in to an intercommunications system. Although many of the comm capabilities are completely unnecessary for most units, it almost seemed like this thing was made for ANGLICO. In addition, the designers were definitely looking to improve crew comfort in these things - the seats are much more comfortable than the ones in a Humvee, the Vehicle Commander's (VC) seat was MUCH roomier than in a Humvee (even my 155 lb ass ends up wedged between the door and the Blue Force Tracker mount in a Humvee), the air conditioning system was top-notch, etc.
For a motorized infantry mission, however, the MRAP's shortcomings are many. It handles atrociously offroad. The suspension is incredibly stiff, with the end result being that you must be tightly strapped in to survive the jostling in the back of the vehicle. Well, my radio operator sits in the back, and those wonderful radios I mentioned before are placed in such a way that the only person who can readily access them is the gunner. Someone that I would prefer keep his attention oriented, you know, outside the vehicle. My radio guy can certainly reach around the gunner's legs and work on the radios, but not if he's tightly strapped in trying to survive the ride.
Because we frequently live and fight from our vehicle, we have to carry an assortment of odds and ends for our radios, weapons, and ourselves. Things like water, MREs, ammunition, spare barrels for the machinegun, and spare items for the radios. The jostling that I just mentioned makes it nearly impossible to store any of these items in the interior of the vehicle without significant modification. We tried removing one of the seats and putting in a wooden box with space for some of these items, but many items were tossed completely out of the box and ended up strewn about the floor of the vehicle. There is a complete lack of weapons stowage for passengers in the rear of the vehicle, and the weapons racks for the driver and VC are designed for M16s, not M4s. One aspect that seems to elude many tactical vehicle designers is that motorized infantry typically store their sustainment load (i.e. rucksacks) externally (see below). This allows the vehicle's internal space to be utilized for items that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, which must be readily accessible throughout the day. Sustainment items can typically wait until a long halt of some sort before they are needed. Yet, the MRAP has no provision for strapping a rucksack to the outside of the vehicle.
7-tons and HMMWVs with rucksacks stored externally just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003
The MRAP is a vehicle that is well-suited for a particular niche, but due to pressure from people such as our lawmakers in Congress, it has been pressed into service in roles that it is not suited for. For a unit that never leaves a paved surface, and rarely spends more than 24 hours outside of some sort of operating base at a time, the MRAP's protection and communications capabilities make it a superb asset. For units that must remain expeditionary, be able to operate in a wide variety of terrain and pursue the enemy wherever he is found, the MRAP is ultimately a poor choice, and I in retrospect I am very glad that Gen Conway is reducing the number of these vehicles on order. Personally, if given the choice, I would take an M1114 or M1152 HMMWV over the JERRV 4X4, and would seek other means to reduce the IED threat through such things as tribal leader engagement and refining mounted patrol TTPs.
For more reading on the subject, try Defense Tech. As you can see, Christian has been leveling similar criticism since last year. Christian's article is one of the more down-to-earth articles I've seen on the subject. He and I had a good discussion about personal body armor at the Milbloggies last year, it looks like we are of generally the same opinion on the MRAP issue as well.
Update: I should point out that the Defense Tech article I referenced above is over a year old. DT's Ground Vehicles category has more articles on MRAPs.
Spanky's Back
By Slab
So, I'm surfing the MNF-W PAO website on the SIPR tonight, and I run across a video clip of GySgt William "Spanky" Gibson. Seems Spanky has returned to Iraq with the I MEF Fires section.
I've got to hand it to him for displaying remarkable courage in the face of adversity.
I mean, volunteering to deploy on MEF staff? Talk about taking one for the team...
Volunteering to deploy after losing a leg is pretty cool, too.
An American Hero
By Richard S. Lowry
Friday, February 29, 2008 was a sad day for the Marine Corps. It was a clear and sunny afternoon at Parris Island, much like the day thirty years earlier when Private Eddie S. Ray stood proudly at attention on the parade deck just down the street. Today, Colonel Eddie S. Ray stood at attention under the watchful eye of “Iron Mike.” This time Colonel Ray stood alone, in front of family and friends.
Eddie Ray’s retirement ceremony was modest, yet touching. Major General (sel) Paul E. Lefebvre presided, presenting two more awards to Colonel Ray and letters of thanks from the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the President of the United States. After the presentations, General Lefebvre spoke of Colonel Ray’s contribution to the Marine Corps. Then, Eddie stood to speak.
It was inspiring to hear one of the Corps greatest modern-day warfighters. Not once did he speak of himself. He spent several minutes talking about those assembled. He did, however, leave us with a gem of leadership. He told us that he learned early that the key to success was to do your job well and to encourage all around you to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
Colonel Eddie Ray is a true American hero. He was awarded the Navy Cross for valor in Operation Desert Storm and, as a Lieutenant Colonel, led the charge to Baghdad in 2003. It is not often that you will find a fierce warfighter, leader and nurturer in a single package. He is the embodiment of the modern-day Marine Corps. Today, there is a tremendous void in the Corps. Eddie Ray’s spot will not be filled easily. But, the legend of Eddie Ray will live on. His ethos will be carried by those who knew and served with him.
Thank you, Colonel Ray for thirty years of service. Thank you for your heroism. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for helping to make the Corps what it is today. You will be missed and never forgotten.
Richard S. Lowry is the author of "The Gulf War Chronicles" and "Marines in the Garden of Eden."
Barbarian 6
By
Richard S. Lowry
Marine Lieutenant Colonel Eddie Ray (Barbarian 6) spearheaded the 1st Marine Regiment’s charge to Baghdad as commander of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This was not his first taste of battle. Ray is a decorated veteran of Operation Desert Storm. Following is a short, updated, excerpt from “The Gulf War Chronicles” which reveals the details of Ray’s first encounter with Saddam’s army.
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