Marines, Afghan police crash Taliban funeral
May 7th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Afghan Uniformed Police asked for Marine help recently to visit a Taliban funeral in Kajaki, Afghanistan, to talk to the mourning elders.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Photographer James Lee and I made the move yesterday from Camp Leatherneck to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. That means the end of our trip is nearing — but there’s still plenty left to discuss about it.
Take Taliban funerals, for example. In a long-form story Marine Corps Times posted online on Sunday, 1st Lt. Brandon Remington shared with me a surprising development between the Afghan Uniformed Police unit he and his Marines train and the local Taliban in Kajaki.
From the story:
KAJAKI, Afghanistan — It was an eerie mission: The Afghan police wanted to crash a Taliban funeral, and they needed Marines to help.
The Afghan Uniformed Police made the decision after learning that two insurgents had been killed by a Hellfire missile strike two days earlier while planting an improvised explosive device. A team of AUP and Marine advisers made their way April 14 to a small Taliban-held village here in Kajaki, and the police summoned tribal elders to speak with Zahir Jan, the AUP’s assistant district commissioner, Marine officials said.
Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., cordoned off the area to provide security, and the police leader told the grieving elders that emplacing IEDs wasn’t a legitimate way to practice jihad, the holy war against those who don’t follow Islam. Zahir, who fought the Soviet army as a member of the mujahedeen, stressed that the Marines were assisting Afghan police and doing no harm, said 1st Lt. Brandon Remington, a Marine adviser who sat alongside him. The elders offered tea to the No. 2 policeman in Kajaki district, but he declined and suggested it might be poisoned, the lieutenant said.
“It was a bold move because no one ever goes there,” said Remington, the officer in charge of 1/8’s Police Adviser Team 1. “Right there you feel safe, but when you get 100 meters away, it’s ‘game on’ again.”
The meeting clearly caught Remington off guard. It occurred last month while we were embedded with another part of 1/8, his battalion. When we returned to Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, he found us, shared his story and expressed amazement at what he had witnessed.
“That only happens,” he said, “in a counterinsurgency environment.”
Marines sport Justin Bieber paraphernalia in Afghanistan?
May 3rd, 2012 | Battle Rattle Marines Pop culture | Posted by James Sanborn
The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, ran a story today about some “Marines” in Afghanistan sporting tight pink shirts with pop-star Justin Bieber on them. When I first saw the headline I thought why would any U.S. Marine — a hardened warrior — sport a tight Justin Bieber shirt?
Then I looked more closely and something seems off. These guys have a lot of hair. And the guy on the left needs to police his ‘stache. The Daily Mail reports that the photos were uploaded to Reddit by someone identifying themselves only as vchama.
Thus begins my conspiracy theory. I think this is all a ruse — part of an inter-service rivalry in Afghanistan. Are these guys Royal Marines? Are they Canadian soldiers who couldn’t resist supporting their fellow countryman? Yes Bieber is Canadian. I thought this must be a practical joke and whoever these guys are stole some MarPat to sully the good name of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Well, as the dedicated investigative journalist I am, always asking the hard questions and digging into the core of what is important to the Corps, I tracked down the user’s account. There I found a caption that didn’t say much, but does say THESE ARE CANADIANS! NOT U.S. MARINES! Also after a detailed forensic analysis of the photos it was revealed that the utilities worn by these solders are not actual MarPat.
As further evidence that these are not U.S. Marines these photos were also on the account.
What do you think the story behind these photos is?
Marines push raids, surveillance as Afghanistan drawdown begins
April 30th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHAMSHER, Afghanistan — Good morning, friends. I’m back at the computer now after a foot patrol in Sangin’s Green Zone this morning with Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. We pushed through fields, canals and trails for several hours, and it was relatively uneventful.
One thing I would like to point out today: Marine Corps Times has posted online another of my long-form features out of Kajaki district. It highlights the increasing prominence of surveillance and raids for Marines in Afghanistan, particularly in light of the planned drawdown of forces there.
Conducting raids successfully requires massive amounts of planning and understanding, however. Marines must know where Taliban fighters and their weapons caches are, and the best way to strike.
Staff Sgt. Matthew Hutchenson, a platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., put it well:
I guess I can say that now I know what a cop feels like on a stakeout,” said the platoon sergeant for 1/8′s 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company. “You wait, and wait, and wait – and then you get what you need and move on them.”
The raids and surveillance have been particularly helpful in the Zamindawar area of Kajaki, Marines said. The region is a known insurgent staging ground where coalition forces have confiscated mass quantities of drugs, weapons and materials used to make improvised explosive devices.
Watching Hutchenson and other Marines observe Zamindawar from Observation Post Shrine made for a fascinating evening.
Gunfire and children: A day on the ground in Sangin
April 27th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Sangin | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Female Engagement Team members Staff Sgt. Kimberly Taylor and Cpl. Austin Walswick, along with interpreters Susan and Salim Mandokhil, conduct a "children's shura" once a week in Sangin, Afghanistan, to educate the children and engage with the local populace. (James J. Lee / Staff)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE TABAC, Afghanistan – In just a few short hours, I saw both sides of Sangin.
On one hand, photographer James Lee and I visited a shura, or meeting, that brought together 67 boys and 25 girls at the gates of this base, the headquarters of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. Most of the children sat obediently in straight rows on the ground as two interpreters and two Marines with a Female Engagement Team taught lessons about geography, civics and poetry.
A few hours later, we heard our first gunshots fired in anger during this trip to Afghanistan. Sitting in on a resupply convoy mission from FOB Tabac to nearby Patrol Base Georgia, we heard harassing fire nearby aimed at Dog Company’s 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, which was maneuvering on foot to meet the convoy at Georgia. We watched and followed Marines with Dog Company’s mobile section as they scanned an open field for enemy fighters and hopped on a compound roof to provide security for the squad that had been under fire.
The contrast captures a large part of the dynamics here in Sangin district. Events like the shura are used to not only build a working relationship with families, but to gather valuable information about the “atmospherics” in a region and how coalition forces are perceived. The harassing fire this afternoon underscores that Sangin is still a very dangerous place and likely to see an uptick in violence after the ongoing poppy harvest ends in coming days.
To backpedal, we arrived here on Tabac on Friday morning. The base is best known as FOB Alcatraz, but it was given a new name within the last year as part of the effort to put an Afghan face on the war. It sits in the Upper Sangin Valley along Route 611, a place that was notorious for violence as recently as last summer. Marines with 1/7 now man the entire Sangin area of operations and work with the growing Afghan National Security Forces.
Not long after arriving at Tabac, we were introduced to Staff Sgt. Kimberly Taylor, 27, and Cpl. Austin Walswick, 21. They’re part of 1/7’s FET team, and they work with Dog Company to build an understanding of the region and its inhabitants.
Today’s shura stands as an excellent example of that. As someone who took teaching classes in college, I was impressed to see that most of the kids listened closely and participated in the lessons taught by the FET Marines and a husband-wife interpreter team, Salim and Susan Mandokhil of Loudon County, Va. That’s no easy feat anywhere.
The children, ranging in age from about 2 to 12, stood at attention during Afghanistan’s national anthem then recited the provinces surrounding Helmand in Afghanistan.
In between, the Marines urged the children to be honest with coalition forces and to watch out for Taliban fighters. The warning wasn’t unlike something you’d give a child in the U.S. about talking to strangers.
“They’re going to have candy, and they’re to offer you candy because they’re cowards,” Taylor told them. “They want to use you as human shields.”
Taylor also raised an issue from a previous shura: A male Marine providing security was wounded in the face by a boy shooting rocks with a slingshot two weeks ago. He won’t be welcome back at another event for kids until he writes a letter of apology to the Marine, Taylor told the other children.
Later in the day, we hopped out on the resupply mission. It gave us a chance to see more of Route 611 and to meet more of the Dog Company grunts, who are spread out in several outposts in Upper Sangin.
Cpl. Kevin Meehan scans for enemy fighters in Sangin, Afghanistan, on Friday. Dog Company's Mobile Section, 1st Battallion, 7th Marines responded to small arms fire directed at 2nd Platoon, 1st Squad by setting up an overwatch position in support of their comrades. (James J. Lee / Staff)
That got complicated when the shooting began. Safely inside the wire at Georgia, we heard a handful of gunshots in the distance. Dog Company’s mobile section, led by Cpl. Jason Skow, pushed a patrol out from Georgia to assist the other nearby squad.
Once they arrived at Georgia, the Marines who had been under fire said none of the potshots were particularly close. They questioned whether the three fighters they saw botched a more complex ambush by opening fire too quickly.
“We saw two of them running through the treeline, but they were a good 500 meters away,” said the squad leader, Cpl. John Drake.
The Marines involved said they haven’t seen many ambushes in recent days, but they expect the violence to pick up by next month after the poppy harvest.
Marines are ‘player coaches’ in Kajaki, commander says
April 24th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Afghan Uniform Police Class 1-12 receive recognition at their graduation ceremony at the Sofla Precinct Station in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on April 9. The AUP are being advised by members of 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejune, N.C. (James J. Lee / Staff)
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — With the war in Afghanistan beginning to wind down, the mission for Marines there is evolving.
Just ask Lt. Col. Kevin Trimble, commander of 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. He sees his troops as “player coaches” for the Afghan forces, and he acknowledges the transition to Afghan control will come more quickly than it did in Marjah and other districts in Helmand province.
“The whole thing is about what is ‘Afghan right’ and what is ‘Kajaki right,’” he said. “We’re doing this fast. Is this Marjah? No. But it has never been Marjah.”
Those are among the details in a long-form story Marine Corps Times posted Monday out of my embed here in Afghanistan.
I’ll have several more detailed reports out of Kajaki, where I spent two weeks on the ground with 1/8.
We realize there are a number of Battle Rattle readers who may not otherwise see the hard-news reports, so we wanted to point them out here.
Your thoughts on the ground covered are appreciated in the comments section below.
Katy Perry kisses …. a sailor?!
April 23rd, 2012 | Battle Rattle | Posted by Tony Lombardo
Pop star Katy Perry portrayed a Marine in her newest video, but when she performed at the Naval Academy last Friday night, it was all about playing sailor.
Perry, who said she was fighting a fever, performed in a sailor get-up. In this YouTube video she proceeds to recreate the iconic World War II-era image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. A lucky service member named “Beasely” plays the coveted role of sailor and promptly plants one on Perry’s kisser.
The crowd, of course, goes bananas.
ABC News offers more details.
Behind the cover: Female Marines head to infantry school
April 23rd, 2012 | Battle Rattle | Posted by James Sanborn
This week’s Marine Corps Times is a must read. In it we give you the lowdown on the Corps’ plan to test women for combat specialties.
Under Defense Department guidance, women are banned from serving in specialties whose primary function is to close with and destroy the enemy. But that could change. In a historic first, the Marine Corps is now planning to send women to the Infantry Officers School as part of a comprehensive research program that looks at whether opening more fields to women is a possibility. Enlisted women could get a shot, too, at one of the Infantry Training Battalions. Also part of the possible plan are gender-neutral physical fitness standards that would apply to men and women and a Corps-wide survey so you can sound off on the matter.
Could women soon be marching into battle as infantry-women? For all the details, and more stories that matter to you, pick up this week’s edition of Marine Corps Times, on newsstands now. Or subscribe here.
Checking in midway through our Afghanistan assignment
April 22nd, 2012 | Battle Rattle Camp Leatherneck Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Three weeks after flying out of Washington, D.C., photographer James Lee and I have reached a milestone midway on our assignment in Helmand province.
Staff Sgt. Adam Mosley, a forward observer attached to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, provides overwatch during a patrol through a poppy field in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on Thursday. (James J. Lee / Staff)
We arrived today on this forward operating base from Kajaki district, marking the conclusion of our media embed with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. I’d personally like to thank all the Marines in the unit who shared their world with us, from battalion commander Lt. Col. Kevin Trimble right on down to the many lance corporals we trailed outside the wire on patrols.
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve no doubt noticed the many slice-of-life pieces we’ve posted in the last few weeks. That’s part of our assignment. However, in coming days you’ll also find links here on Battle Rattle to a variety of hard-news stories stemming from our time in Afghanistan. Marines of many ranks have assessed everything from their hardships and sacrifices to what Helmand province might look like after a drawdown in forces. We’ll share their thoughts along with our own observations in stories appearing in our print and online editions.
For now, we remain here at Leatherneck plugging away on our work. Stay tuned for more dispatches here — we should be embedding with another infantry unit soon enough.
Marines patrol through poppy blossoms in Afghanistan’s Kajaki district
April 19th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Cpl. Joshua Leary, left, and Cpl. Alexander Prasil patrol through the poppy fields near the Helmand River in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on April 18. Marines from Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines operate out of Patrol Base Sheheban, a joint position with Afghan National Civil Order Police and provides security near one of a few area river crossings. (James J. Lee / Staff)
PATROL BASE SHEHEBAN, Afghanistan –- I can say it from experience now: patrolling through the poppy fields of Helmand province is every bit as distracting as I had been warned.
The beautiful poppy blossoms leap out at anyone passing. The flowers — ranging in color from white and pink to a deep, rich rose — stand nearly waist high, and will likely remain in bloom for at least another week. As the blossoms shrivel, farmers will score the remaining bulbs and collect the fluid oozing out. The product is developed into heroin and other opium-based drugs — something that isn’t legal in Afghanistan, and yet the main cash crop for the country.
Photographer James Lee and I arrived on this patrol base this morning, making the move from Forward Operating Base Whitehouse, the headquarters in Helmand’s Kajaki district for 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
It’s a trip complicated by geography. Route 611, the main road in the region, runs northeast up the east side of the Helmand River, but the Marines are also concerned about insurgent activity on the other side of the water. To push the Taliban farther away, they established Sheheban, Observation Post Levy and a couple other outposts that have since been turned over to Afghan forces.
To get to Sheheban, we took a small steel motorboat manned by an Afghan across the Helmand River. It was slightly alarming at first, given the rudimentary nature of the craft. The boats are used regularly by Marines and Afghans alike, however, and ferry everything from livestock to vehicles.
On the other side, elements of Weapons Company 1/8 man Sheheban and Levy. Firefights have not been frequent recently, but the region is littered with improvised explosive devices, said Staff Sgt. Albert Hayes, the platoon sergeant for Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, which has elements based at both outposts. In one March 23 IED strike, a squad leader, a corpsman and an interpreter were hit, Hayes said. They all survived, but were pulled from the battlefield with shrapnel wounds, lacerations and other injuries.
The names of the two Marine bases on this side of the water underscore the extremes in Helmand province. Sheheban was named by Afghan forces, and means “beautiful” in Arabic, Hayes said. Levy was named after Lance Cpl. Christopher Levy, a member of Lejeune’s 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, who shot Dec. 7 nearby and died three days later.
We left the wire with CAAT-2 Marines today, patrolling for several hours through fields and villages. Stay tuned for more images and dispatches in coming days.
Pentagon portrait of Navy captain a prank
April 17th, 2012 | Battle Rattle History and heritage Pentagon Washington | Posted by James Sanborn
The Pentagon’s halls are adorned with artifacts, paintings and portraits that herald each of the service’s illustrious histories. Walking from one wing to another visitors and staff pass portraits of military greats like Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, Gen. George S. Patton, and Adm. Chester Nimitz.
One portrait, however, was a mystery that turned out to be a prank of epic proportions. Check out this story by the Wall Street Journal on how Capt. Eldridge Hord III, now 53, has had his portrait hanging in the nation’s seat of military power for nearly a year with a plaque claiming it was the likeness of an ensign lost at sea in the 19th century.
His modern blow-dried hairstyle finally gave him away.
Do you have any stories of epic hoaxes or pranks from your time in the military?