Marines Lead “Parade” through Sangin’s Green Zone
April 30th, 2012 | Afghanistan Infantry Photography | Posted by James J. Lee
Lance Cpl. Tanner Morgan, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, patrols alongside children and animals in Sangin's "green zone," the agricultural area near the Helmand River. The security patrol was to collect local atmospherics and get to know the terrain prior to the fighting season that traditionally starts following the poppy harvest. (James J. Lee/Marine Corps Times)
SANGIN, Afghanistan — Senior Writer Dan Lamothe and I made it down to Forward Operating Base Shamsher this weekend, joining Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.
Today, we joined a patrol with 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, through through Sangin’s “Green Zone,” an agricultural area that runs adjacent to the Helmand River. The patrol rolled out with several extra Marines, including Lt. Col. David Bradney, battalion commander, and Sgt. Maj. Keith Coombs, the senior enlisted adviser for the unit.
The patrol began to take on the air of a parade when we were joined in the fields by local children and barnyard animals. Soldiers with the Afghan National Army, their weapons brightly decorated, interacted with them regularly, joking with the kids while music played on transistor radios. The whole entourage snaked its way carefully through the poppy and wheat fields.
The Marines of 1st Squad were encouraged by all the activity, guessing that if an enemy threat were imminent, the local youth would have been absent from the festivities.
Still, 1st Squad maintained tight discipline through it all, highly aware of the blood that has been shed here by previous units. They understand that despite today’s festive atmosphere, the mood can change in an instant. The harvest is wrapping up, and Afghanistan’s traditional fighting season is expected to start any day.
Second Platoon, 1st Squad goes on patrol in Sangin's "green zone," the agricultural area near the Helmand River on April 30, 2012. The security patrol was to collect local atmospherics and get to know the terrain prior to the fighting season that traditional starts following the poppy harvest. (James J. Lee/Marine Corps Times)
Dog kisses in Kajaki
April 13th, 2012 | Photography | Posted by James J. Lee
Lance Cpl. Richard Bissett gets some love from Camo, an improvised explosive detection dog at Observation Post Shrine in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on Friday. (James J. Lee / Staff)
OBSERVATION POST SHRINE, Afghanistan – I miss my dog, but I didn’t realize how much until I met Camo, an improvised explosive detection dog. This little position on a hill overlooking the Taliban-held area of Zamindawar is referred to as a “static ambush position,” so Camo doesn’t get much of a chance to do her thing up here.
After sitting for hours at the feet of handler Lance Cpl. Richard Bissett as he stands post at one of the gun positions, Camo tears around the camp kicking up dust, sweeping water bottles off cots with her tail and getting lots of laughs from all the guys up here with her infectious energy.
She’s permanently attached to Bissett’s side, except for frequent stops to get a little attention from other members of the squad. Bissett will have to turn Camo over to a new handler this summer when he returns to Camp Lejeune, N.C., but until then she’s spreading morale to Third Squad, Second Platoon, in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines.
For more from embedded Marine Corps Times journalists Dan Lamothe & James J. Lee, check out the Marine Corps Times blog, Battle Rattle.
MCMAP Demo
March 11th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
CAMP KINSER, OKINAWA, Japan — Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructors Sgts. Justin Kloppe, green shirt, and Joseph Kobrick, black shirt, demonstrate a hip throw while Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members look on at Roberts Field on Camp Kinser Feb. 28. The MCMAP demonstration was part of a day-long phase of the Japan Observer Exchange Program, involving approximately 300 JGSDF members and U.S. Marines. The day included briefs detailing the organizational structure of III Marine Expeditionary Force and 3rd Marine Logistics Group and discussing leadership principles and the presentation of various static displays of Marine Corps weapons, equipment and vehicles. Both Kloppe and Kobrick are with Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd MLG, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sungmin Ahn)
Drill Practice
March 9th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
U.S. Marines assigned to the Silent Drill Platoon practice a drill sequence in preparation for a performance at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., Feb. 28, 2012. (DoD photo by Cpl. Dengrier Baez, U.S. Marine Corps)
Man’s Best Friend
March 7th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
SAFAR BAZAAR, Afghanistan - U.S. Marine Cpl. Kyle Click, a 22-year-old improvised explosive device detection dog handler with 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and native of Grand Rapids, Mich., shares a moment with his dog Windy while waiting to resume a security patrol on Feb. 27. (Cpl. Reece Lodder/USMC)
Marine Corps Trials Swim Practice
February 16th, 2012 | From the Ranks Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
Medically retired Lance Cpl. Chuck Sketch, a Wounded Warrior with the veteran team, swims laps during practice at the 2012 Marine Corps Trials at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 14. Wounded Warrior Marines, veterans and allies are competing in the second annual trials, which include swimming, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, track and field, archery and shooting. The top 50 performing Marines will earn the opportunity to compete in the Wounded Warrior Games in Colorado Springs in May. (Sgt. Mark Fayloga/USMC)
Bold Alligator 2012
February 10th, 2012 | Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
A CH-53 lands aboard USS Wasp in Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 03, 2012. The Wasp is participating in Bold Alligator 2012. (Mike Morones/Staff)
I spent a few days aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp for part of the exercise Bold Alligator 2012 with Marine Corps Times writer Dan Lamothe. I don’t get away from the desk much so it was a nice change of pace to spend some time with the sailors and Marines as they went about their business. As often happens our coverage plans went out the window in the face of unforeseen circumstances, bad weather and some logistical problems but we adjusted as best we could. Despite not seeing everything we wanted to report on, it was a great chance to experience life aboard a ship, especially in light of the fact that many Marines have never served aboard a ship. You can see some of Dan’s work over on the Battle Rattle blog.
Nighttime is the Right Time for Live Fire
January 16th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
ARABIAN SEA (Jan 13, 2012) – Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s maritime raid force identify targets during a live-fire exercise aboard USS Makin Island (LHD 8). The unit is currently deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (MKIARG), which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is also providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Chad J. Pulliam)
Breaking Down Barriers
January 13th, 2012 | Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
Cpl. James Hernandez, a combat engineer with Alpha Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, and a native of Goodyear, Ariz., uses an electric saw to dismantle a HESCO barrier at Firebase Saenz, Helmand province, Dec. 13. FB Saenz is the first of several patrol bases being demilitarized by the Marines of 9th ESB throughout the month of December. (Cpl. Bryan Nygaard/USMC)
AP Photographer Searches For Wounded Marine
December 29th, 2011 | Photography The Wires | Posted by Mike Morones
In this Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after seeing pictures of his evacuation laid out on his bed in the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va. Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel from an IED in Afghanistan in June 2011 cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
AP photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus has covered war and conflict for 20 years. She has received a Pulitzer Prize and the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award for her work. She has spent considerable time covering the Afghan conflict and spent 2 1/2 weeks in June with the U.S. Army’s “Dust Off” Medevac unit in southwest Afghanistan.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Inside the medevac helicopter in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt bleeds profusely from his neck. He and two other Marines have just been hit by shrapnel, with Britt’s injuries the most serious. The medevac crew chief clutches one of Britt’s blood-covered hands as he is given oxygen. I take hold of the other.
With my free hand, I lift my camera and take some pictures. I squeeze Britt’s hand and he returns the gesture, gripping my palm tighter and tighter until he slips into unconsciousness. His shirt is ripped, but I notice a piece of wheat stuck to it. I pluck it off and tuck it away in the pocket of my body armor.
In my 20 years as a photographer, covering conflicts from Bosnia to Gaza to Iraq to Afghanistan, injured civilians and soldiers have passed through my life many times. None has left a greater impression on me than Britt.
I knew him only for a few minutes in that helicopter, but I believed we would meet again one day, and I hoped to give him that small, special piece of wheat. Click to continue reading here
In this Saturday, June 4, 2011, photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army’s Task Force Lift “Dust Off,” Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment. Britt was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. At the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va., Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)