mopower1958
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This is the type of thing you won't hear in the liberal media about the good we are doing over there.
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 12:00 PM
Subject: From Roger (Head of the 3/7 Brigade)
Hello everyone,
We got everyone out of Iraq and in Kuwait. Our lead company arrived
back in
29 Palms last night. These next few days will mark the end of a
remarkably
successful deployment to Iraq. Unfortunately, the story is not being
told in> the mainstream press but we are winning the fight in Iraq
decisively. The> changes in Iraq are revolutionary- -not incremental as
some in the press are> describing it! The population finally saw the
terrorists for what they are
and joind with the Marines to get rid of them.
We we arrived in April, the fighting was just wrapping up so many of
the
eople were still very skeptical and very scared of the Marines. The
city
was destroyed by bombs, IED craters, and 4 years of anarchy. All of
the
city's services were inoperable; there was no city government, no
department
of municipalities, and all of the city's equipment had been destroyed
or
stolen. The police were a group of local men that decided they had had
enough of the terrorists coming into there neighborhoods and killing
people.
They stood with a small group of police that were extremely brave and
the
Marines to rid their area of the terrorists. They had no formal
training,
no uniforms, weapons... They did know that the commitment they made
was for
good and that if the terrorists returned, they would all be killed
along
with their families.
The Marines of 3/7 attacked these problems with enthusiasm, finesse,
skill,
and an unbelievable work ethic. The police were our first priority. We
partnered with them in every station. In all cases, the Marines lived
with
them and became brothers with them. They did this will full knowledge
that
some of the police this year were fighting us last year. With maturity
and
professionalism they understood that if you are going to win a counter
insurgency you will have to work with the enemy at some point to be
successful. They patrolled the streets with the police, built their
checkpoints to our standards, protected their stations to our
standards,
reacted when they were in trouble... They ate most every meal with
them,
drank chai, smoked cigarettes until they were part of the family. The
police were from the neighborhoods and once we won them over, winning
the
community was easy. We trained the police how to patrol like Marines,
act
like Marines, stand post like Marines, collect evidence, treat
detainees,
and take care of their equipment like Marines. Also, we were able to
get
the rule of law reestablished in the city. The new Iraqi judges
emerged and
their system of district attorneys and courts emerged and became the
standard. We mentored them through this process which was difficult
most of
the time. By the time we left, the police were doing most of the work
themselves. Their intelligence network is amazing, yielding terrorists
nearly everyday that were trying to get back into the city.
The city's services were our other big area of focus. We saw the lack of
services as a gap that if left unresolved, would lead to a reemergence
of
the terrorists. During our deployment, we saw terrorists groups try to
emerge as "aid" organizations to try to beat us and the Iraqi
government at
providing for the people. Fortunately the people saw these attempts
for
what they were and did away with them.
The mess was beyond comprehension. All the fire trucks were gone and the
stations looted. All the trash trucks were gone and the trash was
piled all
over the streets from 4 years of neglect. The sewage flowed in the
streets;
many streets were literally knee high in sewage water. The hospital
had no
doctors, no power, and patients were uncared for. The water system did
not
work and where it did it was not-potable. The power lines were down
all
over the city, transformers were shot up, power stations looted...
Again
the Marines of 3/7 rose to the occasion and attacked these problems
like it
was their own homes and neighborhoods. Fortunately, we were empowered
with
a great deal of money and we completed 350 projects to fix these
issues. We
spent millions of dollars and made remarkable progress to "stop the
bleeding
in the above areas." Once we had the bleeding stopped, we turned our
attention to developing the city's capacity. We worked in each area of
the
city's services to not only fix the problem, but also to leave a
lasting
capacity to maintain the progress we made. Although there is still
much
work to be done in these areas, all of the above services improved
significantly as did the attitude of the population. We also did a
number
of large employment programs, small business grants, and vocational
training
programs that gave the people real opportunity and jump-started the
economy.
The combined effects of what the Marines did were remarkable and truly
awe
inspiring. They became one with the communities they lived in. They
were
referred to as Sheiks by the people. By the end of our deployment, the
Marines had become the most respected institution in Ramadi. As we
left,
there were parties, feasts, and many tears. This movement in Iraq is
grass
roots, genuine, and runs through every aspect of society. We know that
this
movement is solid across Anbar and has spread to Baghdad and other
areas.
Even with nearly 1000 Marines deeply deployed into a large Iraqi city,
we
were blessed on this deployment not to suffer a single casualty.
The Marines of the Battalion clearly demonstrated their will to get the
mission accomplished regardless of what is required. In addition to
what I
discussed, it is still a very dynamic and remarkably complex
situation. The
Marines distinguished themselves each day during many high stress
missions:
capturing terrorists, finding enemy cache', patrolling endlessly, and
manning thousand of logistics support missions.
I feel very blessed to command such a group of men who are loved,
missed,
and supported by remarkable families at home.
Semper Fi
Roger
Sent to my step-dad who is a retired general.
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 12:00 PM
Subject: From Roger (Head of the 3/7 Brigade)
Hello everyone,
We got everyone out of Iraq and in Kuwait. Our lead company arrived
back in
29 Palms last night. These next few days will mark the end of a
remarkably
successful deployment to Iraq. Unfortunately, the story is not being
told in> the mainstream press but we are winning the fight in Iraq
decisively. The> changes in Iraq are revolutionary- -not incremental as
some in the press are> describing it! The population finally saw the
terrorists for what they are
and joind with the Marines to get rid of them.
We we arrived in April, the fighting was just wrapping up so many of
the
eople were still very skeptical and very scared of the Marines. The
city
was destroyed by bombs, IED craters, and 4 years of anarchy. All of
the
city's services were inoperable; there was no city government, no
department
of municipalities, and all of the city's equipment had been destroyed
or
stolen. The police were a group of local men that decided they had had
enough of the terrorists coming into there neighborhoods and killing
people.
They stood with a small group of police that were extremely brave and
the
Marines to rid their area of the terrorists. They had no formal
training,
no uniforms, weapons... They did know that the commitment they made
was for
good and that if the terrorists returned, they would all be killed
along
with their families.
The Marines of 3/7 attacked these problems with enthusiasm, finesse,
skill,
and an unbelievable work ethic. The police were our first priority. We
partnered with them in every station. In all cases, the Marines lived
with
them and became brothers with them. They did this will full knowledge
that
some of the police this year were fighting us last year. With maturity
and
professionalism they understood that if you are going to win a counter
insurgency you will have to work with the enemy at some point to be
successful. They patrolled the streets with the police, built their
checkpoints to our standards, protected their stations to our
standards,
reacted when they were in trouble... They ate most every meal with
them,
drank chai, smoked cigarettes until they were part of the family. The
police were from the neighborhoods and once we won them over, winning
the
community was easy. We trained the police how to patrol like Marines,
act
like Marines, stand post like Marines, collect evidence, treat
detainees,
and take care of their equipment like Marines. Also, we were able to
get
the rule of law reestablished in the city. The new Iraqi judges
emerged and
their system of district attorneys and courts emerged and became the
standard. We mentored them through this process which was difficult
most of
the time. By the time we left, the police were doing most of the work
themselves. Their intelligence network is amazing, yielding terrorists
nearly everyday that were trying to get back into the city.
The city's services were our other big area of focus. We saw the lack of
services as a gap that if left unresolved, would lead to a reemergence
of
the terrorists. During our deployment, we saw terrorists groups try to
emerge as "aid" organizations to try to beat us and the Iraqi
government at
providing for the people. Fortunately the people saw these attempts
for
what they were and did away with them.
The mess was beyond comprehension. All the fire trucks were gone and the
stations looted. All the trash trucks were gone and the trash was
piled all
over the streets from 4 years of neglect. The sewage flowed in the
streets;
many streets were literally knee high in sewage water. The hospital
had no
doctors, no power, and patients were uncared for. The water system did
not
work and where it did it was not-potable. The power lines were down
all
over the city, transformers were shot up, power stations looted...
Again
the Marines of 3/7 rose to the occasion and attacked these problems
like it
was their own homes and neighborhoods. Fortunately, we were empowered
with
a great deal of money and we completed 350 projects to fix these
issues. We
spent millions of dollars and made remarkable progress to "stop the
bleeding
in the above areas." Once we had the bleeding stopped, we turned our
attention to developing the city's capacity. We worked in each area of
the
city's services to not only fix the problem, but also to leave a
lasting
capacity to maintain the progress we made. Although there is still
much
work to be done in these areas, all of the above services improved
significantly as did the attitude of the population. We also did a
number
of large employment programs, small business grants, and vocational
training
programs that gave the people real opportunity and jump-started the
economy.
The combined effects of what the Marines did were remarkable and truly
awe
inspiring. They became one with the communities they lived in. They
were
referred to as Sheiks by the people. By the end of our deployment, the
Marines had become the most respected institution in Ramadi. As we
left,
there were parties, feasts, and many tears. This movement in Iraq is
grass
roots, genuine, and runs through every aspect of society. We know that
this
movement is solid across Anbar and has spread to Baghdad and other
areas.
Even with nearly 1000 Marines deeply deployed into a large Iraqi city,
we
were blessed on this deployment not to suffer a single casualty.
The Marines of the Battalion clearly demonstrated their will to get the
mission accomplished regardless of what is required. In addition to
what I
discussed, it is still a very dynamic and remarkably complex
situation. The
Marines distinguished themselves each day during many high stress
missions:
capturing terrorists, finding enemy cache', patrolling endlessly, and
manning thousand of logistics support missions.
I feel very blessed to command such a group of men who are loved,
missed,
and supported by remarkable families at home.
Semper Fi
Roger
Sent to my step-dad who is a retired general.
