Defend America Photo Essay ~ Fallujah

Defend America ^ | April 16, 2004

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Fallujah Ambush

Lance Cpl. Richard A. Maria, a truck driver with Combat Service Support Company 113, guards his cargo - ammunition being rushed to support Operation Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah, Iraq - while his supply convoy halts momentarily April 6, 2004. Later that night, the convoy was ambushed by insurgents. Eight service members were wounded and several vehicles crippled, stopping the convoy for more than 12 hours before it could continue on to the Marine base of Camp Fallujah. The ammunition survived the attack. Maria is a 21-year-old native of Linden, Calif. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

Marines and soldiers begin to load a crippled truck April 7, 2004. The vehicle was damaged the night before when a convoy carrying supplies to Marines in Fallujah, Iraq, was ambushed by insurgents. Eight service members were wounded and several vehicles severely damaged. Nearby a metal container of mail burns after being hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

A Marine patrols a berm April 6, 2004, that overlooks the stretch of road where a supply convoy was forced to halt for more than 12 hours after being ambushed by insurgents the night before, in Iraq. The convoy, loaded with critical supplies for Operation Vigilant Resolve, was attacked with roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire. Eventually, the troops and their vehicles got back on the road and reached their final destination, the Marine base of Camp Fallujah. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

Lance Cpl. Nicholas R. Bruce, a landing support specialist with Brigade Service Support Group 7, stands watch over a convoy delivering critical supplies to Fallujah, Iraq, in support of Operation Vigilant Resolve April 6, 2004. Later that night, the convoy was ambushed by insurgents. Bruce is a 20-year-old native of Blythewood, S.C. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon

Fallujah Duty

Infantrymen from 1st Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, look on from a rooftop as M-1A1 tanks from 1st Tank Battalion fire on buildings where enemy snipers took positions. The company entered Fallujah, Iraq, April 6, 2004, to combat enemy fighters who were attacking Coalition Forces from the city. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

A Marine with 1st Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, watches over a terrorist captured with tools used to make improvised explosive devices April 6, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

Machine gunners with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, return fire at insurgents firing from a mosque in Fallujah, Iraq, April 6, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

Machine gunners with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, fall back for repositioning after a brief firefight with insurgents inside Fallujah, Iraq, Apr. 6, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

An infantryman with 1st Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, aims into the city as the company takes heavy small-arms fire from the enemy in Fallujah, Iraq April 6, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

Marines with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, patrol into Fallujah, Iraq April 7, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

Marines with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, patrol into Fallujah, Iraq April 7, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

A Marine with 1st Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, acts as a "Guardian Angel" in Fallujah, Iraq Apr. 8, 2004, keeping watch over fellow Marines on a patrol. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

Sgt Jeremy Miller, a squad leader with 1st Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, draws a floor plan of a building the platoon seized Apr. 7, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

Capt. Doug Zembiec, commanding officer of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, gives orders to his men over a radio prior to leaving their secured compound for a short patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, April 8, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen

 

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[TomasUSMC]

Add more foliage and you have Vietnam all over again. 8 Marine casualties, trucks burning, trying to supply Marines that are prevented from taking their objective by PC powers that be.

Will we ever learn?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Bump!

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[river rat]

Roger that!

I guess I'm too damned old to understand the "strategy"
I'm beginning to get more than a little puzzled..
I'm wondering what the reason could be, to justify the delay in launching the air and ground assault on Fallujah and destroying the bastards that resist...

The longer the enemy is unmolested, the more defenses and booby traps they put in place...

After all this time --- I pray there is a heavy air bombardment before the grunts are asked to move forward..

Semper Fi

[SandRat]

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

I do believe that everywhere the Marines have engaged the enemy, they have won...and are advancing, not retreating, nor are they hiding in caves, spider holes, or tunnels while their hunters move freely about, with plenty of help - from the enemies' own neighbors who are tired of being held hostage by thugs.

The biggest similarity between Vietnam and today, imho, - the usual suspect leftist press-DNC-EU-UN accusers aiding the enemy, undermining morale and endangering our troops, by misreporting and misrepresenting our honorable military - the liberators of the oppressed and defenders of freedom* - as 'babykillers' or 'useful idiots' (labels which, ironically, DO fit the accusers) .

(* who are in the process of successfully accomplishing yet another mission, cleaning up Fallujah).

<*/rant*>

[bert]

Great effort......

Thanks

[Flipyaforreal]

Thank you for the ping! :D Loving these picture posts!!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

RC, great post (as always). Time to tell you (AGAIN) what great work you do and how much you're appreciated. Please be "assured" that we never take you for granted. God Bless you always.

VH&W

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thank you for the kind words, but the DoD photo essays require little effort on my part - 'cept when Outlook Express inexplicably changes the spacing somewhere between copy and paste - a lesson in patience I need, lol.

Writing uplifting captions - that takes skill.

Now, recapping briefings - that's effort.

Convicted, Happy, all glory goes to God. (with gratitude to His Saints)*g*

[ohioWfan]

I mean no disrespect, but you don't know what you're talking about.

There is almost NO similarity between Iraq and VietNam, other than the fact that brave American soldiers are fighting against a very bad enemy.

To continue to say that the two are the same is to say we are doomed to defeat, and our soldiers' sacrifices are for naught.

And I, as the mother of a brave young soldier who just returned from Iraq resent that.......a LOT.

[ohioWfan]

Exactly, Ragtime. Excellent rant, and well deserved.

And those here on FR who continue to regurgitate the leftist comparison to VietNam are undermining the morale of our courageous troops, and should be ASHAMED of themselves.

[boxerblues]

OH NO, their mail truck burned?

One of the convoys that was ambushed was carrying mail to the troops. We did find out that this mail that would of been mailed from the states approx. March 26-28. If you mailed something in that timeframe you might want to do some follow up if it was of any value.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Is your son home yet? Sure hope so! God Bless all our troops, and btw, we agree with you, this isn't Vietnam! To compare it with Vietnam is wrong, it isn't! To keep saying it is will only demoralize the troops and embolden our enemies.

[ohioWfan]

Eric..........is HOME!!!!

THANK you, LORD! He is doing unbelieveably well!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Ok.. that made me cry!

Just brought Art in to look at our young hero!We are both so happy and so darn PROUD! We love to see pictures of our troops home safe. (The media doesn't show this enough).

When we got home from Church on Easter, we had a call on our answering machine from one of our Pilot buddies who had JUST got home! (He surprized his wife by having his son pick him up early. He didn't wait the extra days so she could meet him in Oklahoma.) He had been flying into the Baghdad airport almost daily for the past year. We still have one buddy there doing the same thing. Prayers for "JD" please.

We can't tell you how happy those pictures just made us. You tell Eric his fellow Americans are "darn" proud of his service( and "fellow" Vets one day).

We sent prayers for his safe return, and now we GIVE THANKS that our prayers were answered. :o)

We're so happy for all of you!

God Bless, VH&W

[archy]

You want him to low crawl back and forth along the top of that berm? You don't know much about SMEAC, tactics or following orders.

I learned day 1 during my training with the Marines that you never stand atop a ridge. Walk a few feet below where you can see over it, but don't make such a wonderful target.

If you want to catch the smart old lions and tigers, you've got to stake out some goats for bait.

Saturday, April 17, 2004

'It's a sniper's dream'

A US sniper from the First Battalion Fifth Marines scans the rooftops of southeastern Fallujah.

(AFP/Cris Bouroncle) AFP - Apr 10 12:41 PM

Tony Perry - Los Angeles Times

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Taking a short breather Friday, the 21-year-old Marine corporal explained what it is like to practice his lethal skill in the battle for this city.

"It's a sniper's dream," he said in polite, matter-of-fact tones. "You can go anywhere and there are so many ways to fire at the enemy without him knowing where you are."

Sniping -- killing an enemy from long distance with a single shot -- has become a significant tactic for Marines in this "Sunni Triangle" city as three battalions skirmish daily with armed insurgents who can find cover among the buildings, walls and trees.

Marine sniper teams are spread in and around the city, working night and day, using powerful scopes, thermal imaging equipment and specially modified bolt-action rifles that allow them to identify and target armed insurgents from 800 yards or more.

Sniping experts -- there are several here with the Marines -- say there might not have been such a "target-rich" battlefield for such shooters since the World War II battle for Stalingrad, during which German and Russian snipers dueled for months.

As a military tactic, sniping is centuries old; the first snipers used bows and arrows. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have been a sniper against the Holy Roman Empire.

Weapons change, but the goal of the sniper remains the same: harass and intimidate the enemy, make him afraid to venture into the open, deny him the chance to rest and regroup.

The Marines believe their snipers have killed hundreds of insurgents, although that figure alone does not accurately portray the significance of sniping. A sign on the wall of sniper school at Camp Pendleton, Calif., displays a Chinese proverb: "Kill One Man, Terrorize a Thousand." "Sometimes a guy will go down, and I'll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies," said the Marine corporal. "Then I'll use a second shot."

In negotiations aimed at ending the standoff in the city, the insurgents have demanded that the Marines pull back their snipers.

A shaky truce exists between the Marines who surround the city and the fighters within the circle. But the cease-fire allows the Marines to carry out defensive operations within the city, which among other things they define as allowing fire on insurgents who display weapons, break the curfew or move their forces toward U.S. troops.

While official policy discourages Marines from keeping a personal count of people they have killed, the custom continues. In nearly two weeks of conflict here, the corporal from a Midwestern city has emerged as the top sniper, with 24 confirmed kills. By comparison, the top Marine Corps sniper in Vietnam killed 103 people in 16 months.

"As a sniper your goal is to completely demoralize the enemy," said the corporal, who played football and ran track in high school and dreams of becoming a high school coach. "I couldn't have asked to be in a better place. I just got lucky: to be here at the right time and with the right training."

The military has asked that sniper names not be published. Insurgents were said to have placed a bounty for the killing of any Marine sniper. A Web site, linked to the insurgents, attempts to provide information on snipers and their family members. During Vietnam, the Viet Cong also put a bounty on snipers.

Marine snipers, whose motto is "one shot, one kill," fire from rooftops in crowded urban areas of Fallujah, as well as exploring the city by foot. It sometimes takes hours to set up a shot, as the sniper hides in the distance, waiting for the opportune moment.

Marine officers credit the snipers, all of whom are enlisted men, with saving Marine lives by suppressing enemy fire and allowing their comrades greater freedom of movement.

"The snipers clear the streets for us," said Capt. Douglas Zembiec. "The snipers are true heroes."

Sniper teams have come under fire and suffered casualties. Marine intelligence suggests that the insurgents -- using Russian- and Chinese-made rifles and optics -- have their own sniper teams, but there have been no reports of Marines killed by sniper fire.

Unlike other infantry troops, the sniper has a greater confidence that his shot is not as likely to hit a civilian or a "friendly."

The corporal hopes to get back home by late fall in time to take his girlfriend to a college football game and go deer hunting with his father.

"When I go hunting for whitetail, it's for food and sport," he said. "Here, when I go hunting, it's personal, very personal."

[TomasUSMC]

I understand that we don't want another Vietnam.
I am also very proud of the Marines and Soldiers.
But I would be ashamed of myself if knowing what I know, I did not do my best to shout from the rooftops that this is
VERY MUCH LIKE THE FAILED STRATEGY AND TACTICS OF VIETNAM.

We allow the enemy sanctuary in Nam, we allow it in Iraq -
Syria-Cambodia, Iran-Laos Jordan,Saudi,and the rest of the middle east are also supplying recruits and arms and morale support.

We allow the enemy to hide in cities and towns were we are not allowed to kill them - Fallujah, Najaf, today, and a thousand places in South Vietnam, especially the city of Hue.

Instead of mobilizing the country and declaring war, and using massive overwhelming firepower we are playing the conventional warfare game that the enemy wants us to play.
All the while, the enemy is rearming with better armament, better tactics, gathering better intelligence - Just Like Nam.

The clock is ticking and the clock favors the enemy. Right this minute they are calculating how to employ WMDs against our beloved heroes in Iraq. And what is our response?

We let them do it. We are trading one dead Marine or Soldier for maybe 50 of the enemy. That is not a win. That is exactly what we did in Nam and we lost. Why?

Because ours are worth 1000 of theirs. Their soldier is some drugged teenager with an automatic weapon, he receives 2 hours of training and is sent to shoot and scoot. Our men and women take months of training. They replace their dead in 5 minutes, ours in 5 months. - Just like Nam.

We refrain from using our Air Power in overwhelming force because we are scared of emboldening the enemy and its allies on the "Arab Street" - Just like Nam.

We have rules of engagement designed by those who are not on the front lines, and we have truces called by those who are not even Americans like the Governing Council - Nam revisited.

We are afraid of the media, of public opinion - domestic and foreign. We refuse to finish a fight today hoping for a settlement that will only embolden the enemy and make it a much more bloody affair later - exactly like Nam.

We could have taken Najafa and that lunney Cleric AND Fallujah by now and the World would have seen that we meant business, but instead we fear the world opinion instead of the world fearing our opinion - again Vietnam to a tee.

The terrorist are loving this slow dance we replay. Everyday they come closer to achieving their goal -

Another Vietnam for America.

Let me say that I want our troops to win and for as many as possible to come home safe.
For the mothers or our heroic men and women in uniform out there, I hope you will not see my comments as anything but

-comments dedicated to the utter destruction and total
annihilation of the enemy as soon as possible; something never sought after in Vietnam.

[river rat]

".....but you don't know what you're talking about."<

Madam - you misinterprete the point we attempted to make..

Due to the CORRECT withholding of information about the REAL stategy of Marine Commanders in Fallujah -- those of us with UGLY recollection of uncompehendable "stategy" in Vietnam, worry more than most that our Marines are being unduely "exposed"...

The "similarity" that was referred to - was the "vision" of vehicles burning, enemy within easy reach to destroy - and not yet unleashing the overwhelming destruction within our means to do so... Obviously, most of us have already seen far more willingness of our politicians and military commanders to FIGHT this war -- than the one we were sent to fight.

I don't know who's post you were reading when you accused me of saying anything related to "doomed to defeat" or "soldier's sacrifices are for naught" -- it was NOT ME and NOT my position at all.

To accuse me of such --- "YOU don't know what you're talking about"....

I'm glad your son returned safely....
I pray every mother's son returns safely...
I wish all of my friends had returned safely...they didn't.

Semper Fi

[speekinout]

We did NOT lose militarily in Viet Nam. Our soldiers won the war. We lost because we allowed the Leftists and Peaceniks in this country to convince Congress that we had to surrender.

This is NOT another Viet Nam because there are too many of us who will not allow our gov't to surrender again.

Our military will win, and President Bush and his team will stand behind them. The majority of the country will stand behind the President.