Free Republic

CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq (August 17, 2005) -- On the job, Lance Cpl. Luis Bonilla wields two weapons to accomplish his mission: an online personnel database and a set of paintbrushes. Not even the 12 plus hours he puts in every day dealing with Marines' administrative issues, nor the hardships of living in a combat zone, prevent this 21-year-old Browns Mills, N.J. native from creating his artwork. "I got into drawing around the time I was in fifth grade. I would carry my notebook everywhere," explained Bonilla, an administrative clerk with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. "I picked it up from...

CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq (August 2, 2005) -- It may be difficult to imagine that the movement and operation of more than 1,000 troops rests in the hands of a 24-year-old lance corporal and his six teammates, but it’s a responsibility Murrysville, Penn. native, Dan Williams, shoulders here everyday. “A lot of people here have said that the operations we do are intel driven, and I firmly agree with that,” stated the intelligence analyst with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, a unit from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., currently conducting security and stability operations in and around Fallujah. The former...