Marines preparing to take over Iraq's deadliest zone

[thedrifter]

Marines preparing to take over Iraq's deadliest zone




By Otto Kreisher
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
3:27 p.m. February 18, 2004

WASHINGTON ? An advance contingent of the Marine force going to Iraq next month is there now laying the groundwork for taking over responsibility for one of the most dangerous parts of that country, the Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday.

Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has several thousand people in Iraq working closely with soldiers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division the Marines will relieve and with the Iraqi security forces they will work with, Gen. Michael Hagee said.

The Marines are learning from the 82nd how to prepare their ground troops and helicopter crews for greatest safety and how to equip vehicles and aircraft for greatest protection. They also are learning how the 82nd deals with the deadly roadside bombs that have inflicted most of the U.S. casualties, Hagee told reporters.

"We're probably going to be tested when we go in. But we've been working very hard, both with our own forces and with the U.S. Army to make sure that when we transition over, there is no letup from what the 82nd is doing," the top Marine said.

Hagee said a crucial part of their preparation for taking over portions of the troublesome Sunni Triangle, including Fallujah, has been working with the 82nd soldiers to establish relationships with the Iraqis in their zone. They also are developing intelligence networks, "to make that transition as smooth as possible," he added.

The Marines have been talking to the Army and other allied troops in Iraq to learn how they avoid the deadly improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that have caused so many casualties, he said. And they are working with the military research organizations and with industry to acquire technology to counter the roadside bombs, most of which are remotely detonated.

But one of the big advantages the Marines have, Hagee said, is that they will bring a lot of "boots on the ground."

"The 82nd Airborne told us one of the ways you prevent IEDs from going off is to have infantry around," he said.

Because the Marines are organized as a light infantry force, Hagee said, "we bring a lot of infantry."

The 25,000 Marines going to Iraq include nine ground battalions with about 900 infantrymen each, he said.

They also will bring their own helicopters and C-130 transport planes, mostly from the 3rd Marine Air Wing at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, he said. "We will have aircraft survivability equipment on all our aircraft. Everything our scientists and industry can come up with, we're going to equip our aircraft with."

And the Marines will be able to use a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles to survey their operating area and highways over which they are traveling, Hagee said.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/...cnsmarines.html


Sempers,

Roger