Another month in the books. The Marines of Blackfoot are really starting to become familiar with not only the terrain and villages in the area, but the people within
it as well. Each platoon has adopted a town, stopping in frequently to say hello, and to establish lasting relationships with our Iraqi brothers and sisters. It is
an incredibly rewarding experience for us all to be working with the locals, since we get to see the direct positive impact we are making here. Yet while we make
friends and continue to get settled, we still remain vigilant, and we are keeping our heads on a swivel.
As spring comes to a close, so does the usual landscape of green grass that had covered so much of our area when we arrived. The region is fast becoming a featureless
desert, and tempuratures are topping the 100s. But operations are flying by, and it is hard to believe we have already been here for two full months.
One month down, only a few more to go. The majority of Iraqi people we meet are very appreciative of our presence, since violence in the area has been steadily slowing. Children smil and wave at us, and we can't help but wonder that perhaps we're doing our part to brighten their future. Yet we are always on the alert, since danger can lurk around every corner in a combat zone. The temperature rises every day, and in a few weeks it will no doubt be sweltering. But we're Marines - we fight in every clime and place.
Our deployment is off to an exciting, fast-paced start. A 22-hour plane ride brought us to sunny Kuwait, where we spent one day before a C-7 Galaxy Air Force jet brought us across the border to Al Asad, Iraq. From there, we were taken by Marine C-130 propeller planes to our current home: Sahl Sinjar Airfield. The days go by quickly, as we have been out conducting reconnaissance of the Ninewa province for weeks at a time. This expiditionary environment will definitely have most of us dreaming about hot food and hot showers.
With spirits high from a job well done at NTC, the Marines of Blackfoot gathered one last time before deployment to break bread and reflect upon a year of hard work and tough training. February 5th’s Warrior Night saw platoon competitions in tug of war, kettle bell toss, hatchet throw, and of course, tackle football. Colonel Powers (ret), a founding member of the Wolf Pack and former CO of Blackfoot Company in the 1980’s, did us the honor of being our guest and saying a few words at dinner. He praised Blackfoot for upholding a tradition of excellence, and admired our generation as “the greatest generation of Marines yet.” Colonel Powers’ words, and Warrior Night in general, marked a symbolic close to training, and a motivating reminder that the next time we draw weapons from the armory, it’s for real.
Well fed and rested from a two week holiday leave period, Blackfoot Company was again back in the saddle, ready to train. In search of unfamiliar terrain and increased operations tempo, the warriors of Blackfoot executed a 150-mile road march to the Army’s National Training Center (NTC), located at Fort Irwin. Here, we and the rest of our 3d LAR brethren would participate in a Brigade-strength counter-insurgency campaign, complete with Iraqi-American role players and built-up cities within our area of operation. Once again, Blackfoot was tasked as the battalion’s main effort, with the town of Al Karma being our primary responsibility. For seven days, dismounted Blackfoot patrols provided security to the civilians of the town and rooted out any anti-coalition forces acting within our area of operation. While these internal needs were being met, other Blackfoot Marines focused their attention outward. By enforcing strict standards at entry control points all around the town, insurgents were detained and their weapons were confiscated before they could mount a viable threat in Al Karma. Our success at Al Karma ended Blackfoot’s major field training schedule on a positive note, and made us worthy of worldwide deployability. Next stop: the combat zone.
This December, as Americans everywhere trimmed Christmas trees and sang Silent Night, Blackfoot Company was busy prepping vehicles in anticipation for Steel Knight, a two week battalion-strength combined arms exercise. As main effort for 3d LAR, Blackfoot Company successfully incorporated battalion air and artillery assets into our fifteen kilometer assault on multiple objectives in the unforgiving Quackenbush Training Area. Concurrently, Blackfoot executed seamless internal suppression, to include direct fire weapons organic to an LAV Platoon as well as 81mm mortar fire. This internal suppression gave way for a fast-paced assault through the enemy’s defensive positions, highlighted by the use of multiple Mk 153 Shoulder-launched Multi-purpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) rocket launchers by dismounted scouts. There is no doubt that 2008 went out with a bang for the Marines of Blackfoot.
As November rolled around for Blackfoot, so did the Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation. During this week-long evolution, we honed our skills in convoy movement, immediate action drills, and combined arms attacks on defensive positions. Brown Platoon established itself as the most accurate and effective 81mm mortar crews in the battalion during these live fire combined arms scenarios. We also continued to train with direct fire suppression during a live fire and movement raid in the Black Top Training Area. Here, uneven terrain was as much an enemy as the targets that represented the opposing forces, as our Marines were for the first time inserted into a live fire situation on rocky, unfamiliar terrain. Our top notch performance was praised by our Marine evaluators from Camp Pendleton, and it was evident that we were no longer simply in the “Walk” phase; we were jogging.
October was a productive month for Blackfoot Company, as we transcended from the “Crawl” phase of predeployment preparation to the vitally important “Walk” phase. Our Company Field Exercise upped the ante in our quest for combat readiness, as we successfully integrated vehicle bounding with dismounted scouts assaulting through dug-in enemy defensive positions. As if that weren’t enough, we Blackfoot Marines whipped it on once more during our Night Field Exercise. Our successful implementation of night vision assets now affords Blackfoot Company the ability to use cover of darkness to bring the fight to our enemies in this war on terror.
