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1st Marine Division

I Marine Expeditionary Force

Archive: June, 2004

Marines sewing together new future for Iraq

Marines with 1st Marine Division are helping to rebuild Iraq one stitch at a time. With assistance from the Los Angeles-based charity Spirit of America, the division recently donated nearly $27,000 worth of equipment to the Ar Ramadi Sewing Center. According to Lt. Col. John Lutkenhouse, 1st Marine Division plans officer for economic development,

Doctors warn Marines against using fat burners in Iraq

For many of the Marines and sailors in Iraq with 1st Marine Division, this deployment is an opportunity to shed a few unwanted pounds. But Navy Lt. Christina J. Gondusky, surgeon for Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, warned these Marines and sailors to avoid turning to dietary supplements like fat burners for "quick and easy" results.

Boot camp begins for Iraqi recruits, Marine-style

There aren't any of the famed yellow footprints, but Iraqis are learning the basics of soldiering, courtesy of the U.S. Marines. More than 30 Iraqi men, 18-to-37-years-old from the city of Zadan, got their first taste of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps boot camp. The seven-day basic training package is taught by Marines. The first day of boot camp

Marines prepare boys in blue for duty

The class is small, but with proper training, Marines here are shaping the future of Iraq's security. Marines with Regimental Combat Team 7's military police detachment began training a class of 10 Iraqi policemen June 19 at Camp Al Asad's first police academy. The four-week course, taught by seven Marines and two International Police advisors,

Marine keeps dreams of novel writing on his deployment packing list

Lance Cpl. Eric S. Freeman likes the old-fashioned idea of putting a pen to paper while other Marines enjoy e-mails and instant messaging. For him, the idea of scrawling his thoughts on paper is more than telling his family what's going. He hopes to tell the world. The infantryman from Thousand Oaks, Calif., and assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th

VMI graduate bears class ring on special occasions in Iraq

Cpl. Christopher R. Bowers has a little ritual he performs before every patrol. It doesn't seem like much, but the trained eye, it's tradition he's done hundreds of times. Bowers reaches into his cargo pocket while other Marines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment gear up. He pulls out a ring and slips it on his finger, the ring he earned

Lejeune battalion makes trip into Fallujah

Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., ventured into Fallujah for the first time in more than a month, without a single shot fired. The patrol into the city June 14 - conducted by the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, attached to the 1st Marine Division - had Marines on edge. The city was turned over to the authority of the Fallujah Brigade

Good gear, strong faith keeps Marine in the fight

There's no question Lance Cpl. Richard C. Guillenavila earned the nickname "Bulletproof." While he was standing guard duty at the Government Center of Ramadi June 13, the 19-year-old from Company G, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, was shot right above his bellybutton by an enemy sniper. But not even a bullet could stop the Jacksonville, Fla.,

Lejeune battalion celebrates deployment's halfway mark

It was more than 100 degrees outside June 15. The wind blowing in didn't do anything but move the heat from one place to another. Still, conditions were perfect for Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment to do a little celebrating. The battalion's Marines, deployed with the 1st Marine Division to Iraq from Camp Lejeune, N.C., marked the

Marines restock Ar Ramadi hospital with donated medical supplies

The Ar Ramadi General Hospital has X-ray machines but no film. That's just one of the many problems plaguing the doctors working here. To better equip the city's primary medical facility, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment recently donated nearly $50,000 worth of basic medical supplies to the hospital. "During Saddam Hussein's time, the hospital

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