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1st Marine Division

I Marine Expeditionary Force

Archive: 2006

Car searches bring safety to Iraqi villages

Marines here don’t care if it’s a Mercedes or a beat-up Opel. The “Bastards” are kicking the tires and checking under the hood. The “Betio Bastards” of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment set up vehicle checkpoints to protect Iraqis from insurgents who transport weapons in cars. “VCPs are important out here because it lets the insurgents

Marine company's security reflects on town's safety

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class John S. Cope, a 27-year-old hospital corpsman from Westerville, Ohio, patrols back from a vehicle checkpoint in Sadiquiyah, Iraq, Aug. 17. Cope and Marines of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment set up VCPs to deter insurgents from transporting weapons in vehicles. Cope is currently serving a seven-month

Soccer-ball diplomacy earns trust of local Iraqis

A lot has changed in just a month for Marines here. Marines of I Company , 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment started patrolling this region nearly a month ago, only to be met with stares and a local population that was skeptical. Now, they’re greeted with smiles. Marines and sailors are making inroads with locals through daily foot patrols in

Tank mechanics crucial to Marines’ efforts in Iraq

Leaning on an American tank in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, Cpl. Manuel Morangomez says he doesn’t need any medals or “atta boys” to help him get through a seven month deployment. The satisfaction of helping Marine infantrymen stay alive in arguably Iraq’s most dangerous region is all the reward the 26-year-old Marine needs while serving in this

Marine’s quick thinking saved lives, comrades say

The quick thinking, coupled with a series of well-aimed shots, by a Marine on post saved lives July 27, according to Marines and Iraqi soldiers serving here. Cpl. Jeff Globis’ split-second decision to verbally warn near-by Marines and Iraqi soldiers of an approaching suicide bomber while he was standing post at a military outpost here allowed

In a bid to win hearts and minds, Iraqi police hope to win new officers among insurgent-heavy region

While insurgents wage a heavy murder and intimidation campaign throughout this small, blue-collar town of about 2,000, Iraqi police are beginning to receive crucial equipment to help them combat terrorism – weapons, body armor, uniforms and radios. The fledgling Iraqi police force is based out of the near-by larger Euphrates River city of Rawah,

Tankers honor a fallen comrade

Marines from A Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5 paused their operations to honor one of their fallen, Aug. 14. Sgt. George M. Ulloa Jr. was killed in action Aug. 3 while conducting security and stabilization operations near Habbaniyah. He was memorialized by his fellow Marines at the camp’s chapel. He was 26-years-old and

Prepare to March: 7th Marine Regiment marks 89 years of history, heritage

It wasn’t a formal birthday ball with all the bells and whistles, but Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller would have been proud. Hundreds of Marines, sailors and soldiers currently serving in Iraq’s Anbar province with the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based 7th Marine Regiment, paused for a couple hours Aug. 14 to honor the unit’s 89th anniversary. The ceremony

'New England’s Own' remember one of their own

Silence fell over the room while many bowed their heads and listened to the spoken memories of a loving friend and fellow Marine. “When President Regan stated, ‘Some people wonder their whole lives if they made a difference, the Marines don’t have that problem,’ he was referring to likes of Lance Cpl. Kurt E. Dechen. Kurt made a difference and for

OP Phoenix rises again

The message 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment was trying to send to insurgents Aug. 14 was clear, “you can’t stop us.” Marines of Headquarters and Service Company cleaned and demilitarized an observation post in Saqlawiyah formerly known as OP Stature. The clean-up was called Operation Clean Sweep. The new name for the post… OP Phoenix, and like

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