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1st Marine Division

I Marine Expeditionary Force

Archive: 2008

Bravery on the Battlefield

Heroism is defined by the actions of people in extreme situations. These people rarely see themselves as heroes, but they are the heart of the Marine Corps ethos. Cpl. Joseph T. Hand was a lance corporal during his first deployment to Iraq and served as an 81 millimeter mortar man. He now works in the S-3 shop with Headquarters and Service Company,

Reaching out to women of Rawah

One of the undertakings of the Civil Affairs Team is to make heard the voice of the once silenced masses. The feedback they get from the Iraqi people is invaluable towards them finding out what the greater needs of the people are. A challenge they have faced is the separation that is traditional in the Islamic culture. “Fifty percent of the

Operation Amina

Three-year-old Amina Al’a Thabit has one chance at life. On a routine meet-and-greet patrol through the city streets of Haditha, Marines with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 noticed something wasn’t quite right with little Amina. “The first day we saw he,r we thought she was the cutest girl,” said Sgt. Bryan

Healing Iraq from within

Transitioning the security of Iraq back into the hands of the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police is proving to be a winning campaign. Even with the gradual establishment of stability within the region here, there are still transitions to which the Iraqi people must become accustomed to. Healthcare has been a major concern of the populace for some time.

Iraq strides to restore commerce

Loads of fresh goods appear to overwhelm the aged vehicles that carry them and can be seen more and more along the Iraqi-Syrian border. Fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk and endless other goods seem ready to outwardly burst from inside over-packed vans that seemingly could keel over from the highly-stacked roofs. It has been two months since the

Provincial Governor of Ramadi visits Haditha City

The Provincial Governor of Ramadi, Ma’Moun Sami Rashid, visited Haditha City Tuesday to speak with the city’s leaders on reconstruction topics. Three main concerns of the meetings were food-distribution security, fuel distribution and energy allocation. While there, the governor spoke on ways to start fixing and re-building Al Anbar. “The K-3 power

‘Fighting Fifth’ assumes control of western Anbar

Regimental Combat Team 5, the Marine Corps’ most decorated regiment, assumed control of a large portion of the western Al Anbar province during a transfer of authority ceremony here Jan. 22. RCT-5, which is from Camp Pendleton, Calif., replaced RCT-2, which will return to Camp Lejeune, N.C., after serving 13 months here. During the ceremony, Col.

Two brothers bond to stay together

Two brothers from Clanton, Ala., half a world away from everything they know, still have one thing in common: each other. The journey of the brothers working together began when Sgt. Steven N. Penley, 26, squad leader, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, was on recruiting assistance and recruited his brother Jeremiah Penley. “I was in

Betio Bastards recognize “Bone Crushers”

Small unit leadership has very much been a cornerstone of the Marine Corps, stemming back to the roots of its existence. Even in modern-day warfare, it is still the squad leaders and section leaders that are winning the fight from the front. In order to recognize the accomplishments and sacrifices of their small unit leaders, the Betio Bastards of

Fallujah Public Radio educates future generation through airwaves

The Fallujah Public Radio Station kicked off its new children’s education program January 19, at the Fallujah Building Development Center. This weekly, hour-long programming is a promising step for the city’s road back to normalcy, said Ali Hadi Salah Alfhdawi, the director of Fallujah Public Radio. “Children are the future; having this (radio

1st Marine Division