Afghanistan: North Carolina Guard members train Marines, civilians

By Army Maj. Matthew Devivo

113th Sustainment Brigade

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan  - Hundreds of Soldiers from the 113th Sustainment Brigade, a North Carolina Army National Guard unit called to active duty last year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, are deployed here for a short time in order to conduct sustainment and redistribution operations.

 Their deployment has been highly productive in assisting coalition forces in setting conditions for the responsible drawdown of forces in Afghanistan in accordance with U.S. government directives.

The unit has Soldiers serving throughout the Middle East.

 One small group of Steel Warriors stationed with U.S. Marines here was recently recognized for their outstanding achievement in support of Marine efforts in vehicle and equipment consolidation and disposition.

 After the team arrived here, the Marine officer in charge of the camp noted that most of the civilian contractors and Marines were not licensed to operate some of the vehicles, including the mine resistant ambush protected trucks so crucial to operations in Afghanistan.

Part of the camp’s duties involved moving mine resistant ambush protected vehicles to and from the sort yard, wash racks and outbound staging areas, and this resulted in delays in the process and a loss of valuable time.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Kendall Cheek, a member of Company B, 113th Sustainment Brigade, developed a training plan and presented a driver training course to the Marines that was approved, adopted, and put into place.

With the success of the Steel Brigade’s training sessions at Camp Dwyer, the team went on the road to Camp Leatherneck, where more Marines and contractors waited to be licensed. The team had trained an additional 77 service members and civilians at the end of April.

More classes are being scheduled at Camp Dwyer organizers said.

 Marine Col. Christopher Michelsen, commander of Marine Corps Logistics Command (Forward), presented letters of appreciation to the 113th Sustainment Brigade team of Army Staff Sgt. Dirkson Sanders, Sgt. 1st Class Kendall Cheek and Spc. Raymond Frederick, recognizing them for their efforts to make the process flow more safely and efficiently.

“These Soldiers have put in many hours of hard work to support our mission,” Michelsen said.

 “Their cooperation and coordination is an example of joint operations between services and our team’s dedication to ensure mission success.”

New Mexico Guard aviators ‘Steal from the Reaper’

By Army Sgt. Daniel Schroeder

25th Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan - “Medevac, medevac, medevac” comes over the radio as flight crews from Company C, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment, New Mexico Army National Guard run out to a UH-60 Black Hawk, start it up and take to the skies in response to the request for medical evacuation.

The standard for medevac missions are to launch the aircraft in 15 minutes and to get the patient to a medical facility within one hour. According to Army Lt. Col. Christopher Holland, the 1-171 commander, this Guard unit maintained a 99.9 percent success rate of achieving that standard.

Over the past 12 months, Soldiers of Company C, located at Camp Dwyer and Forward Operating Bases Edinburgh, Paine and Delaram, have completed more than 1,400 missions; treated more than 1,800 patients; and flew a cumulative total of more than 3,900 flight hours from across the four locations.

“The crew chiefs and medics did extraordinary work during the course of the deployment,” said Army Staff Sgt. Chuck McGould, the operations noncommissioned officer in charge. “The ability of these Soldiers to be flexible to any changes, such as geographical separation, injuries … and weather conditions when accomplishing the mission was one of the most valuable qualities of the unit.”

In addition to treating American service members, the medics also tended to International Security Assistance Forces partners and Afghan National Security Forces, as well as Afghan civilians of all ages.

Some of those calls left long lasting memories on the Soldiers of Company C long after their missions were complete.

“I remember two medevac calls we got when I was on shift,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Moya, a flight medic with the unit. “We responded to the call of a 7-year-old local Afghan girl who had been burned by oil and a 5-year-old boy with a head injury. The innocence of the children, being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, causes the memory [to] stick with you.”

The Soldiers of Company C come from different backgrounds, allowing them to bring different experiences and knowledge to the team. Their careers, ranging from a curriculum implementation school administrator to a sales manager for a tool company, brought diverse knowledge to the team as well.

“With all the diverse backgrounds and skills of the Soldiers in the unit, it is possible to find someone that has some knowledge about anything,” Holland said.

The Soldiers showed their dedication to the medevac mission by continuing to stay on top of maintaining the aircraft, equipment, and themselves.

“Our mission out here is all about the Marine, troop, or person on the battlefield,” Holland said. “When the crews react to a mission, they go by the motto ‘we will be there and be there fast.’ They have done a great job of getting the job done each and every time.”

With the last 12 months of medevac missions conducted, the Soldiers of Company C, 1-171 can return to their families and friends back in the states knowing they gave all they had helping those in need and living up to the unit motto, “Stealing from the Reaper.”

Face of Defense: Marine Provides Security, Keeps Morale High

By Marine Corps Cpl. Michele Watson

1st Marine Logistics Group

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan, March 9, 2012 – Every service member deployed to Afghanistan has a story to tell. Marine Corps Cpl. Matthew J. Kirby seemingly cannot stop grinning long enough to tell his.

Despite the hardships faced while deployed to a combat zone, Kirby always has a smile on his face and is usually laughing about something. Since he was 5 years old, Kirby said, he dreamed of joining the armed forces.

“As a kid growing up, my dad always told me stories of his time served in Vietnam,” said Kirby, 24, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz. “I knew I wanted to be the best of the best, so I joined the Marine Corps.”

For the last five months, Kirby has served as a gunner for Motor Transport Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, during tactical logistics support convoys in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. “Part of the reason I joined during a time of war was to deploy to a combat zone,” he said. “I wanted to get different experiences most people don’t have.”

He has been given new job opportunities that some Marines do not get a chance to experience. Kirby’s primary specialty is as a crew chief for amphibious assault vehicles. But instead of storming beaches, Kirby is now attached to a security team. As the gunner of his vehicle, his main job is to provide security during missions.

“Kirby takes his work seriously,” said Marine Corps Cpl. Evan McLellan, one of Kirby’s friends and co-workers. “He has high expectations for his junior Marines, and whatever task he’s in charge of gets done.”

Kirby sets the bar high for his Marines, but he also is willing to sacrifice his time to help them when they need it.

“There was a time when we were in [predeployment training], and I was really, really sick,” McLellan said. “I was supposed to stand post that night, but Kirby took my watch so I could sleep.”

Though Kirby takes his work seriously, he is well known for his optimistic and cheery demeanor. “When the morale is down, Kirby is a goofball and can put a smile on anyone’s face,” McLellan said.

Kirby said that while he is glad to have had the opportunity to come to Afghanistan, he is also looking forward to going home.

“I miss being able to sleep in a bed,” he joked. “I’m looking forward to going out with my friends and seeing my family again.”

Panetta Vows to Continue Fighting Taliban, al-Qaida

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan, July 10, 2011 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen based here today that the “most important thing to do now is to continue this fight” against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

The secretary also told service members that their service is making a difference for both Afghanistan and America.

Panetta made his first trip as defense secretary just a week after taking office. He arrived in Kabul on Saturday, and left for Baghdad today.

“It was important for my first trip to be able to come out to the war zone to meet with the young men and women who are putting their lives on the line on behalf of our country,” Panetta told Marines at this desolate base in Regional Command Southwest. “Thank you for your service, for your sacrifice and for your duty.”

The secretary arrived at the base this morning after meeting with Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, Interior Minister Bismullah Khan, International Security Assistance Force Commander Army Gen. David Petraeus and Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the commander of the NATO Training Mission to Afghanistan. The men discussed a range of issues from the training of Afghan soldiers and police to how to affect the transition to Afghan security control by 2014.

At Camp Dwyer, the secretary met with the commanders of Task Force Leatherneck Regimental Combat Team-1, Brig. Gen. Lewis Craparotta and Col. Dave Furness. He had an off-the-record lunch with junior officers.

Panetta visited with an Army medical evacuation crew and the staff and patients at the 115thCombat Support Hospital before moving to the other side of the airfield and observing Afghan army training.

He spoke to more than 250 Marines and sailors at the base chapel.

“Everything I’ve seen here proves to me that you are making a helluva difference in terms of the fight that we’re conducting here,” Panetta said. “You have done everything the president of the United States has asked you to do.”

The base is deep in Helmand province – once a strategic stronghold of the Taliban and their al-Qaida allies. The security bubble has grown to include most of the province, although the Marines and their Afghan allies still face tough fighting in and around Sangin.

Still, Marines leaders told Panetta that they had “neutralized” the Taliban in the area. An Afghan commander in the area told the secretary that he was more worried about infiltration from Pakistan than from local insurgents. The Marines and their Afghan allies have given the people of the province the opportunity to choose their own leaders, Panetta said.

And the Marines are working to build up the Afghan army and police so ultimately they can take over security.

Panetta told the Marines that the effort in the country is headed in the right direction. “You have my commitment that we will continue to head in that right direction until we have accomplished this mission,” he said. “Too many people have given their lives, too much blood has been spilled – both on the Afghan side and the American side – not to apply the effort to accomplish the mission for which they gave their lives.

“You have my commitment that we are going to stay,” he continued. “We’re going to continue to move forward, we’re going to continue to try to accomplish the mission of transitioning to the Afghans.”

The secretary also committed to protect those who protect the country.

“I will do everything in my power to make sure that you have the best support possible – best equipment, best training and best support for your families,” he said. “You deserve no less for putting your lives on the line.”

Marines Discuss Counterinsurgency Successes in Helmand

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan, July 10, 2011 – Progress is undeniable in Helmand province where three districts that were once the heartland of the Taliban saw an 80 percent reduction in enemy activity since August 2010, Marine Corps commanders said here today.

Marine Brig. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, the commander of Task Force Leatherneck, and Marine Col. Dave Furness, the commander of Regimental Combat Team-1, spoke with reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta about progress in their region.

Both men said the Marines are fighting a classic counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban. The unit’s area of operations runs from the Kajaki district in the north through Sangin, Lashkar Gah, Marja, Now Zad to the Pakistani border in the south. There are 5,000 Marines and sailors in the area supported by an Army Combat Service Hospital and Air Force engineers.

“The goal is, when we do population-centric [counterinsurgency] and you are fighting with local insurgents, that the people – their relatives if you will – see the benefits of security, see the advantage of the government and see an opportunity for a future,” Craparotta said. “Between our efforts fighting the local insurgency, the gains of the government and the attitudes of the local population, that many of the low-level fighters will decide they may want to side with the government. They are not making any progress and frankly they are losing and many of them know it.”

The insurgency has degraded over the course of the winter and the summer, he said.

“We certainly haven’t seen what some would call the spring/summer offensive,” Craparotta said. “The offensive was more a Marine effort than a Taliban effort, but there is still a ways to go as far as ending the insurgency.”

The Marine role is to get the insurgency to a level where the Afghan security forces can manage it, and let them assume the lead.

Most of the low-level fighters are local, with many of the mid- and upper-level leaders from the border area of Pakistan. “The cells we [were] fighting about two years ago, a leader would command 30 to 40 fighters,” Furness said. “Today those same leaders have four or five people. They are also trying command from Pakistan via cell phone.”

The Marines and Afghan forces also cut off much of the money the Taliban used by interdicting opium poppy and raiding heroin processing places.

“We control the whole Helmand river valley so we severely interdict his ability to move. We also interdict exterior communications lines,” Furness said. “[The enemy] is under pressure from a lot of fronts.”

And the Marines are working closely with Afghan army and Afghan uniformed police units. These forces are getting measurably better.

But a game-changer is the use of local defense forces and local police forces, “since the insurgents are also local, they know who they are,” Furness said. “As we progress and [Afghan national defense] and local forces develop, it’s harder for [the enemy] to work and operate. It’s harder for [the Taliban] to tax the people. It’s harder for [the enemy] to recruit local fighters so the operations become less and less effective.

“Since the beginning of the year, enemy activity has probably been reduced by 80 percent from what I fell in on in August 2010,” the colonel said.

But the war is certainly not over in Helmand, both men said.

“There is an effort for the enemy to get back in to Marja coming in over the Pakistan border where some of the leadership we think is operating,” Craparotta said. “There is certainly an effort to retake Sangin and there is fighting going on in Sangin and Kajaki. So the insurgency is certainly not over. There is still a direct fire and IED threat in Sangin.”

Community involvement is one metric the Marines use to gauge the success of their counterinsurgency. Local shuras and local elders help choose the personnel for the local police. These police are standing up for the people of their villages, the general said.

The number of children attending school is another metric. “Two years ago in Marja there were probably zero children in school,” Furness said. “This September we will probably have 7,000 to 10,000 kids in school in Marja. Now we have the problem of not having enough teachers in the schools for all the kids.”

The thinking is that a poor farming family in the area is not going to send their children to school – something forbidden by the Taliban – if they didn’t feel secure, he said.

Economic development is another measure. Bazaars are popping up that have nothing to do with government or U.S. spending. People are moving back into the villages and marketplaces and earning their livings.

The Marines are also finding weapons and ammunition caches and many are being turned in by locals. “I had one company that found 500 caches in a seven-month tour and probably 90 percent were the result of tips from the locals,” Furness said.

The Marines will continue the counterinsurgency fight, the commanders said. Time is their ally.

“Where we’ve been operating longer, the progress has been greater which is what you would expect,” Furness said. “As security improves the people want to see the advantage of coming on the side of the government. Ideally what we’d like to see is as security improves, we’d like to see governance and development take off.

Face of Defense: Marine Brings Experience to Unit

By Marine Corps Cpl. Samantha H. Arrington

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan, June 20, 2011 – Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3, established in 2008, is one of the youngest squadrons in the Marine Corps, but its Marines are not without experience.

A gunnery sergeant deployed here with the squadron has served the UAV community throughout her entire enlistment of nearly 17 years.

Lilia A. Garcia oversees all RQ-7B Shadow UAV mechanical and launching operations for the squadron. The Mission, Texas, native joined the Marine Corps in 1995 as a UAV technician.

“I’ve known Garcia since 1997,” said Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Charles D. Carter, the squadron’s maintenance control chief and a native of Newport News, Va. “She is the kind of Marine who is focused like a laser beam on getting the mission accomplished.”

Even though many Marines physically tower over the short-statured Texan, there is firmness in Garcia’s soft words. She rarely raises her voice when addressing her troops, likely attributable to the knowledge she carries after nearly two decades in the UAV community.

“She works longer hours than everyone else in the maintenance department does just so she is available to all of her Marines,” Carter said. “I have developed an incredible respect for her abilities.”

“Working with the junior Marines is one of my favorite parts of my job,” Garcia said. “When the Marines are out doing their jobs, whether it’s launching or controlling the aircraft, I know I’ve done my part. My junior Marines have a lot of potential, and they work very hard.”

When Garcia entered the Marine Corps UAV community, she said unmanned aerial vehicles had recently formed into self-sustaining aviation squadrons. Previously, UAVs were directly attached to the ground units they now support.

“We became a very valuable asset because we were able to use our aircraft to watch over ground troops,” Garcia said. “For the squadron, it is just important that we do our part.”

Deployed Marine Corps UAV squadrons use small, lightweight vehicles that are able to stay in the air for several hours to supply Marines and their coalition partners with aerial information throughout combat missions.

Garcia has deployed seven times to locations all over the world. In 2003, when the United States and its coalition partners began Operation Iraqi Freedom, Garcia said Marine Corps UAV squadrons adopted a heavy deployment schedule.

“We would deploy for seven months and come back for five months and then deploy again,” Garcia said. “Because of that deployment tempo the Marine Corps created [Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3] to try and slow down the deployment rate. It took several years but it has helped.”

Garcia and the other Marines of VMU-3 currently call Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., home. The squadron arrived in Afghanistan in May for its second deployment to support NATO International Security Assistance Force missions.

“When I joined the Marine Corps 16 years ago I didn’t think I was going to stay in,” Garcia said. “I love what I do, though, and that’s what has kept me in.”

Seabees Repair Road, Enable Marines to Complete Missions

By Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class (SCW) Christopher Carson, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE Public Affairs

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan (NNS) -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3, Det. Meerkat, completed a three-mile section of road outside of the protective walls of Camp Dwyer in Afghanistan April 15.

The Seabees deployed from Camp Leatherneck to Camp Dywer in February to repair its road and entry control point (ECP) that was heavily damaged during the seasonal rains this year.

The road repair was an improvement to conditions and made day-to-day travel easier for units who will use the road. Because all of the construction was outside the safety of Camp Dwyer, a Marine unit was on scene to provide security while the Seabees made the repairs.

For some of the Seabees, it was a unique experience.

"This is the first time I've been a detachment officer in charge," said Chief Equipment Operator (SCW) Deanna Robison. "It's been a challenging learning opportunity, but at the same time, it's been great fun working out here and training the troops."

"This project is a good change of pace for me," said Equipment Operator 1st Class (SCW) Peter Izarra. 'm usually the license examiner for the command, so going from a desk job to coming out here is great."

For some of the Seabees, this is their first deployment.

"Coming straight from 'A' school to deployment is kind of trial by fire," said Equipment Operator Constructionman Chase Kerbrat. "It has been beneficial though. I have already qualified on 10 different pieces of equipment and I'm almost done getting my Seabee Combat Warfare Qualification!"

The project took 45 days to complete and improved the tactical and strategic capabilities of the Marines operating out of Camp Dwyer.

NMCB 3 is an expeditionary element of US Naval Forces providing construction, engineering and security services in support of national strategy, Naval power projection, humanitarian assistance and contingency operations.