Let’s see if they stay cleared. Take and hold works better in any war than take and retake.

Marines from 2/3 and Afghan national army soldiers move across a wheat field in the Buji Bhast Mountains Oct. 10 during Operation Germinate. Photo by Lance Cpl. John Hitesman

Marines from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment conducted Operation Germinate to clear Taliban insurgents out of a pass through the Buji Bhast Mountains near here Oct. 6-10, 2009. The pass is the most direct route from the southern plain here to the district center of Golestan District in the mountains, where part of 2/3′s Company F is located.

The first element of 100 Marines left here by convoy the evening of Oct. 7 headed for the southern entrance to the pass. Hours later, a second airborne contingent of 100 more Marines and Afghan soldiers flew into previously identified positions in the pass to keep the enemy from escaping into the mountains. The Marine and Afghan national army forces aimed to push the enemy out – one way or another.

“I figured it was either going to be a ghost town or it was going to be a significant battle,” said Capt. Francisco X. Zavala, Company F commanding officer, “Unfortunately, there was some battle, but it was nothing my Marines couldn’t handle.”

As the ground-side element rolled through the pass, the rest of the Marines and ANA soldiers who had been inserted via helicopter blocked the eastern and northern exit routes. Their supporting mission was to stop and search Afghans fleeing the area and prevent any possible insurgent support from reinforcing their comrades.

It didn’t take long for them to attract the wrong kind of attention.

“We saw spotters throughout the hills, and we were just waiting for something to happen,” said Staff Sgt. Luke N. Medlin, the engineer platoon sergeant and part of the eastern blocking position.

A few hours after they assumed these blocking positions, the Marines and Afghan soldiers started receiving fire from machine guns, rifles and mortars from enemy positions in the surrounding hills. The Marines quickly dispatched the initial attackers and called in a UH-1N Huey, an AH-1W Super Cobra and an F/A-18 Hornet to destroy the enemy position further uphill.

“We were attacked from a well-fortified fighting position in the hills,” Medlin said. “My Marines quickly returned fire, giving us time to maneuver and overwhelm the position with fire until air support got there.”

Once the sound of gunfire died away, the Marines began searching the mud-brick buildings scattered throughout the pass to ensure they hadn’t missed any hidden insurgents and introduce themselves to the people living there.

The Marines spent the next two days moving from compound to compound, working with the people and maintaining a visible presence in the pass to keep the enemy from trying to move back in. They did receive some small-arms fire, but it was quickly dealt with.

“During the clearing of one compound, a woman drew a pistol, aiming it at one of the Marines,” said 1st Lt. Shane Harden, weapons platoon commander, F Company. “Lance Cpl. (Justin B.) Basham demonstrated extreme composure and great fire discipline not to shoot her. Within a split second he realized that he could use a non-lethal method to disarm her.”

At first the people in the Buji Bast pass were skeptical and nervous when the Marines came into their villages, Harden said, but after explaining why they were there, the people accepted their presence.

“Luckily the people that were still in the compounds cooperated with us, once they seemed to understand why we were here and what we were doing. It really helped speed things along,” said Lance Cpl. David W. Parrotte, an infantryman with Company F.

During the searches the Marines collected not only weapons and grenades, but also large supplies of IED-making materials, like batteries, connector wires and open radios. They also found 2,000 pounds of ammonium nitrite and 1,500 pounds of sugar, which are both primary components of homemade explosives, according to Zavala.

In some of the compounds, anti-International Security Assistance Force propaganda was found and confiscated. Some of the contraband was linked to two men who were taken into custody.

On Oct. 10, the last day of the operation, male and female corpsmen were brought in to treat and assess locals while battalion commander Lt. Col. Patrick J. Cashman held shuras with elders in the villages. These meetings gave the residents a chance to ask questions and put in reimbursement claims for any goods or property damaged during the searches.

During the shuras, the medical personnel treated and assessed some of the local population for symptoms of sickness and injury. The 2/3′s medical personnel treated approximately 300 people.

At each of the meetings, Lt. Col. Sakhra, commander of the Afghan 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 207th Corps, talked to elders about actions they should take to keep insurgents out of their towns and the pass. He talked about the power of unity against the Taliban insurgents who threaten their way of life and stressed that they need to trust the Marines and help them eliminate the threats.

“Lieutenant Colonel Sakhra did a fantastic job pointing out the responsibilities of the elders,” said Cashman. “He has the cultural knowledge to tell them where they are wrong and how they need to change to save the lives of their people.”

Cashman added that most of the problems in these small, isolated towns result from the younger men having no way to provide for a family or find legitimate work. So, some of them pick up a gun and take what they want. It is the responsibility of the elders to guide their people and help them prosper without using violence as an easy way to make a living.

After the meetings, the people were given food and water to take home, and instead of leaving immediately, the Marines and corpsmen stayed to give as much time as possible for the villagers to bring their sick and elderly for a checkup.

This four-day operation to clear insurgents out of the Buji Bhast Pass promises safer travel for Afghan people and coalition forces alike. But equally important are the first building blocks of trust laid down between the Marines and ANA and the residents of the pass.

DVIDS
Story by Lance Cpl. John Hitesman

The 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment commanding officer Lt. Col. Patrick Cashman and radio operator Cpl. Tavares Taylor approach an 80-foot karez to investigate it as a possible insurgent cache Sept. 23, 2009. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Chris W. Cox

Some people go cave exploring for fun, but when there is a possibility of stumbling on explosive materials, an armed enemy or a nasty surprise they’ve left to be triggered in the dark, it’s about as far from fun as you can get.

Marines from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment are searching wet, pitch-dark tunnels ranging from 40 to 100 feet underground that connect the karez system – a network of wells and tunnels between the snow-capped peaks of the Buji Bhast mountains and the arid desert plain here. The karez system was originally constructed hundreds, maybe thousands, of years ago. These days, insurgents are using these tunnels as a form of covert transportation and storage for IED-making materials. The Marines are putting a stop to that.

“We’ve found evidence of weapons, dwelling, trash. We know they’re down there,” said Company E executive officer, 1st Lt. Husein Yaghnam.

“We can’t collapse them because that will affect the farmers’ irrigation system, but we can deter the enemy from using them,” said the Toledo, Ohio, Marine. “It might open up opportunities just by deterring the enemy from using them.”

What’s it like descending along the sheer walls of these holes that travel all the way down to the limestone bedrock?

“It’s kind of scary, because you don’t know what’s in the wells,” said Personal Security Detachment platoon sergeant Cpl. Jason L. Paul from Shiprock, N.M. The PSD Marines provide security for the battalion commanding officer, Lt. Col. Patrick Cashman, who sometimes personally investigates the wells for his own situational awareness.

“They’re usually 40 to 60 feet down – straight down – and it’s really dark down there,” he described. “Every time we head down, I always tell my guys to be careful.”

Fortunately for these young men weighed down with gear, drinking water, weapons, ammunition and a flashlight, going down on foot isn’t always the first option they try. Sometimes they send down a robot – with varying degrees of success.

The 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment's Cpl. Tavares Taylor lowers a reconnaissance robot into an 80-foot karez as Markbot operator Cpl. Garrett Andrews guides it with the remote controller Sept. 23, 2009. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Chris W. Cox

“Yesterday we sent the bot into three holes. In the first one it could only go in about eight feet, so we had to go in, retrieve it and investigate on foot,” said Markbot operator Cpl. Garrett Andrews the day after a series of tunnel hunts. “Later we sent the bot down but didn’t see any man-made passages.”

In addition to deterring the enemy from using the karez, the Marines are also trying to determine which wells will be irrigating which fields before planting season arrives in a few months.

“We’re also looking at the locals growing poppy,” said Paul. “Yesterday, we found one that is actually being used to water their fields.”

By identifying which wells are directly connected to potential poppy farmers, the Afghan government may be able to convince them beforehand to grow a different crop as they are doing in neighboring Helmand province. Two different areas there – Garmsir and Nawa Districts – have seen a measurably decrease in poppy growth since government workers began distributing bags of wheat seeds around last year’s planting season. This year’s program is already in full swing.

Before that can begin here though the Marines still have a lot of work to do, and their recent activity around the ancient well system has drawn notice.

“Yesterday, the locals were driving by really close taking peeks here and there,” said Paul. “The local insurgents see that too. They’re looking at that to see if that’s another way to get us. We’re planning for that.”

DVIDS
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Chris W. Cox

Lance Cpl. Derek Nelson, a 21-year-old team leader and acting shoe salesman from Chino Hills, Calif., with 2nd Platoon, Company C, Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, helps a young girl try on different shoes.

Marines of Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, distributed shoes and cold-weather jackets to children living in Karmah, Iraq, Jan. 6.

During Karmah’s coldest months, ranging from 60 degrees during the day to freezing temperatures after dusk, many children are without winter apparel and some even without shoes on their feet.

The battalion’s chaplain, Navy Lt. Brandon Harding, a 38-year-old from Kailua, Hawaii, with 1st Bn., 3rd Marines, initiated the effort to help Karmah’s less fortunate youth, contacting various organizations and non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. to help donate clothing several months ago at the beginning of the winter season.

The clothing drive was the fifth the battalion has coordinated, donating approximately 4,500 pounds of clothing overall.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Harding said. “It’s amazing to see how generous Americans are. Hopefully it helps [Iraqi people] see we’re good people.”

Iraqi children lined up by the dozens, patiently waiting to receive a pair of shoes and a jacket to combat the biting cold at sundown.

The children were more than enthusiastic and could not stop smiling and thanking the Marines and sailors for the valued donations.

“It’s very good,” said Hamid Naief, a father of seven residing in central Karmah. “From the first time [coalition forces] got here, things have been very good. This shows the generosity first hand.”

Naief said even as the city’s economic situation slowly improves, it is still difficult to afford clothing for his children and he can not say enough about how much the donation helps his family at such pivotal time.

“We need it so much,” he said. “I do not like seeing the kids go to school or to play with bare feet and without jackets. The Americans helping us means so much. They are our friends and we thank them.”

A young girl holds new boots and a winter jacket to help keep her warm during Iraq's coldest months

Aside from the countless children walking off with new shoes and coats, modeling to their friends their newfound spoils, the clothing drive further promotes relationships with Karmah’s citizens.

Marines trained in urban warfare performed a completely unrelated task assuming the role of shoe-salesmen and fashion consultant by helping groups of young children select different shoes, mindful of complementary colors for their new jackets.

Although the Marines’ training went untested during the clothing drive, most of them were enthusiastic about helping less fortunate children.

“On one side, we just lost a Marine; yet we’re giving [Iraqis] clothes,” said Lance Cpl. Derek Nelson, a 21-year-old team leader from Chino Hills, Calif., with 2nd Platoon, C Company, 1st Bn., 3rd Marines.

“But on the other side – they’re just little kids,” he further explained. “They don’t know [about the complexities of war] and they have to go to school in the freezing cold without shoes or jackets. It feels good to help them, and it’ll just keep helping us gain support from the local people. They know we’re helping.”

DVIDS
By Lance Cpl. Achilles Tsantarliotis
Regimental Combat Team 1

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

An Iraqi man holds his drowning child in Karmah, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2008. Navy Chief Roger Buck, a 34-year-old battalion medical chief from Niceville, Fla., with Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, saw the limp child cradled in his father’s arms and immediately began administering CPR on the drown victim, saving his life.

Corpsmen are often considered the medical ray of light for Marines in a combat zone.

Sometimes their light shines bright enough to reach local Iraqis in need, whether it be during a routine combined medical engagement, or for one Iraqi child who almost drowned, on the spot emergency medical attention that saved his life.

Navy Chief Roger Buck, a 34-year-old battalion medical chief from Niceville, Fla., with Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, saw the limp child cradled in his father’s arms during an Iraqi key-leadership, joint-forces dismounted patrol.

Buck ran toward the boy and immediately began administering CPR on the drown victim.

“[Our] interpreter explained I was like a doctor,” said Buck. “They told us they found him face first in a canal. He had a light, faint pulse. I tried to calm the parents down then immediately started applying medical treatment. I cleared his airway and started giving him CPR.”

Within a few minutes the boy regained consciousness, coughed up water and was taken to a local hospital for follow on care.

“He did everything he should have,” said Gunnery Sgt. John Schidlmeier, a platoon leader with Lava Dog Assesment Reaction Team, 1st Bn., 3rd Marines. “His actions were admirable; especially for the situation. He reacted even though he was posting security, made sure a Marine took his position and treated the kid immediately.”

Buck said he was merely in the right place at the right time and just doing his job, and the look of gratitude and appreciation on the terrified parents was all the thanks he needed.

Buck insisted that all Corpsmen carry a great load of responsibilities, starting from the first day of corpsman training, to adapt and be versatile with varying situations. To him, it was just another day of life in the operating forces.

“I was just happy I could bring the kid back,” he said.

Days later, the battalion recognized Buck’s heroic actions and awarded him a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his reactive measures and successful treatment.

“There are a thousand things a day that corpsmen do that go unseen,” he said. “It’s always good to save a life. You don’t always get to save everyone, so when you do it’s very rewarding.”

DVIDS
By Lance Cpl. Achilles Tsantarliotis
1st Battalion, 3rd Marines