“It was well planned,” said Estonian 1st Lt. Alar Karileet, following an insurgent attack near Patrol Base Masood in late October. “The Taliban were in three positions of four to five men each.”

Taliban insurgents fired on the Estonian patrol of soldiers with Company C, Expeditionary Estonian Task Force, in an open field less than a half mile from the patrol base.

Marine Capt. Ryan Petersen, an artillery officer and Joint Terminal Attack Controller with 2nd Brigade Platoon, 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, sat in the Estonian Combat Operations Center at Masood as the firefight took place, receiving coordinates where enemy fighters were located. Shortly after, one high explosive artillery round landed on the insurgent position.

“The rounds were effective and suppressed the Taliban attack,” said Petersen, of Mishawaka, Ind.

A second firefight broke out less than 10 minutes later from a different enemy position as the Estonian patrol moved to assess the damage caused by the artillery round. Petersen, still in the COC, performed the same actions. A second artillery round, the same kind as before, landed on the second position.

“Artillery we asked for made a direct hit on one position, and no one shot at us from there again,” Karileet said.

There was never a time, in more than two months of combat operations, where Estonian soldiers left the protective wire of Patrol Base Masood or Patrol Base Shamshad, located less than four kilometers away from each other, without the presence of a force multiplier. That force multiplier came in the form of five Marines from 2nd ANGLICO, MEB-Afghanistan.

The team of Marines, led by Petersen, gave the Estonian soldiers the ability to fully integrate themselves into Marine battle spaces in the Helmand River Valley. The Marines provided the liaison capability with nearby 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, as well as the ability to call for indirect fire and aircraft support in the forms of fire missions, over watch and surveillance.

Estonia, which is located along the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, is one of NATO’s newest and smallest members. Estonian soldiers spent the past couple months working to maintain security in Masood and Shamshad. October’s firefight was the first in the Masood District in many weeks.

“[The Estonians] are good infantrymen,” said Maj. Matthew Maz, platoon commander, 2nd Brigade Platoon, 2nd ANGLICO. “We provide the necessary enablers to allow them to do what they are good at.

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Story by Cpl. Aaron Rooks

A dozer pushes dirt to create a 13-foot-tall berm around Patrol Base Lakari, Oct. 2. The base was built approximately one mile from Lakari Bazaar, a market known for Taliban activity. Photo by Sgt. Scott Whittington

Since the first raid on Lakari Bazaar in mid July which turned up thousands of pounds of drugs and bomb-making materials, the Taliban has continued to use the market as a staging area for illegal activity – launching more than 20 attacks against coalition troops in the immediate vicinity from there.

To stop this, more than 300 British troops conducted a second raid in the early morning hours of Sept. 30, seizing caches of weapons and killing several insurgents after receiving enemy fire. To ensure the Taliban didn’t return to their illegal activity, Marines from Company D, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Combat Logistics Battalion 8 constructed a patrol base less than a mile from the bazaar. Afghan national army soldiers and Marines with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, will occupy the new base to disrupt Taliban activity in the area.

“The base will give [2/8 Marines] an opportunity to project their influence on the Lakari market,” said platoon commander 2nd Lt. Mark H. Tetzel, Company D, 1st CEB.

The engineer Marines arrived here 18 hours after leaving Forward Operating Base Delhi, more than 40 kilometers away, and went to work immediately under the 2 a.m. moonlight. This patrol base, 90 miles from Pakistan’s border, is the southern-most base controlled by Regimental Combat Team 3.

“It’s all about survivability,” said Cpl. Joshua M. Firth, heavy equipment operator, 1st CEB. “The bigger the berm, the safer the Marines are on the inside, essentially. They won’t have to worry about direct fire.”

A 13-foot dirt berm was pushed up around an already-existing wall in the new compound, and an outer, shorter berm was constructed outside the larger one to make standoff room. According to Tetzel, this gives another layer of protection from threats such as vehicle-born IEDs.

Inside the compound, engineers using head lamps pounded away with hammers in the darkness, driving nails into prefabricated guard towers, a shower, a hygiene area and field-expedient burnout toilets. Marines from 8th Engineer Support Battalion were responsible for the creating pre-made structures and a group of them were attached to CLB-8. They frequently accompany the CEB Marines on their builds.

“This is CLB-8′s third time to come out with us,” said Tetzel, a former corporal and University of Akron graduate. “Those guys are awesome and won’t stop until the job is done.”

Throughout the engineers’ deployment, they’ve built four observation posts, seven combat outposts of various sizes, and three patrol bases in Helmand province.

Building these posts and bases in the middle of towns and open desert takes a lot of moving parts. This build alone used the efforts of several units. Two Combined Anti-Armor Teams and Marines from 1st CEB’s Route Clearance Platoon lead the 37-vehicle engineer convoy from FOB Delhi, on the lookout for enemy ambushes and IEDs. At the convoy’s tail, 60 Afghan national army troops in vehicles provided security from anyone trying to sneak up behind. Those attached units provided security for the engineers to, at and from the construction site.

“Security is important because it allows the Marines to build the best product they can without worrying about what’s behind them,” said Staff Sgt. Randy C. Jaekel, motor transportation chief, 1st CEB and a Lincoln, Mo., native.

It took the engineers almost 60 nonstop hours to complete the build. With the project completed, the Co. E Marines moved into their new digs with the intent on eradicating the Taliban in the area and giving the local Afghans freedom to shop and run their businesses in safe market.

“We come in, build it and leave,” said Tetzel. “We want to give 2/8 a good product.

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Story by Sgt. Scott Whittington

Habbaniyah tourist village, Iraq, has seen a recent influx of vacationers, a huge improvement from last year. Once a popular vacationing area in the 1970's and 1980's, it quickly lost its appeal as it became a refugee camp for Iraqis fleeing the sectarian violence in Baghdad and Fallujah after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Photo by 2nd Lt. Michele Perez

syed ghazanfar ali () wrote:
Once i was the rooms division manager of Habbania Tourist Village in eighties, and still carry some of the memorable moments of my life over there. Iraqis do love this HTV and to revive it to the past glory will be a great service to the people of Iraq. During my tenure at HTV, i found iraqis,fun loving and looking forward any occassion to whistle and merry. Habbania was a focal point during the war between Iran and Iraq, but this place did provide a sort of solace to the people in general of Iraq. If this place is made more functional and operational, it will be a positive distraction from the destruction of the people by the people of Iraq, may God almighty brings the same vibration to the HABBANIA TOURIST VILLAGE AMEN. abu ghazi

This time last year, the scene at the once popular vacation spot in western Iraq, Habbaniyah Tourist Village, was bleak. The village was nearly empty, and traffic of visitors and vacationers was negligible. Thoughts of the area regaining its luxurious status it once had in the 1970s and 1980s were distant thoughts after it became a haven for refugees fleeing the sectarian violence of Baghdad and Fallujah after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

A March 2008 Reuters news article reported that “after years of war and sanctions, all that remains of the village’s once lush gardens is dirt and scrub…rusted carousel horses seem suspended in the air, and eerie headless elephants are all that’s left of another fairground ride.”

Today, only a year later, Marines and Sailors with a detachment of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, the security force for Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, have witnessed firsthand a complete turnaround in the Habbaniyah Tourist Village. HTV has seen a recent upward trend of visitors with the numbers racking up to 4,000-5,000 people a weekend.

The 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment last deployed to Ramadi, Iraq from October 2007 to March 2008. Maj. Christian M. Rankin, 1/8 executive officer and the security force detachment commanding officer, says the success in HTV came as no surprise to him and his Marines.

“There was never doubt in our minds that victory over the insurgency would be achieved so long as we persevered, stuck by our Iraqi partners, and stayed true to our principles,” Rankin said. “We all understood that at some point, the insurgency would be defeated because they had absolutely nothing to offer the Iraqi people.”

According to Rankin, the success in HTV serves as further proof that the people of Al Anbar Province have rejected the goals, aims and ideology of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Instead of focusing on dodging attacks and violence, the local populace has shifted their focus to commerce and vacationing, as they travel throughout the province to visit the newly reinstated tourist destination. He has complete confidence that the recent success of HTV will spread to other regions throughout Iraq.

“Where there was once violence and murder, we now have children and their families picnicking and enjoying the beach in a safe, peaceful environment,” Rankin said. “People now realize there are alternatives to living in fear… I am supremely confident the success of places like HTV will be replicated everywhere.”

HTV has all of the same attractions we would expect to see at any other resort town: its beach front has a boardwalk, food vendors, playground, amusement rides and a hotel overlooking the water.

The HTV Park Store is a staple in the village and is seated snuggly between the shore and the resort. The store is poolside and has several patio tables and umbrellas lining the front window. Recently, the storefront was filled with dozens of children listening to music and taking in the sights.

Fera Mezhir Hamed, the store owner, says his business has increased by at least 30 percent over the past year. Hamed attributes the increase in visitors to better accessibility to the area.

“Last year you need a badge to get through to HTV and we talked to [local authorities],” Hamed said.

He added that an agreement was made to lessen the restrictions on who could get into HTV.

The focal point in the village is the hotel, which stands at five stories high and has approximately 200 rooms.

Hamed Najem Al-Khelefowi, a worker in the food and beverage department, serves guests in the hotel lobby. Al-Khelefowi has been in the area since 2002 and says things are better now than he ever remembers.

“Business has been very good.” Al-Khelefowi said. “This year is better… very nice, very beautiful year.”

He stood behind the counter with a huge smile on his face as he talked about the improved situation in the area and how a normal flow of visitors has returned to the hotel. Initially, a joint effort led by the Iraqi army, Iraqi police and coalition forces helped increase the safety in the area. But now the IPs are solely responsible for providing security, according to Al-Khelefowi.

“The IPs assist in traffic, make everything more organized,” he said. “Some people act up, so they move them.”

The constant presence of the Iraqi Police has made the area safer, according to Al-Khelefowi. He is also confident that the local police force will be able to maintain the security once the coalition forces leave.

“Yes, of course, absolutely,” said Al-Khelefowi. “They can do the job when the coalition forces leave.”

The general manger of HTV, who has a 25-year career working in the village, is very excited about the area’s prospects for the future. Hameed A. T. Aladai recently returned to reassume his position after he was ran off November 2005 following insurgent death threats.

“This is my life,” Aladai said. “Always my dream to get back.”

Now that he’s back, he has noticed a dramatic change in tourist activity from what he remembers a few years ago when HTV became a safe haven for refugees from Fallujah and Baghdad.

“2004, 2005 no tourist traffic,” Aladai said. “Absolutely nothing … not a chance for there to be tourist attractions, a lot of military traffic [and tourists] could not get through.”

In fact, Aladai explains that the situation was so bad the resort was on the verge of closing over the last three years. He attributes the recent turn of events to the stable security situation in the area and the trust the local populace started to gain in their security forces.

“The security was unstable, especially in ’05,’06 and ’07. These were very difficult times for us,” Aladai said. “The security is the main reason [for the improvement]. People started to trust coalition [forces], trust IPs and the Iraqi army.”

Aladai wishes that one day he will see the same traffic as the ’80s, but is very happy with the recent turn of events. He recognizes the coalition forces for the part they played in setting the improved conditions in motion.

“I have to thank [the] coalition,” Aladai said. “[They] helped provide safety, projects, make things happen…dreams real.”

Although the stability and security situation in Al Anbar province is new and still flourishing, the Marines and Sailors of 1/8 who were here during the height of the insurgency in 2007 and are now back in 2009, are confident the success in the region will be long-term as they carry out their new mission from aboard Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq.

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Story by 2nd Lt. Michele Perez