The Provincial Government Center for al Anbar, located in the heart of downtown Ramadi, was a vicious and violent battleground for much of the last five years.

But as the city emerges from the violence that has plagued it for so long, thanks in part to Iraqi and coalition forces’ security efforts, the center now stands as a as a symbol of peace and stability. Governmental leaders operate there daily, overseeing a variety of departments critical in continuing the region’s growth.

First Sergeant Patrick J. Dostal, the Headquarters and Service Company first sergeant with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, is on his second tour in the city and is overwhelmed by the center’s development since his first tour in 2006.

“The government center now is a totally different place,” Dostal said. “Before, you couldn’t even see the actual building. You could tell there was some type of structure there, but that was it.”

Dostal said the government center was a key target for insurgents because of its strategic and symbolic importance. They often lurked on the outskirts of the building waging a constant battle, eager to disrupt government operations. The building was so heavily fortified, he said, it could not be seen from nearby streets and the surrounding area was a sea of ruins composed of collapsed buildings and piles of concrete.

“We received plenty of small arms fire, indirect fire, rocket-propelled grenade attacks and roadside bombs always popped up,” said Dostal.

In the last five years, the government center and the area around it has undergone many changes during efforts to secure the building. The concertina wire and large sandbag reinforcements surrounding the area have been removed.

One of the most notable changes resulted from Iraqi government and coalition forces officials’ decision to bulldoze approximately three blocks of rubble around the center.

“All of the abandoned shops, and a building we called the Rashid hotel in front of the [center], were bulldozed,” Dostal said. “The insurgents would shoot at us from those spots. Bulldozing around the government center gave us more room to protect [the center]. The attacks still happened, but not as often.”

The transformation the government center has undergone can also be attributed to the citizens’ revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq.

“The citizens stood up to al-Qaida and now Ramadi is pretty quiet,” said Cpl. Abdias Betancourth, a motor transportation operator with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, who also served in the city in 2006. “The people are determined to get back to a sense of normalcy.”

With the reduction in violence, increased cooperation between Iraqis and coalition forces, and a functioning provincial government operating safely inside the confines of the government center, the city of Ramadi has taken a turn for the better.

DVIDS
By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
Regimental Combat Team 1

Ramadi, the Jewel of the Anbar province, bears along it streets and on the walls of the pockmarked buildings the scars of war. The faces of its citizens show the memory of a historic city brought to near destruction by the vicious battles that have taken place in its streets for almost half a decade.

However, with recent security developments and cooperation between the Iraqi government, Iraqi security forces and coalition forces, the city is returning to its proud status as the capital of al Anbar.

The Iraqi people continue to progress forward and take the lead in fighting terrorists and rebuilding Ramadi. They are patching up the bullet holes, repaving war-torn streets, and the citizens are walking proudly with the look of hope in their eyes; the city is theirs again.

“The mayor is working to improve the city, build schools for the children and rebuild key facilities like the waste water facility, the electrical
power plants, and a train station as well,” said 1st Lt. Marc B. Quesenberry, a 25-year-old combat engineer, from Floyd, Va., with Company C., 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1.

These infrastructure advances are possible because of the ever growing relationship between Iraqi and coalition forces. With the enhanced security and the renovations, Ramadi is quickly becoming a success story.

“The Iraqi police, the Iraqi highway patrol, and the provincial security forces have all played a very vital role in keeping the security inside and outside the city,” said Quesenberry.

With Iraqi forces manning the posts, actively patrolling the streets and engaging the locals, Marines are serving as advisors and can utilize the their time to aid in other projects in efforts to improve the city.

Marines with Company C., 2nd CEB, attached to 1st Bn., 9th Marines, are doing their part to help clean up the streets and return a sense of pride to the people of Ramadi by removing any unnecessary materials resembling signs of war throughout the city.

“We are taking down concrete barriers as well as concertina wire, a collapsible reusable form of barbed wire, and moving any unnecessary military objects to return Iraq back to normalcy,” said Quesenberry.

Clearing away the barriers and concertina wire, much like the fall of the Berlin Wall is not just the removal of signs of war, but the symbolism of demilitarizing a city that hosted some of the most brutal house to house fighting Marines have seen since Hue City in Vietnam.

“With the change of the enemy environment and the change of us pulling back and moving towards an over watch position we are taking away some of those military looking objects so people don’t feel like they are in a war zone anymore,” said Quesenberry.

The mission for Marines in Ramadi has changed drastically over the last few years and now they are able to accomplish tasks they never thought would be possible.

“Last time I was here, I would have never thought about jumping out of a truck to get rid of a barrier, I would have been too worried it was booby trapped,” said Cpl. Michael Robinson, a 22-year-old motor transport operator from Glenmore, Pa., with 2nd CEB, attached to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.

For an outsider looking in, the time spent cleaning up Ramadi by many may seem tedious and not part of the mission for Marines in Iraq. However, many Marines look at it from a different standpoint and are proud of their accomplishments.

“It’s not about the hard feelings, it’s not about everything that happened in the past, it shows Marines didn’t give their lives for nothing, the city is improving and there is something to show for their hard work and sacrifice,” said Sgt. Robert L. Sullivan, a combat engineer with C Co., 2nd CEB, attached to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.

The hard work by both the Iraqis and the Marines is paying off. Ramadi, as well as the entire Anbar province is getting closer and closer to restoring the full beauty to its cities.

DVIDS
By Cpl. Stephen McGinnis
Regimental Combat Team 1 Public Affairs Office

The halls remain empty, the sirens are silent, the only thing collecting on the floor is dust from the staff walking in and out; boredom is consistent, and no one is complaining.

This is the state of one of the U.S. forces most actively used hospitals in Iraq, Fallujah Surgical. Fallujah Surgical, once a frequent stop for combat casualties, is no longer treating many injured warriors in combat due to the sharp decrease in violence in al Anbar province, but is instead a clinic treating common day-to-day injuries. The sign outside the emergency entrance, although minute, has big meaning… “No blood needed at this time.”

According to reports, May of 2008 held the lowest number of coalition casualties since 2004. Much of that can be contributed to the combined efforts of local sheiks, Iraqi police, Iraqi soldiers, and coalition Forces in quelling the violence.

Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general of the Multi-National Forces – Iraq, stated during his report to congress, Sept. 10, 2007, that the most significant development in Iraq was the rejection of al-Qaida by tribal leaders, and how it has shown dramatic changes in al-Anbar.

“A year ago the province was assessed ‘lost’ politically,” he said “Today, it is a model of what happens when local leaders and citizens decide to oppose al-Qaida and reject its Taliban-like ideology.”

Tribal leaders realized that al-Qaida was lying to them about American forces wanting to occupy their land and destroy their mosques, spawning “The awakening” amongst 41 tribes.

“The awakening was not our move,” said Lt. Col. Bill McCollough, the regimental tribal engagement officer, with the Regimental Combat Team 1. “The tribal leaders and people stood up and said, ‘we cannot tolerate what al-Qaida is doing to us any more.’ We had made overtures to them, but they had to come to the final decision to join us in the fight against al-Qaida. Once they did, we built a partnership to rid al Anbar of the murder, terror and lawlessness of al-Qaida.”

The Marines in Fallujah through recent months have been progressively pulling out of the city leaving only a small contingent of Marines mentoring and assisting the Iraqis to help take control over the city of Mosques. These changes have helped make Fallujah a much safer place for coalition forces and the citizens of Fallujah, leaving coalition hospitals a much more mundane place of employment spent waiting rather than acting.

“The no blood sign is a dramatic change from last year, we don’t need any blood, we don’t have any patients that need it,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Leticia Ruenas, a 30-year-old hospital corpsman at Fallujah Surgical from Pico Rivera, Calif.

Ruenas worked at Fallujah Surgical from September of 2006 to March of 2007.

“We put that sign up last year because we were in constant need of blood. I looked at the log book from last year, for a period of time it was either everyday or every other day that we needed to tap into the blood bank. Since we got out here we haven’t had to use it once,” she added.

In a job where boredom is looked at as a good thing, the hospital staff is stuck in a difficult spot, wanting to utilize there skills they have trained on for months prior to their deployment in Iraq, but also hoping never to have to use them.

“I was expecting a lot more before I came out here, but once I got out here I saw how slow it was,” said Hospitalman Oscar J. Castillo, a 20-year old-corpsman at Fallujah Surgical from San Francisco.

Instead of treating mass amounts of combat casualties, the hospital staff trains constantly just incase their skills are needed by one of the many warriors patrolling the streets of Fallujah.

“We haven’t had nearly as many chances to utilize our skills compared to those before us, but we just try and do some surprise drills to keep our guys skills up,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Alisha L. Munoz, a 30-year-old hospitalman at Fallujah Surgical from Yakima, Wash.

Munoz deployed to Baghdad in April 2006 to October of 2007 and received weekly reports concerning the action at Fallujah surgical and can remember avoiding Fallujah and taking alternate routes around it because of the violence.

“It has definitely slowed down a lot since the last time I was here. The young guys were expecting to come out here and be mopping up blood, because Fallujah always had action and always had casualties, but they aren’t seeing anything, ,” she added.

Unfortunately for some, the images of a blood soaked hallway are not images they expected to see, but images they were forced to see when combat was high and Fallujah was overrun by insurgents.

“As far as between now and the last time I was here, it is definitely more relaxed, from having a possibility of a casualty coming in compared to knowing that you were definitely going to see it,” said Fleet Marine Force Chief Jose E. Perez, a 36-year-old hospitalman, from Rio Hando Texas, Fallujah Shock Trauma platoon.

“It was almost every day we had a combat casualty coming through the door. We had one day when patients outnumbered the staff and we had 115 people on staff. I think we had approximately 117 casualties come in that day.”

Since the summer of 2007 and the formation of the Anbar Awakening, monthly coalition troop casualties have been steadily declining; about two-thirds since the summer of 2007, according to Department of Defense records. An RCT-1 unclassified intelligence report revealed incidents in and around the Fallujah area have dropped drastically from around 250 reported incidents in December 2006, to less than 10 in December 2007. Iraqi army and police units have been working hand-in-hand with coalition troops. Iraqi forces have even started to command and control their own operations.

Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly, commander of Multi-National Force – West said he’s amazed by vast improvements across Anbar province, with a sharp drop in violence and continued progress among Iraqi security forces.

“It’s stunning to me how low (violence levels) are,” Kelly told Pentagon reporters from a video-conference center in Baghdad on, March 10.

“When I left here three years ago, you could not go into the cities — Fallujah, Ramadi, places like that — without a rifle company of Marines, and it was a gunfight going in and a gunfight going out,” Kelly said.

However, coalition forces still remain vigilant in their mission at hand, the number of attacks against them have decreased, but haven’t disappeared.

Just as in combat, complacency is never tolerated and one must remain ever vigilant to perform his duties if the situation calls for it.

“You could get real complacent out here; it gets boring sometimes, so we do what we can to keep us busy. It’s a good thing, it means no one is getting injured,” said Castillo.

DVIDS
By Cpl. Stephen M. McGinnis
Regimental Combat Team 1

Step after step, combat boots hit the pavement. It’s been a few hours for the Marine squad walking the Ramadi streets. Fatigued yet steady, the young men push forward on their routine foot patrol despite the mid-day desert heat; each squad member maintaining a constant alertness with eyes scanning the environment in every direction.

The squad leader passes by a familiar face; a local vender who he sees almost every day. Instantly, the look of exhaustion washes away, and a smile is brought to his face. Lifting his hand, he warmly greets the vender with, “Al salaam a’alaykum.”

Every day, Marine infantrymen like those with Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, patrol neighborhoods and actively engage the community of al-Anbar province. But the Marines are not alone on these patrols; they are walking side-by-side with Iraqi policemen, mentoring and providing guidance as they take responsibility for the safety of their own community.

According to Lance Cpl. Jonathan R. Chapman, rifleman with Company A, the Iraqi police are doing a remarkable job in the lead role.

“The Iraqi police are doing very well,” Chapman said. “They are excellent policemen. They’re all very tactically sound.”

The Iraqi police have taken giant steps over the past year in becoming more independent. This can mostly be attributed to the “al-Anbar Awakening” where tribal leaders supported the coalition forces’ efforts, and took a stand against al-Qaida in Iraq last year. Sheiks throughout the province encouraged tribal members to join the Iraqi police ranks and protect their streets, resulting in Ramadi’s Iraqi police recruitment to sky-rocket. Today, they are more than 9,000 Iraqi police serving in the province capital.

“The Iraqi policemen lead the patrols since we’re in an advisory, we just guide and assist them,” said 2nd Lt. Derek J. Herrera, a platoon commander with Company A. “Either their sergeant or lieutenant lead the patrols.”

Units throughout the city routinely conduct daily joint patrols, focusing on the community’s safety and the citizens concerns; a stark contrast from the kinetic activity and violence a year ago.

“We try to do joint patrols as often as we can, usually every day,” Herrera said; a different circumstance compared to past units in the city. “I’ve heard from friends and other cohorts, you couldn’t go on patrol in Ta’meem for more than five to 10 minutes without receiving fire. The way the Iraqi policemen describe it, Ta’meem used to be at the forefront of the insurgency. It was once referred to as “ambush alley.”

Today shows a more peaceful environment, where Iraqis and Marines patrol the neighborhoods, and receive positive response from the citizens.

“The locals are very friendly towards coalition forces and the (policemen) as well,” Herrera said. “They really appreciate what we do. We’ve never really had a negative reaction from anyone in Ta’meem. The kids run to us and beg for chocolate and the adults really appreciate our help.”

With the positive changes in the Ta’meem area and the progressive steps made by the Iraqi police officers, the station, like many others, is looking towards taking community safety to the next level and bring the city of Ramadi closer to a state of normalcy.

“Our push now, is to make it more police oriented,” Herrera said. “Instead of having ten policemen walk down the street, now we’re trying to make it about only two. That way they can just sit on the corner, talk to the people, and walk the beat around the same block all day. We’re not quite there yet, but that’s the next push.”

MNF-I
By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
Regimental Combat Team 1

Behind the towering concrete barriers and aluminum façade of the trauma hospital, members of a dedicated team make it their job to save lives.

Surgeons, medical providers and enlisted corpsmen deployed to Iraq in February with TQ Surgical, Medical Company, 1st Supply Battalion (reinforced), 1st Marine Logistics Group. They’ve treated American, Iraqi and enemy forces since their arrival.

“We’re globally sourced,” said Navy Lt. Jerry J. Bailey, executive officer of TQ Surgical, and combat veteran with multiple tours to Iraq. He said the unit’s made up of active-duty and reserve service members, some of whom have civilian practices.

Purpose

Their main purpose is to stabilize casualties, provide “life-and-limb” surgery if necessary, as well as safe transportation to other medical facilities in theater with higher levels of care. TQ Surgical is a level-two facility with surgical capabilities, but without the resources for prolonged in-patient treatment.

But the unit is not limited to treating serious, combat-related injuries. Decades of combined experience and diverse medical backgrounds also help the personnel tackle everything from illnesses to sport-related injuries.

“All of them are practitioners of expeditionary medicine,” said Bailey, 39, from Corpus Christi, Texas. “You’re talking about a finely tuned machine here.”

The “fine tuning” didn’t happen overnight. The Sailors started training eight months before their boots touched Iraqi soil, completing required Marine Corps pre-deployment training and at least three separate courses in advanced field medicine.

“After (our classes), we’re more than prepared, almost overly prepared,” said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason L. Galleguillos, a Fleet Marine Force corpsman with TQ Surgical.

He paused for a moment, admitting there’s no such thing as being “overly prepared” in a combat zone.

“We’ve got a small mobile team (operating throughout al-Anbar province). That’s the type of thing we train for, and we have full confidence in them,” said Galleguillos, a 23-year-old from Monterey, Calif. “We had the training available to us, and we had the best of what’s out there.”

TQ Surgical

TQ Surgical is designed to be a self-sustaining unit, providing its own drivers for both ambulances and trucks, its own communications and utilities specialists, even its own security element. All of these responsibilities are filled by Marines attached to the unit.

Their extensive training is essential, considering many of the service members (both enlisted and commissioned) are serving their first deployment to Iraq and making life-or-death decisions.

“Out here, you understand these are real lives coming in, it’s not (a mannequin) anymore,” Bailey said.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Frank D. Dos Santos, an ER physician stationed in Naples, Fla., fully understands the weighty responsibilities, and said his years in the military have led up to this point.

“It’s probably the most meaningful time of your career, being out here and taking care of Marines,” Dos Santos said.

Training Continues

Since May 2007, casualties have dropped significantly throughout Iraq, especially in the Anbar province, but he said that’s no reason to relax.

“Attacks are down, but unfortunately they’re not down to zero, so we maintain a constant state of readiness by performing drills and different training scenerios,” Dos Santos said.

There’s no way to avoid the inherent stress, and running drills can’t simulate the heartache and devastation that comes with losing a brother or sister in arms, but combat veterans are grateful the enemy threat has diminished from previous deployments.

“There’s a whole lot less (indirect fire). I haven’t been shot at yet,” said Navy Lt. George J. Brand, 31, from Johnstown, W. Va. Currently serving as an en-route nurse with TQ Surgical, his job is to accompany casualties while they’re transported by helicopter to level-three facilities in Iraq.

Brand received orders to a military hospital in Spain after Operation Iraqi Freedom started in 2003. He deployed to Mahmudiyah, a city south of Baghdad, a year later. Combat stress isn’t new to him, and he’s noted significant improvements in theater during this deployment.

“There’s a lot less trauma, which means Marines are doing their job and staying safe, which makes us very happy,” said Brand.

Hopefully the troops continue to oblige.

DVIDS