Supermodel Mayra Veronica shows off the official 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment T-shirt with Sgt. Maj. Richard Mathern, the 2/8 sergeant major, on Forward Operating Base Hanson, Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 20. Veronica and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese visited Marines and sailors as part of a USO tour.

Bob Griese drops back to pass. He sees his target is wide open, and with a quick release he delivers the football to his receiver’s hands.

Except this time Griese was not playing in Joe Robbie Stadium and he was not throwing to his favorite receiver, Paul Warfield. The NFL Hall of Fame quarterback was at Forward Operating Base Hanson, Helmand province, Afghanistan, throwing to Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Carlo Carbonell, a hospitalman with Headquarters and Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

Carbonell, a native of Rockville, Md., just so happened to be throwing a football with his buddies when the two-time Super Bowl champion walked through the Hesco barriers alongside supermodel Mayra Veronica. Griese quickly spotted Carbonell and said, “I’m open!” Carbonell obliged him, not realizing he was throwing to a former NFL star.

“I thought it was just a one-time thing, but he threw it back,” Carbonell said. “Then he kept wanting it. I played catch for about a minute with a Hall of Fame quarterback. That’s pretty cool. Not a lot of people can say that.”

Griese, of Evansville, Ind., along with Veronica, a popular pinup girl among Marines, visited Marines and sailors of 2/8, for a USO tour in Afghanistan, April 20.

This was Griese’s first time participating in a USO tour.

“It’s a pleasure to get out and see our young men working in the field,” Griese said. “I’ve always been interested in the USO and going out and seeing our troops in different countries. Coach [Don] Shula went on one and said he had a great time.

“The more you see the background, you just know that [U.S. Forces] are really prepared. We know what we’re doing and it makes me feel safe.”

The one thing that really stood out to Griese was how Marines work as a team.

“Wherever I go and whatever camp I’m in, I see a bunch of over achievers, team players that are molded together by some of the finest men running the team. These guys could play on any one of my teams.”

For Veronica, who is also an official spokesperson for the USO, this was her fourth tour visiting troops in Afghanistan. However, this was her first time being able to visit a FOB. Hanson, which is located outside of Marjah, is considered one of the safer FOBs in the area, but only after a year of hard-fought battles with insurgents.

“I’m not going to lie, it is a little bit nerve-racking at times,” said Veronica, of Miami. “It’s nothing compared to the work the troops do for us. They’re here battling it out every day.”

Though this is not her first time visiting Marines, Veronica says she is the one who benefits the most after being with them.

“One of the things I’ve always taken from the Marines, and the service members in general, is the sense of heroism that you don’t see often see in the states,” Veronica said. “They are brave souls. The way they give back to us is so amazing. You leave here a new person. You leave here with a different set of values and priorities.”

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Story by Lance Cpl. Bryan Nygaard

Lance Cpl. Kathryn Mannion speaks to an Afghan woman while assigned to the Female Engagement team with Regimental Combat Team 7 in Marjah, Afghanistan, July 7, 2010. Mannion, originally a military policeman, volunteered to participate in the Marine Corps' newest program, designed to engage with Afghan women. Mannion, 24, is from Coatesville, Pa. Photo by Cpl. Megan Sindelar

Marines with the Regional Command Southwest Female Engagement Team conducted reset training here Jan 11-12.

The Marines are required to return to Camp Leatherneck every 45 days to conduct reset training to give them a break from their respective units and share lessons learned before returning to their assigned districts.

Lance Cpl. Kathryn Mannion takes down information while assigned to the female engagement team with Regimental Combat Team 7 in Marjah, Afghanistan, July 7, 2010. Mannion, originally a military policeman, volunteered to participate in the Marine Corps' newest program, designed to engage with Afghan women. Photo by Cpl. Megan Sindelar

“During this reset, we wanted to focus on some of the projects they have been doing,” said Master Sgt. Cherelle L. Peters-Williams, from Ithica, N.Y., and FET staff noncommissioned officer in charge.

Peters-Williams added that because the Marines are getting close to returning home, they are receiving finance and operational security classes.

Sgt. Meredith N. Burns from West Pitteston, Pa., FET squad leader, took part in what is called a “District Deep-Dive.” The forum explains in-depth information in each district the Marines represent.

“We just found out that our district used to have women’s shuras, and we had thought that we just had the first one,” said Burns. “The District Deep-Dive is very helpful because it gives us an insight to why my district is the way it is.”

Not only is the reset training good for exchanging information, it’s also a morale booster because the FET members do not get to see each other very often.

“They have the opportunity to talk about lessons learned, what they saw and what they could have done better,” said Peters-Williams. “This gives them a chance to bounce ideas off one another.”

Peters-Williams said the FET Marines’ mission is to talk to the female population and see what their needs are. If it wasn’t for the FET, the command would not really see the whole picture. They give local women a voice and impress upon them they can be leaders in their communities.

“The FET Marines are doing a great job; we continue to be proud of everything that they are doing,” she said.

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Story by Cpl. Megan Sindelar

Maj. Nina D’Amato, the education officer for Regional Command Southwest, uses her skills as an educator in the United States to help build the education system in Helmand province.

As a middle school vice principal, D’Amato fits the job very well because she understands how school systems are structured and what is necessary for those systems to run properly.

“I am very fortunate, as a Marine Reservist and a middle school principal, I think I bring a very unique background to this position,” said D’Amato. “My training has given me the ability to frame something so massive and put it into slots that people can understand.”

During her deployment, great strides have been made in education in Helmand province. In Marjah, one of the most hostile regions in Helmand province prior to the Marines’ arrival in RC (SW), there were only community-run schools and very few of them. Now there are nine schools in Marjah educating 1,000 students, 40 of which are females. The increase in schools and students shows that progress is being made and D’Amato has been making a difference.

“As I read the reports, I understand that communities want schools across Helmand province,” D’Amato said.

Like many Marines, D’Amato is learning many different lessons she can use when she returns to the states. Carrying a book to write all these down is her way of remembering the lessons learned over the course of her year-long deployment. These lessons range from professional to leadership skills that apply not only to her job as an educator in San Francisco, but also to her future goals.

“The same challenges I have in the United States with teachers and systems and data collection are the same challenges here,” said D’Amato. “The leadership lessons are different, the political lessons I learn are different. So, every lesson I learn I try to write it down, because you can just suck it in.”

D’Amato is also involved with a girls school near Kabul. She is on the board for the school and performs those duties on top of her already large responsibilities of educating the youth here and in the Unitied States. This dedication shows her commitment to the advancement of education in Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan will always stay with me,” D’Amato commented. “I hope to go and become a principal when I get back, but I’m keeping my options open.”

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Story by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Fasci

Sgt. Guadalupe Rodriquez is currently deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan and is assigned to the female engagement team, Regimental Combat Team 7. She is a motor transportation mechanic, but volunteered for the FET as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Rodriquez, 29, is from Sells, Ariz. Photo by Sgt. Heidi Agostini

Sgt. Guadalupe Rodriquez, dressed in more than 60 pounds of combat gear, sat and flipped through pages of Cosmopolitan magazine, stopping at the horoscopes section.

“Scorpio,” she started to read aloud. “You have the travel itch on the third…this is a great time to score trips to tropical locales. Relax at the beach or lake in a nearby town.”

Her four teammates burst out in laughter, all looking around at the Marjah farmland surrounded by desert.

The desert environment isn’t new to Rodriquez, who was raised in Sells, Ariz., although she finds it ironic that she left one desert, only to find herself in another a few years later. Rodriquez, who has been in the Corps for five years, deployed to Afghanistan in March and is currently assigned to the female engagement team, Regimental Combat Team 7. This is her second deployment, the first to Afghanistan, where she is part of the Marine Corps’ newest program, aimed at establishing relationships with local Afghans, particularly women.

“With this culture, you have to speak with the Afghan males before you talk to the women,” said Rodriquez, 29. “We try to engage the entire population – men, women and their children. The toughest challenge I’ve encountered is trying to get the males to allow us to talk to the women. They have very strong beliefs in their culture which makes it hard for us.”

The FET usually find themselves on patrol or convoys and every so often they come across unforgiving water canals waiting for the next victim. Will the Marine make the jump, or miscalculate and continue on with the mission in wet boots and clothes?

“I remember my first patrol,” Rodriquez smiled. “When we came up to that water canal, it was more than what we were expecting. We jumped into it with both feet.”

Before she joined FET, Rodriquez was a motor transportation mechanic. Like most jobs in the Marine Corps, hers is a male-dominated occupation. She enjoys being a mechanic and even works on cars outside of work. She has her sights set on vintage trucks and a 1967 Mustang.

Now that Rodriquez is assigned to FET, she spends her days interacting with local Afghans and making sure her Marines are well taken care of. She is the first one to wake up on mission days, and usually the last to hit the rack. But before she does, Rodriquez spends a good half hour brushing her hip-length hair, inherited from her Native American and Mexican ancestry.

Sgt. Guadalupe Rodriquez hands snacks to a family waiting to receive medical care during a women's medical engagement held outside Combat Outpost Riley, July 10. Rodriquez is assigned to the female engagement team, Regimental Combat Team 7. This is her second deployment, first to Afghanistan. Photo by Cpl. Megan Sindelar

Many noticed her leadership style during pre-deployment training, including Capt. Natalie Kronschnabel, FET platoon commander, RCT-7. Rodriquez made sure the Marines were caught up on their pre-deployment training and ensured they were physically and mentally prepared for their deployment.

“She’s very professional,” said Kronschnabel. “She’s fair with the Marines and when I push tasks down to her, I know they’ll get done the right way.”

Kronschnabel adds that even though the entire FET is dispersed throughout the province, Rodriquez maintains contact with all members of the FET program and ensures they are treated and used properly by their respective battalion.

While on a FET mission, she searches Afghan women and converses with them with either a linguist or the little Pashtu she picked up during training and during her current deployment. Her intent is to find out more about the population in the village and their living conditions.

“By asking them questions and taking an interest in their well-being, it shows the Afghans a different side of Marines,” said Rodriquez. “When Afghans see or think of Marines, they assume they’re all male. But when they see female Marines, they feel more comfortable with us. We’re like the third gender out here because we can speak with men, women and children, whereas the male Marines can only speak with Afghan men and children. “

It’s an honor for Rodriquez to be part of the elite team comprised of female Marines. She believes this breakthrough will change the way female Marines are viewed in a combat situation. FET Marines are overcoming obstacles and leaving their own footprint in Afghanistan.

“Deploying to Afghanistan and being part of this team is an amazing opportunity,” said Rodriquez. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything else. Its definitely life-changing and it opens up your eyes, but it’s very humbling as well.”

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Story by Sgt. Heidi Agostini

A 12-man team put in a place a 36-meter long bridge across a strategic stretch of the Nahr-e-Bughra canal near the town of Shaheed in northern Nad-e-Ali. The town and canal were both seized by British and Afghan forces as part of Operation Moshtarak. Commanders took the decision to order the bridge to be put in place because more routes across the canal were needed to ensure supplies got to infantry troops on the ground. (Photo by: Cpl. Sean Killen)

The first phase of a Marine offensive in a former Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan’s Helmand province is nearing completion, the Pentagon’s No. 2 official said, March 2.

As the military operations of the roughly 15,000 NATO and Afghan forces that have been engaged in Operation Moshtarak since Feb. 13 begin to wind down, the focus in the Marja section of central Helmand is shifting from clearing out the enemy to holding the gains the operation has brought about.

“Our strategy, however, recognizes that military action is only the first step in a successful transition,” Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said today. “The Afghan government and security forces must ultimately take responsibility for security and governance.”

Lynn said U.S. Marines are working alongside Afghan and U.S. civilians to help establish government services in Marja, where the raising of the Afghan government flag at a ceremony last week symbolized the end of Taliban dominion in the region.

Speaking to members of the American Legion, Lynn described continued resistance in Marja in the form of homemade bombs known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which were littered across the area ahead of the operation, according to reports.

“Our soldiers are exposed to great risks daily,” he said, “from IEDs, snipers and suicide attacks.”

U.S. and NATO military officials remarked publicly for months before the offensive on the strategic importance of the southern Afghanistan region and the goal to clear the area of Taliban fighters. The rationale was to allow low-level Taliban fighters the chance to flee, and to warn civilians of the impending attack, officials said.

Marja has been characterized as representing the first test of President Barack Obama’s strategy to add 30,000 more troops in the fight against Afghanistan-based insurgents. As the initial phase of operations comes to a close, Lynn said, Marja has emerged as an area where hope is returning.

“Because of our new strategy, and President Obama’s deployment of additional troops, Marja is one of many cities in Afghanistan that has begun to have hope,” he said. “And with Pakistan’s capture of key Taliban leaders, the strategy of targeting adversaries on both sides of the border is paying off.”

The capture in Pakistan last month of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar — the Taliban’s second-in-command to Mohammad Omar and the top operational commander — had been described previously by the White House as a “significant win.” News of the apprehension came last month amid reports that NATO and Afghan forces had yielded early progress — and some stiff resistance — against Taliban fighters ostensibly under Baradar’s command in Marja and elsewhere in central Helmand.

“We still have a long road ahead,” Lynn said, “but we are working hard with the Afghan government and with our partners to shift the momentum in our favor.”

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Story by John Kruzel

Package about civil affairs Marines on patrol in the city of Marjah as part of Operation Moshtarak. Produced by Sgt. Jenn Calaway.

Interviewees:
• 1st Lt. Aran Walsh (US)
• Gunnery Sgt. Larry Trimmer (US)

Package about the flag-raising ceremony over the war-torn city of Marjah, giving the city and newly established government center back to the people after Operation Moshtarak. Produced by Sgt. Jennifer Calaway.