Trip to Iraq
From Rog---
Hello All,
This post comes to you from Camp Victory, Kuwait. After a tiring 30 hour travel itenerary, I have a few hours to write while awaiting follow-on transportation into Iraq. My flight up to this point has been aboard a chartered, commercial 757 that started at March Air Force Base near Riverside, California and made stops in New Hampshire, Iceland, Frankfurt, arriving in Kuwait.
At all the U.S. stops we were greeted by various support groups that made the layover as comfortable as possble. VFWs supplied free cell phone use while American Legions, Marine Corps Leagues, and Red Cross representatives provided greetings, well wishes, donuts, coffee, magazines, and stimulating conversation. It is good to mingle with the older veterans and connect with their past. They love to relate and relive their tales from wars past. It gives a connection between the generations.
The camp here in Kuwait is one of four that have been created out of the desert for the U.S. Though hot, the temperatures are still relatively mild compared to the brutal summers where temperatures can reach 120 degrees plus. Blowing sand is constant and irritating.
My anticipation is rising, anxious to get settled in and start a new work routine. I spoke to my command this afternoon, but they couldn't chat long, they were under indirect fire attack (probably mortar or rocket) as we we talking.
The remiaining trip to my final destination could take another day or so as I await being manifested. From here in Kuwait it is a C-130 ride to Ali Air Base, then a helicopter (CH-46 or 53) ride to Camp Fallujah.
Send your thanks to the USO who provided this network link so that I could send this posting to the blog. They are always there, wherever we are.
Until next time, probably from Iraq.
Rog
Hello All,
This post comes to you from Camp Victory, Kuwait. After a tiring 30 hour travel itenerary, I have a few hours to write while awaiting follow-on transportation into Iraq. My flight up to this point has been aboard a chartered, commercial 757 that started at March Air Force Base near Riverside, California and made stops in New Hampshire, Iceland, Frankfurt, arriving in Kuwait.
At all the U.S. stops we were greeted by various support groups that made the layover as comfortable as possble. VFWs supplied free cell phone use while American Legions, Marine Corps Leagues, and Red Cross representatives provided greetings, well wishes, donuts, coffee, magazines, and stimulating conversation. It is good to mingle with the older veterans and connect with their past. They love to relate and relive their tales from wars past. It gives a connection between the generations.
The camp here in Kuwait is one of four that have been created out of the desert for the U.S. Though hot, the temperatures are still relatively mild compared to the brutal summers where temperatures can reach 120 degrees plus. Blowing sand is constant and irritating.
My anticipation is rising, anxious to get settled in and start a new work routine. I spoke to my command this afternoon, but they couldn't chat long, they were under indirect fire attack (probably mortar or rocket) as we we talking.
The remiaining trip to my final destination could take another day or so as I await being manifested. From here in Kuwait it is a C-130 ride to Ali Air Base, then a helicopter (CH-46 or 53) ride to Camp Fallujah.
Send your thanks to the USO who provided this network link so that I could send this posting to the blog. They are always there, wherever we are.
Until next time, probably from Iraq.
Rog
posted by Just Me at 9:06 AM
2 Comments:
FOB St. Mere was renamed Camp Fallujah when the US Marine Corps cast off the Army's monikers for their new homes as part of a wider USMC effort to put an Iraqi face on the Corps' mission.
An order issued March 25, 2004, by I MEF's commanding general, directed that all base names be changed immediately. As a result, and to connect with the local communities, the new camps' names were associated with the local urban or geographical areas that they are near. The order came on the heels of I MEF officially taking over the Al Anbar province from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division on March 24, 2004. In addition, the order stated that in "the spirit of the Marine Corps, these bases will no longer be referred to as FOBs. They will be designated as camps".
As of mid-July 2004, the Camp Fallujah Post Exchange(PX), one of four main exchanges run by the Marine Corps in Iraq, served residents of the camp, home to the I Marine Expeditionary Force command element and Regimental Combat Team 1's headquarters, along with infantry battalions from nearby Camp Baharia and Camp Abu Ghraib. It offered everything from compact discs to shaving cream.
In the first week of November, with four days to prepare, 1st Cavalry Division moved over 2,500 soldiers and over 650 vehicles to Camp Fallujah, in order to support the 1st Marine Division. For this operation 1-5 CAV, 15th FSB and A/3-82 FA went with the Brigade while 2-12 CAV, 91st Engineers, D/9 CAV, part of 15th FSB and the rest of 3-82 stayed behind in Baghdad to conduct critical security missions in their old areas. After arriving in Fallujah the Brigade picked up 1-5 Infantry (Stryker) from Ft. Lewis, the 2nd Marine Reconnaissance Battalion from the 1st Marine Division, and the 759th Military Police Bn as valuable additions to the Black Jack Bde.
Upon arrival at Camp Fallujah the Brigade immediately set up its command post, and the units began to replace Marine units around the city so they could prepare for the upcoming fight. On the 6th of November the units of the Black Jack Brigade set an outer cordon, sealing the city against civilian movement and setting the conditions for the following Marine operation, Operation Al Fajr (Dawn). Nothing was allowed in or out of this cordon. This prevented the enemy from escaping the Marine onslaught in the city or bringing in supplies and reinforcements.
Great background info sis, Thanks for tracking this down.
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