What's really going on in Iraq
A message from the U.S. Marine Corps' 'Mad Ghosts'
Posted: January 19, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Editor's note: Lt. Col. Mark Smith is commander of the "Mad Ghosts," the 2/24th
Battalion (U.S. Marine Corps Reserve – Chicago). When he is not leading
Marines in Iraq, he is an Indiana state trooper.
2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Greetings from FOB St. Michael. Hopefully, and prayerfully, this week's update
finds you all healthy, happy and joyful. For another week in your separation
from your loved one is behind you, and you are yet one day closer to that
reunion where a hug will be more than a hug, a kiss more than a kiss and a
touch more than a touch! That moment of reunion will be the point in space and
time when the victory is yours.
Victory over loneliness, victory over stress, victory over challenge, victory
over hardship. Victory over all those things that the devil uses to turn
people's heart to stone, but that the Lord uses to turn people's heart to
thanksgiving. The victory over these things will only be sweetened by the fact
that they were endured for a cause worthy of the pain: the cause of freedom and
security for you, for us, for Iraq and it's global impact on all of our
futures, and for the blessings of liberty that come with the UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA! Bless us all.
Now, with greetings out of the way ... let me get to this week's update.
And, if I might, a short story. I received an email from a reporter from the
Milwaukee Sentinel Journal last week by the name of Meg. Meg requested to do
either a phone interview or a written interview via email.
Well, that one was a no-brainer; given my 3rd grade writing skills, I opted for
the phone interview so that if the questions actually required more than
monosyllabic response, I could cover the voice meter, make that swooooosh
sound, and claim I had a bad connection. You see, deception planning is a
subordinate task of any good military plan!
The appointed time and place came, and I made a satellite call to Ms. Meg.
After we exchanged pleasantries and salutations, which for me is a Rocky Balboa
'how you doin,' Ms. Meg began the questioning. I would like to pause at this
point, in case she ends up being a recipient of this email, and state for the
record that Ms. Meg was very polite, very professional, very pleasant and in my
opinion VERY SINCERELY INTERESTED IN THE MAD GHOSTS of 2/24.
Anyhow, back to our story: she asked many well thought out questions. I, as is
my policy, answered all in brute frankness and honesty, and then began the
ritual of "sweating bullets" until publication to see who is offended or who
races to challenge my assertions. (Bothers me not who does, as I stand by my
statements and always stand ready to defend them, as I "defend to the death the
right of those who vehemently disagree with them.")
But, the point is that one of the questions she asked me struck me as odd. She
asked me, and I am paraphrasing, "how do you decide what to write about in your
updates."
Now, this struck me as odd, and although I did not give her this particular
answer, it struck me as odd because my challenge each week is not to "decide
what TO write about," my challenge every week is to "decide what NOT TO write
about." Simply put, every minute of every hour of every day of every week spent
in the company of the Mad Ghosts IS something to write home about. You see, the
challenge is that these magnificent Marines accomplish so much in the course of
a day, an entire book could be written about just that day, and it would be the
size of War and Peace, no pun intended. I struggle so hard with what details
not to talk about, but I also know that the biggest challenge I could ever
undertake is to attempt to actually give you a feel for this place, these
Marines and what they accomplish: Day In, Day Out.
The best I can do is ask you to just look around your house and imagine, Barney
style, just imagine. Imagine that every single thing you take for granted you
now have to provide: your electricity, your water, your toilets, your very
dwelling, your food, your entertainment, ALL OF IT.
You have to provide it, and then sustain and maintain it: Day In, Day Out. And,
you have to do it while hunting an evil enemy relentlessly!
Everywhere you go the ground is subject to explode in a milli-second of ear
shattering violence and a cloud of lethal dust. Everything you do is subject to
being interrupted by the thump/boom of rockets and mortars and their deadly
payload.
How would you feel? What would be your status? What would be your motivation?
What would you do?
Well, I can tell you, as both a participant and an observer, that the answer to
those questions for the Mad Ghosts is as follows:
How do you feel? Quite rationally fearful.
What would be your status? Mission capable, locked/cocked and ready to rock.
What would be your motivation? That I am a United States Marine, like all
United States Marines that have gone before, some giving their last full
measure of devotion.
What would you do? Your duty...because that is your oath, and that is your
motto: Semper Fidelis!
Yeah, I could fill pages of each week's update with exploits. Exploits like
Echo Company conducting a night helo assault in Black Hawk Helicopters in 1%
illumination, striking the Landing Zone at the exact minute as planned,
capturing 3 known terrorists and locating 14 artillery shells primed and
prepared to be IEDs, just waiting to be buried on the side of the road...and
all done in a darkness so black you couldn't see your hand in front of your
face, and with a precision that would make any "special forces" unit envious.
Yeah, I could talk about exploits like the Engineers and Mobile Strike Teams
from Weapons Company moving in the middle of the night and establishing an
obstacle fortress at a suspected enemy ambush site that would make the makers
of the Infiltration Course at Quantico as jealous as a jilted lover.
Yeah, I could talk about Fox Company who this week entertained both street
workers and A CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC OFFICE WHO CAMPAIGNED IN YUSUFIYAH, a town
so under the control of the terrorists and without MNF presence three months
ago that people did not venture from their homes!!!
Yeah, I could talk about Golf Company, their never-ending identification and
detention of terrorists in a previous hotbed at a rate three times what they
should realistically be able to accomplish with their combat power.
Yeah, I could talk about the Marines of H&S who work 16-18 hour days and also
provide some of the most stellar and demanding security duties you can imagine.
Yeah, I could talk about all of that, but all I would be doing is adding to the
layers of such stories that you are innundated with everyday from the national
media.
OH YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, THEY RARELY TALK ABOUT THOSE KIND OF EXPLOITS!
No, they would rather tell you about every single IED or SVBIED that detonates.
They would rather tell you that Iraq is overrun with insurgents.
They would rather tell you that all is lost and hopeless and the only victory
is in how soon we can get out of Iraq.
Well, I refuse to "tow that line." I refuse to tow that line because it is
misrepresentation at best, and these American HEROES deserve better.
The other part of the media misrepresentation that really agitates me, now that
you have spun me up, is the incessant undertone that the military senior
leadership is either wrong or incompetent. This one agitates me like a
Whirlpool 9000 agitates laundry. (I don't really know if there is a Whirlpool
9000, but if there was it would agitate laundry really hard!)
I have been fortunate to host several General Officers here at FOB St. Michael,
and I can tell you, they are without a doubt the most intelligent, genuine,
"lead by example" Warriors I have ever seen. They care deeply about the
Soldiers and Marines, and do things for all the right reasons.
Now, before I am accused of "sucking up," rest assured, I have all the chance
of ever making General as my beloved Cincinnati Bengals do of winning the Super
Bowl. But, to make my point, let me tell you about our most recent General
visit, which occurred on Wednesday. It was from Major General Dunford,
Assistant Division Commander, Fighting First Marine Division. (As a side note,
if you do a web search and study the exploits of Major General Dunford as
Colonel Dunford, CO, 5th Marine Regiment during OIF, you would know the quality
of leader, tactician and human being we are talking about: which on all counts
is the highest caliber the scale can register.) The purpose of his visit was
simple: he wanted to ensure the Marines of 2/24 that despite our current
Tactical Control to the United States Army, that the 1st Marine Division would
ensure that when the time comes for redeployment, the 1st Marine Division stood
ready to ensure all our needs were met and that our redeployment would be
smooth and seamless.
Now, for those with little military experience, this is not something that is
even remotely required of a General Officer. And, if the General Officer does
decide it is necessary, he can easily do it with a phone call or email. But no,
not General Dunford. He conducted a 2 hour vehicular patrol from his FOB to
ours, through high risk avenues of approach to deliver the message in person,
and to get to shake some hands of the Mad Ghosts. THAT IS THE CALIBER OF OUR
GENERALS.
No Ladies, rest assured, your loved one has the best Generalship in the World,
whose passion is their Marines and whose focus is their Marines' success and
welfare!
What General Dunford said to the Staff in his closing remarks was one of the
most brilliant, and yet simple things I think I have ever heard and
communicates what I have been trying to communicate to you, but without the
requisite intelligence or prose. He said, and again I paraphrase, "you hear
talk in the media and other places of an exit strategy. Usually communicated in
the form of a question, such as, what is our exit strategy?
Well, professional Warriors DO NOT ESTABLISH EXIT STRATEGIES, WE ACHIEVE AN END
STATE! And our end state in Iraq is a freely and democratically elected
government in Iraq, sustained and protected by a viable, competent and
professional security force.
Have we won?...NO, are we winning?...YES!"
Exactly, was my thought. No doubt it will take time. But if we remain WILLFUL
as a Nation, if we deliberately and with cold calculation understand the cause,
then the effort is required, the hardship endured, the VICTORY ASSURED.
Your Mad Ghost is the tip of the spear, but YOU are the shaft. The tip delivers
the blow, the shaft provides the steadiness during the LONG flight to the
target. So, as always, it comes full circle.
What is necessary is faithfulness...sound familiar?
Always faithful...always faithful to God, Country and Corps.
So again, and until next week, SEMPER FI!
NOTE: I was the recipient of a forwarded email from Regina Simon and her
discussion of a surgical procedure Chad (SSgt Simon) will soon undergo. She
signed off her letter saying, "I am scared." As I have said before, rational
fear is understandable. And no person I know of has more reason for rational
fear than Regina Simon. So, I would ask all the families of 2/24 to pray, pray
hard and pray often for Regina and Chad Simon, because I know an entire
Battalion of Marines that is.
And I know that with that much prayer, no matter what the Lord has in store for
Regina and Chad and their family, I know fear will dissipate and peace will be
found. Because in my heart of hearts I know in the darkest of times the refrain
from a Hymn I often hear in my local parish reruns in my head over and over and
over and over, and peace is found:
"the Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid...of whom
shall I be afraid."
God Bless all the magnificent families of 2/24.
Mark
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| User: "R. Foreman" |
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| Title: Re: What's really going on in Iraq |
19 Jan 2005 11:49:41 PM |
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(TonyZ2001) Spat the Words
What's really going on in Iraq
A message from the U.S. Marine Corps' 'Mad Ghosts'
Posted: January 19, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Editor's note: Lt. Col. Mark Smith is commander of the "Mad Ghosts," the
2/24th Battalion (U.S. Marine Corps Reserve – Chicago). When he is not
leading Marines in Iraq, he is an Indiana state trooper.
2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Greetings from FOB St. Michael. Hopefully, and prayerfully, this week's
update finds you all healthy, happy and joyful. For another week in your
separation from your loved one is behind you, and you are yet one day
closer to that reunion where a hug will be more than a hug, a kiss more
than a kiss and a touch more than a touch! That moment of reunion will
be the point in space and time when the victory is yours.
Victory over loneliness, victory over stress, victory over challenge,
victory over hardship. Victory over all those things that the devil uses
to turn people's heart to stone, but that the Lord uses to turn people's
heart to thanksgiving. The victory over these things will only be
sweetened by the fact that they were endured for a cause worthy of the
pain: the cause of freedom and security for you, for us, for Iraq and
it's global impact on all of our futures, and for the blessings of
liberty that come with the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Bless us all.
Now, with greetings out of the way ... let me get to this week's update.
And, if I might, a short story. I received an email from a reporter from
the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal last week by the name of Meg. Meg
requested to do either a phone interview or a written interview via
email.
Well, that one was a no-brainer; given my 3rd grade writing skills,
Great. We've got a US Marine Colonel with 3rd grade writing skills.
That's very reassuring. Do they print a lot of this junk over at
WantCrackDaily.com ?
I
opted for the phone interview so that if the questions actually required
more than monosyllabic response, I could cover the voice meter, make
that swooooosh sound, and claim I had a bad connection. You see,
deception planning is a subordinate task of any good military plan!
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| User: "up" |
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| Title: Re: What's really going on in Iraq |
19 Jan 2005 03:48:34 PM |
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On 19-Jan-2005, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
Greetings from FOB St. Michael. Hopefully, and prayerfully, this week's
update
finds you all healthy, happy and joyful. For another week in your
separation
from your loved one is behind you, and you are yet one day closer to that
reunion where a hug will be more than a hug, a kiss more than a kiss and a
touch more than a touch! That moment of reunion will be the point in space
and
time when the victory is yours.
Victory over loneliness, victory over stress, victory over challenge,
victory
over hardship. Victory over all those things that the devil uses to turn
people's heart to stone, but that the Lord uses to turn people's heart to
thanksgiving. The victory over these things will only be sweetened by the
fact
that they were endured for a cause worthy of the pain: the cause of
freedom and
security for you, for us, for Iraq and it's global impact on all of our
futures, and for the blessings of liberty that come with the UNITED STATES
OF
AMERICA! Bless us all.
Now, what is the difference between the above greeting or a radical muslim
greeting?
Scary to think that "fundis", of whatever faith, hold keys to mass
destructions.
Al
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