AFGHANISTAN: Admiral says Marines fighting corruption

In Afghanistan for a six-day trip, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Friday with Marines from the Twentynine Palms-based 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment.

The two-seven is assigned to train the Afghan National Police.

Afghan police, Mullen said, "have a history of corruption, and they've had challenges with this in every local area and district. Up until now, they haven't been trained very well, and so we start with a significant deficit, and it's going to take some time to catch up."

Mullen is known for straight talk. While it's not unusual for brass to talk candidly to the troops and then ask reporters to keep their comments off the record, Mullen had his posted on a military website.

The two-seven, Mullen added, has "a very critical, top priority mission in a very tough environment." Also dangerous: the battalion has had 10 Marines killed, 50 wounded since arriving in the spring.

Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: Adm. Mike Mullen meets troops in Afghanistan. Credit: U.S. Navy

AFGHANISTAN: 30 days to scrounge more troops?

For months, commanders in Afghanistan have been saying that more troops are needed to train the Afghan army (pictured) and thwart a resurgent Taliban.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced that the 2,200 Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will remain in Afghanistan an extra 30 days -- returning to Camp Lejeune in November rather than October.

Thirty days in a struggle with complex issues, brutal weather, rugged terrain and seemingly intractable cultural divides?

Andrew Lubin, journalist, author and journalism professor, is just back from six weeks embedded with Marines in Afghanistan. He thinks the 30 days is meant to give Gen. David McKiernan more time to beg, borrow or otherwise scrounge another military unit from the U.S. or NATO to continue the fight.

Lubin was with Marines fighting to wrest control of Helmand province from the Taliban. Helmand is the center of Afghanistan's poppy growing region. The Taliban uses profits from the opium trade to finance their fight to topple the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

''We could see the area improving daily," Lubin e-mails. "But there is NO unit -- Marine, Army, Canadian or Brit -- scheduled to backfill. If they (U.S./NATO troops) leave, control of that area goes back to the Taliban.''

Lubin's reporting from Afghanistan can be seen on www.getthegouge.com.

Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: Afghan soldiers being trained by U.S. Marines; credit: Marine Corps.

AFGHANISTAN: Baseball team tribute to SEALs and soldiers

In a moving pregame ceremony Saturday night at Petco Park, the San Diego Padres paid tribute to the 11 Navy SEALs and 8 Army commandos killed on June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan.

The SEALs and commandos were killed when a SEAL team on a high-risk mission was ambushed by the Taliban and then a helicopter full of troops sent to rescue them crashed.

The tribute included a demonstration by the Navy Leap Frog parachute team, a flyby by Navy jets and a standing ovation by the crowd for two-dozen family members of the SEALs and commandos. Marcus Luttrell, the sole SEAL survivor, threw out the first pitch.

For the SEALs, Operation Red Wing was the largest single-day loss of life since World War II. Two of the 11 received the Navy Cross, one received the Medal of Honor. Luttrell has written a book, "Lone Survivor."

The tribute was arranged by First American Military Inc., a nonprofit support group.

One discordant note: Several members of the Seattle Mariners continued to do their stretching exercises just a few yards from where the family members were standing along the third-base line while the crowd gave them the standing ovation. By comparison, Padres players were standing and clapping along with the fans.

-- Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Only Marcus Luttrell, fourth from left, survived. Credit. U.S. Navy

AFGHANISTAN: Marines buy 19,000 pairs of mountain boots.

The Pentagon issued a dire report about Afghanistan on Friday. U.S. commanders say more troops are needed.

Does that mean that Marines already there will have their deployments extended through the winter? Or does it mean other Marine units will be sent to Afghanistan to thwart the resurgent Taliban?

Nobody in the know is talking. But maybe a story in Footwear News last week carries a clue.

The Marine Corps has just placed a $3-million order for 19,000 pairs of Mountain Cold Weather Boots made by Portland, Ore.-based Danner. It's the biggest order the corps has placed since signing a contract two years ago with Danner's corporate parent, LaCrosse Footwear Inc.

The Marines want the order filled by year's end. The boots are said to be warm, snug and durable, perfect for terrain that is rocky, snowy and wintry cold, like the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan that serve as a sanctuary for the Taliban.

-- Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: The Mountain Cold Weather Boot by Danner. Credit: Danner

IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN: 'Sopranos' auction benefits the troops

Twenty-five outfits worn by actor James Gandolfini in his starring role in "The Sopranos" were auctioned this week in New York for $187,750, with proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps Marines and soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The auction, held at Christie's, was Gandolfini's idea. Last year his production company, Attaboy Films, did a well-received documentary for HBO about wounded military personnel and their struggles. Gandolfini was the interviewer.

Of the auction items, the polo shirt, tank top and black pants worn by Gandolfini in the episode in which he was shot by his demented uncle Junior fetched the most: $43,750. The bathrobe worn by the faux mobster as he brought in the morning newspaper went for $13,750.

The troops are big fans of "The Sopranos." At the Marine-Army base outside Ramadi, Iraq, the shack that served as an after-hours joint is called the Bada Bing. It's exactly like the one in the HBO series, except it has no strippers, no booze, no gambling and no smoking. The weapons are real though.

-- Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: Actor James Gandolfini played Tony Soprano in the hit HBO series "The Sopranos." Credit: Associated Press

AFGHANISTAN: Fatalities among Twentynine Palms Marines

One was a third-generation Marine. Another was a Polish immigrant.

A third was 19 years old and had only recently married his high-school sweetheart. And the fourth had tried to enlist in the Marines soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but was rejected because he was only 16.

All four were part of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment, based at Twentynine Palms in the desert east of Los Angeles. They were killed June 14 by a roadside bomb in Farah province, where the battalion is assigned to shape up the Afghan security forces.

Killed were: Sgt. Michael T. Washington, 20, of Tacoma, Wash.; Lance Cpl. Layton B. Crass, 22, of Richmond, Ind.; Pfc. Dawid Pietrek, 24, of Bensenville, Ill.; and Pfc. Michael Robert Patton, 19, of Fenton, Mo.

Although often overshadowed in the media by Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms has been key to the U.S. efforts in Iraq and, now, Afghanistan. According to the unofficial website icasualties.org, 117 Marines from Twentynine Palms have been killed in the two conflicts (23 of the 117 are listed in The Times database for troops with hometowns in California).

Camp Pendleton, with more battalions, has had at least 335 killed (78 are listed in The Times database).

Pietrek, the Polish emigre, "had his dreams and goals and he achieved it," a family friend told the Chicago Tribune. "He always wanted to be a Marine."

Washington's father was a Marine during the Persian Gulf War, his grandfather during the Korean War. Crass' brother Devin, 19, is also a Marine stationed at Twentynine Palms.

UPDATE: The Pentagon on Monday announced the deaths of two Marines and a Navy corpsman from Twentynine Palms, pushing the base's death toll to 120.

— Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: The casket of Marine Sgt. Michael T. Washington arrives Thursday at a funeral home in Auburn, Wash. Saluting in the doorway is his father, Michael W. Washington. Credit: Associated Press

IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN: U.S. casualties identified

The Defense Department has announced the deaths of two soldiers in Afghanistan and three soldiers in Iraq. At least  500 American military personnel have died in the Afghan war and at least 4,075 in the Iraq war.

Pfc. Ara T. Deysie, 18, of Parker, Ariz., died Friday in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. Isaac Palomarez, 26, of Loveland, Colo., died Friday in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, after his patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb, gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Ky.

Pfc. Aaron J. Ward, 19, of San Jacinto, Calif., died Tuesday in Anbar province, Iraq, of gunshot wounds suffered during cordon and search operations. He was assigned to the 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Spc. Alex D. Gonzalez, 21, of Mission, Texas, died Tuesday in Mosul, Iraq, after his vehicle was attacked with gunfire and a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Ft. Hood, Texas.

Spc. Mary J. Jaenichen, 20, of Temecula, Calif., died Friday in Iskandariya, Iraq, of an injury unrelated to combat. She was assigned to the Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Ft. Stewart, Ga.

IRAQ: Thousands forced to serve in 'backdoor draft'

The number of soldiers forced to remain in the Army involuntarily under the military's controversial "stop-loss" program has risen sharply since the Pentagon extended combat tours last year, officials said Thursday.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was briefed about the program by Army officials who said that thousands of new stop-loss orders were issued to keep soldiers from leaving the service after Gates ordered combat tours extended from 12 to 15 months last spring.

The Army has resorted to involuntary extensions of soldiers' enlistment terms to prevent them from leaving immediately before a combat tour or in the middle of a deployment.

Army officials have argued that the policy is necessary to ensure that they are not forced to send inadequately trained soldiers and unprepared units into war.

However, many soldiers subjected to the stop-loss policy consider it a "backdoor draft." Critics argue that once soldiers have completed the enlistment period they agreed to, they should be allowed to return home. The involuntary retention program is so unpopular that it helped inspire a recent movie called "Stop-Loss."

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-- Julian E. Barnes in Washington, D.C.

AFGHANISTAN: U.S. casualties identified

The Defense Department has identified two soldiers who were killed by a roadside bomb Wednesday in Afghanistan, where at least 496 U.S. military personnel have died since 2001:

Spc. Jeremy R. Gullett, 22, of Greenup, Ky., who was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Ft. Campbell, Ky.

Staff Sgt. Kevin C. Roberts, 25, of Farmington, N. M., who was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Ft. Campbell, Ky.

IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN: U.S. casualties identified

The Defense Department on Wednesday announced the deaths of several soldiers and an airman. At least 4,063 American military personnel have died in Iraq and at least 496 in Afghanistan, according to the independent website icasualties.org.

Pfc. Adam L. Marion, 26, of Mount Airy, N.C., died Monday when his Baghdad base was attacked with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 171st Engineer Company, North Carolina Army National Guard, Saint Pauls, N.C.

Sgt. Marcus C. Mathes, 26, of Zephyrhills, Fla., died Monday when his Baghdad base was attacked with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 94th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.

Sgt. Mark A. Stone, 22, of Buchanan Dam, Texas died Monday when his Baghdad base was attacked with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 94th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.

Pfc. William T. Dix, 32, of Culver City, Calif., died Sunday at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, of non-combat injuries. He was assigned to the 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, I Corps, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, of Ramona, Calif., died Tuesday in Bastion, Afghanistan, of gunshot wounds. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Senior Airman Jonathan A. V. Yelner, 24, of Lafayette, Calif., died Tuesday near Bagram, Afghanistan, of roadside bomb wounds. He was assigned to the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.