IRAQ: Marines, sailors return to Camp Pendleton

For military families, it's the common pattern: Dad (or Mom) goes away, Dad (or Mom) comes back. The strategic thinkers call it up-tempo. Since 9/11, it's been a way of life.

But that doesn't mean it's become ho-hum.

Take the McLeod family of San Diego. As they waited at Camp Pendleton on Sunday for the return of 300 Marines and sailors from Regimental Combat Team 5 from Iraq, they sported matching shirts.

For the children, "God Daddie?" For Aimee, "Got Chief?"

And when Navy corpsman Aaron McLeod returned from his fourth deployment, his family was in the front row of several hundred eager family members. When the family hugs and tears subsided, McLeod talked of his uncertain future.

With the new administration rethinking its policies toward Iraq and Afghanistan, Marines and sailors are unsure what the future will bring.

"It all depends on the president," McLeod said.

For more on the return of RCT5, see The Times' story.

-- Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton

Photo: The McLeod family: (from left) Brianna 19, Corissa, 14, Colin, 13, and Molly, 10. And in the back, their mother, Aimee, 35. All were awaiting the return of Chief Petty Officer Aaron McLeod, 37. Credit: Tony Perry / Los Angeles Times

IRAQ: Time for Marines to leave, and go to Afghanistan, commandant says

It's time for Marines to leave Iraq, the commandant of the Marine Corps told reporters Friday.

Gen. James Conway said he would like the 22,000 Marines in Iraq to leave in 2009 and for many of them to redeploy to Afghanistan.

The mission in Iraq has become primarily one of nation building, not the ground combat that is the Marines' specialty, Conway said.

Conway was pleased that one of President Barack Obama's first moves was to meet with military brass to talk about Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It is great symbology, he's on our turf," the Associated Press quoted Conway as saying. "More importantly, he gets to meet and shake hands with hundreds of people in all the services."

Click here for an earlier story on the Marines' plans for Afghanistan.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Marines in Iraq. Credit: Department of Defense

IRAQ: Colonel: U.S. is winning but has not yet won

The Marines and sailors from the Camp Pendleton-based 5th Marine Regiment begin returning home this weekend after a year in Iraq's once-volatile Anbar province. Troops from Camp Lejeune, N.C., are replacing them.

A year ago, attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces in the western reaches of Anbar averaged about 16 a week. The Marines had more than 50 outposts.

Now the attacks are coming fewer than two a week and the Marines have but 10 outposts, with major bases at Fallouja and Ramadi being turned over to Iraqi forces.

"We have not won yet," said Col. Patrick Malay, the regiment's commanding officer. "But we are winning."

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Marine patrolling street in Anbar province. Credit: Tony Perry / Los Angeles Times

IRAQ: Haditha, from the battlefield to Blockbuster

"Battle for Haditha," based on the Nov. 19, 2005, incident in Iraq in which Marines from Camp Pendleton killed 24 civilians after a roadside bomb killed one Marine and wounded two, has yet to see widespread release to theaters or television in the U.S.

Maybe it never will. Distributors feel burned by other Iraq movies that have been box-office flops.

But "Haditha" has been shown on Arab television, with subtitles. And now it's for rent in video stores in the U.S.

Filmed in Jordan by noted filmmaker Nick Broomfield, "Haditha" is a movie, not a documentary.

Some of the facts are dead-on: the terraced look of Haditha, the crowded commercial street, the hard-edged joking of young Marines to cover their fears, the helplessness of civilians caught between two warring sides, the military's lack of an investigation into the deaths until the brass was embarrassed by a magazine article.

But other facts are either pure fiction or shaped to fit the filmmaker's intent. The final 15 minutes are a flight of imagination.

The Marines do not come off well, particularly the officers. Neither do the insurgents, who are portrayed as eager to exploit civilian casualties for propaganda.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: "Battle for Haditha." Credit: HanWay Films

IRAQ: Marines listen to their new commander in chief

Some of the Americans listening most intently to President Obama's inaugural speech were those half a world away, like the Marines at Camp Ripper in Al Asad, Iraq.

Initial analysis: The new commander in chief is good to go.

Cpl. Mark Thiry: "He made me feel like he has a real plan. I'm definitely interested in his plans for Iraq."

Cpl. Kyle Hunter: "He's not going to cut military spending because he's focused on sending Marines into Afghanistan. I'd like to go there."

Staff Sgt. Trent Nichols: "He said it would be a long, hard road and we have to endure. He knows what needs to be done, and it's not going to be easy."

P.S. The troops in Iraq weren't the only Marines focused on the inaugural. In Washington, Cpl. Elideo Guillen was selected to dance with the new first lady at the Commander in Chief's Ball. Guillen  said he practiced the box step with his wife so the dance would go off without a miscue.

"I just tried to get warmed up and not step on her toes," he told CNN.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Marines at Camp Ripper watch their new commander in chief. From left, Staff Sgt. Trent Nichols, Sgt. Jeremiah Thiry and Cpl. Mark Thiry. Credit: Cpl. Eric Schwartz

IRAQ: When new commander in chief mentions sacrifice, military families know what he means.

President Barack Obama, in his inaugural address in Washington, talked of the need for sacrifice from all Americans.

For the early morning crowd at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, sacrifice has been a way of life for several years. Even as Obama spoke, hundreds of family members were waiting for 250 Marines and sailors to return from Iraq, many from their second, third or fourth deployment.

Take the family of Navy corpsman Edward Dikitanan, who was finishing his fourth deployment. His wife, mother-in-law, and four children, ages 1 to 11, were holding a large banner and waving small American flags.

"The older the children get, the harder it gets," said Dikitanan's wife, Lanie.

When the first embraces were over, 8-year-old Nalani had a request; "Daddy, can we go to the zoo now?"

It's like that for military families: their lives are often on hold while loved ones are away for six months to a year.

Randy and Tracy Vanderwende of Rancho Cucamonga have kept their Christmas tree up and the presents unopened as they waited for their daughter Cpl. Kylie Vanderwende, 22, to return from her second deployment.

"We're going to take her home, let her sleep for a couple of days, and then we'll have our Christmas," said Tracy Vanderwende.

Karie Bergmann, 22, and her husband, Sgt. Jason Bergmann, 28, have been married for 16 months. He's been gone for 12 of those months.

As the Marines got off their charter flight, Karie Bergmann held a sign so her husband could not miss her. "You Survived 4 Deployments. I Survived My 1st Deployment," it read.

Cpl. Andrew Anderson, 20, got to hold his eight-week-old daughter Kezia for the first time.

Tuesday's returning group was from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. More air squadrons and infantry battalions are due home soon, even as other groups leave to replace them.

"We're just going to take it one hour at a time,' said Crystal Hall, 19, as she hugged her husband, Cpl. Aaron Hall, 20.

Before they left Iraq, the Marines were given what is called a warrior transition briefing about how to adjust to a world without roadside bombs and snipers. "They need to remember what it's like not to be constantly on guard," said Lt. Col. Joe Borja.

At 30, 60 and 90 days the Marines will be checked to see whether they've made another kind of sacrifice: post traumatic stress disorder.

— Tony Perry, San Diego

Photo: Karie Bergmann awaits her husband, Sgt. Jason Bergmann. Credit: Tony Perry/Los Angeles Times

 

IRAQ: More Marines commit suicide

UPDATE: Two weeks after the item below was written, the Marine Corps announced that its earlier report was incorrect and that the actual suicide rate for 2008 was 19 per 100,000, the highest since 1995. The erroneous rate of 16.8 for 2008 was based on an administrative error in the calculation, Marine officials said. The number of Marines who commited suicide in 2008 remains 41, as initially reported, up from 33 in 2007.

ORIGINAL ITEM:

More active-duty Marines committed suicide last year than any year since the beginning of the war in Iraq, although the rate of suicide remained virtually unchanged because the corps is increasing its size, according to a report issued Tuesday.

Forty-one Marines are listed as possible or confirmed suicides, which makes for a rate of 16.8 per 100,000 troops, the report said.

The Marine Corps has several suicide-prevention programs, starting in boot camp (above), to encourage Marines to watch their buddies for signs that they are considering suicide.

In 2007, 33 Marines committed suicide for a rate of 16.5 per 100,000. The Marine Corps is adding more troops and calling in reservists to fulfill duties in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as statewide and forward bases.

The 2008 rate remains below that of the Army (18.1 in 2007) and the civilian population with similar demographics (19.5). Preliminary review shows that 2008 suicides match those of 2007: Nearly all were enlisted Marines 24 years or younger, and about two-thirds had deployed overseas.

Although research continues, officials have no link between repeated deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan and suicide, officials said.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Recruits at San Diego boot camp listen to their drill instructor during a "guided discussion" about the warning signs that a buddy might be considering suicide. Credit: Sean Masterson / For The Times

IRAQ: 'At their best when things are at their worst'

For 17 days in 2005, Marines took the offensive against insurgent strongholds near the Iraqi border with Syria. The goal of Operation Steel Curtain was to end insurgent dominance in the area and allow for the establishment of an Iraqi army outpost.

On Nov. 16, 2005, Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, were assigned to clear houses in the village of New Ubadyi and were ambushed by insurgents from fortified positions. In the firefight that followed, five Marines were killed and 11 wounded; all of the insurgents were either killed or captured.

"It seems Marines are at their best when things are at their worst, and this day was no exception," said Col. Robert G. Oltman, who was the battalion commander.

On Thursday at Camp Pendleton, in recognition of their bravery, Silver Stars were awarded to three Marines and a Navy corpsman, and a Navy Cross was awarded to a Marine. One of the Silver Star awards was posthumous.

Today's Los Angeles Times has the full story.

--Tony Perry at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Left to right, award recipients former Navy corpsman Jesse Hickey, former Cpl. Javier Alvarez, Gunnery Sgt. Robert Homer and former Lance Cpl. Joshua Mooi (Navy Cross) at the ceremony Thursday. The Silver Star was also awarded posthumously to 2nd Lt. Donald R. McGlothlin. Credit: Irfan Kahn / Los Angeles Times

IRAQ: Marines hope Kelly's Cows help widows, dairy industry

The Marine Corps is trying to ease two problems in Anbar province: the economic straits of Iraqi widows and their children, and the deterioration of the once-thriving dairy industry.

The Marines have purchased 50 cows for 50 Iraqi widows. The Corps is working with Minnesota-based Land O'Lakes Inc., and there is talk of a possible milk-collection facility run by women.

The Iraqis refer to the animals as Kelly's Cows, after the general who championed the idea.

Read the full story in The Times' Business section.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Marines size up cow in Anbar province. Credit: Marine Corps

IRAQ: Two Marines, different in many ways but united in a sense of duty

They were from different backgrounds and races and separate regions of the country.

Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, was planning to organize a paintball game for his buddies once they returned home from their deployment to Ramadi. Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, 19, talked often of how much he missed his pickup truck. Both had girlfriends.

"He cared so much about everybody else, always checking up on us," Lance Cpl. Alexander Apple, 20, of Arlington, Va., said of Yale.

Lance Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos, 20, of Cape Cod, Mass., said Haerter "wasn't your stereotypical infantry grunt. He was quiet, there to do a job, not cocky or boastful."