Cardio Kickboxing: Sportsinspired workouts change face of group exercise Page 1B
THE
Base library keeps youth interested with Teen Reads program Page 1C
Onslow County Museum remembers 1940s Camp Lejeune with exhibit Page 1D
GLOBE Serving Camp Lejeune and surrounding areas since 1944
THURSDAY JANUARY 26, 20 2012
WWW.CAMPLEJEUNEGLOBE.COM
VOLUME 74 EDITION 4 SANGIN, AFGHANISTAN
3/7 Marines maintain local relationships
HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN Photo by Master Gunnery Sgt. Phil Mehringer
Lance Cpl. Tyler Sletterink, a metal worker with Support Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), uses a welding torch to cut a piece of rebar during the construction of a land bridge in Now Zad District, Helmand province, recently.
CPL. ED GALO
Regimental Combat Team 6
The Marines of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, maintain a great relationship with the locals in the village outside their patrol base near Sangin. They do this through daily security patrols throughout the area and by communicating with the people. “The big thing with today’s patrol was talking with the people about their farms and animals,” said Cpl. Jacob Marler, a squad leader in Company I. “We asked them about what they grow, what type of fertilizer they use, what their most important crops are, what their most important animals are and about how they get their water for their crops.” While Marler and part of his squad were talking to the villagers, half of the squad continued to patrol throughout the village. “We started going through the city looking for other possible crossing points or choke points to watch out for,” Cpl. Mark Yenalavitch said, an assistant patrol leader. We were basically surveying the area to get a better picture of the city.” Once the Marines were in the small village, they were greeted by dozens of children and a few adults. “We talk to the villagers daily,” said Marler. “The kids here always run up and talk to you. Most of the (improvised explosive device) finds we’ve had here are from the kids coming up and telling us about them.” According to the Marines, one of the biggest reasons their relationship is so strong with the locals is due to the diligence of the unit that came before them, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. “1st Battalion, 6th Marines did a good job out here,” said Cpl. David MacKay Jr., a squad leader. “We had a good turnover with them. They had an outstanding relationship with the villagers and that did wonders for us out here.” The patrols the Marines conduct are usually accompanied by soldiers from the Afghan National Army as part of the turnover process from American to Afghan control. “You can see the transfer from the Marines to the ANA,” Marler said. “That’s definitely the most rewarding part of this deployment. They are definitely showing an improvement from when we first got here. They’re working harder, getting better and taking it more seriously. This shows that they’ll be able to handle things when we leave.”
Photo by Cpl. Ed Galo
Cpl. Jacob Marler, squad leader, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, talks with local villagers about their crops, animals and irrigation. The Marines maintain a good relationship with the local villagers by conducting security patrols alongside members of the Afghan National Army.
Combat engineers improve ‘Old Silk Road’ MASTER GUNNERY SGT. PHIL MEHRINGER 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward)
N
early 150 Marines from 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward)’s 9th Engineer Support Battalion converged in the open Helmand desert on a dry river bed known as a wadi. They needed to quickly build a land bridge through the wadi, rushing to complete the project before the seasonal, heavy monsoon rains began. The average rainfall for the month of January is more than 6 inches, while the month of June is typically measured at less than a quarter of an inch – more than a 2,300 percent increase in precipitation. The road, which is known as Route Red, lies on the western side of the Helmand River and is used to travel north and south from Gereshk to Musa Qalah. It is rumored to be part of the original Silk Road, connecting the East to the West centuries ago and is easily navigated 10 months out of the year with the exception of the rainy season. The rapid downpour of
rain and limited ability for the hardened, sun-baked Helmand desert to absorb the runoff creates flooding, forcing local civilians and military vehicles to use an alternate route adding at least 18 miles to their trip in either direction. Constructing a wadi crossing will save time, money and it is expected to facilitate commerce and traffic to the area. The road is likely to be paved in the near future. The construction project is huge, spanning 120 meters, said Staff Sgt. Aron Szekely, who arrived with his unit in late November. The scheduled 10-day build has the Marines working nearly around the clock, “but it looks like we might finish early,” said Szekely, who is a heavy equipment operator. It took several days to prepare a proper foundation on the river bed to ensure water would not cause erosion and circumvent the culverts, said Szekely, before the construction could really begin. There will be a “hellish flow of water four to six feet high” at times according to the locals, he added. There will be a total of 28 culverts, spaced equally apart, used for the road.
Five reinforced concrete pipes will be located closer to the ends, channeling the heavier volume of water, while 36-inch metal pipes make up the remaining culverts. With the foundation properly formed, the culverts were put in place and the construction site was a buzz of activity. Marines with shovels redirected debris near the sidewalls building up the shoulder of the road, while multiple pieces of heavy equipment moved back and forth from the rock pile. Dump trucks were loaded while steel rebar was welded to the outer ends of the culverts, preventing insurgents from placing mines or bombs in them. Once the culverts were aligned, they were covered with rock material from the wadi basin, estimated at nearly 100 dump truck loads. Gravel was placed on top of the culverts to make a rough road, which was compacted and crowned with a smooth surface. The difficulty in completing a job like this is the time constraint and the mere “amount of earthwork we have to do,” said Capt. Aaron Fischer, an engineering officer and site supervisor who said the mission could
CREEDS, VA.
INSIDE THE GLOBE
24th MEU executes mock night raid in Creeds, Va. STAFF SGT. ROBERT FISHER
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
HARD-BITTEN BATTALION HEADS HOME PAGE 5A Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Chad Kiehl
LEJEUNE SPORTS 1B INSIDE LEJEUNE 1C CLASSIFIEDS 3C CAROLINA LIVING 1D
not have been done without conducting daily logistics runs to Camp Leatherneck for miscellaneous equipment and supplies, which was located approximately 35 miles from the job site. In the last two months, Szekely said he’s worked on about 15 culvert projects, but they were smaller in scale consisting of only one or two pipes. A project this size has really tested the equipment and determined, “how much it can handle,” said Lance Cpl. Gordan Beier, a heavy equipment operator, who is currently on his second deployment to Afghanistan. The benefit of the wadi project has already reached the local community. When they first arrived to the build site, the Marines visited several residents in the area to ensure everyone knew what was happening, said Szekely. They all appreciated what was about to take place and one of the civilians said, “It will be much easier for me to get my family to town and to the hospital now.” In addition to benefitting local citizens, the road will also connect several of the outer patrol bases, providing coalition forces the freedom to navigate the area.
Marines with Military Police Detachment, Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, process a simulated detainee with a Secure Electronic Enrollment Kit, Jan. 17.
Marines with 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Force Reconnaissance and security platoons, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th MEU, executed a simulated night raid at a Virginia Beach police training facility, Jan.17. The raid was part of the 24th MEU’s Realistic Urban Training exercise that took place Jan. 5 through 20, which focused on conducting off-base missions near the towns of Farmville and Creeds to prepare for the various operations they may conduct while deployed. “An amphibious raid is one of the MEU mission essential tasks,” said Col. Jim Donnellan, Special Operations Training Group officer in charge. “(Col. Frank Donovan, 24th MEU commanding officer) elected to
take this target down with a raid force platoon element with a security element. Anytime you can get those guys to integrate on a mission is a great opportunity.” The Marines launched from Fort Pickett on an MV-22 Osprey and a CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter. The recon Marines inserted through the forest next to their objective to watch and wait for the raid to begin. By the time the security element arrived, recon was ready to roll onto the enemy. “It was kind of a large objective for such a small force, but they did well,” said Maj. Jeremy Dempsey, the officer in charge of SOTG’s Amphibious Raids Branch. While a whole BLT could take this objective, they would have a difficult time masking their approach. The Marines wanted this training opportunity to stress stealth and a rapid takedown, said Dempsey. SEE RAID 7A