The Marines are Winning in Iraq (and so is everyone else).

In October, 1992, I began my training as a United States Marine at Marine Recruit Depot San Diego, California. I then attended Marine Combat Training and Rifleman training at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California. I then reported to Marine Corps Base Hawaii (then Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station) for service as an infantry grunt in 2 platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

From October, 1992 to October, 1996 I was wholly devoted to war. I studied how to kill as a team and how to kill as an individual. I studied how to kill with indirect fire, volume of fire, controlled bursts, and single shots. I studied the use of aircraft, motorized vehicles, artillery, mortar, missiles, heavy arms, and small arms. I studied how to treat myself and others who have been hit with conventional, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. We learned how to control civilians, prisoners, and other uniformed services, how to respond to terrorist incidents, how to operate in snow, jungle, desert, urban terrain, and on the open sea.

It was a four-year, advanced education that I will never use. We came awfully close, but from 1992 to 1996 we were never called on by our nation to respond to a combat situation. I was prepared and enthusiastic about war, but I am also thankful I never had to go.

I miss the Marine Corps and a part of me wishes I was in Iraq. I also enjoy my civilian freedoms and love coming home to my family every day. It is a minor, inner turmoil for me. I have my ways of supporting my Marines in Iraq. One way is by following the 3rd Marine Regimental units as they rotate in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Each Battalion has its own web page. On this page, the Commanding Officers communicate important information monthly to the families, they post photos of smiling Marines in theatre, they celebrate promotions and awards, and they post a memorial to the Marines who have fallen in service to their country.

This last item is something that affects me the most. As the units begin to lose men, I feel it--even though they are all total strangers. Each one of these guys look like guys I served with, or they look like me. They are fathers, sons, boyfriends, husbands, friends, bunkmates, and drinking-buddies.

It used to be that while a battalion was in Iraq, they would update their site every month with all of the above, but most notably with several fallen Marines. I always winced when I clicked on the link for Fallen Marines every month, but I had to do it. It reminded me of who the real heroes in this world are, and they deserve to be remembered by as many people as possible. The people of Iraq should be erecting a gold statue to each and every American who falls in their country.

Lately, I wince when I click on the links and I am usually pleasantly surprised to find that the roster of fallen Marines has not grown. I have also noticed that the daily news is not continuously reporting that a roadside bomb or sniper killed another soldier, sailor, or Marine. It seems the tide has turned in Iraq.

I want to make sure that this is said more often. Even though the news is not full of death tolls, it is still very negative about Iraq. There seems to be a lot of people who want Iraq and Vietnam to be synonymous. They are not; Iraq and Vietnam have huge differences between them. The biggest difference is that we have already won in Iraq, now we are just cleaning up. Victory was never so clear in Vietnam.

Last night, I finally had an evening to be a vegetable for a while; life has been incredibly busy lately. I intended to sit down and laugh at something mindless; I selected NBC's The Office from the menu. It was preempted by a message from President George W. Bush. The one time I have to relax, and my opportunity is thwarted by a president with whom I have several issues and disappointments.

It isn't often that our President broadcasts live so I listened rather than raged. I heard him say that we are winning, that the situation is improving, that the commanders have recommendations that he is following, and that he is interested in limiting our role, rather than maintaining or expanding our presence.

That matches up with my independent observation. It was sickening to see how our men and women were piling up for several years. It is motivating and encouraging to see that we now have the upper hand. My only concern now is whether the Iraqis can keep the upper hand as we send Americans home.

I think many people are not convinced that we are winning in Iraq. I think most of these people are unwilling to believe that we are capable of winning. These people are either hung up on memories of Vietnam, hung up on their hatred of Bush, or are simply dedicated to pacifism. All three states are understandable, but none of them are based on reality.

President Bush pointed out how we are winning in Anbar province. I had noticed that too. Anbar is the largest and most difficult area to control; however, through focus and intelligent strategy, our military heroes are accomplishing the impossible mission. The Shiites and Sunnis may not be skipping through the streets holding hands, but at least the killing has been curbed and the cooperation with Americans and Iraqis has become safer and more common. They are progressing and reaping the benefits.

Has anyone heard of Fallujah? The first time I remember hearing of Fallujah was when several civilian contractors took a wrong turn going through Fallujah. They were ambushed, burned, shot, beaten, dragged, and hung from a bridge. The next time I heard of it was when we warned every civilian to leave the town and then swept through with several units, including the Marine units 1/3 and 3/5, of whom I have knowledge, history, and interest in.

I have read a little bit about Fallujah from numerous sources since then. By all accounts, Fallujah was always known as a place for crazies, even among Iraqis. If we were going to have trouble anywhere in Iraq, Fallujah would be the first place for it. It was expected that we would never have an easy time in Fallujah.

Recently, my battalion and America's Battalion, 3/3, arrived at Camp Fallujah and began operations. They are on patrol on foot, in vehicles, and on Helos. That knowledge made me wince; India 3/3 at the heart of Crazy Central. However, it appears that Fallujah is a very different place today. Here is what the Battalion Commander, LtCol Nate Nastase , has to say about the feeling in Fallujah:

Engaging the Iraqi Populace: While we discussed and trained hard for this aspect of the counter-insurgency fight during our pre-deployment work-up, nothing could have prepared us for the dramatic sea change we inherited upon our arrival. To put it simply, the local Iraqis have “come out of the woodwork” to join us in defeating the terrorists. For those of us who have been here before, this is a dramatic turn of events for the better. ... After years of murder and intimidation at the hands of the terrorists, the average Iraqis have said “Enough’s enough.” Our common goals have converged in a way that leaves little room for the insurgency to continue. And the attitude of “America’s Battalion” is contributing to the overall success of the mission.

When I read columns from the New York Times, I get the mental image of a melancholy foot patrol dragging their rifles behind them as they dejectedly wait to meet their inevitable fate. Or I get the image of men who put on a stoic face for the camera and then when the cameras are put away they bash Bush and wish they had never been tricked into joining the military for college money. If any single veteran (or parent of a veteran) speaks out against the war, their face is soon filled with microphones. Yet if any of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have served in Iraq want to explain why they think the mission is important and winnable, they are usually left alone with crickets chirping.

Not enough people who control our national message are willing to portray a positive message regarding Iraq. I am tired of it. I want to win. I want to think positive. I want to be proud of my country. I want to face a future of peace and prosperity. Do we really need to skew the message to make it doom and gloom, with America as the oppressive loser? Do we really need to force a loss so that Obama or Clinton-2 can get elected?

I want to post the September message from India Company's Commanding Officer, Captain John Allsup, in its entirety. His messages are well written and organized, succinct, and gives a feeling that the Marines and Sailors under his command are proud volunteers who are willingly and enthusiastically accomplishing their mission. Every message from commanders in Iraq will necessarily be upbeat and optimistic; what kind of fruitcake would write home to his subordinates' families with doom and gloom? Even so, it is hard to fake sincerity, and word choice is important. If you go to the 3rd Marine Regiment's website and read the messages from all the commanders, you will find them all upbeat. However, you will not hear the same message. Each commander has written his own personal message; this is not a directed effort containing the same key phrases and vocabulary.

After several years of following individual units through their deployments, I have concluded that the commanding officer's message is a better measurement of the attitude in Iraq than the 9 o'clock news. I do not subscribe to the Liberal Media Bias Conspiracy Theory but I do get the feeling that we are getting more politics than news when it comes to Iraq.

Capt Jessup's Message:

Greetings from Camp Fallujah Iraq to all the friends and family members of India Company’s Marines and Sailors,

The company is currently conducting Civil Military Operations in our area of operations southeast of the city of Fallujah. Things are pretty quiet in our area and the Marines and Sailors have accomplished much in providing the citizens here with security, basic essential services (power, water, sewage, etc.), schools and a governing body. What our company is accomplishing here is the end state of all Coalition Forces in Iraq: to help the Iraqi people achieve independence from relying on Coalition Forces. Once the people here can provide their own security they can begin rebuilding their nation. Your Marines and Sailors are performing magnificently and each man is helping to achieve these things.

Since getting here we have been extremely busy. We are nearing the end of our first month and the Marines and Sailors have adapted to the environment and the separation from their families without any major complications. It is regularly greater than 120 degrees so everyone is looking forward to cooler days in the fall. I am happy to report that no one in the company has been injured or seriously ill. A few cases of heat rash and some heat exhaustion have been the greatest extent of our injuries. I am confident that because of their training and attitude this will remain the case throughout the remainder of our deployment. My compliments to all of our junior leaders and corpsmen who have done so much to ensure everyone stays healthy.

Many of the wives and girlfriends have been asking exactly what it is that we are doing day to day over here. I mentioned in the beginning of this newsletter what the mission of the company is, but I did not talk about the tasks that the Marines and Sailors are accomplishing. Without getting too specific I can report that the Marines and Sailors are doing a lot of foot patrols with many various missions (the heat and heavy gear make this extremely difficult). Many of the patrols, as mentioned earlier, are helping the population of our area rebuild their communities. Your Marines and Sailors here love the children. It makes me proud to watch them with big goofy smiles on their faces handing out toys, soccer balls, books, crayons and candy to a group of children. Then five minutes later they are all business - grim faces constantly alert for any sign of danger. Our Marines understand their mission here. “The Iraqi people are not our enemy but our enemy hides among them.” They balance friendliness and watchfulness with magnificent maturity. They are the true protectors and friends of a group of people who have endured countless years of terror and strife. I am so proud of each and every one of them – you should be too. Regardless of what you see and hear on the news, know that your Marines and Sailors are succeeding here. They are winning. They are making a difference.

Many families are asking what they can send in care packages. In case you did not know, we have a PX here so many of the basic necessities are available. Batteries, toiletries, snacks, and even electronics can be found in abundance. However, packages are always nice to receive so I am sure anything you send will be much appreciated. It typically takes 10 days for mail to reach us, but there is an alternative for letters and pictures. If you have access to the internet, go to Google and search for “Moto Mail,” go to the web site, create an account, and you can type letters and even include pictures which will reach your Marine or Sailor within 24-48 hours. Unfortunately it does not work from us to you. As the Marines spend most of their time out in the community and do not have access to e-mail this may be the best way of dropping them a line.

I am extremely pleased with the teamwork, camaraderie, mental toughness, bravery, and self-discipline the Marines and Sailors have been displaying during these past few weeks. Their aggressive warrior-spirit feeds off of the confidence they received from outstanding training, and has transformed them into disciplined professionals. During the long months ahead, this very spirit is what will sustain them and drive them to accomplish great things for each other, for the Iraqi people, and for all of you. In my last newsletter I stated that your Marines and Sailors will make a significant impact on the current world situation and as such theirs is the greatest of responsibilities. This has held true and will continue to hold true in the months to come. They are the finest fighting men in the world – they are highly trained, truly motivated, and dedicated to a higher cause of world citizenship. They are the defenders of the weak, the helpless, and the abused. I could not be prouder of them as men, as citizens, or as Marines. I am truly honored to serve them and I hope that you are as proud of their character and accomplishments.

I have written a few of you letters and I will be sending more as time permits. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly (snail mail or e-mail) with any questions or concerns you may have. I am here to serve your Marines and I will never be too busy to address any concerns their families may have. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your overwhelming support of the company and everything you have done for your Marines, Sailors and for the unit as a whole. Being a family man myself I know how difficult this deployment is for all of you. My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you and the Marines and Sailors of the company. God Bless and Semper Fidelis.

Capt John Allsup

India Company, 3/3

Last updated 6 September 2007