TW in Iraq #8: On Patrol in Fallujah
Posted by Lance Corporal Sean Barney, USMC Fri, 21 Apr 2006 20:47:00 GMT
(This arrived at Third Way as a letter from Sean dated 4/13/2006)
Fallujah, Iraq
The last few days have been physically draining. Between running to the rooftops of apartment buildings in pursuit of snipers and conducting long foot patrols in the mid-day heat, being a Marine in Fallujah is a weight-loss program with guaranteed results!
We’ve had a sniper operating from one of the buildings across the street from our FOB (forward operating base), either an apartment building or the mosque. We’ve conducted a series of raids on the apartment buildings, but we haven’t been able to find our man, as of yet. Though we’ve definitely taken some fire from the mosques, there’s not a whole lot we can do about that.
Foot patrols are arduous and stressful, but they can be somewhat uplifting. Most of the children like us. They run up to us, waving, and try to talk with us. I wish I knew more Arabic. I’m trying to study basic phrases in the little downtime we have, but beyond saying hello, I have a tough time carrying on a conversation. Parents with children are also fairly friendly. They will smile and give us a “salaam” or “Hello.” It is the young, single males that we have to worry about. They are the ones who give us the blank stares and the occasional obscene gesture.
Most of the attacks we incur are classically guerilla in nature. We are frequently sniped at, but we rarely see the shooter. Two patrols from other platoons have been ambushed, but they were able to fend off the attacks without casualties. An IED exploded on another patrol, but thankfully only one Marine was slightly wounded with shrapnel in his calf (the vehicle that was hit was up-armored—thank you Senator Bayh!).
It sounds like there’s some progress being made in handing over more territory to the Iraqi Army. One of our sister companies is shutting down its FOB and relocating to the outskirts of the city. I don’t expect that this will be happening for us any time in the immediate future because we have the toughest and most critical AO (area of operations) in the city, but it’s good to know that its happening elsewhere. We’ll see how the turnover goes and keep our fingers crossed.