By Kristen Noel
Special to American Forces Press Service
May 19, 2008 - The 1st Marine Division's 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines' is focusing on Afghan people, not on fighting terrorists, the battalion commander said May 16. "What's unique about our mission is that we're doing a police training and mentoring mission, as opposed to coming in here kinetically like a lot of our past exploits have been, especially in Iraq," Marine Corps Lt. Col. Richard Hall told online journalists and "bloggers" in a teleconference.
The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, deployed at the end of March for this mission to assist Afghanistan's Regional Security Command South with their focused district development program for Afghan police. The program rotates local police forces through eight weeks of uniformed-officer training at a central location, while highly trained Afghan national civil police work in their districts.
Hall explained that the battalion also will facilitate "in-district reform" police training for districts the Afghan national civil police are unable to backfill due to personnel shortages. "That is kind of the way that we can fast-track getting more of these districts [to] get their police trained," he said.
The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, had success in Iraq executing the police mission in Anbar province, Hall said, and he added that before this deployment, the battalion completed a month-long training exercise called "Mojave Viper," designed specifically to prepare them for the police situation in Afghanistan.
"We spent quite a bit of time focusing on escalation-of-force vignettes," he said. That training, he explained, focuses on the civil portion of police work.
Though the battalion will do the quantifiable work of improving the Afghans' policing skills, Hall said, the enduring piece of the training will need to be the mentoring and character development -- "in other words, doing the right thing when no one is looking," he said.
"The reason for that is, whether or not we get replaced, ... we need to teach a man to fish so that they could be self-sufficient with or without our presence," he explained. "They need to have the credibility and the respectability of their people in order to maintain that law and order presence, even if we're absent."
Hall said he believes that since the Marines and the Afghans are both "of a warrior culture," the battalion will be able to earn the credibility needed to influence and affect the character of the district police officers.
"I think [the Afghans are] ... going to catch the sense that we're really sincere about our mission and what we're trying to do, and they're going to make no distinction between us and them," Hall said. "I think that's really going to add to the character piece, because they absolutely do respect that of other men -- you know, sharing the danger and so forth."
But although that factor works in his favor, he acknowledged, it won't be easy.
"We don't pretend that it's not going to be a huge challenge," he said. "The truth will be in action, when we actually get out there, and we give it a try. We can only hope that everything I've said comes true."
(Kristen Noel works for the New Media branch of the American Forces Information Service.)
Showing posts with label marine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marine. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Face of Defense: Deputy Follows in Coworkers' Footsteps
By Lance Cpl. Evelio Ramos, USMC
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 31, 2008 - Joining the Marine Corps family has been a tradition for countless generations of Marines. Some join because a father, grandfather or another family member was a Marine. But new Marine Pfc. Brett Lockhart decided to join after some of his coworkers motivated him to become part of another family. Lockhart was a deputy sheriff at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, in Titusville, Fla., where out of nearly 1,000 police officers, 15 of them are former Marines. After working as a deputy sheriff for two years, he decided to give the Marine Corps a chance.
"I wanted to be able to fight both battles," Lockhart said. "I've already fought the local battle, but after 9-11, if anything else happens, I want to be there."
Before enlisting, Lockhart talked to the deputies he worked with so he could get an idea of what the Marine Corps is about.
"I got a lot of advice from them," Lockhart said. "They told me what to expect from training, and I know that gave me an advantage."
Lockhart enlisted in the Marine Corps in July as an amphibious assault crewman. During his graduation from recruit training, Lockhart received a special visit from eight of his former coworkers, welcoming him to the brotherhood.
"We are very happy to see Brett graduate," said Sgt. Frank T. Hickman, a deputy sheriff with the department. "Being a Marine is something that's always inside of you. It's good to see him join the family."
Lockhart said he had an idea that the deputies would come, but that after he saw their faces during family day, he could not describe the feeling.
"It was extremely encouraging to see them there," Lockhart said. "It really shows that the Marine Corps is truly a brotherhood."
"We are all very proud of Brett down at the station," Hickman said. "We want him to know he'll have a job waiting for him whenever he gets back."
(Marine Lance Cpl. Evelio Ramos serves at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 31, 2008 - Joining the Marine Corps family has been a tradition for countless generations of Marines. Some join because a father, grandfather or another family member was a Marine. But new Marine Pfc. Brett Lockhart decided to join after some of his coworkers motivated him to become part of another family. Lockhart was a deputy sheriff at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, in Titusville, Fla., where out of nearly 1,000 police officers, 15 of them are former Marines. After working as a deputy sheriff for two years, he decided to give the Marine Corps a chance.
"I wanted to be able to fight both battles," Lockhart said. "I've already fought the local battle, but after 9-11, if anything else happens, I want to be there."
Before enlisting, Lockhart talked to the deputies he worked with so he could get an idea of what the Marine Corps is about.
"I got a lot of advice from them," Lockhart said. "They told me what to expect from training, and I know that gave me an advantage."
Lockhart enlisted in the Marine Corps in July as an amphibious assault crewman. During his graduation from recruit training, Lockhart received a special visit from eight of his former coworkers, welcoming him to the brotherhood.
"We are very happy to see Brett graduate," said Sgt. Frank T. Hickman, a deputy sheriff with the department. "Being a Marine is something that's always inside of you. It's good to see him join the family."
Lockhart said he had an idea that the deputies would come, but that after he saw their faces during family day, he could not describe the feeling.
"It was extremely encouraging to see them there," Lockhart said. "It really shows that the Marine Corps is truly a brotherhood."
"We are all very proud of Brett down at the station," Hickman said. "We want him to know he'll have a job waiting for him whenever he gets back."
(Marine Lance Cpl. Evelio Ramos serves at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Colombia Touts Counternarcotics Success, Urges Continued U.S. Aid
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Colombia's defense minister arrived here yesterday to meet with U.S. officials and outline progress Colombia has made in stemming narcoterrorism and other security boosts made possible in part by U.S. funding. At the Pentagon, Juan Manuel Santos and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates discussed issues of mutual interest concerning regional and global security. During his three-day visit, the minister also is slated to hold separate talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and congressional members to request continued financial backing.
Currently, U.S. aid supports Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's Plan Consolidation -- formerly known as Plan Colombia -- which is making progress in combating narcoterrrorists, ensuring stability, and providing a safe and prosperous climate for the country's citizens, a Defense Department official said.
"Colombia is in many ways -- although many challenges remain -- a huge success story," Richard J. Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics, counterproliferation and global threats, told Pentagon reporters in April.
"The Colombians have done some incredible things in their relationship with the United States in the last five or six years," he said. "But the fact remains, we still have challenges there, and we have to deal with them."
The flow of cocaine from the Andean Ridge is the "primary threat" to attempts at thwarting narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, Douglas said. Colombia produces almost 90 percent of the cocaine and almost half of the heroin consumed in the United States.
Meanwhile, profits from the narcotics industry provide funding for terrorists, left-wing guerillas, paramilitary self-defense forces and drug cartels. Incidents of kidnapping and terrorism there are down. But since 1992, Colombia's narcoterrorists have kidnapped more than 50 Americans and killed at least 10, State Department officials report.
Gates expressed pride in Colombia's progress and reaffirmed the U.S.'s commitment to support security strategy in his closed meeting with the minister yesterday, said Juan Cardenas, a Defense Department spokesman.
"Gates and Santos discussed the need for steady assistance to Colombia's armed forces while Colombia's government prepares to assume increased responsibility for counternarcotics and security programs," Cardenas said.
In January, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent two days in Bogota, Colombia, to meet with the country's military and defense leaders to discuss how the United States and Colombia can step up their cooperation to better confront drug trafficking and terrorism.
"This is a two-way street," Pace said at the time at a joint news conference with Santos and Gen. Freddy Padilla, commander of the Colombian armed forces. "The fact that the United States is able to help Colombia inside Colombia is a good thing for Colombia, but it is also a good thing for my country.
"And the fact that your country is fighting against drugs -- a great deal of which come to the streets of the United States -- is your country helping out to help my country," Pace said. "So these are friends helping friends."
Colombia's armed forces have cleared specific areas of terrorists, and the government has followed in those areas with projects that have brought electricity, water and jobs to the people, Pace said.
U.S. officials have looked to Colombia as a role model for countering narcotics elsewhere, Pace said. For instance, Colombians have sent national police officers to train Afghan army and police forces in both counterdrug and counterinsurgency operations.
Inspired in part by Colombia's success, the U.S. is engaged in a "five-pillar" plan to counter the Afghan narcotics industry, which supplies about 93 percent of the world's opium, a Defense Department official said. The pillars are public information, alternative livelihoods, eradication, interdiction and justice reform.
During the joint news conference in Bogota, Pace praised Colombia's resistance to narcotics traffickers and endorsed the country's social reforms.
"I think those kinds of outreach programs by the Colombian government are a good model for (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai to consider as he looks at how to reduce the amount of drug trafficking in his country and to provide stability and jobs for his citizens," Pace said.
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Colombia's defense minister arrived here yesterday to meet with U.S. officials and outline progress Colombia has made in stemming narcoterrorism and other security boosts made possible in part by U.S. funding. At the Pentagon, Juan Manuel Santos and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates discussed issues of mutual interest concerning regional and global security. During his three-day visit, the minister also is slated to hold separate talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and congressional members to request continued financial backing.
Currently, U.S. aid supports Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's Plan Consolidation -- formerly known as Plan Colombia -- which is making progress in combating narcoterrrorists, ensuring stability, and providing a safe and prosperous climate for the country's citizens, a Defense Department official said.
"Colombia is in many ways -- although many challenges remain -- a huge success story," Richard J. Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics, counterproliferation and global threats, told Pentagon reporters in April.
"The Colombians have done some incredible things in their relationship with the United States in the last five or six years," he said. "But the fact remains, we still have challenges there, and we have to deal with them."
The flow of cocaine from the Andean Ridge is the "primary threat" to attempts at thwarting narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, Douglas said. Colombia produces almost 90 percent of the cocaine and almost half of the heroin consumed in the United States.
Meanwhile, profits from the narcotics industry provide funding for terrorists, left-wing guerillas, paramilitary self-defense forces and drug cartels. Incidents of kidnapping and terrorism there are down. But since 1992, Colombia's narcoterrorists have kidnapped more than 50 Americans and killed at least 10, State Department officials report.
Gates expressed pride in Colombia's progress and reaffirmed the U.S.'s commitment to support security strategy in his closed meeting with the minister yesterday, said Juan Cardenas, a Defense Department spokesman.
"Gates and Santos discussed the need for steady assistance to Colombia's armed forces while Colombia's government prepares to assume increased responsibility for counternarcotics and security programs," Cardenas said.
In January, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent two days in Bogota, Colombia, to meet with the country's military and defense leaders to discuss how the United States and Colombia can step up their cooperation to better confront drug trafficking and terrorism.
"This is a two-way street," Pace said at the time at a joint news conference with Santos and Gen. Freddy Padilla, commander of the Colombian armed forces. "The fact that the United States is able to help Colombia inside Colombia is a good thing for Colombia, but it is also a good thing for my country.
"And the fact that your country is fighting against drugs -- a great deal of which come to the streets of the United States -- is your country helping out to help my country," Pace said. "So these are friends helping friends."
Colombia's armed forces have cleared specific areas of terrorists, and the government has followed in those areas with projects that have brought electricity, water and jobs to the people, Pace said.
U.S. officials have looked to Colombia as a role model for countering narcotics elsewhere, Pace said. For instance, Colombians have sent national police officers to train Afghan army and police forces in both counterdrug and counterinsurgency operations.
Inspired in part by Colombia's success, the U.S. is engaged in a "five-pillar" plan to counter the Afghan narcotics industry, which supplies about 93 percent of the world's opium, a Defense Department official said. The pillars are public information, alternative livelihoods, eradication, interdiction and justice reform.
During the joint news conference in Bogota, Pace praised Colombia's resistance to narcotics traffickers and endorsed the country's social reforms.
"I think those kinds of outreach programs by the Colombian government are a good model for (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai to consider as he looks at how to reduce the amount of drug trafficking in his country and to provide stability and jobs for his citizens," Pace said.
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