NEWS 

For HIMARS Marines: 400 a magic number
Story by Sgt. Ned Johnson

 

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan— During previous years, Marine artillery has been an important part of supporting Marines on the battlefield. During 2012, rocket artillery fired a record number of rounds in support of those Marines. The High Mobility Rocket Artillery System batteries of 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, fired approximately 400 rockets in Helmand province during 2012, said 1st Lt. Robert Bohn, the operations officer with Sierra Battery, 5th Bn., 11th Marines. Romeo Battery fired six early during 2012, Tango fired 187 up to June, and Sierra fired 207 to bring the total to 400, said Bohn. “That number is equal to or even more than the total fired in the last four years combined,” said Capt. Jason Reukema, commanding officer of Sierra Battery. While the increase is in sheer numbers, it’s also about the capabilities of both the rocket artillery round and the batteries. (Read the STORY)

 

 

More than boots, blouses: I MHG supply gets job done in Helmand

Story and photos by Cpl. Timothy Lenzo

 

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – A team of 10 Marines serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan, spent the last year not only supplying more than 2,000 Marines and sailors with everything from boots and beanies to pens and notepads, but began the process of taking care of all the gear acquired during the war. With less Marines in the region because of the drawdown, their job became a key part during the closing stages in Afghanistan. “Our biggest task was to take all of our battalions and migrate all their equipment into our units’ property records,” said Staff Sgt. Jhonnatan Chinchilla, supply chief, I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward). “We took the main supporting elements and migrated all their gear as well as retrograding all the proper equipment.” The retrograding process included documenting and identifying more than 800 million pieces of gear. The items belonged to the various units under I MEF (Fwd.), including 9th Communications Battalion, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, 1st Intelligence Battalion, 1st Radio Battalion, and all the security force advisor training teams. (Read the STORY)

 

Bulk fuel team keeps things moving in Afghanistan
Story and photos by 1st Lt. Tyler Morrison

 

COMBAT OUTPOST EREDVI, Afghanistan - The bulk fuel team operating here spent the day downloading over 10,000 gallons of fuel. That’s over 250 barrels or about enough to fill an above-ground pool. This may seem like a tall order but it was just business as usual to this well-oiled team from Combat Logistics Battalion-2, Combat Logistics Regiment-15. “These guys are some of the best fuel Marines we have,” said Col. Stephen D. Sklenka, commanding officer, CLR-15. “They really run this operation well.” Sgt. James Foote, from Ramona, Calif., who serves as the noncommissioned officer in charge of the bulk fuel detachment is an activated Marine Corps Reservist. In civilian life, he serves alongside his wife as a police officer with the California Highway Patrol. On his second deployment but his first to Afghanistan, Sgt. Foote believes the fuel team at Eredvi runs so smoothly because they are simply proud to be Marines. “We hold ourselves to the highest standard,” said Foote. The two other members of the three-man team who are also Reservists, Cpl. Jacob Furqueron, from Jackson, Mich., and Lance Cpl. Charles Taylor, from Bakersfield, Calif., agreed with their NCOIC. (Read the STORY)

VIGNETTES

Marine steps out of box, works with heart
Story and photo by Sgt. Ned Johnson

 

 

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan— As a Marine begins his daily assignments here, he knows that most men his age are not making the same sacrifices he makes each day on a deployment. For one Marine even most Marines are not doing what he does. Lance Cpl. Adam Henderson is a chaplain’s assistant with Regimental Combat Team 7 and is filling a position usually reserved for a senior noncommissioned officer in the Navy. As a noncombatant, each chaplain has a Navy religious program specialist to protect him in combat and assist with administrative and logistic duties. Henderson, a 19-year-old native of Clark, S.D., was given the opportunity to support the regimental chaplain before the deployment when he interviewed to replace the previous religious program specialist. Commander Michael Williams, the chaplain with RCT-7, specifically chose Henderson after interviewing six other Marines for the job. (Read the STORY)



Connecticut Marine assumes greater responsibility

Story and photo by Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr.

 

 

COMBAT OUTPOST SHUKVANI, Afghanistan - Marines are instilled from day one to learn to adapt and overcome, and in a deployed environment they must take this to heart. Lance Corporal Nicholas C. Jansen is one such Marine who has adapted to the demands of the battalion and wears the many hats needed to get the job done. Hailing from a small town, Hartland, Conn., Jansen found his way to the Marine Corps later than most Marines. “I was 22 at the time working a job, and I really wanted to do something different with my life,” said Jansen, a generator mechanic by trade. “I always wanted to join the military, so I looked into it, and here I am.” With a military influence in his family, he had always leaned toward enlisting. Jansen finally made his decision and walked into a recruiter’s office and joined the Marine Corps during April 2011. “My father was in the Navy, and my grandfather was in the Air Force,” said Jansen. “I chose the Marine Corps because I wanted to be the best. I wanted to go all out.” (Read the STORY)

 

Santa Barbara Marine overcomes injury, deploys to Afghanistan
Story and photos by Cpl. Timothy Lenzo

 

 

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – In an office surrounded by fences with concertina and dirt roads, one Marine is fulfilling a dream in Afghanistan. Several months before he was scheduled to deploy, Lance Cpl. Anthony Zavala injured his hand, putting his dream of deploying to Afghanistan in jeopardy. “I almost didn’t make it to Afghanistan because of a hand injury that required six surgeries and contracted an infection,” said Zavala, ammunition technician with Regimental Combat Team 7. Zavala, from Santa Barbara, Calif., burned his hand when he accidentally grabbed a steam pipe. “At first, I thought it was just a slight burn and nothing big,” said Zavala. “When the pain got worse, I went to the (emergency room), and they told me it was so serious I needed to go to a burn center.” Zavala was transferred to a burn hospital in San Diego. The doctors bandaged his hand, and he stayed in the hospital for several weeks. “They tried to get some of the fluid out of my hand and clean it with benzoyl peroxide,” said Zavala. (Read the STORY)



California Marine takes leadership by example to heart

Story by Capt. Alfred Reynolds

 

 

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan— Most Marines are familiar with the concept of leadership by example. One Marine lives it. Sergeant Christopher R. Contreras, currently deployed with Regimental Combat Team 7 as the assistant chief for the communication electronics maintenance section, isn’t satisfied by leading his Marines with just words. “If I sit on my ass and tell them to do something, I think that’s a really bad example to set,” Contreras said. Contreras, 26, is directly responsible for a section of Marines who maintain and repair communication equipment, ensuring the Marines of RCT-7 have the gear they need to accomplish their mission. “It helps to actually get my hands on gear with my guys so I can kind of coach them through things and teach them the right way to do it properly,” Contreras said. The Novato, Calif., native originally enlisted in the Marine Corps as an artilleryman because he wanted combat experience. After his first tour of duty, Contreras said he wanted a job that was more technical and challenging, so he made a lateral move into the communications field by becoming a computer and telephone repairman. “Now that I’m older, I appreciate this (military occupational specialty) more,” Contreras said. “It gives me a chance to lead my Marines more, and it’s more challenging.” Though Contreras went from being a worker to a leader, he still stays hard at work with his hands-on style of leadership. The effects of this haven’t gone unnoticed. (Read the STORY)



VIDEOS

We Are Logistics: Engineers Improve Local Infrastructure
Video by Cpl. Mark Garcia

 

 

This is part two of a series highlighting the Logistics Command Element while deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan. This video features combat engineers with Bridge Company Bravo, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, fixing a bridge during a cold Afghan winter night in the Shir Ghazay Bazaar area. Soundbites from 1st Lt. Azriel Peskowitz, Platoon Commander, Bridge Company Bravo, CLB-2 from Queens, N.Y.; Sgt. Leo Keller, Fire Team Leader, Bridge Company Bravo, CLB-2 from Bucks County, Penn. (Watch the VIDEO)




Marketed/Republished Combat Correspondent Product

 

Cpl. Kenneth Nageotte talks about being a NBC Marine, his time as an embassy security guard, and his plans for the future. Specifically for KCDZ 107.7 in Yucca valley, Calif.

Lance Cpl. Adam Henderson, from Clark, S.D., talks to a KCDZ 107.7 FM Online reporter, in Yucca Valley, Calif., about his duties assisting and providing security for the chaplain during his deployment to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.

Lt Col Donald Tomich talks to a Marine Corps Times reporter about the changes he has seen in Afghanistan, the Afghan security forces taking the lead and challenges coalition forces still face.

For HIMARS Marines: 400 a magic number republished on The Patriot Files.

More than boots, blouses: I MHG supply gets job done in Helmand republished on Newsroom America.

Marine steps out of box, works with heart republished on ISAF website.

Connecticut Marine assumes great responsibility republished on Newsroom America.

We Are Logistics: Engineers Improve Local Infrastructure republished on YouTube.

To see more news, videos and photos of Regional Command Southwest Marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and our coalition partners, please visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

 

                      

    I Marine Expeditionary Force