Marines armed with chocolate find friends

Times Online ^ | March 26, 2003 | From Daniel McGrory in Umm Qasr

[yonif]

A YOUNG Iraqi boy in a torn red T-shirt was the first to show his face yesterday. He peered out from behind a gate, unsure what to do as two Royal Marine commandos strode down the muddy street towards him.

Marine Andrew Chilvers dropped to one knee, rested his machinegun on the ground and beckoned the boy. He then held out a chocolate bar. The boy hungrily tore off the wrapper, calling for his brothers and sisters to join him. Soon the 21-year-old commando from Middlesbrough was surrounded by outstretched hands. “If only winning the rest of Iraq was this easy,” he smiled.

It took five days and nights of intermittent American airstrikes and artillery bombardments to subdue this scruffy little town of 4,000 people that sits at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

About the only time the US Marines got out of their vehicles was to raise the Stars and Stripes on the very first day, a move they were hastily ordered to reverse as it smacked of occupation, not liberation.

Then on Monday morning the British took over. It took the men of 42 Commando barely 24 hours to win over the locals and by last night their commander, Brigadier Jim Dutton, was confident they had extinguished the last flickers of resistance from Saddam Hussein’s diehard Baath party loyalists.

One senior British officer said: “The Americans don’t care for going in on foot as we do to secure a town, whether it be Belfast or Umm Qasr. They prefer to try and flatten everything in front of them which we think only scares the living daylights out of the locals, not get them on your side.”

The Royal Marines had to insist that the Americans, who are under their command in southern Iraq, did not destroy the port as it is crucial to their humanitarian operation which is already behind schedule.

The Marines’ problems are still far from over. They are unsure who might be lurking inside the mud-brick houses that fringe this troublesome port.

Most of Umm Qasr’s residents are still too timid to venture far outside their front door. Three teenagers, one wearing a Manchester United football shirt, shuffled towards a Jeep full of Marines, waved, shouted a brief welcome in English and hurried on.

The influence of Saddam Hussein remains pervasive, with huge murals of the Iraqi President on every corner. The town suffered appallingly at his hands when the allied troops abruptly pulled out after the 1991 Gulf War, and it needs to be certain this will not happen again. “Uniforms usually mean bad news for these people, so it will take time for them to trust us and see we are genuinely here to help them, not conquer them,” Major Jeff Moulton said.

Nor, for the moment, do the Marines have much to give. Promised aid shipments cannot dock because navy divers are still searching the port and its navigational approaches for booby traps and mines.

“We were truly shocked just how poor these people are. They have absolutely nothing and yet this should be a busy port,” Major Moulton said.

The other difficulty is discovering who they have to deal with in Umm Qasr. The only people who have ever had influence in the town belong to Saddam’s Baath party. If the commandos do deal with these same apparatchiks, it will do little to persuade the locals this is true regime change.

The British made a point of ensuring that one of their first violent stops in Umm Qasr was the party headquarters, the hideout of the most lethal snipers. By the time that they got inside the militia had gone, leaving behind women and children in the building that US commanders had considered bombing when their men were shot at from there.

The question that has still to be answered is why it took the Americans so long to quell what one US Marine commander had described as a little local difficulty. The military high command in Qatar is desperate to avoid recriminations, but British commanders are critical that US forces did not search the town thoroughly but instead sat on the outskirts firing artillery.

“The people are not starving. Most locals have been asking us for cigarettes, bottles of water and shoes rather than food rations,” one Marine said.

What did encourage the Marines was that many women and children were beginning to approach them, though, as one said: “This wasn’t like Kosovo, where the people were exultant at our arrival. Here it is still very restrained, as though they are very nervous.”

[siliconpatriot]

I was just getting ready to post this one myself.

I know many in the UK don't love us, but I was disappointed to see this news outfit rip the USA in their subtle way. I thought the US and the UK were better friends than this.

It's really too bad they don't seem to be able to find anything good to say about our troops.

And I haven't heard of their guys leading the charge anywhere! It seems to me they are simply guarding what we've captured.

[TADSLOS]

Notice how all but one of the British Marines making comment conveniently lack names in the report. I'd say this is about 99% B.S. combined with the usual leftist media spin.

[lsee]

rested his machinegun on the ground

Would a Marine do that?

[MattinNJ]

They prefer to try and flatten everything in front of them which we think only scares the living daylights out of the locals, not get them on your side.”

Works for me. I took it as a compliment.

[annyokie]

Nice picture, Yoni! I remember seeing similar pix when I was a grammer schooler and we were in Viet Nam.

[holyscroller]

Kindness and goodies for the kids may pay dividends in 20 years. We should be shipping all the candy over for them that we can.

[siliconpatriot]

I'm for the candy or anything else that smoothes relations and is easy to offer. But the way that article was written stinks. The writer must be part french.

[Maigrey]

I would hope that our dear brothers-in-arms would understand that we are there to go and kill the hydra, while they are there to take off the other heads.

Bravo to the HM Fighting men for winning the hearts of the locals. Bravo!

[annyokie]

I was just thinking that I would like to send goodies to our boys and girls in combat. Does any one have an address?

[siliconpatriot]

http://www.uso.com/pubs/8_20_1395.cfm

[WestTexasWend]

Sounds like the spirit of Monty lives on. The American's took the beating and Montgomery took the credit. But the German's knew better: "Patton, he was your best."

The headline should read "A Peace of Chocolate"...something the French, Belgians and Germans could support.

[annyokie]

Thank you, Sir!

[denydenydeny]

What a comtemptible piece of offal this article is.

[THE Aardvark]

Send them the most famous consumer items America has to offer. They've undoubetedly heard of Coca Cola, Mc Donalds, Levi's and things like that, so send it over by the boatload, or drop it on Baghdad.

[holyscroller]

To find a serviceman who would like mail or a package, go to www.operationmilitarysupport.com As soon as you sign up, they will send you the name and address of a serviceman. I've sent 7 boxes so far. (You fill a shoebox with stuff, that's the biggest they can get.) If you need the list of what they need and want, let me know and I'll post the list. I have tio go out for about 3-1/2 hours, so check back later.

[siliconpatriot]

It's more reason why Bush should ignore Blair when he comes this week looking to get the UN involved in the post-war management of Iraq.

Anyone paying attention to the Pentagon briefings can see we are being more careful than we really need to be. And our guys are taking huge risks to do so. If it wasn't for the USA this whole mission would not be happening. And all the good stuff to come from it would still be in a bottle.

[annyokie]

My church sponsored many boat people from Viet Nam and Cambodia. They were the most grateful and gracious people. Be nice.

[Bob J]

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[Libertina]

Like the picture, love our guys, don't appreciate the diss. Why should our troops want to go into the middle of a town that is unsecured?

[annyokie]

Thank you for the information about the size of packages. I can't thank you enough and I wish that this were common knowledge.

I remember sending Girl Scout cookies to Viet Nam.

[Marie Antoinette]

I was taken aback at first, but I look at it this way - we Americans already have a "reputation" in the foreign press as cowboys/rebels/rambos, and British support is important for their troops too. So if it instills some national (royal?) pride over there, I'm all for it. Now all those folks on the fence in the UK can see how much we Americans need their civilizing influence and restraint. *cough* *ahem* :-)

So take it with a grain of salt. A whole shaker full if necessary ;-)

[mtbopfuyn]

It took five days and nights of intermittent American airstrikes and artillery bombardments to subdue this scruffy little town of 4,000 people that sits at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

And the Brits should be thanking us for that instead of making snide comments. I didn't see them getting there first.

[DD938]

YOUR TAG LINE IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. THE ANSWER OF COURSE IS IT ENABLES OTHER UGLY LIBERALS TO FIND THEM.
GRANDMA ALWAYS SAID: "GOD MAKES THEM, AND THEY FIND EACH OTHER".

[WestTexasWend]

Right you are. Letting the UN back in the mix just boosts the cost of reconstruction exponentially, and redounds to no one's benefit except the UN's.

As for being more careful than we need to be, having 700+
newsmen tagging along doesn't help get ANY job done. Mics and cameras change everything, no matter how you try to ignore them. The mere act of protecting the crews has to be a terrific drag on the units they're with. I worked in TV news for 15+ years and 90% of the guys in the newsroom had never changed a flat or held a dipstick, and they frankly resented having to pump their own gas. Not one had ever carried a pocketknife (a few cameramen did), but they all carried pancake makeup. No doubt it's been a stiff learning curve for them and hopefully they'll "grow" from the experience, but pity the troops having to babysit.

[xm177e2]

Not all of the marines probably want to be named, for obvious reasons.

[CyberAnt]

This may seem friendly, but it's so dangerous. I sure hope some "kind" soldier does not lose his life over it.

I believe our soldiers were already told DO NOT GIVE CANDY OR RATIONS TO ANYONE! The reason is ... they disguise the children who appear harmless until the soldier comes close and then they ambush and kill him.

[GladesGuru]

The newsies makeup will be useful if they are captured, assuming Arab tastes are as still as perverse as in the past.

[Prince Caspian]

If you need the list of what they need and want, let me know and I'll post the list.

Yes, please do! Thanks. Just checked the web site you mentioned, and they have had such a strong response from people that they have had to temporarily suspend until they can catch up. Nice problem to have!

[ILBBACH]

I went to http://www.usmc.mil/ to see about "adopting" a Marine, and I came across a press release stating that the Dept. o' Defense doesn't like these care package programs.

They give their reasons and also some other suggestions as to how support the troops - including visiting veteran's hospitals and nursing homes.

Hope this link is good:

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/templatereleaseview1/3ABB14EFABCCCC5685256CF3003C1338?opendocument

[holyscroller]

I've read and thought about all the pros and cons of sending boxes to our servicemen in the Gulf and all hold merit. However, the guys need sna love getting goodies and necessities from home. When I was in Calif. three weeks ago, some Marine families were asking for people to send goodie (shoe) boxes to deployed Marines, and I filled 7 boxes and gave them to the ladies who delivered them directly to Camp Pendleton. There they were addressed and sent onward.

At the time, the guys needed (among tons of other stuff) reading material, cards, puzzles, etc. since at the time, they were killing a lot of time waiting for the war to start. Upon getting home, I went to our local Indian Casino (the Muckleshoots, Auburn, WA) and asked if they would send a bunch of cards to the guys. They sent 200 decks to my contact in Calif. and the cards were immediately taken to Camp Pendleton and shipped over. I've searched and searched to find contacts locally and got a name off thewww.operationmilitarysupport.com site, and sent that Marine a nice box last week. Anyway, here's what the guys ask for/need/like to get: VITAL: Baby Wipes (water is scarce, bathing opportunities are scarcer, and they're all suffering from grunge and jock itch. They're begging for baby wipes.) waterless cleansing jell, Gold Bond Powder, eye drops,sun glasses, sun block, chap sticks, Bug Off, deodorant, Avon Skin so Soft, contact lens cleanser, breath mints, nail files, writing paper, envelopes, writing pens, phone cards, film, men's magazines.

Goodies include; beef jerky, instant coffee, powdered Gatorade, powdered hot chocolate or cider, tgea bags, Kool-Aid, single servicgs of bagged chips and crackers, cheese, candy that doesn't melt, snack cakes, bubble gum, rice krispie treats, homemade cookies and brownies, microwaveable popcorn, dry cereal (little individual boxes,) granola bars, dried fruit, tuna, spices to flavor military meals (pizza flavoring, hot sauce, ketchup, relish, etc. The little packets you get at restaurants are perfect) summer sausage (really popular), dried soup packets, salsa, lollipops, marshmallows, canned chicken, little bottles (hotel size) of shampoo and conditioner, clorox wipes, razors, shaving cream, soap (don't pack it next to edibles), t-shirts, underwear, socks, dental floss, batteries (AA, C) paperback books, puzzles, disposable cameras and/or film, frisbees, small flash lights, chalk, Nerf footballs. They also need ziplock baggies. OPack any foods that might break or ooze in them, plus include some spares. (Sand is getting in everything.) If you want a reply, enclose a self addressed envelope.

Packing: Double tape all seams of the shoebox with strapping tape. Fill our a Customs declaration listing just a couple of the items, such as "Food, clothing" and underestimate the value. If you make it sound too good, it's more apt to be stolen. In the lower left corner of the box, either write on the box or past a label on the box reading: "If the person to whom this box is addressed has been redeployed and this box cannot be forwarded, please keep this box and share it with your unit." In the upper left corner of the box, write or put a label on reading" Operation Military Pride."

Postage will be at either Parcel Post or Priority Mail rate, and the box will probably be going to an APO address either in New York or San Francisco.

If you find another source of addresses, please let me know.

[annyokie]

Thank you so much! All of my male family memebers have served and have always stressed the importance of receiving mail from loved ones, not goodies so much as encouragement.

I would be so happy to send necessities, treats and notes of support to our brave soldiers!

Thanks again and I will pass your list on to all!