Thursday, March 1, 2012

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand

Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows the war in Afghanistan has been a total failure. It is probably true NATO forces have from time to time, and place to place, made life a little easier for a few of the Afgan people. But there again, everyone, and I mean everyone, knows all of that is temporary. We will be pulling our troops out of that unforgiving, ungrateful country and leaving the unforgiving, ungrateful people to their own islamic wickedness. The suffering will return seven times stronger. 


We know what is going to happen to the people of Afghanistan, and their government. No questions there. The question is what will happen to America? What will happen to all of those warriors who have returned with missing arms, missing legs, missing gentiles, missing parts of their heads and faces. What will happen to them?  Will we as a country do right by them for the horrific sacrifice they have made for our country, and for no apparent reason? Our dismal history, in that regard, answers that question very loudly.


And there is the debt. What will America do to pay that debt and make up for the loss of fortune that will be haunting us for years and years to come? At this point know one can predict with any certainty the answer to that particular question. We do know it will take a monumental change in  leadership to put this country back onto a path of sanity and self-preservation.


The miracle of new leadership will have to come quickly, because, in case you haven't guessed it, this war is not over. The fight will go on. It will most certainly go on! Without new bold, courageous, out-of-the-box thinking type of leadership nothing will change, and we must realize that soon the battle will once again be on our own soil. It need not be, but it will. Without the kind of leadership I'm talking about, the day will come, in a few years if not months, when the evil islamic world wide expansion endeavor will once again spill innocent American blood on America's own soil. It will be a lot of blood.


But, it need not be. Without a George Washington, Abrham Lincoln, or Harry Truman presiding in the oval office we will continue to battle this wicked system, Satan decided to call islam. I laid out a step by step policy that would without question, and once and for all put an end to the Hell islam wants to and will bring to the entire world. Some say the LORD will intervene. Maybe, but He hasn't yet, and we have been fighting this fight for some 1500 years or so. If our LORD does intervene, all the current musloid problems will become a mute point. If Jesus Christ decides enough is enough, and in some way destroys islam, then we can freely go on about the business He has called us to do.


But if He does not choose to do so, then we need to call upon His help to do what needs to be done. I can here many asking the following question, "Why wouldn't He just do away with such an evil system Himself?" Good question. Without getting into a theological argument about the so called "gentleness" of Jesus and how we should all be merciful, peace-loving and humble Christians, let me suggest Jesus is calling His followers to battle on two fronts; both spiritual and physical. Let me ask this question, "Did Jesus alone defeat the nazis of Europe? did Jesus defeat the evil Emperor of Japan, did Jesus defeat communism in the late 1980's." Surprising, I say the answer is "YES". But He did so, only, using the hand of men. Had not men been willing to step up throughout all of history in defense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and do so by the swing of the sword this world would be a very different place.


Let me suggest, America possesses that sword. The question is are American followers of Jesus willing to use that sword? Are we willing to put a stop, once and for all, to the hideous, vile, wicked, musloid, islamic evil that is ruining the lives of millions of people around the world, and has sent untold billions of people to an eternity in Hell. If not, then we can expect more of the same as they continue to force shari'a law onto every continent, every country, and every locality all over the world. Right now, as I am writing this post, there are absolutely no barriers of any kind any where that have proven strong enough to stop the ever creeping progress of the god, allah.


I will not take the time in this post to describe the complete unadulterated hatered I have for mohammad, allah, the quar'an and all the islamic teachings and practices. That hatred will be waged in a post coming soon, including pictures. 


The purpose of this post is to call for Christian Americans to wake up and realize we are at WAR whether we want to be or not. The enemy wants to kill you and wants to kill me, unless of course we convert to the sickest system Satan has ever devised. The purpose of this post is to push Christians into the realization that the battle can be one, once and for all, if we are willing to pull the trigger. 


In a post I wrote on September 13 of last year, titled The Ultimate Solution: Does America Have the Guts?, (an unfortunate title) which has been pointed out to me by some, I put forth a sure fire (no pun intended) way to deal with the problem. So first things first, let me take the liberty of changing the title of my solution from The Ultimate Solution to The Only Solution. In that post I proposed a step by step policy for defeating islam in a matter of weeks, if not days. I won't take the time to reiterate that policy here, because I know there are only a few, very few, who have the courage to publicly commit to such a policy. So, unfortunately, let the bloodshed continue - all over the world.


The video below is a documentary, of sorts, as to what a given  mission is like for the USMC men in this rat hole of a country called Afghanistan. Portrayed in the video are the men of Bravo Company 1/6 Marines as they endeavor to take and secure an assigned position.


Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, gives us the following history of the 1/6 Marines.


The 1st Battalion, 6th Marines (1/6) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based in Camp LejeuneNorth Carolina. It consists of approximately 1,100 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the command of the 6th Marine Regiment, the 2nd Marine Division of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF).


Global War on Terror

Marines of Bravo Company, 1/6, clear an abandoned house during a weapons sweep in Iraq in June 2005
In 2004, 1st Battalion 6th Marines, as the ground combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, deployed to Oruzgan Province in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
1/6 deployed to FallujahIraq in 2005, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion deployed again in 2006–2007 to Ar RamadiIraq where they participated in the Battle of Ramadi.
In 2007, 1/6 became Battalion Landing Team 1/6, attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
1/6 deployed to Helmand Province in Afghanistan between March and September 2008 in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom. During its tasking, the battalion reinforced British and Afghan forces in the Helmand Province campaign. Most combat operations took place in the Taliban-held town of Garmsir.

Helmand Province


Helmand was the center of a U.S. development program in the 1960s – it was even nicknamed "little America". The program laid out tree-lined streets in Lashkar Gah, built a network of irrigation canals and constructed a large hydroelectric dam. The program was abandoned when the communists seized power in 1978.
More recently the American USAID program has contributed to a counter-narcotics initiative called the Alternative Livelihoods Program (ALP) in the province. It pays communities to work to improve their environment and economic infrastructure as an alternative to opium poppy farming. The project undertakes drainage and canal rehabilitation projects. In 2005 and 2006, there were problems in getting promised finance to communities and this is a source of considerable tension between the farmers and the Coalition forces.

1/6 deployed again to Afghanistan in December 2009 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This was part of the 20,000 troop increase approved just a week before by President Barack Obama, originally ordered by George W. Bush. On 13 February, 2010, 1/6 took part in the invasion of Marja in Helmand Province, known asOperation Moshtarak and was the first Afghan-led operation of the war. The invasion began with members of Alpha and Bravo companies inserting via CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters with approximately 300 Marines and Afghan soldiers and Charlie company using Mobile forces to clear and hold a major portion of the city. By 14 June 2010, 1/6's advanced party had returned to the US and by late July the entire battalion was back from the deployment.

Border with Pakistan
Helmand has a southern border with the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Many domestic and international observers have criticized Pakistan's efforts towards securing the border against Taliban insurgents.

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand (Part 1/6)

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand (Part 2/6)

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand (Part 3/6)

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand (Part 4/6)

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand (Part 5/6)

Bravo Company 1/6 Marines in Helmand (Part 6/6)



In 2011, 1/6 again deployed to Helmand Province and engaged in Operation Eastern Storm, in an effort to clear Sangin & Kajaki Districts of Taliban insurgents. While Coldsteel supported 3/6 in the Marjeh district.



Helmand province campaign

As of Summer 2006, Helmand was one of the districts involved in Operation Mountain Thrust, a combined NATO-Afghan mission targeted at Taliban fighters in the south of the country. In July 2006, this offensive mission essentially stalled in Helmand as NATO, primarily British, and Afghan troops were forced to take increasingly defensive positions under heavy insurgent pressure. In response,British troop levels in the province were increased, and new encampments were established in Sangin and Gerishk. Fighting has been particularly heavy in the towns of SanginNawayNawzad and Garmsir. There are reports that the Talibansee Helmand province as a key testing area for their ability to take and hold Afghan territory from NATO and Afghan National Army troops.Commanders on the ground have described the situation as the most brutal conflict the British Army has been involved in since the Korean War.It was announced on January 27, 2006 in the British Parliament that a NATOInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would be replacing the U.S. troopsin the province as part of Operation Herrick. The British 16 Air Assault Brigadewould be the core of the force in Helmand Province. British bases are located in the towns of SanginLashkar Gah and Gereshk.
In Autumn 2006, British troops started to reach "cessation of hostilities" agreements with local Taliban forces around the district centres where they had been stationed earlier in the summer. Under the terms of the agreement, both sets of forces will withdraw from the conflict zone. This agreement from the British forces implies that the strategy of holding key bases in the district, as requested by Hamid Karzai, is essentially untenable with the current levels of British troop deployment. The agreement is also a setback for Taliban fighters, who were desperate to consolidate their gains in the province, but are under heavy pressure from various NATO offensives.
News reports identified the insurgents involved in the fighting as a mix of Taliban fighters and warring tribal groups who are heavily involved in the province's lucrative opium trade.
Fighting continued throughout the winter, with British and allied troops taking a more pro-active stance against the Taliban. Several operations were launched including the more recent Operation Silicone at the start of spring. On May 12, 2007, Mullah Dadullah, one of the Taliban's top commanders, along with 11 of his men were killed by NATO and Afghan forces in Helmand.
In April 2008, 1,500 2nd Battalion 7th Marines occupied over 300 square miles (800 km2) of Helmand River valley and the Farah province. The operation was to set up forward operation bases and train the Afghan police forces in an area with little or no outside support.
In July 2009, 4,000 U.S. Marines pushed into the Helmand River valley in a major offensive to liberate the area from Taliban combatants. The operation, dubbed Operation Khanjar, is the first major push since President Obama's request for 21,000 additional soldiers in Afghanistan, targeting the Taliban rebels.
In June 2009 Panther's Claw was launched with the stated aim of securing control of various canal and river crossings and establishing a lasting ISAF presence in an area described by Lt Col Richardson as "one of the main Taliban strongholds" ahead of the 2009 Afghan presidential election.


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