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FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 28, 2004) -- After coming out of a combat zone, many Marines commented on the items they're glad they brought with them.
The following list includes 20 â Å“must haveâ ? items of Marines from 3rd Platoon Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment during Operation Al Fajr:
1. Advanced combat optical gun sight/Binoculars: â Å“When you're on post, you can tell what individuals walking down the street (blocks away) are carrying,â ? said Cpl. Michael Fredtkou, a M-203 gunner. â Å“The enemy doesn't expect you to see them that far away.â ?
2. Energy bars: â Å“They're lightweight, easy to get to,â ? said Staff Sgt. Luis Lopez, 3rd platoon sergeant. â Å“Plus they're not as bulky as MREs.â ? (meals-ready-to-eat)
3. Kevlar cushions: â Å“The old padding gives you a headache after wearing it for a few hours,â ? said 1st Lt. Travis Fuller, 3rd platoon commander. â Å“After a few minutes with the cushions on, you can't even tell it's there.â ?
4. Elbow/Knee pads: â Å“If it wouldn't be for these things, my knees would be completely cut up by now,â ? said Lance Cpl. Tim Riffe, a machine gunner. â Å“You can only take so much jumping into a defensive position without them.â ?
5. Personal Role Radio: â Å“Communication has been a huge key in our operations,â ? said Cpl. Tyrone Wilson, 2nd squad leader. â Å“When my squad was across the street in a defensive position, the platoon was able to let me know insurgents were in the building next to us. Who knows what would've happened if they couldn't contact me.â ?
6. Global Positioning System: â Å“I'm able to pinpoint our location within 10 meters when calling in position reports and medevacs,â ? said Lance Cpl. William Woolley, a radio operator. â Å“We'll never get lost as long as we have it.â ?
7. Extra socks: â Å“My feet are nice and dry right now,â ? said Lance Cpl. Kaleb Welch, a squad automatic weapon (SAW) gunner. â Å“I've gone without changing my socks before on three to four day training exercises and I always regretted it later.â ?
8. Gloves: â Å“They're clutch because when you're climbing over a wall you don't have to worry about broken glass cutting your hands,â ? said Cpl. Gabriel Trull, 1st squad leader. â Å“You also don't burn your hands when changing 240 golf barrels.â ?
9. Baby wipes: â Å“It's a multi-use piece of gear,â ? said Petty Officer 3rd Class Irving Ochoa, a Navy Corpsman. You don't have much time out here for personal hygiene, so it's the best alternative.â ?
10. Three-point sling: â Å“When you're jumping over rooftops you don't want to worry about dropping your weapon,â ? said Cpl. Dave Willis, 3rd squad leader. â Å“At any time you can just reach down and grab it.â ?
11. Alice/Day pack: â Å“Without these I don't know how I'd carry all of my gear,â ? said Lance Cpl. Geoffery Bivins, a SAW gunner. â Å“It displaces all of the weight around my body, so I'm not uncomfortable. When you're running with 100 lbs. on your back, that's important.â ?
12. Night Vision Goggles: â Å“Wearing these at night gives you the advantage over the enemy,â ? said Lance Cpl. Marquirez Chavery, a combat engineer. â Å“When you're on a rooftop at night you can see everything.â ?
13. Personal hydration system: â Å“Water is one of the things you always need to make sure you have,â ? said Seaman Hugo Lara, a Navy corpsman. â Å“Instead of struggling to get your canteens out, the cord is there within your reach. Plus it holds more water as well.â ?
14. Watch with compass: â Å“You get calls where you have to lay down suppressing fire in a certain direction and instead of wasting time to ask which way is north or south, you can just look at your wrist,â ? said Lance Cpl. Lonny Kelly, a machine gunner. â Å“Knowing the time is important because everyone pulls shifts for guard duty or standing post. How would you know when your shift starts or stops without one?â ?
15. AA batteries: â Å“You use them for your NVGs and handheld radios; both which contribute to more effective fighting,â ? said Cpl. Bryan Morales, 1st squad 1st fire team, team leader. â Å“You wouldn't want either of those items dying on you, so having a spare set of batteries around is very important.â ?
16. Poncho/poncho liner: â Å“The temperature at night is extremely different during the day,â ? said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Etterling, machine gun team leader. â Å“If you don't have some sort of protection at night, you end up freezing because you're cammies are still damp from sweating during the day.â ?
17. Ballistic goggles: â Å“I was the A-driver one of our convoys and we got hit by an IED (improvised explosive device),â ? said Lance Cpl. Anthony Johnson, an assaultman. â Å“Shrapnel bounced off of my glasses, saving my vision.â ?
18. Multi-purpose portable tool kit: â Å“It's like carrying a combat knife, hammer and screwdriver in one hand,â ? said Lance Cpl. Evan Fernandez, an assaultman. Cutting open MREs, cleaning your weapon, tightening screws on your gear; it has a thousand uses.â ?
19. Carabineers: â Å“Anything that you might have to grab at a moments notice, you don't want to be digging through your pockets to try and find it,â ? said Pfc. Jason Kurtz, a SAW gunner. â Å“With these you can attach anything to your flak and have right at your fingertips.â ?
20. High powered flashlight: â Å“It does wonders,â ? said Cpl. Chris Williams, 2nd squad 1st fire team leader. â Å“After you throw a fragmentation grenade into a room it's difficult to see because of all the dust floating around. No one can hide from them."
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 28, 2004) -- After coming out of a combat zone, many Marines commented on the items they're glad they brought with them.
The following list includes 20 â Å“must haveâ ? items of Marines from 3rd Platoon Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment during Operation Al Fajr:
1. Advanced combat optical gun sight/Binoculars: â Å“When you're on post, you can tell what individuals walking down the street (blocks away) are carrying,â ? said Cpl. Michael Fredtkou, a M-203 gunner. â Å“The enemy doesn't expect you to see them that far away.â ?
2. Energy bars: â Å“They're lightweight, easy to get to,â ? said Staff Sgt. Luis Lopez, 3rd platoon sergeant. â Å“Plus they're not as bulky as MREs.â ? (meals-ready-to-eat)
3. Kevlar cushions: â Å“The old padding gives you a headache after wearing it for a few hours,â ? said 1st Lt. Travis Fuller, 3rd platoon commander. â Å“After a few minutes with the cushions on, you can't even tell it's there.â ?
4. Elbow/Knee pads: â Å“If it wouldn't be for these things, my knees would be completely cut up by now,â ? said Lance Cpl. Tim Riffe, a machine gunner. â Å“You can only take so much jumping into a defensive position without them.â ?
5. Personal Role Radio: â Å“Communication has been a huge key in our operations,â ? said Cpl. Tyrone Wilson, 2nd squad leader. â Å“When my squad was across the street in a defensive position, the platoon was able to let me know insurgents were in the building next to us. Who knows what would've happened if they couldn't contact me.â ?
6. Global Positioning System: â Å“I'm able to pinpoint our location within 10 meters when calling in position reports and medevacs,â ? said Lance Cpl. William Woolley, a radio operator. â Å“We'll never get lost as long as we have it.â ?
7. Extra socks: â Å“My feet are nice and dry right now,â ? said Lance Cpl. Kaleb Welch, a squad automatic weapon (SAW) gunner. â Å“I've gone without changing my socks before on three to four day training exercises and I always regretted it later.â ?
8. Gloves: â Å“They're clutch because when you're climbing over a wall you don't have to worry about broken glass cutting your hands,â ? said Cpl. Gabriel Trull, 1st squad leader. â Å“You also don't burn your hands when changing 240 golf barrels.â ?
9. Baby wipes: â Å“It's a multi-use piece of gear,â ? said Petty Officer 3rd Class Irving Ochoa, a Navy Corpsman. You don't have much time out here for personal hygiene, so it's the best alternative.â ?
10. Three-point sling: â Å“When you're jumping over rooftops you don't want to worry about dropping your weapon,â ? said Cpl. Dave Willis, 3rd squad leader. â Å“At any time you can just reach down and grab it.â ?
11. Alice/Day pack: â Å“Without these I don't know how I'd carry all of my gear,â ? said Lance Cpl. Geoffery Bivins, a SAW gunner. â Å“It displaces all of the weight around my body, so I'm not uncomfortable. When you're running with 100 lbs. on your back, that's important.â ?
12. Night Vision Goggles: â Å“Wearing these at night gives you the advantage over the enemy,â ? said Lance Cpl. Marquirez Chavery, a combat engineer. â Å“When you're on a rooftop at night you can see everything.â ?
13. Personal hydration system: â Å“Water is one of the things you always need to make sure you have,â ? said Seaman Hugo Lara, a Navy corpsman. â Å“Instead of struggling to get your canteens out, the cord is there within your reach. Plus it holds more water as well.â ?
14. Watch with compass: â Å“You get calls where you have to lay down suppressing fire in a certain direction and instead of wasting time to ask which way is north or south, you can just look at your wrist,â ? said Lance Cpl. Lonny Kelly, a machine gunner. â Å“Knowing the time is important because everyone pulls shifts for guard duty or standing post. How would you know when your shift starts or stops without one?â ?
15. AA batteries: â Å“You use them for your NVGs and handheld radios; both which contribute to more effective fighting,â ? said Cpl. Bryan Morales, 1st squad 1st fire team, team leader. â Å“You wouldn't want either of those items dying on you, so having a spare set of batteries around is very important.â ?
16. Poncho/poncho liner: â Å“The temperature at night is extremely different during the day,â ? said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Etterling, machine gun team leader. â Å“If you don't have some sort of protection at night, you end up freezing because you're cammies are still damp from sweating during the day.â ?
17. Ballistic goggles: â Å“I was the A-driver one of our convoys and we got hit by an IED (improvised explosive device),â ? said Lance Cpl. Anthony Johnson, an assaultman. â Å“Shrapnel bounced off of my glasses, saving my vision.â ?
18. Multi-purpose portable tool kit: â Å“It's like carrying a combat knife, hammer and screwdriver in one hand,â ? said Lance Cpl. Evan Fernandez, an assaultman. Cutting open MREs, cleaning your weapon, tightening screws on your gear; it has a thousand uses.â ?
19. Carabineers: â Å“Anything that you might have to grab at a moments notice, you don't want to be digging through your pockets to try and find it,â ? said Pfc. Jason Kurtz, a SAW gunner. â Å“With these you can attach anything to your flak and have right at your fingertips.â ?
20. High powered flashlight: â Å“It does wonders,â ? said Cpl. Chris Williams, 2nd squad 1st fire team leader. â Å“After you throw a fragmentation grenade into a room it's difficult to see because of all the dust floating around. No one can hide from them."