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HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghan (March 17, 2008) - Special operations
Marines deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand province operate at a
fast pace.
Accompanied by a small group of Afghan National Army soldiers,
the Marines are constantly on the go: visiting villages,
distributing humanitarian aid and always searching for insurgents.
Their breaks between operations vary from 12 hours to three
days.
Part of the 2-year-old Marine Corps Forces Special Operations
Command, they thrive on missions that have them patrolling for
enemy forces. "We don't like being on the (forward operating
base)," one MSOC Marine said.
In the northern part of the province, an MSOC leatherneck said,
his Marines were attacked four times throughout a four-day mission.
He described how they overcame enemy machine-gun positions, mortar
attacks and rocket-propelled grenades. "Needless to say, we
silenced their weapons," another MSOC Marine said.
On their next mission, a three-day assignment in the province's
north-central region to visit villages, the Marines slept on the
desert ground - in sleeping bags, but not on cots. On foot patrol
through the first village with no schedule constraints, they took
no shortcuts. In full combat gear, they searched all compounds,
streets and paths in the village. When it was secure, they set up
distribution sites for the humanitarian aid they brought with
them.
On the second day, the unit came under attack within five
minutes of arriving at a small village. Immediately, the MSOC
Marines positioned themselves throughout the village and began
engaging the enemy insurgents. Halfway into what turned out to be a
nearly four-hour battle, a Marine who seemed to never rest said
with a grin, "We're not done yet." He seemed unfazed that earlier a
rocket-propelled grenade missed him by less than two feet.
Despite several other close calls, the Marines relentlessly
pursued the insurgents until they secured the village, and the
Taliban fighters were either killed or fled. Before they were done,
the MSOC hospital corpsmen cared for and treated villagers injured
by insurgents.
Afterward, Marine leaders met with village elders and committed
to return with much-needed aid and support, as long as the Marines
had the villagers' support.
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