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August 09, 2004

Burning Rubber

Marine Corps Moms all over the country are justifiably proud of what their children are accomplishing in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. Proud Marine Corps Mom Pat Costantini passes along this news story about how the 1st LAR, under her son's leadership, is making the country safer for both Marines and Iraqis. Here's a snippet:

The Medevac helicopter delivered the three wounded Marines at around 2 a.m. to this base in western Iraq, an hour after their Humvee exploded from one of the roadside bombs that increasingly litter this stretch of highway.

"Litter" is the operative word. For at least the third time, the bomb was hidden in a car tire lying in the median of the road.

"To tell you the truth, they should've seen this one. It was pretty obvious," said Marine Lt. Col. William Costantini, 41, commander of the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He is holding a twisted piece of metal, shrapnel from the 155mm artillery round that was hidden in the tire.

"But they were tired, they had already been out for an hour," he explained.

The three Marines will recover; one has a broken leg, another deep lacerations. One will return to duty almost immediately.

The Marines know what to look for.

Not long ago he was inspecting a tire on the side of the road. One of his men walked up to a second one nearby.

"Are they supposed to have antennas sticking out of them?" the Marine asked.

Costantini called in an explosives squad.

"If the shooter had been there, he could have wiped all of us out," he said, shaking his head. "We were just standing there."

Understanding the political climate and history of the region helps.

In this part of Iraq, Costantini says, his enemy is not driven by a political agenda as much as his own self-interest. Rutbah, the closest town to "Camp KV," is a historic center for smugglers. The route is thousands of years old, and became firmly entangled with the Baathist regime during the decade of economic sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein. What commercial goods Iraq managed to get flowed through this tiny town, and there were profits made at every level.

"They smuggle sheep, weapons, people, probably cash, cigarettes, alcohol," Costantini said. "We don't really care about the sheep."

An effective way of decreasing IED hazard is getting rid of possible havens.

Costantini's job, today, is burning tires.

Four armored LAVs rumble up and down the highway. Every 100 feet or so, they disgorge a two-man crew which pours diesel fuel from an old water bottle on a rag, lights a match, and sets each tire on fire. The grimy, choking work continues for two hours. They cover 10 miles of road. Bllack smoke curls up and obscures much of the blue sky. Marines cleared about 17 miles on an earlier mission, and another patrol will burn the tires on the 5-mile stretch back to camp.

"We'd never do this in California," Costantini says ruefully. "When we started this last week, my Marines were like, 'Are you sure? Is this legal?' If I could, I'd drive around with 7-ton trucks and pick them all up as we go, I would. But I can't do that."

The 1st LAR will return to Camp Pendleton in a few weeks. LtCol Cosantini's wife and mother will be very happy to welcome their Marine home. They've provided unwavering support on the home front; Pat sewed and mailed hundreds of cool ties, and enlisted the help of many other volunteers including her 94 year old mother-in-law. 1st LAR Marines have performed admirably in the sandbox, and their work will make the job of the incoming Marines - including my son's battalion - easier. Not easy, but easier. And maybe, just a bit safer. Thank you, 1st LAR.

Posted by Deb at August 9, 2004 02:44 PM

Comments

What are cool ties My son is statoned at Hq plt
with the 1st battalion in Fallujah Iraq. Are these handy and do they need them? What other suggestions do you have for my packages for the brave boys over there?

Posted by: Donita Rajala at August 24, 2004 04:18 PM