HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — A patrol of Marines and Sailors of Combined Anti-Armor Team 1 and Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, held their first impromptu meeting with village elders in the "Five Points" area Feb. 14, and only moments later came under hostile fire from Taliban attackers.
Five Points is a small farming community between the cities of Nawa and Marjah where a junction of major roads connects northern Marjah with eastern Helmand Province. Charlie Co. Marines and Afghan national army soldiers conducted a helicopter-borne assault to seize the area Feb. 9, ahead of the start of Operation Moshtarak in Marjah.
Marines had not yet had an opportunity to meet with village elders here due to daily engagements with Taliban forces during patrols in the area.
During the meeting, three elder Afghan men sat down to talk with Marines and said they were glad Marines and Afghan national security forces had come to the area.
"We are happy you're here for our security," said one of the men. "The Taliban come in our homes and make us feed them. We have barely enough food for our own families. We just want to live in peace."
Marines invited the three men and other elders from the area to an upcoming meeting to address concerns from the local population and begin establishing Afghan governance here. One concern immediately brought up was the reopening of the village marketplace, which Marines temporarily closed as they established their encampment nearby.
"We will open the market back up soon, and with your help, we will bring work and prosperity to this area like we have in Nawa," said Capt. Stephan P. Karabin, commanding officer of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, to the men.
As soon as the group had stood to shake hands and say their goodbyes, machine gun and small-arms fire sounded nearby, and whizzing bullets were heard flying overhead.
The elder men quickly left for the safety of their homes as Marines began to fire at the Taliban attackers. The engagement ended soon after when a Marine F/A-18 Hornet flying overhead dropped a 500-pound bomb on the Taliban's position.
"Even though we're not part of the main assault in Marjah, we're fighting the Taliban here," said Cpl. Matthew W. DeLair, a 21-year-old radio operator with Charlie Co., 1/3.
"The morning that the main assaults kicked off in Marjah, we could see and hear bombs hitting targets there and in a way I wanted to be part of it," said DeLair, from Kauai, Hawaii. "We're Marines, we run toward the sounds of gunfire — we live for that. But I don't regret it, because we're getting some out here every day, and I'm sure we'll see a lot more action."
DeLair and other Marines operating in the Five Points area say they have high expectations for success in the area as they eliminate Taliban influence in the area.
"I think once we get our faces out there a little more, people will see we're here to fight the Taliban for them and they'll come around just like they have in Nawa," DeLair said.
Date Taken: | 02.20.2010 |
Date Posted: | 02.20.2010 11:45 |
Story ID: | 45629 |
Location: | HELMAND PROVINCE, AF |
Web Views: | 1,917 |
Downloads: | 1,545 |
This work, Marines near Marjah hold first meeting with elders, kill Taliban attackers, by 1LT Brian Tuthill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.