PMT patrols through Now Zad

Courtesy Photo | Cpl. Alex Smith, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the police mentoring team, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, drops to a knee to provide security during a patrol, May 24. The patrol was halted while Marines searched locals on an oncoming motorcycle. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ned Johnson)  

NOW ZAD, AFGHANISTAN

05.24.2010

Courtesy Story

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

By Cpl. Ned Johnson

NOW ZAD, Helmand province, Afghanistan – Marines go on local patrols through villages and rural areas every day to ensure the security of Now Zad, but no patrol is identical to another.

Marines with the Police Mentoring Team, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, patrolled a local village and encountered several different situations along the way, May 24.

"We go on patrol every day, but every patrol is still an adventure in itself," said Cpl. Andrew Francis, the day's patrol leader and the operations chief for the police mentoring team, Alpha Co., 1st Bn., 2nd Marines.

This day's adventure would start with a possible improvised explosive device.

"We saw a large fuel tank-like object in the middle of the road," Francis said. "We also noticed there was a wire coming out of the tank."

The Marines moved back a safe distance and began clearing the IED, according to Francis, a 22-year-old native of Columbus, Ohio.

"Once we determined it was not an IED, we moved it out of the road and continued on the patrol," Francis said.

However, the patrol would not go much further before its next stop.

One of the Marines on the patrol, 2nd Lt. Roberto Ruiz, the officer in charge of the PMT, Alpha Co., 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, stopped a local man to ask him a few questions.

"Last time I saw him, he told me he had been having problems with [insurgents]," Ruiz said. "I wanted to ask him if things were better and he said they were."

The patrol would stop again a few more times to search locals on motorcycles and interact with the children.

"One of the important reasons we go on patrol is to establish a good relationship with the people in the area," said Cpl. Alex Smith, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the PMT, Alpha Company, 1st Bn., 2nd Marines. "Talking to the people and children is a big part of that."

The Marines also handed out pens at the local school, Francis added.

The patrol was only slightly different than normal, but Francis said something is always different.

"If we go down the same road at the same time every day, the [insurgents] will learn and plant IEDs," Francis said. "So, we vary our times, numbers and the routes we travel."

These variables can affect more than the enemy though.

"We are always battling awareness and complacency," Francis said. "Mixing things up keeps us from falling into a rut."

Smith, a 22-year-old native of Latrobe, Pa., admits no two patrols are the same, but insists the mission remains unchanged.

"We are outside the wire everyday and we have to be so that people can see we are doing our best to keep the area safe," Smith said. "We will continue to patrol the area and do our job.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2010
• Date Posted: 05.26.2010 05:39
• Story ID: 50287
• Location: NOW ZAD, AF