Iraqi students show their excitement after Company I, Task Force 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, delivered school supplies to their school on the outskirts of Ubaydi. The Marines presented the schoolmaster with new soccer balls for the school before ensuring each child received an individual package of various school supplies donated by friends and family in the States. Photo by Cpl. Billy Hall, 2nd Marine Division.
Sunday, 02 December 2007
By Cpl. Billy Hall
2nd Marine Division
AL QA’IM — The schoolmaster blows his whistle. Feet scamper out of the classrooms to assemble in the school courtyard. Smiles showed on the beaming faces of Iraqi children as the Marines of Company I, Task Force 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, filtered in to the school with much needed supplies.
The Marines recently visited schools on the outskirts of Ubaydi to deliver notebooks, pencils and other school supplies to nearly 400 children, in order to continue building relations with the local populace.
“This is for the Iraqi children and people in our (area of operations), so they can see us doing things other than operations with a military purpose,” said Capt. T.J. Owens, the commanding officer of Company I. “When the kids see Americans doing good deeds like this, they grow up with that impression of Americans in their minds. The actions Marines take now have endearing implications for the future.”
The Marines presented the schoolmasters with new soccer balls for the schools before ensuring each child received an individual package of various school supplies.
The supplies were available because of an overwhelming response from families, friends and church groups back home, said Owens.
The students lined up in their respective grade levels as they peered in delight over shoulders to catch a glimpse of the Marines handing out supplies.
“It’s not easy bringing events like this together considering things like planning, security, transportation, supplies and reconnaissance, but when you see the looks on the children’s faces, all that doesn’t matter anymore,” Owens said. “There’s a reward that comes with looking into the face of a child, I don’t care what nationality that child is.”
This is the first of many humanitarian efforts for Company I. The school-supply drive, though successful, only reached 10 percent of the schools in their area of operations.
“Some people are still recovering from the early portions of the war and what the terrorists did,” said Owens. “This can’t just be putting a band-aid on. What we’re doing is part of a campaign that Coalition forces all over Iraq are taking part in.”
The end results, starting from the generous donation of supplies, can be seen in the joy these students find in the simplicity of a pencil. The realization of what Coalition forces are trying to achieve in the area is not only becoming apparent to Iraqi adults, but to their children as well.
“We have to keep carrying the torch,” Owens said. “It continues to burn harder and brighter.”
Labels: 3-2 Marine Regiment, children, Good News, Iraq, photos, Regimental Combat Team 2, Ubyadi, USMC
An Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA Division, provides security during the final exercise of a week-long training package in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, recently trained nine Iraqi army soldiers in close-quarter combat skills. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller
Chief Warrant Officer Emad Majeed Eesa, an Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA Division, gets the go-ahead from his point man and makes entry into an unidentified room. This exercise was part of a week-long training package in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007, which was taught by Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Adam Johnston
Nine Iraqi army soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA Division, fire M-16A2 service rifles at the small-arms range during a recent training package in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, taught the week-long course. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller
An Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA Division, fires a M-16A2 service rifle at the small-arms range during a recent training package in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. Nine Iraqi army soldiers attended the week-long course, which was taught by Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller
A Marine assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, fireman-carries Chief Warrant Officer Emad Majeed Eesa, an Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA Division, during a recent physical training session in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. The PT was also a part of the week-long training package. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller
An Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA Division, cleans his M-16A2 service rifle following a day at the small-arms range. This training was part of a week-long course, which was taught by Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2 in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller
Staff Sgt. Stephen Bellville, senior instructor of the close-quarter combat course, reviews a map of the objective before students carry out the mission in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. This exercise was part of a week-long training package, which was taught by Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Adam Johnston
Nine Iraqi army soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th IA division, recently participated in a week-long training package in Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2007. Marines assigned to the 2nd Platoon, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, taught the Iraqi army soldiers a variety of close-quarter combat skills. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller
A U.S. Marine assigned to the 4th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division uses binoculars during an operation while looking for suspicious activities and personnel outside Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
U.S. Marines assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 2 search underneath a railroad car during an operation while looking for suspicious activities outside Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
U.S. Marines assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 2 and a Marine with 4th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division confer with each other outside an Iraqi railroad station during an operation near Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
A U.S. Marine assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 2 advances on a railroad station during an operation while looking for suspicious activities and personnel outside Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
An Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division questions an Iraqi girl in an abandoned railroad station in Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. The soldier is a part of an operation used to search for suspicious activities and personnel within the area of operations. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
An Iraqi army soldier assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division photographs an AK-47 in an abandoned railroad station in Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
A U.S. Marine assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 2 provides security while looking for suspicious activities and personnel outside an Iraqi railroad station during an operation near Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
U.S. Marines assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 2 load onto a CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter after an operation looking for suspicious activities and personnel outside Al Qaim, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Charles S. Howard
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. James A. Robson, a 120mm M1A1 Abrams tank main-gun loader with Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, watches the sun rise in the western Euphrates River valley as his tank sits in an over-watch position. The company has been providing support for 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, since the start of their deployment in March. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan C. Heiser
A tank with Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, supporting Task Force Highlander, Regimental Combat Team 2, sweeps through the Iraqi desert in the Al Anbar province in support of Operation Punisher III. The operation was part of the ongoing regimental-wide Operation Mawtini, which is aimed at countering an insurgent surge of activity in the Al Anbar Province, as well as disrupting the flow of weapons and other illegal items toward the urban areas. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan C. Heiser
Tanks with Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, supporting Task Force Highlander, Regimental Combat Team 2, speed across the Iraqi desert in the Al Anbar province. The tanks spent nearly a week combing the Iraqi desert in support of Operation Punisher III. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan C. Heiser
Master Sgt. Jerri A. Schlickenmayer, the tank leader for Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, supporting Task Force Highlander, Regimental Combat Team 2, leads a group of Marines to search a Bedouin (nomad) tent in the Al Anbar province. The tanks spent nearly a week combing the Iraqi desert in support of Operation Punisher III. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan C. Heiser
The sun sets in the western Euphrates River valley as a tank sits in an over watch position. Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, has been providing support for 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, since the start of their deployment in March. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan C. Heiser
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