Message from the CG to those who wait at home

Dear Ladies;

As much as these days and weeks may drag by at times for some, out here they seem to fly by. Hard to believe that it's nearly June and the first of our units (1/5 and 3/4 who deployed in December to Okinawa) will begin rotating out of Iraq a mere 45 days from now.

It's getting hotter here with the temperature nearly 100, so the nights and early mornings are the best part of the day. That said, the real heat will hit soon enough and we are ensuring that the air conditioning for quarters, medical spaces, mess halls, etc. are fully functional to allow for a cooling atmosphere when the lads are not out on the prowl.

We have elements of two battalions that still need a/c and I expect they will be complete within days, surely prior to the 1st of June - much better situation than last year.

The spirits of the Sailors,Soldiers, and Marines remain very high, unperturbed by the heat, enemy action, news, media pessimism, or disturbing misconduct of a few leaderless jail guards at Al Ghraib prison. We are defined by our men, one act at a time - with compassion for the innocent and discrimination when using their weapons, a discrimination unkown to the morally bankrupt enemy we fight. You ladies know these selfless, high spirited troops better than anyone, so you know it's not false modesty when I admit I have the easiest job in the Division, thanks to the attention to duty, good humor, military efficiency and chivalry that these gallant young fellows display every day.

The drubbing that the enemy took over a month ago, from 7th Marines in the west near the Syrian border, to Falluja at the hands of 1st Marines, to Ramadi (the provincial capital) where 2/4 and the Soldiers of the 1st Brigade broke the enemy's back, continues to pay off. No large outbreaks of fighting have occurred now in over a month; the enemy lacked the will to come back at us. We continue to live in a very dangerous neighborhood however; the enemy remains an elusive foe who tries to use random explosive devices to cause us casualties. We also believe that the enemy, who lacks a political vision and can offer no positive future for the people fighting here, must come back out fighting again, or else watch as Iraq recovers from the years of Saddam and slowly but surely finds its path to freedom and prosperity.

We will be ready should the enemy make that mistake and rest assured, Ladies, that all our antennae are out and we are watching. We will not be taken by surprise.

So where along that path are we over here, the path to put Iraq back on its own feet, us on our way out of here? Iraq is what it is; two steps forward, one step back. Yet slowly but surely, we are making progress on the one track that is absolutely essential - the Iraqi Security Forces (Police, Civil Defense, Border Patrol, etc) are coming on line. With a lot of nurturing and coaching by your guys, the Iraqi Security men are stepping up to the plate and becoming more assertive. As they assume more responsibility, we will step back - we will always provide training and, if they get into trouble, we will come in, guns a-blazing. But they know that if they want a country, they must assume the security responsibility.

Now, for the first time, I can report with some confidence that we are (finally) on a track that will replace Americans and Azerbaijanis (yes, 7th Marines has a fine Azerbaijani Company working with them, wonderful troops) with the Iraqi Security Forces. Not soon enough for you and I, but at least we have a way ahead for replacing us in many of the precarious locations we have had to operate in until now.

The transition to Iraqi sovereignity will occur on 1 July. While the effect of that date will be miniscule in some respects to us, it is nonetheless a Red Letter Day along the road to Iraq's future as a pluralistic state. Yes, there will still remain some murderous criminals but, inexorably, the enemy will find himself marginalized and on the run, as maturing Iraqi police and pinpoint raids by the Coalition Forces leave him no place to hide.

I will be visiting the States in mid-June. I will see our wounded at Bethesda and then return to California where I will brief the commanders and conduct pre-deployment briefs for units inbound to Iraq to replace the seven-month tour battalions during the June to September time frame. I will also come to 29 Palms and Camp Pendleton to address those ladies who want an update about the situation in Iraq. I hope to see as many of you as possible at those events.

All is as good as it can be here. We stick together and hear only great things about the team you have created at home, as you set your own high standard of caring about one another, of seeing one another through this time of hope and anguish. I cannot thank you enough; the words themselves are never sufficient, but thank you, every one of you, for the love and support that you send our way. Nothing reminds us more of all that is good in this world than the memory and the reality of you, who compose your own lives and maintain a degree of stability in our lives that defies explanation.

I wish you all good things as we go forward, together, to do what our Nation needs its Marines to do in this fight.

Sincerely,
Jim Mattis

Posted by Deb at 06:38 PM | Comments (1)