Purple Heart Austin War Stories

Military Order of the Purple Heart

Texas Capital Chapter 1919 Austin, Texas

KEN KASSNER

U.S. Marine Corps Seal

3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LAR)

Distintinctive Unit Insignia

KENNETH R. KASSNER

Patriot, Chapter 1919

Marine Corps, IRAQ

**LtCol Ken Kassner, USMC—a periodic contributor to the Patriot Bulletin—was twice wounded in Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. In July 2008, he assumed command of 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He and his Marines are currently deployed to the Ninewa Province, Iraq.**

Dear Fellow Patriots,

Since its arrival to Iraq’s western Ninewa Province in March, the Marine Corps’ 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion—the WOLFPACK—has been conducting reconnaissance and combined security operations with units of the Iraqi Army (IA) and Border Police (IBP) to interdict foreign fighters, their facilitators, and smugglers crossing into Iraq from Syria and deny them freedom of movement throughout the battalion’s expansive battlespace. To be sure, our extensive and continuous presence throughout Iraq’s northwestern frontier has served to disrupt the enemy and any criminal elements suspected of supporting the insurgency. Operating continuously in our assigned area instead of homebasing on an elaborate Forward Operating Base, or FOB, the battalion’s mission can truly be characterized as “expeditionary”. For the last five months, the Marines and Sailors of the WOLFPACK have been maintaining a constant presence throughout the task force’s battlespace, conducting daily combat and security operations, only periodically rotating onto a remote airfield in the middle of the desert where the battalion’s command post (CP) and supporting units are located in order to conduct routine maintenance on their light armored vehicles (LAVs), plan for future operations, enjoy a water-bottle or shower-stall shower, use a computer to send an email home, or simply relax for a couple of days before continuing operations for several more weeks. In some respects, living and working in western Ninewa Province’s austere operational environment with its open deserts, cavernous wadi systems, jagged rock formations near the Sinjar Mountain, weekly sandstorms, and summer temperatures that have exceeded 115 degrees have served as a badge of honor for the young Marines and Sailors of the WOLFPACK—including those of us in the over-40 club—as they know few other units in Iraq today have been conducting their missions in a similar, expeditionary manner. More to the point, the Marines recognize that their constant presence throughout the battlespace has helped develop a stable security environment by deterring any enemy activity.

Throughout the last few months, not only has 3d LAR Battalion been aggressively conducting operations to target the enemy in its sector of Iraq, the task force has also been extensively working with the IA and IBP, enhancing their professionalization, facilitating some of their training requirements, and supporting many of their planned operations. Our increased activity working “by, with, and through” the Iraqi Army and Border Police is one indication of the many advances this country has made since the war began in 2003. In working with the Iraqis, the Marines and Sailors of the WOLFPACK have developed close relations with the soldiers and police of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), whose warfighting and law enforcement capabilities have dramatically increased since my first deployment to Iraq in the summer of 2004. Together with the ISF, 3d LAR Battalion has overwatched the border areas between Iraq and Syria, interdicted cross-border activity and smuggling operations, targeted enemy cells that emplace roadside bombs—better known as improvised explosive devices—searched abandoned villages suspected of harboring enemy forces, and patrolled the area for known and suspected insurgents. Conducting combined operations with the ISF has truly been one of the greatest experiences for 3d LAR Battalion, and the effects of our partnered relationships have enhanced the IA and IBP professionalization and advanced the security in the region.

In addition to conducting security operations, in recent weeks, the battalion has focused many of its efforts to build a stable, prosperous society for the people—Arab, Kurdish, Yezidi, Turkoman, or other—in western Ninewa Province by developing a robust civil affairs campaign to improve the governance, economics, and life-support facilities in towns and villages throughout the local area. These projects have included school renovations, road repairs, financial grants to small businesses to invest in the local economy, and the distribution of food bags to some of the more needy families in our area. The gratitude expressed by the people whom we help and those with whom we work in these economically poor areas and the smiles on their faces, particularly the children, serve to further motivate our commitment to enhance the civil development in our slice of Iraq. As we drive throughout the battlespace, the kids regularly race outside from their sand-brick homes to catch a glimpse of the Marines and wave their hands at us. Their beaming grins serve as another testament of the progress that has been made in Iraq.

Despite all these signs of advancement in the region, there are still some significant challenges that remain for the Iraqi civil and military leadership, including the neutralization of small pockets of insurgents that aim to destabilize the security in the area; countering and managing the effects of a 4-year long drought that has devastated the agricultural landscape and forced many farmers and shepherds to abandon their homes and migrate to the cities, where unemployment and migration greatly affect these urban centers; and stabilizing the geopolitical tensions that exist between the different ethnic groups in the region. Nonetheless, in this western region of Ninewa Province, there have been many positive developments in the Iraqi military, civilian, and governing sectors that I have observed since first deploying with the WOLFPACK to Iraq in 2004 and, until my Marines and I return home in October, we’ll continue to work with the Iraqi Army and local governing officials to ensure a secure, stable environment.

This deployment serves as the fifth rotation of 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion to Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF), and it’s my third tour of duty with the WOLFPACK here. Indeed, since the war began in 2003, great strides have been made to stabilize the operational environment, enhance the capability and credibility of the Iraqi Security Forces, and assist in the enhancement of civil development. Throughout the many phases of OIF, the WOLFPACK, like the other U.S. forces here, has clearly distinguished itself, and I’m proud to have served with this storied unit through most of its deployments to Iraq. As currently scheduled, 3d LAR Battalion will be the last light armored reconnaissance unit to rotate to Iraq. So, the WOLFPACK will close this chapter of Marine Corps history for the LAR community. In turn, this letter will serve as my last report to you from Iraq. Indeed, I greatly appreciate the opportunity given to me by the Patriotic Bulletin staff, particularly Mr. Milton Carr, for the opportunity to periodically send you my updates from the war. My thanks and gratitude also go to my fellow Patriots, who have served their country with honor and pride and supported my battalion with thoughts, prayers, and concerned interest.