KENNETH R. KASSNER
Patriot, Chapter 1919
Marine Corps, IRAQ
**Ken Kassner was wounded during the
assault to liberate the Iraqi city of Fallujah in November 2004. He
returned to full duty January 2006 in order to deploy again with his
battalion to Iraq. This is a December 2007 update to his original story.**
December 2007
Fellow
Patriots:
As political sparring continues over benchmarks and
pullout dates from Iraq, our servicemen and women are valiantly and
effectively making a decisive difference in the war. Marines and Sailors of
the 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion are some of these
courageous warriors and dedicated professionals who are effecting positive,
long-lasting change in Iraq. This past September, 3d LAR Battalion returned
to Iraq’s Al Anbar province—the battalion’s third deployment to this western
region of the country. As the former Battalion Executive Officer (XO) of
this unit, I completed two of these tours of duty with the “Wolfpack”—the
battalion’s call sign. This article, which I began drafting shortly after
my return from the war in August 2006, is a continuation of my letter that
was published in the July-August 2006 issue of the Patriot Bulletin, and it
serves as a brief summary of my battalion’s time in Iraq from
March-September 2006.
The situation in Iraq during the battalion’s 2006
deployment was very dynamic and remarkably complex. Insurgent forces and
criminal elements were still active; no local law enforcement or highway
patrol existed; different power-brokers assumed control of the few populated
areas in the frontier of western Iraq; and the people in these remote urban
enclaves remained fearful of the insurgents and criminals and suspicious of
coalition forces. Within this setting, the Marines and Sailors of 3d LAR
Battalion were tasked to conduct counter-insurgency (COIN) operations in the
western part of Iraq’s restive Al Anbar province in order to provide
security and stability to the region.
The battalion’s area of operations (AO) included several
hundred square miles of open desert, extending from Iraq’s western border
with Jordan and Syria to more than 100 miles inland. Population centers
within this vast, desert range included the border points of entry (POE) at
Trebil, Jordan, and Walid, Syria, and the cities of Ar Rutbah and Akashat.
Multiple, small community areas also lined the major highway that transited
the region from the POEs along Iraq’s western border to the major
metropolitan hubs of Ramadi, Falluja, and Baghdad in the eastern part of Al
Anbar province. These communities, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of
people, often gathered around truck stops and gas stations. During the
latter months of the deployment, 3d LAR Battalion also assumed
responsibility of another AO in Rawah, Iraq. Together with a platoon of
Iraqi soldiers, the Wolfpack’s mission was to disrupt enemy activity within
its assigned AOs and prevent insurgent, foreign, and criminal forces from
further destabilizing the political and military situation in the western
expanse of Al Abar.
To complete its mission, 3d LAR Battalion conducted a
seven-month COIN operation that not only targeted the enemy, but more
importantly, focused many of its efforts on training Iraqi Army soldiers and
building relationships with the people of Iraq, who represented the main
center of gravity of the war. In waging war on the enemy, the Wolfpack
conducted countless numbers of combat patrols and established innumerable
vehicle check points (VCPs) in order to disrupt enemy and criminal activity
within 3d LAR Battalion’s area of responsibility and to keep the enemy
off-balance. Additionally, we completed many cordon and knock type
operations within the population centers to trap the enemy at known and
suspected safe-houses. A cordon and knock type mission is a technique used
to isolate a specific area—usually a house in an urban setting—and search
for the targeted individuals within the cordoned zone. When performed
correctly, this type of mission causes minimal inconvenience to the resident
families within the area. We also performed precision raids to kill or
capture enemy targets that were attempting to transit our area, plan attacks
on coalition forces, or terrorize the local population.
Building upon the successes of the previous battalion
that operated in the area, 3d LAR Battalion concentrated many of its
activities in securing the city of Ar Rutbah—the AO’s largest population
center, numbering more than 25,000 residents. Prior to our arrival to Iraq
in March, coalition forces erected an 8-foot high earthened berm around the
entire city. They also established three entry points into and out of the
city. Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines guarded these checkpoints, where they
searched vehicles for weapons and contraband and inspected the
identification of individuals passing through the controlled entry points.
These single points of entrance and exit to the city proved quite effective
in curbing insurgent and criminal activity in the metropolitan area, and the
local populace spoke highly of the improved security within the city. They
also talked approvingly of the actions the Marines and Iraqi soldiers were
taking to help ensure the safety of the indigenous population.
Arguably, the most important aspect of our mission was to
build relationships with the Iraq people. Historically, in any type of
counter-insurgent fight, the people are the main target of interest. Win
the support of the local populace, and the enemy will no longer be able to
mask his operations in the population centers. Essentially, the
revolutionary changes in Iraq that we are witnessing today as the people
have risen up against Al Queda, the insurgents, and the local criminal
forces are not only a result of the recent military surge, but also a
consequence of the painstaking efforts of the combat troops that served in
previous Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) rotations.
To build the trust and cooperation of the local populace,
3d LAR Battalion embarked on a robust civil affairs campaign. Our junior
and senior leaders regularly met with the local leadership to discuss their
concerns for the security in the region. We engaged the few government
officials in the area to talk about the political and economic
infrastructure within the cities and outlying areas. We conducted multiple
visits and assessments of the different medical facilities in the region in
order to provide our assistance in caring for the local people. We
instituted small programs with business owners in order to improve the
economic situation in Al Anbar’s western province. We also aggressively
worked with the principal leaders of the district and adjoining communities
to develop a law enforcement program for the region. The regular presence
of Marines patrolling in and around the city and actively engaging the
people also bolstered a positive relationship with the local populace,
especially among those who were fearful of the predominantly criminal
element in the city.
To further illustrate the battalion’s humanitarian
endeavors, Marines from the unit provided armed security for a group of
Muslims traveling on a religious pilgrimage from Jordan to the holy city of
Najaf. Concerned about their safety because of random hijackings and
killings in the remote regions of western Iraq, these Muslim pilgrims
requested and received an escort from 3d LAR Battalion along a portion of
their journey to Najaf. The four busloads of civilian Muslims arrived to
their destination without incident, and they were very grateful for the
security and peace of mind that the Marines provided them. Similar to the
results of this escort mission, many of the battalion’s civil affairs
programs achieved great success and were positively endorsed by the Iraqi
people. Other initiatives, such as the development of a local police force,
were more challenging. Nonetheless, at every opportunity, 3d LAR Battalion
worked to gain the trust and confidence of the populace. Gauging from the
declining number of attacks on coalition forces in the area, the battalion’s
efforts had a positive effect. It’s worth noting that these major
humanitarian and civil affairs undertakings are indicative of the types of
operations that most coalition forces have been conducting throughout Iraq.
To further enhance relationships with the Iraqi people,
3d LAR Battalion partnered with Iraqi soldiers to disrupt the enemy in our
area of operations. This partnering demonstrated to the local Iraqis that
U.S. forces were joined in a cooperative effort with the Iraqi military to
bring security and stability to the region. Marines and Iraqi soldiers
conducted combined patrols and raids with each other; they provided security
together at the different entry control points to the city of Ar Rutbah and
worked with each other along the borders with Jordan and Syria; they ate
together, trained together, and planned operations together. This endeavor,
although frustrating at times because of the frequent rotation of Iraqi
soldiers into and out of the unit, nevertheless proved quite effective in
enhancing communications with the local people and demonstrating our
combined—Iraqi and American—efforts to restore peace and enhance their
welfare. Moreover, this partnered relationship enabled Marines to help
train and improve the military skills of our Iraqi comrades and better
prepare them for service with other coalition units. In September 2006, the
Wolfpack conducted a relief-in-place operation with another Marine battalion
and redeployed to its home base in Twentynine Palms, California. As stated
in the beginning of this article, 3d LAR Battalion has since returned to
Iraq.
Indeed, the positive, long-lasting effects that 3d LAR
Battalion produced in western Al Anbar province were truly remarkable. The
Marines and Sailors of the battalion pursued their mission with
professionalism, enthusiasm, relentless work ethic, and commitment. Still,
the many successes the battalion achieved in promoting the security and
economic well-being of the region were not cost free. Several of our dear
comrades lost their lives in the performance of their duties and many others
suffered wounds of various types and degrees of severity. However, their
selfless efforts and courageous spirits established the bedrock upon which
future successes in the region have been built and are currently being
realized. Today, as the number of attacks on coalition forces and Iraqi
civilians continue to decrease and as the local populations continue to rise
up against Al Queda and the terrorists, we are seeing the tangible results
of the Herculean efforts of all our servicemen and women since the war in
Iraq began.
Semper fidelis (always faithful),
Ken Kassner
Lieutenant Colonel of Marines
[LtCol
Kassner currently works at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat
Organization (JIEDDO) in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He
has been selected to assume command of 3d LAR Battalion next summer and
return to Iraq.]
*Semper fidelis: The Marine Corps’ motto; Latin for
always faithful*
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