A look into Operation Iraqi Freedom

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Enlisted Rank
E-1 Private
E-2 PFC
E-3 LCPL
E-4 CPL
E-5 Sgt

My Fallen Brothers


"Memorial"

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Enlisted Rank
E-6 Ssgt
E-7 GySgt
E-8 MSgt/1stSgt
E-9 MGySgt/SgtMaj
E-10 SgtMajMC
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My Journey In The Marine Corps

OIF 2

Here we go, round two! Wasn't I just here? Yes actually.. We were home for just over a year after our first activation, and then we got the call again.

This go around the war has been going on for awhile now, so the living situations are much better than before. We get stationed at Camp Al ASAD air base in Iraq which is a fairly large air base that was taken over by US troops. This is where we will be based out of for our entire 7 month deployment, and the bunker building resumes..

AL ASAD Air Base
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The pirmary mission for my platoon on this deployment was to support the first conflict in Fallujah, one of the biggest attacks recorded in this war. After a month or so building up AL ASAD, my platoon moved out to Camp Fallujah just outside the deadly city. Our mission was to go in the city directly after the attack and set up security check points to keep any enemy from returning after we drove them out.

Convoy rolling out, and setting up checkpoints.
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After the city was taken over and check points set up, our platoon helped the infantry platoons raid house to house collecting up any and all weapons and explosives that were left behind, to get them off the street.

We did this for around a week, each day we would end up with a 7 ton truck full of a combination of explosives, rockets, ammuntion, weapons of all kinds. We would head about a mile outside of the city to a huge pit that was dug, and offload the stockpile each night. After the truck was empty we put a 1700lbs line charge made of C4 on top of the pile and blow it in place. Each time we did this it sent a mushroom cloud into the sky and the shockwave was felt for miles away.

Weapons being blown in place
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Most of the city is in shambles at this point, although any religous buldings and mosks were avoided if possible. Some of these mosks are pretty impressive.

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Our platoon moved back to Camp AL ASAD after the excitement died down from the Fallujah attack, and we continued building up the base for the next troops that were incoming.

Another platoon in our company suffered many casualties, that story can be read under SSGT Tyler Ziegel.