iii marine expeditionary force and marine corps bases japan AUGUST 22, 2008 WWW.OKINAWA.USMC.MIL First families move Marines, sailors provide into Chatan East medical care to Bangladesh Staff Sgt. Brian J. Griffin housing on Foster OKINAWA MARINE STAFF Lance Cpl. Michael A. Bianco TARAGONJ, Bangladesh OKINAWA MARINE STAFF — Marines and sailors arrived to the Rangpur CAMP FOSTER - Military members and their families District in Bangladesh began moving into the new Chatan East housing on Monday where they joined Camp Foster the end of July. with Bangladeshi forces The 160-unit housing project is part of an ongoing to provide free medical initiative to provide improved housing options for and dental care to im- Status of Forces Agreement personnel desiring to live poverished parts of the on base. country. There are currently six families living in the new In the first two days of units, with more scheduled to take occupancy in early the exercise, the Bangla- September, according to Cheryl Alakai, Kadena Air Base deshi and U.S. teams pro- housing flight chief. vided general medical and The units are available in two or three bedroom dental care to more than configurations. All units consist of a dining room, liv- 1,740 Bangladeshi citizens, ing room, kitchen, laundry room, indoor and outdoor ranging in age from three storage and a patio. days to 104 years old. On base family housing offers many benefits over The 25 service mem- living off base, said Alakai. Residents can save money bers, from 3rd Marine on commuting from off-base residences everyday espe- Logistics Group, III Ma- cially with rising fuel costs. rine Expeditionary Force, Alakai said another major advantage to living in base based in Okinawa, Japan, housing is members don’t have utility costs. are participating in medi- For service members with families, living on-base cal and dental civic action makes access to schools, child care facilities, shopping projects as part of Exercise and youth and teen centers easier, she said. Teenagers Unified Hope. with driving privileges can drive from home to these Exercise Unified Hope facilities. is designed to further de- U.S. Navy Lt. Rob Kiser (right) assists Bangladeshi Maj. A.M. With the tunnel that now connects Kishaba hous- velop the interoperability Masuour Rahman, with a tooth extraction Monday during ing area to Foster, Chatan East is a great benefit for the of Bangladeshi and U.S. Exercise Unified Hope at the Taragonj Public Health Complex. young driver. forces by providing a fo- Photo by Staff Sgt. Brian J. Griffin rum for the two countries to share information and gladesh militaries and M. Faulkner, also attended ideas on medical issues. I look forward to future the opening ceremony The U.S. ambassador exercises similar to this and said the deployment to Bangladesh, James F. one,” Moriarty said. “The of U.S. Marine and Navy Moriarty, visited Taragonj, shear number of people forces here exemplifies the the first of three medical coming here today for the U.S. commitment to the treatment sites, Monday, free medical care from region and Unified Hope where he commented on the Bangladesh and U.S. provides vital medical and the exercise being an ex- medical team shows this dental aid to remote parts ample of the productive is important to the people of the country. and mutually beneficial of this region. This pro- “We are happy to be able relationship between the gram provides Bangla- to provide critical medical two countries. deshi citizens medical and dental care for the “Th i s exerci se w i l l care they may not have people of Bangladesh,” pave the way for further received otherwise.” Faulkner said. “Walking The new Chatan East Housing consists of 160 housing units. The commanding officer through the clinic, it is The total cost of the project was $55 million. Lance Cpl. Michael A. medical discussions be- Bianco tween the U.S. and Ban- of 3rd MLG, Col. William SEE MEDICAL PG 4 BACK TO SCHOOL JUNGLE SURVIVAL LOOK OUT BELOW Parents can get registration and Marines compete against Brunei HRST Master Course shows Marines the DE Land Forces during CARAT 08. I safety tips for the upcoming ropes on rappelling. school year. INS PG. 5 PG. 6-7 PGS. 8-9 2 okinawa marine | OPINION & EDITORIAL | august 22, 2008 Leave base to shop, experience culture Lance Cpl. Stefanie C. Pupkiewicz Laziness? Instead of experiencing Okinawa, online Ethnocentrism? shopping and American fast food chains eaving through the hectic streets in Anxiety? become vital to ones survival in order to the back of a taxi or from the seat Any reason is possible, but the main point retain the familiarity of home. Wof a community bus, Naha passes is that the patronage of American service A lot of people signed that dotted line with in all its eclectic glory. Arriving in the city, members is a vital part of the local economy. ambitions of travel, but what is the point of with its narrow and cramped streets and Okinawa has been developed and built being stationed abroad when one is confined familiar crosswalk beeps, the kanji written with the U.S. service member being an ac- to the base and its American amenities? golden arches force many service members tive part of the community. The limitations of America’s cultural to march past the darkened doorways of That applies to Okinawa as a whole, not reach on the island will be the limitations if restaurants serving local cuisine. just Gate 2 Street. that is all that is known and experienced. Wandering past shops and cafes of unique Japan is a culture developed independent Why place limits on the experience? taste in the voracious search of the familiar of European influence and adapts and ma- That’s hardly adapting and overcoming. ultimately ends in lunch enjoyed among the nipulates the culture of the West until it is Pupkiewicz is a combat correspondent imported atrocities of plastic. something uniquely Japanese. with the Okinawa Marine newspaper. Instead of descending upon the comfort- ing relics of the United States’ expansive fast food globalization, trying something new will help to make Okinawa less foreign and remove some of the culture shock that comes with stepping out of the OPINION gate. A decent size dish at a quaint Okinawa restaurant is about 500 yen with another 100 yen for a drink. With a rough exchange rate of 110 yen to every dollar, it’s just under $5.50. That’s cheaper than the majority of fast food and healthier. Kokusai Street is a well established area in Naha, but some shopping areas are often neglected and overlooked. It isn’t in the massive department stores where bargains and fashion can be found. It is down the narrow and cramped streets where the good boutiques and res- taurants hide. Why don’t service members utilize the resources of the rich culture around them instead of importing packaged American cultural debris? Sempertoons FACT CHECK Created by Gunnery Sgt. Charles Wolf PT DURING COLORS If I am conducting physical training when Q: morning or evening Colors sounds, do I have to stop and stand at attention? A: Yes, according to the Marine Corps Drill and Ceremonies Manuel MCO P5060.20 W/CH 1, paragraph 7003, persons not in uniform will stand at attention, face the flag and place their right hand over their heart during Colors. The order does not specify a change in procedure if exercising. to SUbmit AN opiNioN OR EDitorial, E-mail US at [email protected] okinawa marine | NEWS | august 22, 2008 3 Courtney Commissary brings groceries rolling to shoppers on Hansen Lance Cpl. Daniel A. Flynn on many items. Some of the more OKINAWA MARINE STAFF popular products among shoppers were fresh produce, fresh meat, CAMP HANSEN — The Commis- water and canned goods. sary on Wheels from Camp Court- Not only did the event allow ney brought a supermarket-type the Marines and sailors to get the experience here Aug. 15-17. services of a commissary, but it The commissary came to the also allowed the commissary of- base to provide approximately 200 ficials to gather input on what type different items and 3,000 cases of of goods they should provide and groceries not provided at the Post where their strengths and weak- Exchange or Shoppette. nesses are, said Sterling Johnson “Coming out here to make mon- Jr., grocery manager, Courtney ey was not our goal with the com- Commissary. missary on wheels,” said Daniel Pfc. Mathew Reissman, combat Smith, store director for the Court- engineer with 9th Engineer Sup- ney Commissary. “The actual goal port Battalion, 3rd Marine Logis- was to bring the commissary to the tics Group, said he was impressed Marines on Hansen.” with the selection offered by the Pfc. Mathew Reissman and Lance Cpl. Jessica Jones, combat engineers with Vendors representing various Commissary on Wheels and hopes 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, take advantage companies handed out coupons to there will be more such opportuni- of the various products offered at the Commissary on Wheels, Aug. 17. Photo by give service members a discount ties in the future. Lance Cpl. Daniel A. Flynn Marines, Iraqi Police escort boy in medical mission Cpl. Chris T. Mann members of Police Transition filled with hope now that eyes and on his face. “When Ahmed would REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM 1 Team 8, Regimental Combat this day is actually here and Ahmed’s heart troubles come to visit, Marines Team 1, and Iraqi Police, we are finally leaving,” said prevented him from leading would jump out of their FALLUJAH, Iraq — Five- Ahmed was able to travel to Mallouki, before boarding a a normal five-year-old boy’s rooms and stop what they year-old Ahmed, an Iraqi Ahman, Jordan, to get the plane to Jordan.