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UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS 6th Civil Affairs Group Newsletter Volume I, Issue VIII March/April 2006 FROM THE COMMANDING OFFICER Dear families and friends of 6th CAG, This is our last newsletter. Very soon we live there, helping their local leaders standup. will return home. Our time here has been one of great change as Our experiences over the past year have we break the legacy of a ruthless dictator, been extraordinary. They span a spectrum defeat the insurgency, and get the Iraqis on from patrolling war-torn streets to facilitating the road to self determination and democratic meetings between al-Anbar Governor and the government. Prime Minister of Iraq. Together, we pro- As we reflect on our accomplishments, we vided all civil affairs support for the 2D Ma- see tremendous progress. Frankly, I believed rine Division’s counterinsurgency, civil- we would have a positive impact, but that it military, and humanitarian assistance opera- would not be evident for years. We oversaw tions to include Operations SAYAID II, Iraqi provincial, district, and municipal gov- STEEL CURTAIN, FREEDOM EXPRESS ernance capacity building, civil administra- and PATRIOT SHIELD II. Whether planning tion, and economic development and recon- relief, supporting combat operations, facilitat- struction activities across the province – and ing critical infrastructure repair, or mentoring the affects of our efforts are measurable now. provincial Directors General, our hard work made a difference. • Established 11 new city councils and Al-Anbar is the province with the most and worked with the provincial and 15 municipal the least of everything. It is the biggest and Col. Brier with 2nd Marine Division’s Per- governments to restore critical infrastructure sonal Security Detachment before a convoy poorest. It has the highest unemployment and and facilitate self-governance. into Ramadi. most violence. Before Operation STEEL CURTAIN, an unclassified report from a non- • Established the Hadithah, al-Qaim and and first National Parliamentary Election for a governmental organization described “huge ar-Ramadi Civil-Military Operations Centers permanent government which saw Sunni voter signs posted on the roads” from Rawa to al- and four new Civil Affairs teams to support turnouts that shocked the world. Qaim proclaiming “The Islamic Republic of Iraqi leader engagement, civil administration, Al Qaim.” It told of the terrorists’ brutal mur- reconstruction, and building government insti- • Assisted in planning, establishing, and der-and-intimidation campaign to control lo- tutions. running of two displaced person camps for cal Iraqis. Now, four of our teams and a Civil- over 5,000 people during Operation STEEL Military Operations Center • Supported the Constitutional Referendum CURTAIN. Maj. Tom Shoemake, team • Developed the provincial Directors Gen- leader for CAT 6-3-1, eral, improving their performance and produc- greets a young girl he occa- tivity. sionally sees in the city of Hit. Maj. Shoemake is • Developed government processes to alle- affectionately referred to as the “Mayor of Hit” because viate project bottlenecks, address reconstruc- of his teams’ extensive tion contractor issues, and enhance the Pro- work with the citizens to vincial Reconstruction and Development improve the city and their Committee (PRDC) effectiveness. influence in re-establishing the city council. • Built, with the Governor, a 103-project Photo by: Sgt. Richard D. reconstruction budget request of $610.6 mil- Stephens See CO on page 10 HeadquartersHeadquarters DetachmentDetachment Family and Friends of Headquarters, From the Sergeant Major Greetings from Camp Fallujah, Iraq. The time has finally ar- process of giving them a thorough I would like to send my congratulations to rived. Unfortunately this is our turn-over of our duties before the th Staff Sgt. and Mrs. Kimmel; they recently had a last newsletter. But fortunately, transfer of authority from 6 CAG new addition to the family — a baby boy rd our deployment is rapidly coming to 3 CAG can take place. So far named Benjamin Stuart Kimmel. The pay raise to an end, and we will soon be so good. We are also busy com- from his promotion will come in handy. home. pleting various administrative and This month, I visited We sincerely appreciate all the medical requirements, before re- some more of our hard care packages, love and support deploying back to the states. chargers out west and they during our time here. It was a Lastly, we can not forget our are all doing very well and challenging deployment, but you key volunteers who really made a are very focused on the mission. Even though the definitely helped to put our minds great contribution to the informa- end is near, our Marines and spirits at ease by taking care tion flow and the overall morale of th haven’t slowed down for a of business at home and through our 6 CAG family. We all ap- minute. I am extremely your constant support. preciate your service and dedica- pleased with their accom- Your Marines and Sailors are tion, and we could not have made plishments. I stand in awe of their spirit, moti- very busy wrapping things up here it through this without you! Our vation, and drive that is in keeping with the in preparation for redeployment success is your success. You can finest traditions of Marine Corps excellence. back home. Our replacements, the be proud to know that you belong Their efforts continue to be recognized by the 3rd Civil Affairs Group, are al- to a 6th Civil Affairs Group family units they are supporting as well as by our com- ready on deck and we are in the that will go down in history. mand. These are truly remarkable Marines. We are all looking forward to the transfer of Semper Fidelis, many thanks, authority to the 3rd Civil Affairs Group. It is and see you soon! always a relief to see your replacements and turn the reins over to them because then you know we are soon to return home. The next subject gives me great pleasure to announce the newly selected Marines for pro- motion from the Staff Non-Commissioned Of- ficer Promotion Board. Personnel to be promoted: To Master Gunnery Sergeant are Master Sgt. See SgtMaj on page 10 Top left: Col. Brier presents Maj. Sizemore with a Navy Commendation Medal. Top right: Lt. Col. Wells and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mathew train for their MCMAP gray belt with help from Capt. Singleton. Above: Staff Sgt. Hemphill contemplates how to win the Global War on Terrorism, and more importantly, how to clear that day’s paper jam, during a short break by the Camp Fallujah duck pond. Left: Lt. Col. Pratt, 6th CAG Executive Officer, says “Marhaba” to an Iraqi child at the Women and Children’s ward at Fallujah Medical. The Feb. 13 visit included Maj. Schaffer, Lance Cpl. Pryor, Maj. Bacon and members of Det 4’s Team 2 led by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Melotte. The Marines delivered clothes and toys donated by charitable organizations in the U.S. Photo by: Cpl. Heidi Laredo. Page 2 March/April 2006 DetachmentDetachment 11 ((Government Support Team)) Provincial Civil Military Operations Center (Ar Ramadi) Life of the Government Support Team in Al Anbar Province By Maj. Chris Miller It’s Monday morning, February send e-mails, and then I had to deal with der if the government center was aban- 27th, and I am late getting to the Provin- a detained car (the driver had already doned. On good days, we felt lucky if cial Government Center. Our Govern- been detained and sent to an army deten- five people showed up during the day. ment Support Team and Detachment tion facility). Eventually, I give up and And then things started to change. 1commander, Col. Burdine, requires that walk over to the government center. At first it was a couple of depart- Today, we are having the ment heads (e.g., of water or education) Provincial Reconstruc- and a trickle of citizens with complaints tion Development Com- about battle damages, a missing family mittee meeting. When I member, or trying to get clearance to do walk in, the center is teaming with Iraqis – at See GST on page 11 least 50 people are in the government center, not Maj. Tim Doherty and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Pete Supplee meet with the DG of electric- counting the governor ity. and the department heads of the various govern- ment services depart- ments. For Det 1, this represents a huge success in our ever-pressing mis- Maj. Chris Miller speaks with the Provincial Council Chairman at sion of governance. the government center with the help of Charles, an interpretor. Why is this unique? The chairman was assassinated earlier this month. Walk into any city hall or each Government Team Leader get to State Capital building anywhere in the the government center by 10 a.m. This United States, and this is what you follows our daily 0745 meeting in the would see. But in downtown Ramadi, Provincial Civil Military Operations this is flat-out amazing. Center, daily clean up, and a last minute When Det 1 first arrived, you might rush to complete unfinished business not have seen anyone in the government from the previous day or any new task- center – not even the governor’s secre- ers that came in over night. I am late tary or even the governor. That’s right, this morning because I had several must- some days you could legitimately won- Provincial The six-month mission of the Provin- eral of the provincial government, the gov- cial Support Team to “build governance ernor and the Provincial Reconstruction Support Team capacity utilizing reconstruction projects, Development Committee move 39 projects while simultaneously strengthening the through the eight-step project continuum provincial government’s operational com- from inception to contracting.