CAMP RYAN, Kuwait (April 2, 2003) – In keeping with President George
W. Bush’s promise to aid the Iraqi people, Marines from the 4th Civil
Affairs Group (CAG), headquartered at Anacostia Naval Station, Washington,
D.C., are preparing to move from here to Task Force Tarawa’s forward area in
An Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Detachment C, 4th CAG, a group of twelve-Marines, will link up with
other 4th CAG Marines in An Nasiriyah who are tasked with creating and
maintaining good relationships with the Iraqi people in the areas where they
will be assigned during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“Our military will definitely devastate the Iraqi military,” said
Fairfax, Va., native Capt. Brian A. Reynaldo, detachment officer-in-charge,
Det. C, 4th CAG. “We want to prove to the Iraqi people that the fight is
not against them. It’s a war against Saddam Hussein.”
The best time to make a good impression is when the coalition
forces, moving across the desert, encounter indigenous people who may be
fleeing a town or relocating to avoid combat zones, according to Port
Tobacco, Md., native Master Sgt. Jeffery A. Dyson, staff
non-commissioned-officer-in-charge, Det. C, 4th CAG.
Because large groups of Iraqis travel together along paved roads,
they can create a problem for vehicle convoys trying to travel the same
roads. In that instance, the CAG would find the leader of the Iraqi
traveling party and through him, negotiate a solution that allows both
parties to continue along the road. The goal is to leave the Iraqis in a
better condition than when the encounter began.
“Most of the time, we will try to get those travelers linked up with
an international organization, like the Red Cross, or a non-government
organization, like Doctors Without Borders, so they are taken care of after
we move forward,” said Reynaldo. “If we can’t get them linked up with one
of those organizations, we do what we can to help them.”
In helping the Iraqis, the civil affairs Marines are trained to
maximize any living necessities the people may be traveling with to ensure
the Iraqis have what they need to survive the desert environment.
“If we are near a town or even in a town when we encounter
civilians, we try to use their assets to assist them,” said Dyson. “If they
have no assets, we will give them some of whatever we have as a last resort,
but everything we give them is something we have to resupply later.”
Another key function of civil affairs will be creating hasty refugee
camps for Iraqi people who have been displaced by the Iraqi army. A hasty
refugee camp ensures the people have a place to live, food to eat and
relative comfort in the desert.
“We want to keep these people together and alive, because it’s the
humane thing to do,” said Arlington, Va., native 1st Lt. Leilani C.
Eleccion, team leader, Det. C, 4th CAG. “We want them to be comfortable and
to know they are safe with us.”
A hasty refugee camp, while enclosed, is not a concentration camp.
The civilians living inside are free to come and go as they please as long
as they agree to be searched each time before each they enter the compound.
Inside the compound, they are given all the amenities they need to live
comfortably and attended to by medical personnel.
In building a hasty refugee camp civil affairs Marines will have to
take into consideration the Moslem laws and customs. For example, single
men will have to be housed separate from single women, and the chow hall
will not serve any pork products.
Once Det. C reaches Iraq, they can expect to be met with a host of
missions, but the Marines are confident that they are up to any task.
“My Marines are ready,” said Reynaldo. “After sitting here for a
couple of weeks, they want the opportunity to prove themselves and be
successful.”