Marjah

Now reporting live from the Yellow School of hard knocks

By Dan Lamothe on May 16, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Marjah, Vehicles

MARJAH, AFGHANISTAN — Hello from the ‘stan, friends. Tom and I have made another move, leaving Patrol Base Yazzie yesterday to spend some time with the Marines of the Yellow Schoolhouse, a deserted Afghan school for which Marine Corps leadership has high hopes. Third Platoon from India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines rotates squads through here on a revolving basis. As you can see, the school is rather, uh, rustic. There are no windows, numerous holes in the roof and a variety of birds and insects sharing the building with the Marines deployed there. I’ll have substantially more to a…

A walk on the green side

By Dan Lamothe on May 14, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Marjah

PATROL BASE YAZZIE, Afghanistan — As I mentioned earlier this week, it isn’t hard to find marijuana while traveling with Marine fire teams based here to patrol Marjah. Tom Brown captured just how easily this morning with this eye-opening photograph. For some of Tom’s work that doesn’t appear on Battle Rattle, check out the Military Times Line of Sight blog. All the fans of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, will probably get a kick out of this photo.

Newsflash: There are crabs in landlocked Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on May 13, 2010 Afghanistan, Animals, Embedded journalism, Marjah

PATROL BASE YAZZIE, Afghanistan — So there I was, relaxing in my tent here after going outside the wire with Marines on a three-hour evening patrol of Marjah. There was a squeak in the corner, and I saw movement along the wall. What was it? Upon closer inspect, the fine specimen you see above. Landlocked country or not, Afghanistan apparently has a population of crabs. I’ll assume they usually hang out near the canals, because that’s the only body of water within miles. Marines, apparently, are used to the spiky little guys. One member of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said…

Video: Marines, journalist caught under sniper fire

By Thomas Brown on May 13, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Marjah

MARJAH, Afghanistan — The tension was obvious even before leaving the wire on a 6 a.m. patrol. Everyone in the fire team I was traveling with knew that a sniper had ambushed a Marine patrol the previous day in the same area we were traveling. While making our way along one of the canals that cut through Marjah, everyone was nearly silent, on high alert. We made a turn onto small, dusty road, with only the sound of boots crunching against dry rock cutting the air. Then the sniper hit. There was an intense crack and impact. A rifle round…

The view from the edge of the Sistani Desert

By Dan Lamothe on May 12, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Marjah

PATROL BASE YAZZIE, Afghanistan — We’re closing in on 10 p.m. here in Afghanistan, and I just realized we haven’t shared much new on the blog today. I’ve spent most of the day preparing a long magazine-style feature for next week’s Marine Corps Times that will cover Taliban tactics in Marjah, and how the Corps counteracts them. Above, a photograph I took last night while out with Marines from 2nd Platoon, 3rd Squad, of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, on patrol. I’m certainly not the photographer that Tom Brown is, but I jumped at the opportunity to show what the Sistani…

Marijuana, fleas and shell casings: A morning in Marjah

By Dan Lamothe on May 10, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Marjah

MARJAH, Afghanistan – It was a moment I was simultaneously dreading and seeking: My first time on foot outside the wire. This morning, I went on a four-hour foot patrol with members of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. Half of 2nd Platoon’s 3rd squad took me along with them on a routine, early morning security patrol, which can drag on monotonously boring for hours at a time, only to shift into a blood-pumping engagement with the enemy at a moment’s notice. Today’s stayed quiet, but it showed the dynamics Marines deal with on a daily basis. They set out on foot…

Happy Mother’s Day from Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on May 9, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Marjah

PATROL BASE YAZZIE, Afghanistan — Good afternoon, friends. Tom Brown and I have made another move, jumping from Camp Hanson, home of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, to Patrol Base Yazzie, a smaller outpost in northwestern Marjah that is home to India Company, 3/6. The drive over from Hanson was certainly an eye-opener for me. While I expected to see poverty, I didn’t expect to see a wasteland. There is obviously no electricity, and modern farming tools are nowhere to be found. Even we and the Marines sleeping on the ground in tents here at Yazzie have far more comforts of…

Marine mail call in Marjah

By Dan Lamothe on May 7, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Marjah

CAMP HANSON, Afghanistan — We’re waiting for a ride to one of the infantry companies that falls under 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. In the meantime, photographer Tom Brown and I watched a heartwarming part of Marine life today: Mail call. I’ll be honest: From my tent, all I could hear at first was “Meatloaf!” “Meatloaf!” “Meatloaf!” I assumed they were distributing Meals Ready to Eat. Turns out, the Marines in the back of a 7-ton truck were actually yelling “Kilo!” “Kilo!” “Kilo!” as boxes headed for Kilo Company were pulled off the truck. As the process started to wind down, I…

A view of Helmand province, Afghanistan, by air

By Dan Lamothe on May 6, 2010 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Marjah

CAMP HANSON, Afghanistan — Marine Corps Times has reached its destination. Photographer Tom Brown and I caught a few of the last seats available this afternoon on a CH-53E helicopter from Camp Dwyer to Camp Hanson, home of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines — the Teufelhunden, as they call themselves. The base in northern Marjah, and the unit is spread throughout the region. So far, we’ve met with Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, the battalion commander, and Maj. Billy Ray Moore, the executive officer. I also chatted up several Marines about guns, ammo and not taking showers — all thing relevant to a combat environment.…

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