Semper Fi Marines - 4 July 2009

Honey talked to other Veteran's today at the VFW close to the parade we went to...and as usual bought all sorts of drinks, shared cigar's (and stories) and bought a bunch of lottery tickets for the big 4th of July Harley give away, which he knows he won't win, but who cares...the money goes to help Vets...
When we got home, he asked me to put this on my blog, so here it is:

Semper Fi, Marines!

Your patriotism and devotion to duty is not unnoticed by your brothers (and sisters!) in arms back here stateside!
Reuters:

Some 4,000 Marines are moving through southern Helmand to take back Taliban-held territory and pinch the insurgents' supply lines. Bravo Company has seen a lot of walking but up to now little fighting, though other Marines in the operation have had extended battles.

So far, the worst danger facing Bravo is the heat. Temperatures are well above 100 degrees , and medics treated several heat casualties Saturday.

The Marines walk in columns down dusty dirt roads, and every couple dozen steps they bend over at the waist to give aching shoulders a break. During frequent breaks, medics go up and down the line, looking to see if their men are drinking water.

Lance Corp. Bryan Knight, a mortar man, carries one of the heaviest pack. The 21-year-old Cincinnati native weighs a slight 145 pounds - and his pack almost equals him.

He carries a 15-pound mortar base plate, four mortar rounds that weigh 10 pounds each, about 15 pounds of water and another 50 pounds of combat gear - ammunition, weapon and his body armor, in all about 120 pounds of equipment.

Unsurprisingly, he is drenched in sweat. "The only dry parts of my clothes are the pockets," he said.

Captain Drew Schoenmaker, company commander,  said the heat was affecting militants as well, noting there were few daytime attacks theater-wide and none on his unit. He said he doubted people back in the United States could understand how hard his Marines work.

"Someone back home might say, 'Oh, it's 100 degrees here, too.' But you're not trying to carry 60 or 90 pounds and people aren't trying to kill you," he said. "And you can always step out of the sun. You can't always do that here."