Word: battalion
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Dawn in Fallujah, and the men of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines' Easy Company, part of the 1st U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force, are withdrawing under fire. At 4:30 that morning, 150 Marines had moved into the southern edge of the city to destroy two bunkers that insurgents were using to fire on their positions. Easy's Third Platoon moved in to inspect one of the buildings, which had been hit the day before by a 500-lb. bomb. Platoon Commander 2nd Lieut. Ilario Pantano reported back that they had found gun emplacements and binoculars and that the building...
...from full that day. Most ordinary Iraqis were still too scared to venture out of their houses and apartments, preferring to peek through curtains at the arrival of freedom. But the feeling of liberation and joy among those who did go into the streets was obvious. As the Marine battalion I was with moved through the city, old women offered battle-weary Marines cookies and tea, while kids shouted out, "Thank you, Bush!" and "America good!" and offered flowers and handshakes...
...over the central part of the city. As evening falls, the insurgents are still firing mortars at the Easy Company base. The company fires back with its own mortars, and a patrol prepares to go out after our attackers. The company asks for permission to patrol the area, but battalion headquarters rejects the request. One frustrated Marine starts to hum that tune you hear at the circus, the one that signals the entry of the clowns...
...Iraqis at Camp Eagle say the pressure on them is almost unbearable. When they return home at night, many are threatened with death; some battalion members believe their comrades leak information. On a patrol with the Americans through Sadr City's teeming thoroughfares, the hostility the Iraqis face from their neighbors is inescapable. "People keep insulting me," an Iraqi conscript named Abdullah tells a U.S. sergeant. "Can I shoot them?" The sergeant tries to calm him, explaining that the rules of engagement do not permit the use of deadly force against hecklers. At this point, Adnan, 37, former explosives specialist...
With so much of Iraq in danger of sliding out of its control, the U.S. will need to maintain cooperation from Iraqis like those in the 306th Battalion if it is to have any chance of restoring order. Raied, the battalion's executive officer, says, "We will continue to support the U.S. troops until June 30. We want to see if they keep their promises." The U.S., in turn, is staking its hopes for stability on Iraqis like Raied and Sergeant Adnan, who was one of two members of his company who turned up after the April 4 fighting started...