Marines stationed in Iraq fight postwar boredom

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Marine Staff Sgt. Steven Taylor and his platoon searched for paramilitary forces in Iraq, recruited resistance fighters and helped liberate the cities of Ad Diwaniyah and Al Kut south of Baghdad.

Marine Staff Sgt. Steven Taylor of 10th Platoon, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, left, and Lance Cpl. Thomas Callaghan had roles in helping to liberate Ad Diwaniyah, a city about 75 miles south of Baghdad. Since the end of major ground battles, Taylor said the reservists are eager to safely return home. Photo courtesy Staff Sgt. Steven Taylor

"Since the end of the major ground battles a lot has changed," the Hawai'i Marine and reservist said by e-mail from Iraq. "A lot of our missions are either just to provide an American presence or to provide security for VIPs and high-risk personnel."

Camped near the city of Hillah and the ruins of Babylon, Taylor said "the big goal now is to make it home safe and sound. Keeping that in mind, we've really stressed safety and getting the men to unwind."

Throughout the war, mail has been slow in getting to troops, and Taylor, a Kailua High School graduate, said it takes about six weeks to get anything.

But letters and boxes with "local kine grinds" are getting through.

Hot items: saimin, arare, baby wipes and powdered Gatorade mix.

"The work tempo is slowing down dramatically, and everyone is extremely anxious to get back to Hawai'i," Taylor said.

For some of the 30 4th Force Reconnaissance Company Marines from Kane'ohe Bay — special operations forces whose specialty is missions deep behind enemy lines — it's their second foray into Iraq.

In late April, 4th Force Marines — most of whom are reservists — returned to Camp Commando in Kuwait as part of the ongoing exodus of U.S. troops streaming out of the country.

About 50 of the 250 Marines of 1st Radio Battalion at Kane'ohe Bay who deployed to Kuwait and Iraq have returned home, and another 120 are expected back early next month.

Some 4th Force Marines, meanwhile, have been told they will be coming home in August.

Both groups of Hawai'i Marines deployed on Feb. 9.

The war has taken Taylor and his platoon from the Kuwaiti border, up Highway 1, to cities such as Ad Diwaniyah, 75 miles south of Baghdad.

In late March, Marines killed about 90 Iraqi forces and took others prisoner in a firefight in Ad Diwaniyah. Some 6,000 mines were found in an ammunition dump, and rocket-propelled grenades were stacked floor to ceiling in one building.

Taylor, 34, who works for Ikon Office Solutions in civilian life, said the fighting was often fierce.

But because of coalition air dominance "and dedication to duty from the 17-, 18- and 19-year-old infantrymen, we ran them over."

"It was the young grunt that truly won the war," Taylor said. "As I moved through the battlefields, I could see burned-out tanks, destroyed bunkers and bullet-riddled trucks. By the amount of brass casings from weapons and the pockmarks left from artillery and mortars, you could tell that both sides had just been through hell."

Although his platoon was fired upon with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and even mortars, Taylor said the unit was never fully engaged like the infantry.

During most battles, platoon members were several miles away with division command awaiting orders.

"We could watch the artillery being fired and we'd watch the Cobra gunships as they flew overhead to their targets just three or four minutes away," Taylor said.

His platoon crossed the border of Kuwait into Iraq on March 27, arrived at Jalibah airfield that night and was sent forward to the 1st Marine Division.

In Kuwait, they had been on standby to rescue any downed coalition air crews, or assist other special operations teams.

Traveling up Highway 1 to a point several miles southwest of Ad Diwaniyah, the platoon spent several days conducting hunter-killer missions in the area looking for Fedayeen fighters and regular Iraqi Army units that were harassing and ambushing convoys.

On April 7, after the big Marine firefight, Taylor's platoon and a team from the Army's 5th Special Forces Group probed Ad Diwaniyah for the enemy with the goal of setting up a resistance movement.

Then with Task Force Tarawa, the platoon and Army Special Forces gathered resistance fighters in Al Hamza and entered Ad Diwaniyah. They were the first American forces to enter the town.

The liberation of Al Kut followed, and through April, the 4th Force platoon operated in and around the city conducting "presence patrols," reconnaissance missions and limited-scale raids.

Taylor said he expects to be near Hillah for a few more weeks before moving back to Kuwait.

The Marines barter for things they need, and spend part of every day trying to get ice. "Everything seems like such a blur now; it's hard to believe that the major part of the war is now over," Taylor said.

The joy at the arrival of the Marines in town after town is the strongest memory he'll have.

"They would mob our vehicles as we moved through towns just to tell us thank you, and to let us know that the enemy was running north," he said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.