Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

Tom Clancy Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

Dedication

For Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady.

A downed and doomed 'zoomie' whose faith in his God, his country, his service, and himself, along with the help of a few Marines, brought him home to us. God bless him, and the members of the 24th MEU (SOC) who made us all proud to be Americans once again.

Acknowledgments

It is now time for the best part of book writing: thanking those who helped make it possible. We start with my longtime partner, researcher, and friend, John D. Gresham. Once again, he traveled across the landscape, from Fort Worth, Texas, to Rota, Spain, gathering the stories and digging out the facts that make this book special. Perhaps most important of all, he kept the promises to our partners in industry and the military, which are the things that make books like this possible. Again, we have also been given the gift of wisdom and experience from series editor Professor Martin H. Greenberg. Laura Alpher is again to be complimented for her wonderful portfolio of drawings, which have added so much to this book. Tony Koltz and Mike Markowitz also need to be recognized for their continuing support that was so critical and welcome. Thanks again goes to Cindi Woodrum, Diana Patin, and Roselind Greenberg for their support in backing us up as always.

A book like this would be impossible to produce without the support of senior service personnel in leadership positions, and this one is no exception. Our first thanks go to General Charles 'Chuck' Krulak, the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps. Thanks also to his hardworking PAO, Major Betsey Arends. Another group, less well known but equally important, that was vital to our efforts consisted of the members of the various USMC public affairs offices (PAOs) and protocol organizations that handled our numerous requests for visits and information. Tops on our list were Brigadier General Terry Murray, Lieutenant Colonel Patricia Messer, and Lieutenant Mike Neuman of the Headquarters PAO. Along with them, Major General Paul Wilkerson, Captain Whitney Mason, Lieutenant Scott Gordon, and many others worked hard to get their stories across. Down at Quantico, Colonel Mick Nance and Gunner Bill Wright made our visits both memorable and livable in the incredible heat of 1995. At NAVSEA, Captain George Brown, Barbara A. Jyachosky, Sue Fili, Captain Manrin Gauthier, Captain Stan Harris, Colonel Al DeSantis, George Pickins, Paul Smith, and Gene Shoults told the shipping story. Over at the intelligence agencies, once again there was Jeff Harris and Major Pat Wilkerson at NRO, Russ Eggnor's photo shop at CHINFO, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Vosler and Penny Chesnut at DMA, and Dwight Williams at DARO. Many other helpful Marines studded the landscape to pass on their wisdom to us. Thanks to you all.

It is out at the units that you get the real story, though, and this year was a treasure chest of experiences and new friends. At the 26th MEU (SOC), there was the incredible Colonel Jim Battaglini, who is a national asset, along with such memorable personalities as Colonel 'Fletch' Fergeson, Sergeant Major Bill Creech, Gunny Sergeant Tim Schearer, and Major Dennis Arnellio. Over at BLT 2/6, there was Lieutenant Colonel John Allen, an officer and Virginia gentleman. HMM-264 was led by the crusty and wise Lieutenant Colonel 'Peso' Kerrick, and MSSG-26 by the capable Lieutenant Colonel Donald K. Cooper. Thanks also to Brigadier General Marty Berndt and Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gunter for sharing their adventures from 1995. And for all the other Marines at all the bases, we say, 'Oohrah!' and many thanks for guarding the walls of freedom.

Out in the fleet, there were many wonderful folks as well. Special thanks to Captain C. C. Buchanan, who made PHIBRON 4 a great place to work and learn. Captains Ray Duffey and Stan Greenawalt as well as their incredible crew made USS Wasp our home-away-from-home. Captain John M. Carter of USS Shreveport and Commander T. E. McKnight of USS Whidbey Island are to be thanked as well for letting us break bread and share time with them and their crews. And out in the Med, Commander Mike John, Lieutenant Commander Bill Fennick, Ensign Dan Hetledge, and many others made our trip to Spain special.

Again, thanks are due to our various industrial partners, without whom all the information on the various aircraft, weapons, and systems would never have come to light. At the aircraft manufacturers there was Barbara Anderson, Robert Linder, Lon Nordeen, Gary Hakinson, Mary Ann Brett, and David Wessing of McDonnell Douglas; Joe Stout, Karen Hagar, Jeff Rhodes, James Higginbotham, and Doug McCurrah of Lockheed Martin; Russ Rummnay, Pat Rever, and Paige Eaton at Bell Textron; and finally, Bill Tuttle and Foster Morgan of Sikorsky. We also made and renewed many friendships at the various missile, armament, and system manufacturers including: the incomparable Vicki Fendlason and Tony Geishanuser at Texas Instruments; Larry Ernst at General Atomics; Glenn Hillen, Bill West, Kearny Bothwell, and Cheryl Wiencek at Hughes; Tommy Wilson, Adrien Poirier, Edward Ludford, Dave McClain, and Dennis Hughes at Loral; Eric O'Berg and William D. Eves at Delco; Jim Mclngvale, Steve Davis, and many others at Litton Ingalls; Karl G. Oskoian at General Dynamics; Madeleine Orr Geiser and Bill Highlander at United Defense; Lee Westfield and Ms. Kathleen Louder at Right Away Foods; Rhonda Restau at Oregon Freeze Dry; Paige Sutkamp at the Wornick Company; Russ Logan at Beretta; Art Dalton and Brian Berger at Colt; Ronney Barrett at Barrett Firearms, and, last but certainly not least, Ed Rodemsky of Trimble, who again kept us up to date on the GPS system.

Again, we give thanks for all of our help in New York, especially Robert Gottlieb, Debra Goldstein, and Matt Bialer at William Morris. At Berkley Books, our appreciation again goes out to our editor, John Talbot, as well as David Shanks, Patti Benford, and Kim Waltemyer. For retiring friends like Jim Myatt and Robin Higgins, thanks for all you did and gave to the Corps and the country. Thanks also to our press pals, including Gidget Fuentes, Lisa Burgess, and Chris Plant. And for all the folks who took us on adventures, thanks for teaching the ignorant how things work for real. For our friends and loved ones, we have to once again thank you. For being there when we can't. God's blessings and goodwill upon you all.

Foreword

On January 5th, 1991, a third night of fitful sleep gave way to another day of incredibly tense living for U.S. Ambassador Bishop and the 281 personnel trapped with him in Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu. Included were officials from thirty nations, 12 diplomatic heads of mission, and 39 Soviets. After a message for help and two aborted rescue attempts by other nations, those remaining in the war-torn country, uncertain of their future, joined ranks and hunkered down inside the besieged and soon-to-be-overrun American Embassy compound.

Aboard the USS Trenton (LPD-14), 466 nautical miles away, two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters with forty-six Marines and 9 Navy SEALs lifted off the flight deck into the Arabian night. Their mission — to evacuate the American Embassy in Mogadishu. After flying for seventeen hours, and two midair refuelings, the helos flew over the unsuspecting city at a twenty-five-foot altitude and landed in the compound at 0710—just as the rebels were scaling the walls. Within minutes Marines had secured the embassy. Shortly thereafter, the two helicopters departed with the first 61 evacuees. Less than twenty-four hours later, all 281 personnel had been successfully evacuated. The Amphibious Readiness Group with its embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) — ARG/MEU (SOC) — welcomed back its tired but successful warriors and quietly steamed back over the horizon.

Four years later and four seas away, a fatigued Air Force captain entered the sixth day of his fight for survival in rugged northern Bosnia. At home, a nation awaited news of her first native son shot down while supporting United Nations and NATO operations in this conflict. Out of sight, eighty-seven nautical miles away aboard the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), another MEU (SOC) launched its Tactical Rescue of Aircraft and