Camp Leatherneck

Marines post ‘Port-a-crapper’ rules for Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on October 22, 2012 Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Camp Bastion, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism

COMBAT OUTPOST PASERLAY, Afghanistan – It’s a relatively quiet day here on this outpost in Trek Nawa, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a serious conversation to which we can all relate. Deployed U.S. service members in Afghanistan put up with a lot. Not only is there the threat of improvised explosive devices, small-arms ambushes and indirect fire attacks, there’s the lousy food, hostile weather and lack of plumbing. That, of course, leads to a subject we’ve probably written about too frequently on this blog: poop humor. Yes, you may remember previous blog entries about farting in Afghanistan and…

Setting the record straight on Camp Bastion’s attack

By Dan Lamothe on October 19, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Bastion, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – From the moment I got here, it’s clear it was on people’s minds daily. The Sept. 14 attack on neighboring Camp Bastion rattled many Marines and other coalition forces on this base. While technically a separate base, the two camps share a bus route and relatively easy access. European troops frequently visit the American PX store on Leatherneck, and Americans hop the bus to visit the pizza shop, coffee shop and other amenities on Bastion. Like many other military journalists, I wrote about the attack on Bastion from my desk in D.C., relying equally on interviews,…

Setting the record straight on Camp Bastion’s attack

By Dan Lamothe on October 19, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Bastion, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism

Marine convoys face insurgents, fatigue on open road

By Dan Lamothe on October 16, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Logistics

MUSA QALA, Afghanistan – The Marines had been on the road for less than an hour from Combat Outpost Shukvani when their resupply convoy hit its first hint of trouble. The logistics train, overseen by Combat Logistics Battalion 2, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was pushing through Helmand province when it came upon a likely improvised explosive device that troops from the nation of Georgia already had marked and cordoned. The Marines rolled around it but took harassing gunfire a few minutes later. “Drader, be advised: They said they’ve been taking pop shots from the right side of the road!”…

Marine helicopters observe enemy from above

By Dan Lamothe on October 13, 2012 Afghanistan, Aviation, Camp Bastion, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism

OVER HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Marine pilots peered closely at the ridgelines below, roaring through the sky in helicopters loaded with ordnance. “See that compound there?” one of them said Saturday, skimming over a desert plain in a UH-1Y Huey. “Let’s keep our eye on it.” The observation was part of a routine combat sustainment mission, which are conducted to keep the helos ready for war. They’re typically launched from the Marine flight line at Camp Bastion, a British base abutting Camp Leatherneck, the largest Marine installation in Afghanistan. A Sept. 14 attack on Bastion has brought a new…

Marines get CrossFit in at Camp Leatherneck

By Dan Lamothe on October 12, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Fitness

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Dropping off some laundry, I couldn’t help notice the barking around the corner. More than a dozen Marines were laying on their bellies in the dirt, working their body cores in a series of exercises outlined in the CrossFit fitness program. They were with R4OG, a group sent here to prepare gear to be sent back to the U.S. as part of the drawdown of coalition forces. The acronym stands for Retrograde and Redeployment in support of Reset and Reconstitution Operational Group. Photographer Colin Kelly and I ended up back at Leatherneck this morning after hopping…

Marines in Afghanistan watch presidential debate

By Dan Lamothe on October 4, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Infantry

COMBAT OUTPOST PAYNE, Afghanistan — Once again, I’m checking in here from the House of Payne. Get it? Good. To get to this outpost from Camp Leatherneck, photographer Colin Kelly and I rose before dawn this morning to hop an MV-22 Osprey. It meant we were awake as President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney squared off in a presidential debate back in the U.S. Helmand province is 8 1/2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, creating issues whenever there are live events that many Americans watch, whether it’s a sporting event or something involving national politics.…

Marine commander: We ‘punched them in the throat’ in Sangin

By Dan Lamothe on October 3, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Good evening, friends. We’re still aboard this forward operating base, conducting interviews for several stories in forthcoming issues of Marine Corps Times. In the meantime, I wanted to share a meeting I had today with the top brass in 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. The unit is on its way back to the U.S. following a grueling seven-month deployment in volatile northern Helmand province. Its Marines were based primarily in Sangin at first, and then gradually spread through Kajaki, Musa Qala and Now Zad districts as the drawdown in forces across Afghanistan…

Marine commander: We ‘punched them in the throat’ in Sangin

By Dan Lamothe on October 3, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin

Initial impressions from Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on October 2, 2012 Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Infantry

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – The more things change, the more they stay the same. That holds true on this vast forward operating base, which photographer Colin Kelly and I arrived at this afternoon. It still serves as the main hub of Marine operations in Afghanistan, even after thousands of Marines were withdrawn from Helmand province this summer. We flew here on a British C-130, spending more than an hour in the air from Kabul International Airport. The flight included about 30 British troops and a handful of Estonians, among others. After spending all of April and part of May embedded…

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