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…
Browsing: David Bradney
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…
Smile, Taliban. The Marines are watching you. As mentioned in my new story outlining the current fight in Afghanistan’s volatile Sangin district, Marine forces in northern Helmand province are using tethered “spy blimps” to watch for insurgent activity. The most common is the Precision Ground Surveillance System, a 70-foot aerostat balloon that floats over many combat outposts up and down Route 611 from Sangin to Kajaki. Army Times colleague Lance Bacon wrote about their capabilities last month. First Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., also has one larger Persistent Threat Detection System, which carries hundreds of pounds of…
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SABIT QADAM, Afghanistan — Ladies and gentlemen, Marine Corps Times has moved on to cover infantry operations at the heart of the war in Helmand province. Photographer James Lee and I arrived at this FOB last night, embedding in Sangin district with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. The base was known until recently as FOB Jackson, but coalition forces have elected to give it and several other Sangin bases names with Afghan roots, said Lt. Col. David Bradney, 1/7’s commander. Sabit Qadam translates loosely from Pashto to “constant” or “stronghold,” interpreters here said.…
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SABIT QADAM, Afghanistan — Ladies and gentlemen, Marine Corps Times has moved on to cover infantry operations at the heart of the war in Helmand province. Photographer James Lee and I arrived at this FOB last night, embedding in Sangin district with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. The base was known until recently as FOB Jackson, but coalition forces have elected to give it and several other Sangin bases names with Afghan roots, said Lt. Col. David Bradney, 1/7’s commander. Sabit Qadam translates loosely from Pashto to “constant” or “stronghold,” interpreters here said.…
