My thoughts are with these troops, give 'em hell!
General Gives Pre-Combat Speech
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Sgt. Maj. Carlton W. Kent, the top enlisted Marine in Iraq (news - web sites), told troops Sunday the coming battle of Fallujah would be "no different" than the historic fights at Inchon in Korea, the flag-raising victory at Iwo Jima, or the bloody assault to remove North Vietnamese troops who occupied the ancient citadel of Hue in the 1968 Tet Offensive.
"You're all in the process of making history," Kent boomed in a clarion voice. "This is another Hue city in the making. I have no doubt, if we do get the word, that each and every one of you is going to do what you have always done — kick some butt."
Marine battalion commander Lt. Col. Mike Ramos said many of the young fighters would be dashing into battle for the first time. In the barracks, Marines could be seen packing up gear, strapping anti-tank missile tubes to their packs. They would also be carrying gas masks in case of chemical weapons, a threat Ramos deemed unlikely.
"They're sharpening their K-Bar fighting knives; they're cleaning their weapons for the last time; they've fueled their vehicles and they've rehearsed the plan," said Ramos, 41, of Dallas.
Ramos predicted that "freedom and democracy" would prevail in Fallujah within days.
"Make no mistake about it, we'll hand this city back to the Iraqi people," he said. "I think it will be rapid."
During the fight, rules of engagement allow U.S. troops to shoot and kill anyone carrying a weapon or driving in Fallujah, a move aimed at allowing U.S. troops to fire on car bombers, Ramos said. Military age males trying to leave the city will be captured or turned back.
"If I see someone who looks like a martyr, driving at high speed toward my unit, I'll send him to Allah before he gets close," Ramos said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,137861,00.html
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