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okinawa marine NEWS april 11, 2008 briefsRANGE HIGH SCORESWeek of March 31April 4Special Detail (Rifle)Sgt. S.R. Patereau31st MEU 342No Pistol DetailLAW OF WAR CLASSESThe Staff Judge Advocate and Legal ServiceSupport Section will hold two HeadquartersMarine Corps-approved two-day law of warclasses and unit-level blocks of instruction,provided by a Marine Corps University MobileTraining Team.The classes will cover the four GenevaConventions, detainee operations, rules ofengagement, targeting and war crimes.The classes are scheduled for April 14-15 atthe Camp Foster Globe and Anchor enlistedclub and for April 17-18 at the Camp HansenLifelong Learning Center.The unit instruction sessions are scheduledfor April 15 at the Camp Foster CommunityCenter, April 16 at the Camp Courtney Theaterand Camp Kinser Surfside, and April 17 atthe Camp Hansen West Chapel.The classes and sessions are scheduled torun from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.For more information, contact Staff Sgt.Terrance Leggett at 645-3011.Overseas Housing Allowance SurveyThe Per Diem Travel and TransportationAllowance Committee is conducting the annual OHA Utility/Recurring MaintenanceSurvey from April 15 to May 14.All uniformed service members who haveresided in privately leased quarters and havereceived OHA for at least six months arerequired to participate.The survey will take approximately 30minutes to complete, and can be found ml.For more information, contact CWO4Michael Easley by phone at 645-7199.KUWAE PRESCHOOL REGISTRATIONKuwae Preschool, located in building6047 on Camp Lester, is having its annualopen house registration May 3 from 8 a.m.until noon.Kuwae Preschool offers a half-day developmentally-appropriate education program toStatus of Forces Agreement persons’ childrenages 3 to 5 years old. To register, the childrenmust be toilet trained and satisfy the agerequirement no later than Oct. 31.Documentation required for registrationincludes the child’s passport, current shotrecords and an updated picture.For more information, call 645-8419.NOSCO art auctionThe Naval Officers Spouses Club is holding an art auction May 10 at the Camp ButlerOfficers Club. The auction will feature contemporary and traditional Japanese artworkand authentic oriental rugs.For more information, call 646-8287.TO SUBMIT A BRIEF, send an e-mail tookinawamarine.mcbb.fct@usmc.mil, or fax yourrequest to 645-3803. The deadline for submittinga brief is noon every Friday. The Okinawa Marinereserves the right to edit all submitted material.III Marine Expeditionary Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer and III MEF SergeantMajor Sgt. Maj. Daniel Fierle salute the colors April 4 during the III MEF post and relief ceremony at theCamp Hansen parade deck. Photos by Lance Cpl. Ryan WicksPOST from pg 1In September 1988 he was assigned to 1stMaintenance Battalion, 1st Force Service SupportGroup. In July 1990, he was assigned to BrigadeService Support Group 7 and on August 12, 1990deployed to Southwest Asia in support of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.In July 1990, he was assigned to Brigade Service Support Group-7 and deployed to SouthwestAsia in support of Operations Desert Shield andDesert Storm.In October 1991, he attended Drill InstructorSchool at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego,Calif. and served as a drill instructor and chiefdrill instructor with 2nd Recruit Training Battalion and Weapons and Field Training Battalion.In October 1994, he was assigned to the 13thMarine Expeditionary Unit and deployed to Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope.Fierle became a sergeant major in June 1999and was assigned as sergeant major for 3rd LowAltitude Air Defense Battalion. He deployed toSouthwest Asia with 3rd LAAD in support ofOperation Iraqi Freedom.In August 2003 he was assigned as TrainingCenter sergeant major, Marine Corps MountainWarfare Training Center Bridgeport, Calif.Fierle posted as Marine Corps Base Hawaiisergeant major from May 2006 to March 2008.His personal awards include the MeritoriousService Medal, Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.Former III MEF sergeant major Sgt. Maj. RonaldWilliams speaks April 4 during the III MEF post andrelief ceremony at the Camp Hansen parade deck.Williams retired during the ceremony after 30years of Marine Corps service.III MEF commander modifies liberty buddy policies for JapanLance Cpl. Corey A. Blodgettokinawa marine staffCAMP FOSTER — Lt. Gen.Richard C. Zilmer, the commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force andMarine Corps Bases Japan,recently modified the ordersthat govern liberty policies forall service members attachedto Marine units in Japan.The changes require all service members be issued libertycards and all service membersE-4 and below be accompaniedby a liberty buddy during offbase liberty.The changes are outlinedin the Liberty Buddy Order– MCBJ/III MEF Order 1050.5Aand the Off-base Liberty CardProgram – MCBJ/III MEF Order1050.6A.All service members assignedto MCBJ or III MEF and servingin Japan will be issued either ared or gold liberty card. Servicemembers E-6 and above willnormally be issued a gold libertycard unless commanders determine a period of observationis necessary. Liberty cards aretransferable within MCBJ andIII MEF commands and servicemembers should keep theircards when transferred from oneunit to another.The intent of the changes tothe orders is to reduce off-baseliberty incidents involvingservice members, according toboth orders.The changes to the orderstook effect April 5. The orderscan be viewed in their entirety at http://www.mcbbutler.usmc.mil.

okinawa marine NEWS april 11, 2008 Marines of 1st Engineer Platoon, Bulk Fuel Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group andBangladesh Army soldiers of the 9th Engineer Battalion, 55th Infantry Division build a school in the town of Mongla March14. The school was destroyed by November’s Cyclone Sidr, which caused nearly 3,500 casualties and destroyed crops, homes,businesses and schools. Some estimates suggest a total of 450 million in damage. Photos courtesy of 9th ESB9th ESB rebuilds schools in BangladeshLance Cpl. David Rogersokinawa marine staffCAMP HANSEN — Whencategory IV cyclone Sidrdevastated Southern Bangladesh November 15, theU.S. military respondedwith disaster relief effortsincluding the deploymentof Okinawa’s III MarineExpeditionary Brigade.Four months later, 40Marines and sailors with1st Engineer Platoon, FuelCompany, 9th EngineerSupport Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, continued those relief effortsalongside 100 BangladeshArmy and Navy servicemembers by rebuilding twoschools March 6 – 30.The construction projectwas part of the III MarineExpeditionary Force Bangladesh InteroperabilityProgram, a joint effort focused on helping Bangladeshi communities rebuildfrom the storm that killedan estimated 3,500 peopleand caused an estimated 450 million in damage.The platoon was assignto the town of Mongla inthe southwest corner ofBangladesh. In January,an advanced party of Marines was sent to survey theconditions of two Islamicschools, k now n as Madrasahs, which were identified for repair. The teamfound little to survey.“The bu i ld i ngs weregone,” said platoon sergeantGunnery Sgt. David Dickens, “They were destroyed.So basically it was just twoopen lots.”The engineers immediately went to work designing two new schools fromthe ground up. Instead ofusing their standard construction templates, the9th ESB Marines modified the design to ensuret he bui ldi ngs could bemaintained with materials readily available inBangladesh after they left.They decided on using tinfor the roofs and bamboosheat hing for wa lls instead of the plywood andshingles more common inWestern construction.Building t he schoolswith unconventional materials required the assistance of a BangladeshArmy engineer platoon whoworked alongside the U.S.service members.“As Americans we don’tdo a lot of tin roofing anyPvt. Jesse Helsley (left), Bangladesh Army Sgt. Rahman Khaliland Cpl. Robert Knudson help put together the tin roofingfor a new school house for an Islamic school in Mongla,Bangladesh March 22.more,” Dickens said. “Wehad to lean on the expertiseof the Bangladesh Army forthat.”Members of the Bangladesh Navy provided security during the project.Some platoon membersfound working with theBangladeshi soldiers difficult at first due to thelanguage barrier as communications were oftenreduced to hand signals.“We were basically playing charades in order toconstruct a building,” saidCpl. Michael Spivey, a squadleader for the platoon.Over time, both partiesbegan to pick up on theother’s language, makingcommunication smoother.A common phrase emergedas a constant on the job site- “Shu·muh·sha·ne”, a Bangladeshi phrase meaning“no problem”.“That was the motto ofthe mission. Any time therewas a debate over a problem it always ended with‘Shu·muh·sha·ne,’ we’ll figure it out,” Dickens said.The appreciation of thetownspeople was evidenteach day as the Marinesdrove through town ontheir way to the construction site, said squad leaderCpl. Amanda Wilson.“They were really, really grateful and excitedwhen we came by,” shesaid. “They stood on theside of t he st reets justwaving as we passed. I’vealways wanted to do something for a country likethat, and I’d do it again ina heartbeat.”Dickens shared the sediment.“It’s probably one of thebest projects I’ve ever donein my 16 years in the Marine Corps,” he said.College of Continuing Education web-based interactive course enrollments break recordsLance Cpl. Ryan Wicksokinawa marine staffCAMP FOSTER — The College of ContinuingEducation is seeing record enrollment in theirOfficer Distance Professional Military Educationseminars and Marine Corps distance learningprogram (Marine Net) according to Terry Kerrigan,the director of the CCE.Last year, the Marine Net interactive multimedia Web-based courses saw great increasesin participation and 2,800 students have alreadysigned up for the seminars this year. This is arecord high number for the CCE, a departmentof Marine Corps Training and Education Command.“The reason for the jump was because we havestarted to incorporate required military classesinto our Web site,” said Kerrigan. “This way,Marines get to experience our interactive coursesand realize how much better they can be than thenormal paper-based courses.”The CCE has also begun enhancing pre-deployment training classes which help build thepopularity of the courses, Kerrigan said.The CCE offers Web-based courses rangingfrom computer technical skills to pre-deploymenttraining. Service members can receive promotionpoints by completing the Marine Corps Institutioncourses or just learn a skill that they are interestedin by completing other available courses.Kerrigan said the online courses are a good fitfor today’s computer-minded service members,and they allow the students to move at theirown pace.“Normally classroom instruction and PMEsare geared to move as fast as the slowest student,”he said. “These courses prevent individuals whomove faster from being bogged down.”The courses are also very flexible in that theydo not have a set completion date, said TimothyKeefe, a customer outreach coordinator with theCCE. A service member can enroll, get deployedand come back months later to finish their course.There are also deployable servers and laptopsthat service members can use while deployed,Keefe said.Kerrigan said he expects enrollment to continue to rise as word continues to get out aboutthe program.“I really think these classes are the new waveof learning in the military,” he said.Students interested in online courses can visitwww.marinenet.usmc.mil.

okinawa marine NEWS april 11, 2008 Students in a Helicopter Rope Suspension Technique Masters Course conductSpecial Patrol Insertion/Extraction training Sept. 20, 2007 in the CentralTraining Area. The photograph won first-place in the combat photographycategory of the 2007 Merit Awards Program. Photo by Sgt. Ethan E. RockeMarines and sailors of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion LandingTeam 2/1 attempt to dry their soaked feet and boots June 23, 2007 duringExercise Talisman Saber 2007 in Queensland, Australia. The photograph wonfirst-place in the stand-alone photography category. Photo by Cpl. Eric D. ArndtOkinawa Marine staff leads Corps in Marine journalism awardsLance Cpl. Daniel A. Flynnokinawa marine staffC A M P FOST ER — TheOkinawa Marine staff ledthe entire Corps in the2007 Marine Corps CombatCorrespondent Associationand Division of Public Affairs Merit Awards Programcompetition.Staff members earned ofthe Okinawa Marine earnedfirst place in seven categories and placed in 16 of the28 categories overall.The winners were announced in Marine Adm i n ist rat ive Message211/08, which was releasedMarch 27. The competition recog nizes professional excellence in printand broadcast journalismt h roug hout t he Ma ri neCorps.Okinawa Marine editor Sgt. Ethan E. Rockereceived five first-placeindividual awards in thecompetition. He was namedMarine photojournalist ofthe year, print journalistof the year and earned firstplace in combat photography, pictorial photographand photojournalism.Design editor Cpl. Eric D.Arndt won two categories:outstanding new writer andstand-alone photograph. Healso took second in Marinephotojournalist of the yearand combat photography.He received an honorablemention for portrait and personality photography.Competition judge TessaK. Ferrario, a photo editor with the WashingtonTimes, described Rocke andArndt’s photojournalist ofthe year submission packages as “leaps and bounds”above the competition.She said photographersshould look at what Rockeand Arndt put together fortheir entries as examples ofgreat storytelling.Improved Awards Processing System reduces likelihood of lost, duplicate award recommendationsLance Cpl. Andrew S. Avittokinawa marine staffCAMP FOSTER — The Improved AwardsProcessing System went into effect March1 as Headquarters Marine Corps strives tomake lost and duplicate awards a thing ofthe past.The upgraded system is designed to enhance the abilities of commanders to submit,approve, endorse, and track personal and unitawards, according to Marine Corps Administrative Message 042/08.Manpower Information Technology Branchpersonnel at Headquarters Marine Corpsdesigned the new system based primarily oninput from Manpower and Reserve Affairs.One of the primary concerns was revampingthe submission and approval procedures.Under the old system, award recommendations were submitted up the chain of command via e-mail, according to 1st Lt. NicholasW. Mull, the head of the Personal AwardsSection, HQMC, and these e-mails containedlinks where award information was located.The problem was that as awards were processed, information could be moved, makingthe links inactive and leaving administratorsfloating in cyberspace with no way to find theneeded data, he added.Now, the routing of awards takes place in asingle Web service where awards informationis more accessible, Mull said.IAPS is also tied into the Marine Corps’manpower database, which helps avert lostawards due to changes of rank, unit or lastname.Another common problem with the old sys-tem was awards were often duplicated sincethere was no way to monitor the progress ofpending awards, according to Mull.Unit award administrators now have permanent visibility through the Web serviceof awards created or processed in their unit,Mull said. This includes the accurate statusand location of awards after they are forwarded to their higher units.The program is accessible from any computer with an internet connection as long asthe user has access to a Common Access Cardreader and the appropriate software.Marines can register on the ImprovedAwa rd s P rocessi ng System by goi ng tohttp://www.manpower.usmc.mil/iaps. Moreinformation can be found in Marine CorpsAdministrative Message 042/08 located onhttp://www.usmc.mil.

okinawa marine NEWS april 11, 2008 Counter, human intel Marines conduct training in Combat TownLance Cpl. Richard Blumensteinokinawa marine staffC E N T R A L T R A I N I NG A R E A— Cooperative local citizens andcaptured enemy insurgents in Iraqand Afghanistan are the mainsource for those collecting information on terrorist activities.To stay proficient in their abilityto gather this intelligence, Marineswith Counter Intelligence/Human Intelligence Company, 3rdIntelligence Battalion, III MarineExpeditionary Force, conductedhuman intelligence training March31- April 4 that focused on thechallenges these Marines face in acombat zone.Since counter/human intelligence Marines have access to thehighest level of classified information and must often work covertly,those interviewed for this storywill remain nameless for securityreasons.“Intelligence drives operations,”said a CI/HUMINT officer who willbe referred to as Capt. Smith. “Aninfantry or combat commandercannot send his Marines out anywhere without having some kindof intelligence to guide him in thatarea.”As their occupational field description indicates, the Marines’job consists of two main areas.The human intelligence side ofthe Marines’ job is what they focussed on during the training. Thismission requires them to gatherinformation from civilians anddetainees to support commanders’ability to make combat decisions.During the training, the Marinestook part in numerous scenariosthat mirrored actual events thathave taken place in Iraq, accordingto Smith.To add realism to the exercise,Marine and civilian volunteersacted as Iraqi citizens and enemyinsurgents during the training.The Marines practiced theirverbal interrogation skills on fellow “counter-intel” Marines acting as captured insurgents. TheMarines questioned the captivesfor information that proved vitalto the success of their mission inthe scenarios.“A captured insurgent couldknow a plethora of information,”Smith said. “They could knowabout future attacks on coalitionforces or Iraqi citizens.”During the training exercise,the Marines also had to implement their understanding of theIraqi culture to build rapport withthe role players acting as localcitizens.“You cannot ignore the culture - that is paramount,” Smithsaid. “If you ignore the culture,you are going to disrespect thepeople and shut off that flow ofinformation.”An example of adhering to theculture that was included in thetraining was asking the man-ofthe-house for permission to enter.If the CI/HUMINT Marines madethe mistake of asking the woman inthe home for permission, a conflictensued making it harder for theMarine to gather information.“It’s always (difficult) tryingnot to ruin rapport and not burnbridges,” one Marine said, notingthat one small mistake can negateweeks or months of progress in acommunity.The Marines also faced stronglanguage barriers during the training. Role players who could speaka second language such as Spanishused it during the scenarios. Thisforced the Marines to communicatethough a translator, similar to howthey operate in Iraq.“We base our training on information provided by teams that recently came back from Iraq and thenew (tactics techniques and procedures) that have been implementedin Iraq,” Smith said. “Scenarios weexercise out here are coming fromreal life experiences from otherCI/HUMINT Marines.”A counter/human intelligence Marine interviews a role player April 2 duringtraining at Combat Town in the Central Training Area. The Marines took partin numerous scenarios that mirrored actual events that have taken place inIraq. Photo by Lance Cpl. Richard BlumensteinMarine Forces Pacific sergeant major visits Okinawa, discusses core valuesLance Cpl. Richard Blumensteinokinawa marine staffSgt. Maj. Evans McBride, the Marine Forces Pacific sergeant major, speakswith Mar

Corps Base Hawaii sergeant major. "To the Ma-rines and sailors of III MEF; I look forward to meet-ing you and being your Sgt. Maj.," said Fierle. Fierle enlisted in the Marine Corps in Novem-ber 1978. After graduating recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., he was as-signed to the First Tank Battalion,