Lance Cpl. Steve Fillmore, a tow gunner with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, provides security as the rest of the patrol moves through Trek Nawa, Afghanistan, Sept. 27. The Marines worked alongside Afghan soldiers who provide security for the region from Patrol Base Lambadand. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr.)
Entering the Trek Nawa District of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Marines with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, provided a military presence absent to the region for nearly a year.
Arriving Sept. 26, the Marines helped occupy Patrol Base Lambadand for four days and patrolled through the area alongside the Afghan National Army soldiers who call the base their home.
| More: Firsthand account of a Marine’s first firefight. |
A Marine surveys the area during a patrol alongside Afghan National Army soldiers in the shadows of Patrol Base Lambadand in Trek Nawa, Afghanistan, Sept. 27. The Marines, with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, were the first Marines to enter the area in nearly a year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr.)
“We recently expanded our battle space and picked up that position (PB Lambadand),” said Capt. Glen Taylor, Weapons Co. commander. “So it was kind of an introduction to that battle space and to those ANA soldiers up there. We had to evaluate where they were in their proficiency level and see what the enemy was doing in that area.”
Each day, the Marines pushed out patrols with the ANA to get a better feel for their newly inherited area of responsibility and to learn the capabilities of their Afghan counterparts.
During the first patrol, Marines and ANA soldiers came under fire from an enemy that knows how to play its part all too well.
“They’ve been doing this for a while, and they know what works,” said Taylor of the insurgents. “They do a very good job of understanding the rules we need to operate under and exploiting those. They mainly disguise themselves as civilians. They operate out of our view, hiding their weapons and identities until they get into their firing positions.
“They look for advantages against us and try to hit us when we are not looking from multiple angles,” added Taylor.
Despite their tactics, the enemy was no match for Marines coupled with ANA soldiers.
Once the insurgents were fired upon, they fled.
Marines with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, and Afghan National Army soldiers depart friendly lines for a patrol in Trek Nawa, Afghanistan, Sept. 27. The Marines work with the soldiers who provide security for the region from Patrol Base Lambadand. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr.)
Weapons Co. will continue to frequent areas throughout its operational zone to include PB Lambadand.
The Marines of the company will also continue to aid the ANA as much as needed and equip the soldiers with the skill sets they need to prevail.
“We’d like to get those guys some new techniques up there, so they can keep the Taliban off their backs,” said Sgt. Tristan Kyzer, with Weapons Co. “I don’t think that the area is going to be completely pacified by the time we leave, but I think we can give them some new tactics to help out.”
Weapons Co.’s deployment to Afghanistan is coming to a close. Until then, they continue to aid the ANA by helping them improve their techniques and, ultimately, are helping the security and future of Afghanistan grow stronger.