Bataan (LHD 5) - Naval Cruise Book

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26th MEU XO LtCol Gary Oles Hometown: GaryBettendorf, Iowa College: Iowa State Favorite Pastime: Kayaking Favorite Movie: Jeremiah Johnson Favorite Quote: No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full. Sulla Those who expect to reap the lessons of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. Thomas Paine Person Most Admired: Teddy Roosevelt Favorite Sport: Baseball, St Louis Cardinals Favorite Music: Rage Against the Machine, Led Zeppelin and old blues music like Muddy Waters. Favorite Actor: ril watch anything with John Wayne, Robert DeNiro or Clint Eastwood. Family: Wife, Deb. Children: Ashley, Zachary, Elizabeth Philosophy on Life: I have a picture of an Iowa classroom with a sign over the chalkboard, To do and to bear is the duty of life. In other words, good and bad happens to everybody. Hardship doesn ' t make you special, we all face it. How you handle it is what makes you special. So, handle it. Wc were gi en a great honor because we were given the first crack at righting a great wrong. We showed up with the right gear, the right guys and the right attitude. Coupled with the actions of others, we made the Taliban and Al Queda sorry t hey ' d ever i the name Osama Bin Laden. And although we tried to be professional and not talk about revenge, payback w hate er, the bastards rated everything that they got! We shouldn ' t mal much of it, of course. We are a professional ream and we performed is a professional team is expected to perform. We did c.vi what the Navy, Marine Corps Team is built to do project pow er ashore into a hostile land in order to defend our country and our i s what 1 signed up for and I ' m glad I got another

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26th MEU Commanding Officer COL Andrew P. Frick Hometown: Hamburg, New Jersey College: Wagner College Favorite Pastime: Outdoor activities Favorite Movie: Adventure movies Person Most Admired: Teddy Roosevelt Favorite Sport: Running Favorite Music: Jazz Favorite Actor: Clint Eastwood Family: Wife, Jeanette and Son, Patrick. Philosophy on Life: Life is too short to be a spectator sport, go out and influence it. hat was touted as a routine deployment — was anything Dut routine. The events of September 11 changed our thought process, but never our locus. From the initial media interest of our departure on September 19 th to the cold windswept plateaus of Afghanistan, the Marines and Sailors of the 26th M EU (SOC) and PHIBRON 8 never wavered The months of training were complete and the look of determination was evident in the faces of the young Marines and Sailors, a forbearance of things to come. Your unprecedented cooperation, team attitude and Espirit de Corps displayed what we all felt — We may be going, we must be prepared . The well trained crews of the BATAAN coupled with the Marines of 26 MEU (SOC), provided a potent force striking the enemy where he lived, striking deep into his homeland exposing his vulnerability. Your unswerving commitment, tenacity and ingenuity enabled you to strike at the heart of those who threaten our way of life. Those who brought terror to our homeland, our countrymen and our loved ones. The superb training and operational readiness of the ARG N IE V team were keyin the deepest amphibious operation in history. Younvillingsacrifices, devotion to duty and comminucntwerc c racial to our success. I am proud to know and serve wi t h each Marine and Sailor of the BATAAN ARG 26 1 MEU(SOC) team. You are Americas finest! Semper Fi.

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26th MEU SGTMAJ SGTMAJ William McKnight Jr. Hometown: Sumter, South Carolina Favorite Pastime: Jogging and reading Favorite Movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still Favorite Quote: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. JFK Person Most Admired: Chris, Devin and Denzel Favorite Sport: Football Favorite Music: Old school jams Favorite Actor: Bill Cosby Family: Single Philosophy on Life: Do all you can and feel damn good about living life to the fullest. It starred Sept. 11, with the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. Man) ' Marines and Sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were either returning from leave or still enjoying their rime oil with iamily and loved ones. With only a skeleton crew back in the rear, the Marines were busily making final preparations for the six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, then only days away. When we heard the horrific news of what was happening, we felt many of the same emotions as everyone else in America: shock, disbelief, concern and rage. We also felt anticipation, because we knew we might get the chance to do something about it. When we sailed away from the c orth Caroli na on Sept 20, we had one mission in mind help the fight against terrorism worldwide. During the initial weeks of the deployment, things went pretty much as scheduled, with routine training and an exercise in the literranean. Then, on Nov. 11, our prospects improved significantly as we were ordered to proceed through the Suez Canal to the North Arabian Sea ro conduct combat operations in Afghanistan. You could see the changes rywhere. Everybody had a renewed bounce in their step, they moved with a sense of purpose, and their locus sharpened because they knew that this meant they would have a lot to do in a very short period of time. By the time we arrived ol I the coast ot Pakistan we were ' chomping at the bit ' and ready to go. Planning eonrinued, however, and we heard several different rumors a day about where we might go and what we would do when we got there. Finally, in early December, we got the word that we would be going in tomorrow. Ultimately, 26th MEU (SOC) found itself conducting combat operations in Afghanistan for nearly months. We based forces in Pasni. Shamsi and Jacobabab, kistan, and at Camp Rhino, Kandahar ' and Kabul, Afghanist Ourcombat operal : title space 700 ! in to conducting an amphibious operation from the Texas coast near Houston, with forces in San .Antonio, TX, Baton Rouge, U . Oklahoma City. OK, Topeka, KS and Kansas City, MO. We reopened an embass) , seized and secured an airport, dropped bombs, conducted raids, cleared caves and housing complexes. We set flying rd.s every day and sustained ourselves over the amphibious assault in our history. But more than anything. n a great honor, to be the first ones with a chance to put things right, to root out the evil that perpetrated on September II th.