Team Lioness is the name given to a group of female soliders, (and the documentary about them) who were some of the first women in modern American warfare to engage in frontline combat — something that is officially forbidden by the military. "The female support soliders were assigned to the 1st Engineer Battalion and they were recruited to accompany Marine units during raids. Originally, the female soldiers were there to search and detain any women they came upon and to guard the unit's Arabic interpreter. Over time, however, as the situation in Ramadi deteriorated, the Marine units transitioned into a more offensive role, baiting insurgents into firefights in order to draw them out. Until officers higher up the chain got spooked over the possibility of a female soldier killed in combat and quietly disbanded the unit, members of Team Lioness were often right in the thick of things, including some of the fiercest urban firefights of the Iraq War."
posted by nooneyouknow on Nov 14, 2008 - 22 comments

Photo-Essay on the Marlboro Marine and PTSD. An update on this story: 1, 2.
posted by salvia on Nov 12, 2007 - 35 comments

A Good Morning Coffee Read (or Tea or Grass Juice or Gammel Dansk ; ). The warden of Fallouja.
posted by MapGuy on Mar 6, 2007 - 27 comments

Marine funerals and the aftermath of Katrina. Moving sets of photographs that were worthy of this year's Pulitzer Prize for Feature and Break News photography, respectively. Powerful. Frightening. Painful.
posted by PhatLobley on Jan 20, 2007 - 19 comments

Added January 8, 2007: The US Navy has a message for you(Tube) concerning the Navy Seals: "They are warrior diplomats and trusted teammates in the war against terrorism. They understand the political and cultural sensitivities of the countries in which they operate." Added October 22, 2006: This former Marine commander has a message for you(Tube) as well, concerning "cultural sensitivities". Speaking of his part in the assault on Fallujah: "I started to cry... the woman seeing my reaction... put her hand on my cheek and said Insha'Allah... cause these people over there can accept it as God's will... but no, it wasn't God's will, it was my fucking order. I gave the order to fire those rockets into the building, and I killed her family. I have to live with that..."
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jan 9, 2007 - 29 comments

Hadji Girl (10.6 MB wmv) Some folks think this is funny. Some don't. What do you think?
posted by taosbat on Jun 13, 2006 - 160 comments

According to eyewitnesses and local officials interviewed over the past 10 weeks, the civilians who died in Haditha on Nov. 19 were killed not by a roadside bomb but by the Marines themselves, who went on a rampage in the village after the attack, killing 15 unarmed Iraqis in their homes, including seven women and three children.
posted by jonson on Mar 19, 2006 - 56 comments

Why I am getting out of the Marines As I sit here I am still shaking. I can't take much more of this shit. I am a Marine Pilot. Not that it means anything anymore. Today was another safety stand down put on by the mother fuckers in DOSS. Why? Cause another one of my friends is dead and gone. Why? Cause he flew his shit into the water that's why. Why'd he do that? Cause the mother fuckers that "be" i.e. the boys at the top have lost their fucking minds and can't say no.
posted by stenseng on Mar 13, 2006 - 54 comments

"Something was not right." Kevin Sites, the cameraman at the centre of the recent controversial shooting in Faluja, has posted an open letter on his blog to the marines with whom he was embedded.
posted by Hartster on Nov 23, 2004 - 86 comments

Help U.S. Marines Equip TV Stations in Iraq US Marines seek to equip seven (7) television stations serving local communities within Al Anbar Province, Iraq. The Province includes the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. These stations will offer information that is more accurate and balanced than existing alternatives. The goal is to improve understanding between Americans and Iraqis, build trust and reduce tensions.
posted by David Dark on Apr 14, 2004 - 56 comments

"The generals love napalm. It has a big psychological effect." Marines firebombed Iraqis during the initial campaign of the Iraq war.
posted by four panels on Aug 5, 2003 - 56 comments

Damaging collateral in Iraq: US Marines turn fire on civilians at the bridge of death. After surveying a scene of killed Iraqi civillians an American solider says: “The Iraqis are sick people and we are the chemotherapy,” said Corporal Ryan Dupre. “I am starting to hate this country. Wait till I get hold of a friggin’ Iraqi. No, I won’t get hold of one. I’ll just kill him.” [reg: cpunks/cpunks]
posted by skallas on Mar 31, 2003 - 78 comments