RCT-5 Takes The Reins In Western Anbar
MNF-I:
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq – Regimental Combat Team 5 relieved Regimental Combat Team 2 in a ceremony at Camp Ripper Jan. 22.
“As we pass the torch from RCT-2 to RCT-5, it’s an honor to welcome Col. Pat Malay and RCT-5 back to Al Anbar,” said Brig. Gen. Mark Gurganus, the Multi-National Force - West ground combat element commander. “Many challenges remain, but the people of Al Anbar, you have my word that the men and women of RCT-5 will continue to stand with you in the days ahead.”
Colonel Malay, the commanding officer of RCT-5, and his regimental sergeant major uncased the RCT-5 colors after the RCT-2 commander, Col. H. Stacy Clardy, and his sergeant major cased the RCT-2 colors to symbolize the transfer of command.
“2007 has been a good year, and a good year for every body,” said Clardy. “RCT-2 feels like they are just a small part of it.”
“Today, one only need walk through the streets of Husaybah, Karabilah, Rawah, Anah, Hadithah, Hit, Barwanah, Baghdadi to see what a difference a year can make,” Gurganus said. “And citizens now gather on street corners and in cafes that were once battlegrounds.”
Maj. Gen. W.E. Gaskin, the commanding general of MNF-W, attended the turnover, as did prominent sheiks and mayors from the region.
“RCT-2 spent tremendous effort keeping this area safe, and I hope RCT-5 fills RCT-2’s shoes,” said the mayor of Hit, Hikmat Jabair al Ga’oud, through an interpreter following the ceremony.
“Together, we sacrificed,” Clardy said. “Together, we succeeded.”
Regimental Combat Team 5, which hails from Camp Pendleton in Southern California and is the most decorated regiment in the Marine Corps, will oversee operations in the western Euphrates River Valley and large swaths of land in southwestern Anbar.
Last deployed for a year-long tour in the greater Fallujah area in 2006, RCT-5 is no stranger to Anbar and returns with combat-tested leadership. Malay commanded 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment during Operation Al Fajr (The Battle of Fallujah) in late 2004, and Lt. Col. Bob McCarthy, the executive officer and second in command of the regiment, orchestrated the birth and development of a formidable Iraqi Police force out of nothing in the former British outpost of Habbaniyah.
“We’ve seen enough violence here,” Malay said. “Now is the time to build; now is the time for rule of law; now is the time to put those pieces in place which will ensure peace and prosperity for Iraq.”
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Must be quite something for RCT-5 soldiers to see the rapid blossoming of their and 2’s effort. May it continue and accelerate!
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:22 pmMy boyfriend is in RCT-5 over in Al Asad!
OOHRAH!!
i pray that they all stay safe & come home soon!!
May 24th, 2008 at 7:15 pm