Iraqi police (IP): Ayad on; insurgent attack on; rivalry with army; in urban operations; weapons cache maintained by
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF): assumption of security responsibilities by; postwar change in. See also Iraqi army; Iraqi police
J
Jamaal (colonel)
Jawaad (major)
Jerry Maquire (film)
Jibab Peninsula operations
Joseph (interpreter)
jundi jail
junood. See Iraqi enlisted personnel
K
Karabilah IP station
Karabilah operations
Karmah incident
Kellogg Brown & Root
Kelly, John
Kevlar helmet
Key Volunteer Network
Kuwait International Airport
L
leadership style: author’s; Ayad’s
leave and monthly leave cycle of Iraqi army: disruptive nature of; as officers’ prerogative; self-wounding as bid for
Leek, Shaun
Little Mo (interpreter)
logistics. See supply and logistics issues
M
Majid (captain)
March Air Reserve Base, Riverside
Marine Corps advisor program
Marine Corps character
Marine Corps manning
marksmanship training: ammunition hoarding as factor in; for Iraqi army; for transition team
Marsh Arabs
Marshall, S.L.A.
Mason (interpreter); advice on military culture; background of; on face-saving pride; on gift-seeking behavior; on Iraqi perception of Outlanders
Military Transition Teams (MiTT): in Basra offensive; in early phase of war; going native; impact of; inadequate training of; kidnapping of; logistics support policy of; mission of; mission of, as “beautiful theory,” 170; operational readiness assessment performed by; partnership concept of; Phoenix Academy training and; seeing “gray,” in success of; selection process for; team leader role in. See also Outlanders transition team
mission planning process: for antismuggling operation; Iraqis’ lack of; lack of information sharing in; operations orders; products of; for reconnaissance mission
Modular Tactical Vest (MTV)
Mojave Viper Exercise
mosquito infestation
mouse infestation
mujaas cycle. See leave and monthly leave cycle of Iraqi army
Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I)
Multi-National Force-West (MNF-W)
Muthafer (major)
N
nanny cam
Naval Postgraduate School
Navy SEAL team
negligent discharge of weapons: casualty response to; as discipline problem; favoritism in failure to punish; of flares; Iraqi attitudes toward; weapons safety stand down in response to
night-vision goggles
Nomex flight suit
O
observation post operations
oil smuggling
operation planning. See mission planning process
Operation Steel Curtain
operational readiness assessment
operations orders
ordinance disposal
Orwell, George
Outlanders transition team: in battlespace coordination; character of; communications equipment of; decoupling of; desire for combat action; dogs and; feast planning by; formation of; in fuel allocation; Humvee crew position training for; impact of; in investigation of alleged insurgent attack; logistics support policy of; looting of compound of; manning of; in modeling of staff meetings; in offensive security plan; relationship building by; team turnover at COP South. See also Military Transition Teams
overwatch status
P
Parment, Chad
Parment, Georgia
PAS-13 thermal viewer
performance counseling: interpreters and; lack of Iraqi
personal hygiene
personal leave. See leave and monthly leave cycle of Iraqi army
personal protective equipment
personal security detachments (PSDs)
Pete (Special Forces team leader)
Phoenix Academy
phosphate plant
piss tubes
police. See Iraqi police
police transition team (PTT)
pressure strips on IEDs
probiotics
R
Rabah (major)
Rabor, Emiliano
radio-controlled IEDs
Ra’ed (colonel)
Ramanah IP station
Reagan, Ronald
reconnaissance mission
Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1)
regional security meetings: body armor removal at; ineffectual nature of; ISF rivalries revealed at; Outlanders as escorts to
Rehm, Jason
relationship building
riverine operations detachment
Riverside Marriott
rodent infestation
Rumsfeld, Donald
S
Saadik (warrant officer)
Sabah (lieutenant colonel)
Sa’id (lieutenant colonel)
Sammy (interpreter)
sand storms
sanitation problems
SATCOM system
Sattaar (sergeant major)
SEAL team
search-and-clear operations
Second Companyd Battalion. See Battle Position Vera Cruz
2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Iraq)
security infractions
security meetings. See regional security meetings
security plan
self-wounding incidents: as bid for leave; as response to abuse
Sharmain (nanny)
Shawn (interpreter)
shemagh (heap wrap)
Shiites
Shireen (housekeeper)
signal flare discharge
Simpson, Jeff
small-arms training. See marksmanship training
Smash TV
smuggling activities: interdiction operations; oil and
snake infestation
Soldier’s Load and the Mobility of a Nation, The (Marshall)
staff duty
staff meetings: Marine, as “best practices” model; Third Battalion’s
suicide bombings: at Battle Position Samsiyah; body armor as defense against
Sunnis
supply and logistics issues: ammunition allocation; fuel allocation; hoarding mentality and; Iraqis’ unwillingness to request command support; operational readiness impaired by; post-Coalition; transition team policy on
sustainment training
Syria
T
Taqaddum air base
Third Battalion (Iraq): area of operations; battle position support and; battlespace controlled by; command climate in; complaints against commanding officer of; coordination in; discipline problem in driving infractions of; gift-seeking behavior in; IED threat in AO of; intelligence section of; leave as disruptive to; looting of Outlanders’ compound by; mission planning in, lack of; operational readiness assessment of; polarization of staff of; security plan for; staff meetings; tribal relations and; urban operations and. See also Iraqi army; Iraqi enlisted personnel; Iraqi officers
toilet facilities
transition teams. See Military Transition Teams (MiTT)
translators. See interpreters
tribal animosities
tribal relations
28th Brigade (Iraq): army rivalry with police and; headquarters relocation; inspection of COP South by; Marine advisor team to; support of Third Battalion by
26th Brigade (Iraq)
Twentynine Palms
U
Uglat il Bushab operation
Um Tinah operation
urban operations
urban security zones (USZ)
U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy SEAL team
&
nbsp; utility man position in Humvee
V
vehicle checkpoints
vehicle commander position in Humvee
vermin infestation
W
Wadi al Battikah
WAG shack
Wardle, Travis
waste disposal
weapons cache site operations: Al Gab’aa plantation; coordination issues in conducting; Iraqis’ failure to share information on; Jibab Peninsula; logistics support issues in; police as target of; possible staging of ordinance in
weapons discharges, negligent. See negligent discharge of weapons
weapons-safety stand-down
weapons training. See marksmanship training
Wolf, Clarence
Z
Za’id (major)
About the Author
Lieutenant Colonel Seth W.B. Folsom, USMC, has a Bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in South Asian national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. He resides in Woodbridge, VA, with his wife Ashley and his daughters Emery and Kinsey.
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© 2010 by Seth W. B. Folsom
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Folsom, Seth W. B., 1972-
In the gray area : a Marine advisor team in Iraq / Seth W. B. Folsom.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN : 978-1-612-51011-8
2003—Personal narratives, American. 3. Military assistance, American—Iraq. 4. Iraq—
Armed Forces—Training of. 5. United States. Marine Corps—Officers—Biography. I. Title.
DS79.766.F65A3 2010
956.7044’34--dc22
2010020180
First printing
The opinions or assertions contained in this work are those of the author and should not be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of Defense.
All photos are from the author’s personal collection, except where otherwise indicated.
In the Gray Area Page 25
