Dear Family & Friends
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It has been a little while since I wrote directly to the families. However, Lance Corporal Fencil has spent a great deal of long nights on 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines behalf to keep those stories coming. Since my last letter, we have conducted two major operations. Operation Sword began at the end of June and ended several days ago. We rooted out insurgents and foreign fighters in the city of Hit alongside the Iraqi Army. You might have seen some of the national news about this. Our forces will stay in Hit.
Due to the many missions of 3/25, you may have also received a phone call from one of our Marines telling you he has moved locations. Actually, I have my sea bags packed for a week. The situation remains fluid. 3/25 has a reputation for being very adaptable to new environments and challenges. We rely on the talent of our many Marines to find solutions to complex issues of force protection, combat re-supply, and the day to day requirements of an infantry battalion.
Our Marines who continue to engage the enemy have had a lot of encouragement lately. Iraqi soldiers have now become a vital part in the Al Anbar province. They arrived shortly before Operation Sword and participated in every aspect of the ground operation. We now fight along side them, and they fight for their new government.
We have several more months of the deployment and many of the families have begun to think of our return. The commanders and the experienced senior staff non-commissioned officers of 3/25 keep our Marines focused on the mission. We owe it to our young men to never let our professionalism and our combat readiness diminish.
3/25 continues to receive encouragement and letters from all over the world. Our thoughts always return to protecting our country and those other nations and peoples who want to live peacefully and free. As Marines, we do our duty with a "yes sir." However, we also express our opinions and thoughts, sometimes whether our loved ones want to hear it or not. Most of us here in Iraq have now come to realize that there are many places in the world that do not have that privilege.
Captain John A. Kasparian
3rd Battalion, 25th Marines
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