Reuters – The U.S. Marine Corps can sustain indefinitely its current troop level in Iraq, the No. 2 Marine general said on Thursday, despite concerns about the 3-year-old war breaking the all-volunteer military.
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Marine Corps Gazette – Creative thinking results in a better way to provide power and water to Marines in the field.

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Marine Corps Gazette – It is imperative that Marine forces understand, and are trained to understand, the difference between rules of engagement and rules for the use of force.
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Virginian Pilot – With troops patrolling and fighting in hard-won, door-to-door battles against insurgents, the Marine Corps is going to great lengths to replicate the stresses and strains of the Iraqi war.
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Copley News Service – The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force will assume responsibility for Iraq’s volatile Anbar province Tuesday, starting the Camp Pendleton-based command’s third combat tour in the conflict that already has killed 657 Marines and sailors, and injured 5,255.
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Associated Press – The Marine Corps formally entered the world of military special operations Friday by establishing a separate command devoted to small-unit tactics and stealthy reconnaissance.
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Wall Street Journal – An interesting look at the Marine Corps’ official combat artist, Warrant Officer 1 Michael Fay, while he was in Iraq.

Here is his weblog, Fire and Ice that documents his recent tour of duty in Iraq. A soldier-artist’s sketchbook and view of the war that is fascinating to read and view???

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Space Review – The Marines are showing interest in reusable launch vehicles to move troops around the planet.
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Virginian Pilot – This the latest in a series of stories written for asap by Marine Capt. Rory Quinn, who is stationed in Iraq.
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Marine Corps Gazette – Reverse engineer the bond-relationship target and be successful against the insurgency.

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Associated Press – This the latest in a series of stories written by a Marine captain in Iraq. It is aimed at offering one voice from someone on the ground in Iraq.
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Associated Press – AP Correspondent Antonio Castaneda is embedded with U.S. Marines in Ramadi, one of the most violent cities in Iraq. This is the first of his periodic blog on his experiences there.
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San Diego Union Tribune – Marines revamp training after learning what works, what doesn’t in Iraq.
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Marine Corps Gazette – As the Marine Corps progresses through the 21st century, it is time to make some institutional changes regarding the education of all Marines. While we all can be proud of the speed and skill demonstrated during major combat operations both in Afghanistan and Iraq, as we have seen, when fighting fourth-generation wars, the defeat of an enemyís military forces alone no longer guarantees victory. Indeed, it may only create the opportunity for victory, which can be squandered if follow-on planning and forces are not able to take rapid advantage of initial success. The chief educational deficiency that needs to be addressed Corps-wide is the appalling lack of either opportunity for, or meaningful incentive to, study foreign languages and cultures.

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New York Times – A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.
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Ohio News Network – Reports surfacing about the death of 20 Brook Park Marine reservists indicate that the Marines may have been betrayed.
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WKYT – An eastern Kentucky soldier became known as the Marlboro Man after his picture was featured in newspapers and on TV stations across the country???he has since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.
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Marine Corps Gazette – The Marines contributation to Operation Anaconda.

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Leatherneck – Noncommissioned officers are up-front leaders, so who better to provide lessons for improving combat capabilities and tactics.

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Associated Press – A look at how post traumatic stress disorder has made one ex-Marine extremely controversial.
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New York Times – With the Marines in Anbar Province, attempting to implement the inkblot strategy???
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Christian Science Monitor – An interesting look at how the Marines feel about the media’s coverage of the war in Iraq.
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New York Times – On a Marine sweep through Husayba and neighboring Euphrates River towns near the Syrian border.
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Marine Corps Gazette – 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) embedded explosive ordnance disposal in every aspect of their Marine air-ground task force operations.

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Washington Post – US Marines broadened their offensive in western Iraq on Monday, launching a major attack on insurgent positions in the town of Ubaydi near the Syrian border and killing about 50 insurgents in precision airstrikes and house-to-house street fighting
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