'America's Battalion' digs deep

by Lance Cpl. Erik Villagran

Marines from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment are filling sand bags before they fill their stomachs.

Cpl. Andrew B. Radford, a 22-year-old administration clerk from Louisville, Ga., assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, prepares to tie a sand bag up before evening chow. Marine from the battalion have to fill one sand bag before every meal. (photo by Lance Cpl. Erik Villagran)

Marines from the battalion are filling at least one sand bag every meal before they enter the chow hall. It's an effort to keep the battalion's Marines outside the wire stocked with the protective barriers they need.

"We fill sand bags before every meal to support companies in the field," said Cpl. Tomas Garcia, a 22-year-old administration clerk from Brooklyn, N.Y. "The Marines at the FOBs (forward observation bases) don't have to do it themselves."

Marines approaching the chow hall are greeted with a mound of dirt. Depending on the day, it can be five-feet high or one-foot deep. Behind the mound a sign reads "2/8 Sand Pit, Git-R-Done." Marines use different techniques to "Git-R-Done." Some Marines tag-team the task while others fill their sand bag by themselves.

"I usually fill my sand bag on my own because it's a lot quicker," said Cpl. Andrew B. Radford, a 22-year-old administration clerk from Louisville, Ga. "Other people hold a sand bag while another Marine fills it up."

At every meal, there is always at least one Marine with either a shovel or a green sand bag, earning his food. They do it without complaint because it helps their fellow Marines in the field.

At one point Marines were filling three bags before they could eat. They took the change in stride knowing that their efforts were helping in the construction of a new, secure FOB.

"We were already filling one, so adjusting to three wasn't hard," Garcia said. "No one got mad because it was to keep Marines at Golf Company safe."

Read more

judythpiazza@gmail.com

   _   _