“I was happy to do the job the Marine Corps required. Morris said, ‘We’ve had a change, we’re going to Afghanistan in eight months,’” Chischilly recalled. “They were in battalion formation and Lt. But the day he checked in at the 3/5 he realized that wasn’t going to happen. He re-enlisted and had planned on getting a break from fighting. “My uncle served in the Marine Corps and everyone revered him.”Ĭhischilly first deployed to Iraq in 2006. “It’s a tradition for our people,” Chischilly said. He joined the Marine Corps in 2005 at age 18 to carry on the legacy of the Navajo World War II code talkers. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Marcus Chischilly, a Marine at 18Ĭhischilly grew up on a Navajo reservation and later in Phoenix. Chischilly lost his leg and suffered severe injuries while serving in Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in 2011. Brothers in arms for life.” Marcus Chischilly enjoys family time with his son Avary, 9, left, Liam, 2, and Khalleyah, 4, on Tuesday, October 30, 2018. My Marines accomplished the mission with their heads held high and kept their honor clean. We cleared out Sangin where the Afghan people could live in a semblance of peace. It sent a shockwave through the North Helmand Province, that the Marine Corps was there and took the fight to them and destroyed them. “People who know me respect that experience and the fact that we came out and got on top. “That experience is something I will be identified with for all my career,” he said. In the end, Morris said, it was his Marines’ fight and warrior mentality that led to their success. They wanted to retain control of Sangin because it was the epicenter of opium production and financing in Helmand Province, and its loss would negatively impact their ability to finance their war.” “The Taliban and the tribes aligned with them resisted fiercely. “Our mission to expand security, governance and economic development led us to challenge the Taliban’s control over every aspect of the population’s lives,” Morris said. But Morris and other top Marines said it would be a mistake. Defense Secretary Robert Gates considered pulling the battalion out. The Taliban had spent more than four years placing IEDs against the British and had a well-established regional network of resupply and replacements.Īt one point, U.S. Morris was battling a well-entrenched enemy that knew the people and terrain. The Taliban coveted Sangin and would pay a high price before it conceded ground in the Sangin River Valley.” “Bottom line is that in war, the enemy has a say in the outcome. “I had no idea what type of losses we would sustain,” said Morris, 49, whose nomination to become brigadier general-select was recently approved by the U.S. Deploying to Afghanistanīefore the unit deployed, Morris said, he knew he was headed into a heavily contested area and would face immense challenges. It was the costliest deployment of a Marine combat unit since Vietnam. Seven more Marines died a week later.īy the end of the deployment, 25 Marines had been killed and nearly 200 were injured. The battalion had just arrived in the area - fields filled with beige mud walls surrounding village compounds - when it suffered its first fatality: Lance Cpl. Col Jason Morris suffered the highest casualty rate of any Marine unit in Afghanistan. Jason Morris of the 3/5 1st Marine Division, in 2011, stands next to the newly dedicated memorial to the Marines and Sailors of the Division who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.(Photo by PAUL RODRIGUEZ, Orange County Register/SCNG)ĭuring the battlion’s seven-month deployment, the unit commanded by then Lt. The Marines replaced British troops, who in four years lost 100 men - mostly to buried IEDs. 27, 2010 in Sangin, a hotbed for Taliban fighters and drug traffickers. The 3/5 battalion, based at Camp Pendleton, arrived Sept.
0 kommentar(er)
