Maj.Gen O'Dell Visits 1/14 Marines

Fourth Marine Division’s 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment and 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, were activated in December and arrived here Jan. 4.

Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael S. Cifuentes

Maj. Gen. Douglas V. O’Dell, 4th Marine Division commanding general, came to the Combat Center to observe and interact with them Jan. 12 and 13.To some, the visit put an edge on the day by giving the Marines and Sailors a chance to interact with their commanding general and gave a good interruption to the pattern of the training, which has been non-stop since they arrived here, said Lance Cpl. Brian K. Davidson, rifleman with Charlie Company, 1/25.“It’s a good thing that our general came out here to see us,” said the Freehold, N.J., native. “It’s the first time most of us saw him in person, and it’s nice to know that we all are in his thoughts.”This will be Davidson’s first deployment to OIF.

Based in Alameda, Calif., 1/14 will be tasked as Task Force Military Police, also operating in Al Anbar province. While aboard the Combat Center, the training will consist of range training exercises and participation in Mojave Viper, a month-long training evolution – concentrating on assault courses and military operations in urban terrain.

On the first day of his visit, O’Dell traveled to the training area to speak with Marines and Sailors who were exercising rushing drills at the time. He also met with 1/14’s Headquarters Battery formation on the following day. Marines and Sailors of the battery gathered in a “school circle” around O’Dell as he spoke to them about his expectations this year. He spoke of the responsibilities 1/14 will be tasked with in Iraq, and he asked the Marines and Sailors to keep unit cohesion and awareness during their deployment.“Spend every waking minute focused on training here,” said O’Dell. “There will be some realistic, aggressive training going on here that you probably have never seen in most of your Marine Corps careers. So stay aware of your training, share with all Marines of what’s on your mind and don’t lose focus.”

O’Dell offered a deal with the Marines and Sailors as well.“We cannot afford for Marines and Sailors to be looking over their shoulders at what’s going on at home during this training and deployment,” explained O’Dell. “So if you let your higher-ups know of any concerns or issues that need to be dealt with at home, we’ll take care of it, as long as you put 100 percent focus on training and operations.”“Furthermore, you will see occurrences out in Iraq that could break your heart one morning,” continued O’Dell “But in the afternoon, you will realize that you’ve been heroic throughout the day.”O’Dell’s presence and words brought perspective to the Marines and Sailors who have never deployed to Iraq.

He concluded his speech with two commands:“Prepare yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually,” he added. “Take care of each other and look out for the Marine who seems to be struggling in his mind or heart. We’re a band of brothers here, so we only have each other.”