Marine General reacts to the fall of Ramadi. Is your heart with his?

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Thu, 21 May 2015 06:17:35 -0400

A Marine four-star general who commanded troops during the Iraq War said seeing Ramadi fall to Islamic State militants left him heartbroken and mindful of how hard U.S. service members worked to bring stability to the region.

"It breaks my heart," Kelly said. "I've got over two years of my life in Ramadi and Anbar province. As a senior commander once and as a second senior commander once, I got hundreds of young Americans either killed or wounded under my command."

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/05/20/marine-general-john-kelly-ramadis-fall-heartbreaking-iraq/27642143/

Marine 4-star: Ramadi's fall to ISIS 'breaks my heart'

The four-star Marine commander of U.S. Southern Command said Tuesday that the fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to Islamic State militants left him

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made May 21 at 2015 6:31 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Thu, 21 May 2015 06:31:33 -0400

Yes I can definitely sympathize. We paid for that real estate with US sweat and blood. To see it fall back into the hands of the bad guys because the Iraqi government and military are so inept is as disgraceful as it is painful.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made May 21 at 2015 6:34 AM

Cpl Jeff N. — Thu, 21 May 2015 06:34:44 -0400

Honest and direct comments from a 4 star not aligning with the White House and other senior miltary leaders. I hope he already has his paperwork for retirement submitted. He will not be around long.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 21 at 2015 6:37 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 21 May 2015 06:37:44 -0400

Absolutely.

It's like seeing something great you helped build being torn apart.

Politics aside, we're a force of good in the world, and having someone come in after and undo that is heartbreaking. I can't even imagine it with the burden of command.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made May 21 at 2015 11:49 AM

Capt Richard I P. — Thu, 21 May 2015 11:49:31 -0400

I agree, it is always heartbreaking to see the mission for which we lost brothers and sisters ultimately fail.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2015 12:23 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 May 2015 12:23:40 -0400

Liberals are the cause of this and the comments made about preparing his retirement papers is part of the problem. If you are strong, you get shot down. Your friends died in combat for a mindset inside Washington. In two years if I were president. All Secretaries of the Services to be fired and their pensions gone.

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made May 21 at 2015 1:02 PM

Cpl Dennis F. — Thu, 21 May 2015 13:02:43 -0400

Now you all know how watching that last helo lift off of the Saigon US embassy roof felt.

Response by MAJ Keira Brennan made May 21 at 2015 3:17 PM

MAJ Keira Brennan — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:17:46 -0400

YES....

Response by Sgt Jay Jones made May 21 at 2015 6:58 PM

Sgt Jay Jones — Thu, 21 May 2015 18:58:52 -0400

ls this DejaVue! I remember when we pulled our troops (me included) out of South Vietnam. We turned the countries defense over to the South Vietnamese Army. How sad it was when the North Vietnamese Army rolled into Saigon, which is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.

I don't think there is a Vietnam Veteran anyplace who does not understand how General Kelly feels. The only good thing about this catastrophe is that there are less than 5,000 names on the KIA, instead of 58,000 names on Wall who are KIA's.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2015 7:13 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 May 2015 19:13:15 -0400

It is heartbreaking for so many reasons. 1) We sacrificed our country's most precious resource fighting over that city....as well as Mosul. 2) Even if we had never been there. A terrorist army just took control of a major city in which they will kill and harm thousands of innocent human beings. 3) We have stated we are fighting them. Now I haven't been to SAMS, my MOS isn't planning, I've never worked at the Pentagon---but when you lose the capital of a province 70 miles from a country's capital along a key LOC in one of the country's most populated river valleys...I think it's a bad thing.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 23 at 2015 2:20 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 May 2015 14:20:22 -0400

I was wounded first in Fallujah and then again in Mosul. Both those towns are owned by ISIS these days. Yes, it pisses me off...

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2015 10:47 AM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 10:47:29 -0400

I agree with his feeling we have lost so many brothers and sisters in arms that if the middle east goes back to the way it was we should all feel heart broken and sad. For all that life was lost for nothing.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 16 at 2015 1:54 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:54:37 -0400

By our metrics we won the war when we left.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2016 4:47 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 16:47:14 -0500

I can relate to the General as well as the thousands of family survivors of those we lost in taking Ramadi. There were a few similar instances in 1965-1973 in Viet Nam. I'm reminded of Hue Phu Bai, Khe Sahn, LZ Xray, Ashau Valley, Pleiku, Kontum where thousands spilled their blood and died defending THEMSELVES against an enemy that was HIGHLY motivated and seldom RAN. The similarities between the ARVN and the Iraqi soldiers. I've seen ARVN soldiers walking down the streets of Bong Son with an M-16 over his shoulder and not a magazine in sight. Most had a red bandana tied to the barrel for whatever purpose. The NVA and the VC were pumped. So were our men, but guess what, politicians entered the fray and if the " rules of engagement" didn't change then, we were fortunate. The gigantic puzzle........we spend trillions on defense and training but then tie the hands of those we train to " kill the enemy". From 1965( Dominican Republic) thru 2015( Iraq and Afghanistan) Free Fire Zones seem to be determined by politicians. Hang in there Men.