AR RAMADI, Iraq -- Marines with Team 1, Detachment 3, 5th Civil Affairs Group, supporting 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, took to the city here and conducted a battle damage assessment of two businesses.
The Marines with 5th CAG inspected automotive shops that elements of the battalion damaged during a cordon and search operation the previous day.
The establishments each sustained minor structural damage, along with a few broken windows, doors and locks. The damages were the result of “necessary forced entries,” officials with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, said.
Marines with Company C provided a convoy escort and site security for 5th CAG as they conducted their assessments.
“An important part of civil affairs is the assessment of battle damage to civilian property and the facilitation of immediate reparation payments,” explained Maj. Benjamin B. Busch, team leader for Team 1, Det. 3, 5th CAG. “We want deserving Iraqi citizens to be fairly compensated for damages caused by the necessities of ongoing combat and security operations in the (infantry battalion’s) battle space.”
But Busch would have to hold onto the reimbursement checks a while longer. The auto shops were abandoned, and the entire street they’re on was empty.
“Part of CAG’s mission today was to compensate the owners for the damages and apologize,” explained Sgt. Hector Martinez Jr., the team’s noncommissioned officer. “But we couldn’t because no one is here.”
Busch sited recent insurgent activity in the city for the place’s lack of activity. The Iraqi people have been too afraid to return to work, said the 36-year-old from College Park, Md.
The civil affairs Marines examined the damage and took photographs while being safeguarded by Company C’s quick reaction force.
“I was looking forward to today’s mission,” said Martinez, a 28-year-old from Fontana, Calif. “I wanted to make amends for the damages required for the search. There is potential to show the Iraqi people that they are not our enemy.”
Company C’s executive officer, 1st Lt. Latham E. Fell, accompanied the Marines on the mission.
“Minimal force is always the goal for entries,” he said. “When the owners are not present, we don’t have the option to avoid a break in.”
The auto shops were searched because intelligence analysts with the infantry battalion believed insurgents might be using them to conduct operations against coalition forces. Insurgents were suspected of building vehicle-born improvised explosive devices under the cover of the legitimate businesses, Marine officials said.
According to Martinez though, no evidence linking the shops to insurgents was found. The owners were inconvenienced with the searches and left with their businesses damaged, he said.
Martinez provided them with “on the spot” claim forms to fill out so they could be paid back, he said.
“We’re showing the people that the Marine Corps will step up and take responsibility for the damages we cause,” said Martinez. “Unlike the insurgents who destroy things with no regard, we rectify the situations where we’re at fault.”
The civil affairs Marines collected photographs and took them to the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Ramadi so that claims presented by the owners can be paid efficiently based on accurate estimates, Busch explained.
The civil affairs Marines also assessed several other areas on their way back to Company C’s base, Camp Snake Pit.
“We want to leave no evidence of intentional or collateral damage here,” he said. “It is always better to be credited with decency than to be resented for being careless. Today’s mission reinforced mutual respect between Marines and Iraqi citizens.”