First Female Marine Officer Killed In Iraq

Maj. Megan M. McClung, A Marine Corps Spokeswoman, Dies While Escorting Media

(AP)  A spokeswoman for the U.S. Marine Corps has died in Iraq, becoming the first female Marine officer to be killed in the conflict.

Maj. Megan M. McClung, of Coupeville, Wash., died Dec. 6 in Al Anbar province, the Department of Defense said in a news release.

McClung, 34, was a public affairs officer assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters at Camp Pendleton. McClung joined the Marine Corps in May 1995 after graduating from the Naval Academy. A call to her family home in Coupeville was unanswered.

The exact circumstances surrounding McClung's death were not immediately released, but Camp Pendleton spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr Cliff Carnes said she was escorting media when she was killed. The journalists she was with were not seriously injured, he said.

"She was a Marine's Marine," Carnes said. "She exemplified everything that it was to be a warrior, she was a great personality and a great friend."

Her boss in Iraq, Lt. Col. Bryan Salas, said McClung was an advocate of media coverage of military operations, and while in Iraq she managed the Marine media embed program.

Michael Fumento, a freelance reporter who has been to Iraq three times, met McClung in Baghdad last year. He described her as smart, kind, and extremely efficient.

Carnes said McClung, who was unmarried, was in the final month of a yearlong deployment to Iraq.

Three other female Marines have been killed in Iraq, according to the Defense Department's most recent numbers.

Lance Cpl. Juana Navarro Arellano died in April after being shot in Anbar province. Lance Cpl. Holly A. Charette and Cpl. Ramona Valdez died in June last year when a suicide bomber attacked their convoy.

In all U.S. military branches, 60 women have been killed in Iraq. Fifty-two of these women were in the Army.

Details of McClung's burial at Arlington National Cemetery were being finalized.

[feelfree1]

The ruthless slaughter of Iraqis by American forces must stop.

The Iraqi people have every right to defend themselves against the brutal and illegal U.S. invasion of their country, and against the Iraqi puppet officials who have collaborated with the invading forces.

Trying to blame Iraqis for this disaster only deepens our disgrace and our defeat.

a1b2c3d4e59,

Your reply was quite insightful - much appreciated.

I definitely agree with a few of the points you've outlined.

It's a shame that the Iraqi Gov isn't taking charge of the situation.

I can't help but feel that with the US presence in Iraq, they will be less inclined to actually take control of the situation and sit back and allow us to "fix" their problems.

Anyway, good luck with the last exam. :-)

[a1b2c3d4e59]

continued...

The only opposition we ran into were old, conservative Sunni Iraqi males who did not want us in their country because who wants a foreign country occupying thier country, but at the same time they understood why we were there so it was kind of a null point. If you notice a very small percent of the militray is against the war, unfortunantly it is that minute minority that the press displays as the military opinion as well. On top of that there are different arguments that people mix together such as, We should not have gone in vs we do not need to be there. My response to that is we went in with what we knew, hind sight is 20/20 and now that we are there, we have to stay or the past 3 years have been for nothing and those 3,000 Marines, soldiers and sailors died for nothing. Other arguments are mixed as well and if you seperate them we might find more unity amongst the populus(I might have explained that weird but if you understand what I am trying to say then thank you and I hope you agree). Well thats all I got for now, my exam was a piece of cake, and now I'm on spark notes preping for my last exam. take care.

[a1b2c3d4e59]

mcdazz,

I was over there from March - September 2005. It is possible that the mood has changed but doubtful and here is why. At the beginning of our deployment we would just go into cities, patrol, sometimes get shot at, sometimes more than others, sweep through the city, then leave. What we learned later was that the people were saying that, "Yea great, the Marines are here and they keep the muuj away. But when they leave, the muuj comes back. So near the end of our deployment we went in to one of the main insurgent staging points and actually set up firm bases inside the city instead of going in and falling back to the firmbase outsided the city. 24/7 patrols and that was a HUGE success with the people. The Battalion that came in after us (Sept-March 05-06) did the same thing in three other problem cities and another battalion further north in Al Qaim near the Syarian border. I met a few guys from those battalions on myspace and talked with them about how things were going and they generally said the same thing. All of this makes me blame the media for hyping up and distorting what the Iraqi people "think."

a1b2c3d4e59 wrote:

"I have been there, patrolled their streets and I've heard first hand their opinion of the occupation, and it is nothing near what you are saying."

Firstly, thanks for the service to your country.

How long ago were you in country? Do you think the mood has changed, especially considering that Americans are no longer the liberators, but seen by many as occupiers who, due to the actions of *some*, have also committed attrocities against the Iraqi people?

Hope the exam went well.

[a1b2c3d4e59]

Agnim,

I would like to see your references for the ruthless slaughter of Iraqis by American forces. Remember, some liberal hippie ******'s online blogs are not a legitimate source. Also, Iraqi's do want us there to fix their country and protect them from the insurgents. I have been there, patrolled their streets and I've heard first hand their opinion of the occupation, and it is nothing near what you are saying. They are very optomistic. Your arguments are childish, arrogant, and poorly worded (saying LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL after each of your rebuttles is gay and does not make your rebuttle anymore effective, it exploits your ignorance). Please stop talking.

[agnim]

"I had a problem with Agnim's use of the word "fearless" and the phrase "stand up to" I know what they are up to. The French did the same thing, but without us they would be all speaking another language.

Posted by thgdriver at 10:22 PM : Dec 13, 2006"

No!

The French didn't do the same thing!

The French didn't make themselves part of a bomb to blow up their attackers. The Iraqis are doing just that. They have no fear of death; they are fearless.
Matter of fact those muslim maniacs welcome death as their friend. LOL

[agnim]

"My opinion is also influenced by the Iraqi men and women that jump out of their homes and say "Bush Good!" and "Thank Allah for America[Marines]."

Posted by a1b2c3d4e59 at 08:47 PM : Dec 13, 2006"

LMAO

Those unfortunate and desperate "Iraqi men and women" didn't know bush then. LOL

Now that the reality of just how evil the US invasion has been, the Iraqis are now saying DIFFERENT: The Iraqi men and women WANT THE US OUT OF IRAQ!

Things are worse in Iraq today than when Madman Husein was in power.

At least the Iraqis knew then that if they did not provoke Saddam by trying to kill him, then he would not feel the need to turn on them.

Now the US is killing and killing and killing a lot more Iraqis than Saddam ever dreamed of killing.
And we have been killing Iraqis by the hundreds of thousands WITHOUT PROVOCATION!

[agnim]

"If they are, as you say, "fearless", why don't they put on a uniform and have a showdown with us?

Posted by thgdriver at 09:11 PM : Dec 13, 2006"

I said those Iraqi nationalists were 'fearless'!
I didn't say they were stupid! LOL

The people are already out gunned by the overwhelming advantage of the US military, why should they surrender to the greater advantage of the US military? How stupid would that be?

Is the warmonger administration going to attack Korea now that Koreans are able to make us swallow a nuke or two? The administration is stupid but not that stupid; same thing the maniac muslim jihadists are not so stupid. LOL

[pensacola8-2009]

Every Marine knows, "When your number is up, it's your time". Our heads wont stop bowing to all who are serving and falling in the line of duty. Defending the American Way of life often is paid with life, itself.

[feelfree1]

And now a message to our troops:

"Do not fight for a dying regime. It is not worth your life." GWB, March, 2003

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxKpeKQA6B4

a1b2c3d4e59:

Peace dude - and good luck with the exams. :-)

[a1b2c3d4e59]

Thank you everyone for your more educated comments than those before on previous pages. I am drunk, and I do have a final exam tomorrow at 11am. God be with me and with yall, PEAZ!!!

thgdriver:

Absolutely - Iraq's Gov needs to take responsibility and step up to the plate.

However, I'm afraid they won't do this without a timetable for withdrawal.

This is where GW Bush needs to take responsibility and step up to the plate.

They need their a*ses kicked into action.

Regardless, once coalition forces are withdrawn - Iraq will again turn to self destruction - the ethnic/religious rivalries will see to that.

And that's a shame.

a1b2c3d4e59:

lol at you being buzzed/drunk. :-)

I think there have been some improvements - but also remember, that out of all the Arab states, Iraq was one of the most westernized and that was because Saddam envied the Western way of life.

Iraq's schooling etc was above many other Arab states - but he certainly favoured schools in Sunni districts more at the expense of other schools.

Regarding oil output and electricity/water - they were largely problems created by the invasion of Iraq - in particular, the bombing of infrastructure by Coalition forces as well as the destruction of oil pipelines etc by insurgents etc - as well as sanctions.

I strongly disagree with your statement "Iraq is not working because we slander and pressure our government."

Iraq wasn't working when Bush had the support of the media, the people and the Democrats. The media, the people and the Democrats turned against him *because* his policies weren't working.

When Bush makes a mistake, there should be criticism - there should also be those who offer an alternative.

Bush, however, has refused to accept any alternative, but his own (ie status quo).

[thgdriver]

mcdazz

I'll agree there seemed to be no plan in place for the occupation, right now, being there is causing more problems then curing them. They have got to start taking care of themselves and soon.

Gotta go. good night!

God bless America and our men and women in uniform.

thgdriver:

I don't necessarily believe that the "threat" of another power was behind the success of those "peace time" occupations - although, I don't necessarily discount them either.

I firmly believe that it was the lack of planning from the Bush administration that created the situation that we see today.

The fact is that Japan and Germany didn't have the various religious factions to contend with - something that had been pointed out to Bush many, many times.

I'm definitely no expert on the subject, but my readings before the war also led me to conclude that there would be serious problems after any war.

Bush should have seen this coming and he should have been willing to adjust appropriately.

This is where he has failed.

[thgdriver]

mcdazz

I had a problem with Agnim's use of the word "fearless" and the phrase "stand up to" I know what they are up to. The French did the same thing, but without us they would be all speaking another language.

By the way, even with our guerilla tactics during the Rev. War we would have lost without the help of the French.

[a1b2c3d4e59]

P.S. The key to pulling out of Iraq is to get the Iraqi army and police off their *** and out of their former mentality(Their mentality is a HUGE set back that will only be changed in time). Only then will we be able to pull out of Iraq, and not make this fight in vain for the soldiers, sailors(Docs), and Marines who died. Then we will be able to claim mission accomplished and mean it this time.

[a1b2c3d4e59]

mcdazz,

I would beg to differ about the improvement of life in Iraq. I forget the exact numbers but generally, Iraqis have more educational opprotunity, I want to say some 300,000 more Iraqi youths are in school, and I forget how many more have water and power since the fall of Saddam, not to mention the amount of oil output and effiency thanks to private contractors(American, UK, etc.), which is one of the main economical factors saving Iraq right now. Iraq is like a big rubics cube, unfortuantly there is no easy solution, and what looks good on paper does not play out to be as such. It does not help that when Bush makes a mistake, that there is so much critisism from the media. Previously, I argued that the media is winning the war for terrorism, and it is. It is slandering our own administratsion despite their best efforts (which is not good enough for most people). Iraq is not working because we slander and pressure our government. Hind sight is 20/20. I am not saying we should not question authority, but at the same time we should not rub it in their face and say, "HA HA you were wrong," because this is a very difficult sitution where every response and policy seems to have a negative output, exploited by liberal media. Please forgive any mispellings or grammatical errors, I am buzzed/drunk.