European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pages stars and stripes sunday april 29 2007 Ira bound marines get taste of Morocco by Charlie Coon stars and stripes Cap Draa training area Morocco gunnery sol Daniel Espinoza asked fee question when i first got Here i thought that this could be califor Nia and we could do this training at Twenty nine Palms so Why come Here Espinoza said it costs a lot of Money then he answered his own question Espinoza the Camp commandant at the us portion of Cap Draa training area said the training area is More realistic Many of the marines of 4th Logis tics support battalion soon will be deploying to Iraq and that aint California if you take out the danger then a lot of the Countryside and a lot of the things we Are dealing with Are like Iraq Espinoza said Tor a lot of them this is Good pre training for deployment the logistics area for african lion 07 a training exercise for the us and moroccan Milit Aries was surrounded by a dirt Benn that had been bulldozed up so the 10acre area blended in with the desert and  be seen from the distance yes it could be Iraq there was dirt and Rock As far As the Eye could see huge amounts of cargo had been transported from Point a to Point b unexpected prob lems cropped up that needed to be solved and outside the Camp there were men wearing Ashikis and women in burqas the logistics unit had set up a Security Gate dental clinic Heli copter pad and armory there were Heads and showers and even a Small gym for working out in a Gap Between cargo contain ers and protected from the wind and blowing dirt Lance Cpl Matt Charlie and stripes Lance Cpl Matt Goldberg right of 2nd battalion 23rd Marine regiment and sgt Jesus Yepez Center serve grub to Lance Cpl Daniel Wai Raven left in the logistic support area at Cap Draa training area in Morocco during african lion 07 a joint training exercise Between the us and moroccan Milit Aries Goldberg scooped hot coun try Captain Chicken Rice and mixed vegetables onto food trays its warm Chow Goldberg said ifs better than meals ready to everyone looks for Ward to Chow inside a tent a Short distance away a medical area called the Forward resuscitation surgical system had been erected there was enough Here to save life and limb and to package up the wounded for transport As Well As treat lesser injuries fortunately through saturday thing Shadeen quiet in the medi Cal area which allowed the us and moroccan medics to Check out each others gear Navy it Johnny Sacco a registered nurse and Anes thesis with 4th medical battalion was impressed by an inflatable Raff like de vice the moroccans use to stabilize patients with potential spine injuries they pumped it up and sucked the air out to make it for fitting which sealed the patient in a stable position Sacco said to never seen one ifs pretty cod we use rigid spine boards he also noticed that the moroc cans had both a doctor and nurse on Board their ambulances which come outfitted with a sink with running water in Case they need to Wash up this was the first time that Lance Cpl Jared Miller had left the United states he will be among those deploying to Iraq and was glad to have this training ifs helped me personally understand How the Marine corps works said Miller a 23yearold reservist from Wilmington no it helps me to understand the whole process As a group i Hope it helped us work As a team helped with Cama Rad Erie and Allaround Friend ship ifs put my whole mind at ease about going overseas and deploying Emair Charlie Coon at cuban sailed across the sea and into the us Navy by Charlie Coon stars and stripes Cap Draa training area moroc co under cover of darkness Alfredo Guerra and two other men carried a 6foot rubber raft Down a Rocky ledge and dropped it into the Caribbean sea they loaded it with canned meat crack ers and 27 liners of water once in the water they raised a Mast caught a Breeze with then sail and bobbed out to sea using a paddle to steer searchlights swept Over the Craft As it silently sailed into the cuban night Destina Tion Florida about 90 Miles away it was a trip that would also Lead to a career in the us Navy though Guerra did not know it at the time it was feb 71994 the men Guerra who was 20 at the time his brother inlaw Roberto Diaz and some Guy named Michael figured they had enough food and water for two weeks my brother inlaw and i were involved in human rights organizations Guerra said i found out the governor was going to give me 20 years in prison by that time i had already been in jail five times Guerra then of Bej usal Cuba now of Miami had been caught circulating news paper clippings critical of the government among other subversive activities i didst believe i was doing wrong he said i believed i had the right to express my feelings facing the Long Pris on sentence Guerra decided to flee his Homeland he paid 20000 cuban pesos about at the time for an inflatable Russia made raft and built a sail and Mast which he would fasten to the Guerra rafts keel he hid parts of me raft around his neighbourhood for fear that his House might be searched As they sailed toward the dark horizon that night Guerra and his mates counted 10 times that the searchlights swept Over them using the element of Surprise they had purposely embarked from a Rocky Loca Tion near one of the cuban guard posts they didst expect anybody would leave from that place Guerra said he was scared Guerra didst know any thing about sailing except for what hed read in books he could swim of but would sink when he tried to tread water on the second Day the men sailed Over Waves 10and 15feet High we took to Tio sickness pills before we left Guerra recalled none of us puked the three made Good time on the third Day at about 10 am a us coast guard ship spotted the Small Craft and motored out to meet it they were Only about 1 mile from the Florida keys the men had Trench feet from being soaked by the Salty water but that was the least of their worries All of us were crying Guerra said i was nervous shaking one of the coast guardsmen picked me up from the raft he spoke in rough Spanish i could under stand what he was saying he told me to Calm Down he said were going to help you Welcome to the United states youre a free Man now those Are words ill never forget Petty officer 3rd class Alfredo Guerra joined the Navy one year after the sept 11 2001 attacks he would have joined sooner because his mind was made up but he was too Busy living the american dream he and his wife Hildelisa also of cuban de scent had bought a House and he was working in Miami As an emergency medi Cal technician on March 2 2006 the Day after he re turned from a deployment to Iraq his wife gave birth to their daughter Melanie Isa Bella this month Guerra now 33 and stationed at Portsmouth medical Hospital a is part of the medical team supporting Africa lion 07 a two Etc us moroccan military exercise in Southern Morocco now when asked to speak his mind Guerra can and does America he said needs to rediscover the merits of hard work and family values his Broth Erin Law Diaz owns a trucking company i Texas Michael Guerra cant remember his last name drives one of the trucks i know the result of having a welfare state if s in Cuba he said nothing Good comes from a welfare state email Charlie Coon acc