Back to main menu

CENTCOM's Fallon Offers View of 'How It Really Is'

By Amy L. Wittman, Editor-in-Chief

In what was probably one of his last public addresses in uniform, Adm. William J. "Fox" Fallon recounted with pride the many successes he has witnessed in his area of operations - Central Command (CENTCOM).

Before he did so, however, the CENTCOM commander told the audience at the Sea-Air-Space Banquet in Washington March 19 that it was "probably inescapable that I touch the elephant in the room here," referring to his announcement March 12 that he was resigning his post, effective March 31.

Referring to reports in the media on the events leading up to his announcement and the reasons behind it, he said, "I can tell you that most of the stories that are circulating ... I hate to shatter your illusions, but most of it's just pure bunk.

"The fact is that there has been this perception that I have not been in step with the president on the policies of this nation," he said. "That is something that is just intolerable, and the fact that that perception has continued, convinced me that I needed to do what I could to take this situation and change it. And so I thought it was appropriate to offer to the Secretary [of Defense Robert Gates] my resignation, and thereby attempt to get this distraction off the front page."

Fallon said that "this kind of 'inside-the-Beltway' drama is really obscuring what's really important. And to me that is the effort of our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa" and other trouble spots in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Fallon said he wanted to give the audience "a sense of how it really is" in these areas and to highlight the role played there by the sea services. He said CENTCOM was trying to provide stability and security, give people a chance for prosperity and some hope for the future.

"There are a lot of challenges, but we're succeeding, and we're going to succeed," Fallon said, "because we have the best people in the world working with us, and we have the great power and spirit of the American people and many others in the world behind us."

While many call operations in Iraq and Afghanistan land conflicts, Fallon noted that 80 percent of the goods and equipment that comes into Iraq does so by sea. And what allows that to happen is "our people."

The situation in Iraq, he said, is dramatically improved. He called the changes during the past year there remarkable, saying security is better. Offering anecdotal evidence, Fallon noted that "a year ago, Fallujah was a pretty rough spot to be in." When he was there again six months ago, the city was "generally quiet, but virtually destroyed. Most of the people had left. Marines had taken the place over." But he noted that local citizens were venturing out from their demolished homes, saying, "We want to help. We want to take charge of our future."

The Marines, "being pretty clever guys," took advantage of this opportunity to work with these citizens, who prefer to be called "Sons of Iraq." They've made a difference in Fallujah and elsewhere in the country.

Just a few weeks ago, Fallon said he witnessed and "astounding difference." Most notably, he said, was that the Marines were not as visible in the city, "they were back outside." The Iraqi Army wasn't that visible. It was on the perimeter. "In the city were Iraqi police and some of these Sons of Iraq," He said he "walked streets that once, just a few months ago, were just heaps of rubble." Businesses were emerging, there were fresh fruits and vegetables. He called it a remarkable transformation in a short time.

"It hasn't happened with some magic wand," he said. It was because of the hard work by "our people."

Still, there are some "tough pieces of turf," particularly in the north, with remaining "holdouts and bad actors."

He applauded the Marines, noting the dramatic reduction in the number of U.S. casualties and incidents in fire in Al Anbar Province, which just a year ago was one of the toughest territories.

While perhaps not as visible in these conflicts, "sailors are everywhere," they are with the Marines, overhead to provide cover, providing intelligence. They are on the ground as Individual Augmentees, as special operators, electronic warfare experts and Defense Department personnel. "The Army loves these guys," Fallon said.

"There is some real sailor work here too," he said, noting that all ships come through one channel to Basra, and that lane is protected by the U.S. Navy and its allies in the coalition. The Coast Guard is also there to help.

The Merchant Marines do their part as well. The Marines are moving into Afghanistan, he said, and most of their gear is carried on hulls manned by U.S. Merchant Marines.

In another anecdote illustrating dramatic progress, Fallon recalled visiting a U.S. detention center a year ago in Iraq that housed about 20,000 "bad actors," who were living in cages, smoke was still rising from riots. Today, it is "unbelievably different," because of people with vision, like Maj. Gen. Doug Stone, Marine Corps Reserve, who is in charge of that detainee operation. No riots, no smoke on the horizon, he said, and even with 20,000 behind bars, "it's pretty quiet."

Hundreds of former enemy fighters are learning to read, write, do basic arithmetic. They are learning English, about the Koran. "This is also part of the future of [the] country," he said. These men want to help, want to be part of Iraq's future. This "wouldn't be happening without our people," Fallon said.

Afghanistan, he said, is a different country with different problems, but its people want a better life, a better future. "Be careful what you read, what you listen to," he said, because the scale of conflict there is but a fraction of that in Iraq. Afghanistan is "coming around." It's a poor country, but the people have spirit and strong leadership. The U.S. sea services are there, often doing jobs far different than what they were originally trained for. A Navy fighter pilot, for example, is the commander of a Provincial Reconstruction Team. His priority is fixing an irrigation system, Fallon said. They need roads, power, water management, agricultural development.

"It's coming along because of the dedicated efforts of a lot of folks," he said. About 3,000 Marines are now moving in to help accelerate the progress seen in the last year.