The Marines and Sailors of 2nd Bn., 25th Marines arrived at Camp Korean Village, about 20 miles from Rutbah, in early October. These people have been reluctant to show their potential in the past because of the situation that existed here for so long." We need to find those people, those Bill Gates and Thomas Jeffersons. The lines of operations are about setting the people of Rutbah up for success. "That is what it takes to be a LOO - someone with a real passion for the subject and who is able to present the commander with different options. "I bring a common sense approach, identifying problems and proposing logical solutions," said McKenna.
RADI DENNIS PROFESSIONAL
The battalion's line of operations officers glean from their professional and military backgrounds to serve as advisors for local Iraqi governments in areas such as governance, essential services and rule of law. "I believe you have to give something back, and I love serving with the Marines."Īlthough he primarily has a science and medical background, McKenna volunteered to take on the collateral duty as the economics line of operations officer. When not mobilized, he drives 360 miles round trip one weekend every month from his home in Selkirk, N.Y., to attend reserve drills. In his civilian career, McKenna is an emergency medicine physician at Albany Medical Center, Albany, N.Y., where he has worked for 11 years. A 20-year Navy reservist himself, he is currently on a one-year mobilization with the battalion, which is attached to Regimental Combat Team 5.
McKenna, 42, is the battalion surgeon for 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, a reserve unit based in Garden City, N.Y. He is using his professional experience and business acumen to help the impoverished town establish an economic base, which will serve as a catalyst for overall improvement in the quality of life there. In the rural town of Rutbah in Iraq's western al-Anbar province, his efforts have gone beyond working with coalition forces and the Iraqi ministry of the interior to reopen Rutbah's only hospital. Dennis McKenna took his Hippocratic oath as a medical doctor in 1992, he vowed to devote his life to improving the welfare of human beings. CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq - When Navy Cmdr.
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