An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

News | July 13, 2015

U.S. Marine from Iraq deploys in support of Operation Inherent Resolve

By By Cpl. John Baker, Marine Forces Central Command – Forward Public Affairs

AL TAQADDUM, Iraq, July 13, 2015 – A U.S. Marine originally from Baghdad whose family was driven from Iraq by extremists is now back in the home country supporting coalition efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Lance Cpl. Ali J. Mohammed is a supply Marine from the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force—Crisis Response—Central Command who is currently here as an interpreter for U.S. forces working with Iraqi Security Forces.

Al Taqaddum, located near the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, is home to a task force of U.S. servicemembers conducting an advise and assist mission with Iraqi forces under Operation Inherent Resolve.

Originally from Baghdad, Mohammed and his family were driven out by an extremist group when it learned his sister had been working as an interpreter for U.S. forces. He and his family contacted the U.S. embassy after fleeing the area and eventually went to California in 2010.

He said he’d dreamed of becoming a U.S. Marine since his childhood in Iraq.

“The reason I joined the Marine Corps is because I knew Marines who were here when I lived here, and I liked them,” said Mohammed.” I had a feeling I was going to come back here as a Marine.”

When Mohammed first came into the Marine Corps he was not yet a U.S citizen, but all the hard work he put in at recruit training paid off at his graduation.

“I had a green card, and I got my citizenship at boot camp,” said Mohammed. “They did a ceremony at graduation in front of a lot of people. It was one of the biggest days of my life.”

After completing recruit training, Mohammed went on to Marine Combat Training and then to his formal military occupational specialty school, where he would learn how to ship, receive and inventory supplies for the Marine Corps. Soon after completing all his training he learned he could put to use a skill he has had since a young age.

Mohammed speaks a specific dialect of Arabic that is unique to Iraq. Many of the interpreters at Al Taqaddum speak different dialects of Arabic. Mohammed said this can sometimes cause confusion.

“I speak the Iraqi dialect; it’s different than most Arabic dialects,” said Mohammed. “Iraqi dialect is one of the hardest dialects to master, and the Iraqis speak really fast.”

When he first got to his unit at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., Mohammed knew he wanted to serve in Iraq and volunteered to deploy outside of his occupational status.

“At first nobody knew I spoke Arabic, but I knew translators would end up in Iraq,” said Mohammed. So he talked to one of the officers in the battalion, and told his story. It didn’t take long before the unit’s leadership decided to deploy him as an interpreter—where he could make the biggest impact to the mission.

He explained that his job as an interpreter can be a lot of work. There are several Iraqi units stationed at Al Taqaddum, and Mohammed helps the Marines communicate with the local forces. He is also regularly tasked to sit in on important meetings where he translates for his commander.

“It’s a lot of work sometimes,” said Mohammed, “but I get to work with a lot of different people and I’m getting a lot of experience out of it.”

Mohammed expressed his pride in the fact that he has the opportunity to help the country he was born in, while serving the country he calls home.

“I’m helping Iraq, which is my home country, and I’m serving the U.S., which is my home,” said Mohammed. “This is a big deal, and I’m willing to work hard for both these countries.”