Inside a stronghold that commands a stretch of land between the river and the desert, the Hobbits work wonders in a windowless chamber.

In the ongoing fight against insurgents in Iraq’s Anbar province, the Hobbits — six Marines with computers and **self-designed databases** who compile information about the enemy, its strength and its position — have a clear mission as part of the Michigan-based 1st Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment.

With their skills and smarts, they take tactical intelligence and put it to effective use killing and capturing insurgents who have turned the area around Fallujah into one of the most dangerous sectors in Iraq.

[Read](http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS06/612100622/1008 (“Read the Story”) (Detriot Free Press)