More Kaneohe Marines, Sailors Deploy
Three hundred Marines and Sailors are on their way to Iraq for a seven-month deployment. They're members of the 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment. Today friends and family gathered at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe for one last good-bye.
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Terri Inefuku
Saying good-bye is never easy. Leaving behind a mother, or a wife, or a newborn son is even harder.
"I have pictures and whatnot. My wife is going to send me pictures also," said Cpl. Troy Williams of his one-month-old son Kanoa.
"It's hard. It's going to be hard. It's our first baby. I've been crying a lot," admitted his wife, Ashlynn Williams.
For seven months, the Marines and Sailors will be patrolling the Al Anbar province in west Iraq. Some will be reinforcing the border along Jordan and Syria.
This will be Cpl. Dustin Andrews' second time in Iraq. He first deployed out of North Carolina on September 19, 2001, just days after 9-11. "Eight days after the tower went down, nobody knew what to expect. Now we got a pretty good game plan," he said.
This is the battalion's first major combat deployment since Operation Desert Shield in the early 1990s. For many, it will be their first time in a war zone.
"Everybody would be nervous going to their first deployment in Iraq. But I feel that the whole battalion's ready. We're all ready," said LCpl. Richard Rivera.
Rivera's mother, Rita Brown, flew in from California to spend a few precious days with her son. "I'm going to be doing a lot of praying for his safety, but I know he's well trained and I'm very proud of him and I know he'll be back safely," she said.
Each Marine must carry an M-16, a gas mask canister and night vision lenses - a stark reminder of how deadly war can be. Despite the danger, these men and women say they're ready.
"We're proud to be doing what we're doing and we're glad we're getting the chance to go over there and serve," said Cpl. Mitchell Stadel.
But the families they're leaving behind aren't quite as prepared to let them go.
The Kaneohe-based Marines serve on a rotating cycle. Two battalions have deployed in the past week. One is expected to return home from Iraq next month.