Commander says Marines ready for nonmilitary mission

[thedrifter]

Commander says Marines ready for nonmilitary mission




Deployment to focus on rebuilding Iraq

By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 11, 2003

CAMP PENDLETON – Rebuilding schools and creating jobs are what ultimately will turn Iraq around, a top Marine commander said yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson Jr., commander of Marine Forces Pacific, said such nontraditional military roles will be emphasized when roughly 20,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station deploy to Iraq in the spring.

Gregson said the de facto nation-building might not sound like a strength of the Marines, "but it is absolutely important that we know how to do this."

"This is the most important thing that the nation is doing," Gregson said of helping restore Iraq, "and it must become a success, and it must be a success quickly."

He said he'll be watching several areas to gauge progress. Among them:

The number of people with gunshot or stab wounds who show up at hospitals.

Whether people start going to places they had been afraid to visit.

Unemployment rates.

Whether the court system functions.

The number of attacks against U.S. forces and Iraqi police.

The goal is to improve life for Iraqis so there is less hate in the streets and fewer young men attacking U.S. troops, Gregson said.

About a month ago, the Pentagon announced that Marines from the 1st Expeditionary Force, mostly from Camp Pendleton and Miramar, would leave for Iraq.

Gregson said he expects units to be announced soon.

"The plans seem to change nearly every 24 hours," he said. There will be "no lack of Marines" deploying for the foreseeable future, he said.

Gregson took command of the Marine Forces Pacific in August. He is responsible for training and equipping Marines to support the Central and Pacific commands. The Central Command covers the Persian Gulf region, and the Pacific Command includes Japan and Korea.

He is the senior Marine commander for the western United States and western Pacific. He heads the largest field command in the Marine Corps at about 74,000 troops. Marine Forces Pacific includes the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20031211-9999_7m11gregson.html


Sempers,

Roger
:marine:

[thedrifter]

Military personnel, families cope with redeployment to Iraq




By Chelsea J. Carter
ASSOCIATED PRESS
12:56 p.m. December 11, 2003

TWENTYNINE PALMS – Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elia Fontecchio spent several days trying to figure out how to break the news to his wife that after returning from months of duty in Iraq he would be going back to the combat zone.

In the end, he told her in a private moment, simply and straightforward. At first, she was angry and disappointed. Now, she's just trying to make every minute count.

"Every day is one day closer until he goes away," said Kinney Fontecchio.

Thousands of military members and their families have begun grappling with the news that those who have already completed one tour of duty in Iraq will be sent again in what the Pentagon calls the largest series of troop rotations since World War II.

The Pentagon has ordered 85,000 Army and Marine combat forces to Iraq to replace those ending one-year tours. Another 43,000 National Guard and Reserve support troops may also be deployed.

The first 20,000 Marines bound for Iraq will come from the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and from nearby Twentynine Palms. At Camp Lejeune, N.C., nearly 1,000 members of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment were sent to Afghanistan last month after returning from Iraq earlier this year.

For some, it's a morale challenge as they face another long separation from family. For others, it's a second chance to take care of what they see as unfinished business.

"It's never happened to me before. We're all definitely surprised that we were going back so soon," said 1st Lt. Adrian Haskamp, executive officer of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment at Twentynine Palms. The regiment returned from Iraq in September.

Haskamp, 27, said it would be hardest on the youngest of his 250 Marines, but that he believed their previous deployment would help them stay focused.

"I think a lot of the Marines have matured," he said.

Fontecchio said he also was working with Marines and their families struggling with the news.

"I'm being straight with them, and telling them the importance of their job. Marines will want to do the right thing," he said.

Fontecchio, 29, of Satellite Beach, Fla., said the Marines' experience in Iraq would benefit them.

"I'm very familiar with the territory and the culture now. We know some of the mistakes ... and we know how to handle them now," he said.

Lance Cpl. Michael Burrola, a 21-year-old serving with India Company, expects to be in Iraq as early as January for another six-month tour.

"When I first got back, I was like, 'I can't see myself ever going back,'" he said. "But it's my job, and we still have a job to do there."

Burrola, of Buena Park, Calif., said he leans on his fellow Marines for support.

"The Marines in my platoon, in my squad get me through it," he said.

He said he and others avoid news reports about the death toll in Iraq. More than 440 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. More than 300 of those deaths were the result of hostile action.

Burrola said he has put his focus into spending time with his wife, Crystal, 19.

"When he first told me, I was in denial. I was taken back. I said, 'No, you're not going.' It's kind of a helpless feeling," she said.

She has since resigned herself to the pending deployment.

"We did it once before and he came home. We'll do it again," she said. "We're very religious, and we'll use the strength of God in our household to get through it."

Haskamp said he has been treasuring small, daily moments with his wife, who's also a Marine.

"We're also not living every minute like it's his last. We're just appreciating every moment since he's been back," said Sgt. Jennie Haskamp.

Fontecchio's wife has made a routine of bringing their 2-year-old son to visit him at work every day.

"Almost every day, she brings me lunch. We also try to sneak another visit in during the day," he said.

Fontecchio said there was no way to explain to the son he is just getting to know why he has to leave again.

"You don't at that age. You just do what you can," he said. "Mommy bears the brunt of it."


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20031211-1256-ca-military-headingback.html


Sempers,

Roger
:marine: