thedrifter
10-25-05, 06:14 AM
Ammo technician learned much from life in the rear
MCB Hawaii
Story by Sgt. Joe Lindsay
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (Oct. 24, 2005) -- There are many stories of Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, who distinguished themselves on the battlefield in Iraq with valor and bravery.
These 1/3 Marines, along with all American and coalition forces service members serving on the front lines, deserve the thanks of a grateful nation for putting their lives on the line, and in some cases, giving their lives, so that the United States and other countries of the world can be free.
But often forgotten amongst these brave souls are the one’s serving back on the home front. One such Marine is Cpl. Roberto Mundo, a 1/3 ammunition technician who was assigned to remain at Kaneohe Bay during the Lava Dogs’ last combat deployment.
“At first, I was disappointed not to deploy with the rest of the Lava Dogs to Iraq,” remarked Mundo, who spent his formative years growing up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, before relocating with his family to Columbia, S.C. “But, I figured if I couldn’t be at war with them, then the least I could do was my part back at home helping them.”
As Mundo points out, “There wasn’t too much need for an ammo tech back at (1st Batallion, 3rd Marine Regiment) in K-Bay, since most all of 1/3 Marines were fighting in Iraq, so I was assigned to help out with rear liaison issues.”
Those issues included rerouting mail to the Marines in Iraq, aiding in correcting pay problems, managing the barracks, and assisting new joins.
But of all his collateral duties, Mundo said, none meant as much to him as helping wounded Marines upon their return to Hawaii, and even more so, serving as a liaison to the families of Marines who were wounded or killed.
“When wounded 1/3 Marines came back to Hawaii, it was pretty much my job to take care of them,” commented Mundo. “Myself, the key volunteers, the regimental CO (commanding officer) and XO (executive officer), and any 1/3 Marine who could be spared would meet the wounded Marines at the airport and get them situated back at base. From there, it was my job to basically be there for them, to get them whatever they needed and to take them back and forth to all their doctors’ appointments. It was an honor for me.”
However, as much as being chosen to work with 1/3’s Purple Heart veterans honored Mundo, he said serving as a liaison to the families of the 1/3 Marines wounded or killed in Iraq was the greatest honor of all.
“Some of the families of Marines who were wounded or killed didn’t speak any English,” said Mundo. “One family even came directly to K-Bay from Mexico. Having grown up in Puerto Rico, Spanish is my first language, so I was chosen as the liaison for these families. I served as an interpreter, translator and escort, showing them around the base and accompanying them to military functions such as memorial services.”
“All of these families, despite the hardships and pain they were going through, treated me like a son,” recalled Mundo. “No matter what I do in the rest of my Marine Corps career, I’m not sure if I will ever do anything as important or as meaningful as that. It was a truly humbling experience. The families I came in touch with are so brave and strong, just like the children they raised who became Marines.”
Though Mundo’s experience in the rear during 1/3’s last deployment to Iraq is one that he said he will remember for the rest of his life, he added that “I am glad to be going with the guys on our upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.”
“Right now I am in my MOS (military occupational specialty) doing the job the Marine Corps trained me to do — making sure the grunts (infantry Marines) have the ammo they need to accomplish the mission,” said Mundo. “There are a lot of logistical aspects to being an ammo tech. We get orders for ammo, secure vehicles and make sure they are set up for ammo transportation, pick up the amount and types of ammo requested, count it and verify that it is correct, get it to the grunts and set up ASPs (ammo supply points) closer to the action. We are also entrusted with guarding the ammo and distributing it.”
According to Staff Sgt. Victor Olivares, 1/3 logistics chief and an Iraq veteran, Mundo’s job is a vital one.
“A Marine can have the best and most sophisticated weapons on the planet, but without ammo all those weapons aren’t going to do the Marines a bit of good,” said the Arleta, Calif., native. “Ammo techs keep our Marines in the fight. Corporal Mundo has a lot of responsibility, but we know we can count on him to get the job done. When he is given a mission, it gets accomplished. He’s doing a great job.”
Lance Cpl. Jack Hunter, a 1/3 mortarman and Iraq veteran, said he couldn’t agree more.
“Without our ammo we are pretty much useless,” said the St. Louis native. “As grunts, we all respect our ammo techs that are locked on, because they are with us wherever we go taking care of us. We’ve accepted Corporal Mundo as one of our own, which isn’t something that happens over night with the grunts, but he has proven himself over the past month on our live-fire pre-deployment exercise to Twentynine Palms that he is someone we can count on.”
Lance Cpl. Marc McGarry, a 1/3 rifleman from Rockland, Mass., spoke of Mundo in a similar vein.
“Corporal Mundo is down and dirty with us,” said McGarry, who is preparing to make his first combat deployment. “He works hard. For example, the other night I came off guard duty at 0100 (1 a.m.) and Corporal Mundo was sorting ammo. When I woke up at 0500 (5 a.m.) he was already up working on another task. Nothing is ever messed up with our ammo because he is so locked on. We see him working hard for us and we respect that. Everyone here is glad he is deploying to Afghanistan with the rest of the grunts.”
For his part, Mundo reiterated that although he will never forget the time he spent in the rear during 1/3’s last Iraq deployment, he is thankful to be going with 1/3 on their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“I wouldn’t want to miss out on serving with these outstanding Marines from 1/3 in Afghanistan, and I’m glad I am going, but at the same time I now have a greater appreciation for what the Marines are doing back at home,” said Mundo. “We are all doing our part.”
Ellie
MCB Hawaii
Story by Sgt. Joe Lindsay
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (Oct. 24, 2005) -- There are many stories of Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, who distinguished themselves on the battlefield in Iraq with valor and bravery.
These 1/3 Marines, along with all American and coalition forces service members serving on the front lines, deserve the thanks of a grateful nation for putting their lives on the line, and in some cases, giving their lives, so that the United States and other countries of the world can be free.
But often forgotten amongst these brave souls are the one’s serving back on the home front. One such Marine is Cpl. Roberto Mundo, a 1/3 ammunition technician who was assigned to remain at Kaneohe Bay during the Lava Dogs’ last combat deployment.
“At first, I was disappointed not to deploy with the rest of the Lava Dogs to Iraq,” remarked Mundo, who spent his formative years growing up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, before relocating with his family to Columbia, S.C. “But, I figured if I couldn’t be at war with them, then the least I could do was my part back at home helping them.”
As Mundo points out, “There wasn’t too much need for an ammo tech back at (1st Batallion, 3rd Marine Regiment) in K-Bay, since most all of 1/3 Marines were fighting in Iraq, so I was assigned to help out with rear liaison issues.”
Those issues included rerouting mail to the Marines in Iraq, aiding in correcting pay problems, managing the barracks, and assisting new joins.
But of all his collateral duties, Mundo said, none meant as much to him as helping wounded Marines upon their return to Hawaii, and even more so, serving as a liaison to the families of Marines who were wounded or killed.
“When wounded 1/3 Marines came back to Hawaii, it was pretty much my job to take care of them,” commented Mundo. “Myself, the key volunteers, the regimental CO (commanding officer) and XO (executive officer), and any 1/3 Marine who could be spared would meet the wounded Marines at the airport and get them situated back at base. From there, it was my job to basically be there for them, to get them whatever they needed and to take them back and forth to all their doctors’ appointments. It was an honor for me.”
However, as much as being chosen to work with 1/3’s Purple Heart veterans honored Mundo, he said serving as a liaison to the families of the 1/3 Marines wounded or killed in Iraq was the greatest honor of all.
“Some of the families of Marines who were wounded or killed didn’t speak any English,” said Mundo. “One family even came directly to K-Bay from Mexico. Having grown up in Puerto Rico, Spanish is my first language, so I was chosen as the liaison for these families. I served as an interpreter, translator and escort, showing them around the base and accompanying them to military functions such as memorial services.”
“All of these families, despite the hardships and pain they were going through, treated me like a son,” recalled Mundo. “No matter what I do in the rest of my Marine Corps career, I’m not sure if I will ever do anything as important or as meaningful as that. It was a truly humbling experience. The families I came in touch with are so brave and strong, just like the children they raised who became Marines.”
Though Mundo’s experience in the rear during 1/3’s last deployment to Iraq is one that he said he will remember for the rest of his life, he added that “I am glad to be going with the guys on our upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.”
“Right now I am in my MOS (military occupational specialty) doing the job the Marine Corps trained me to do — making sure the grunts (infantry Marines) have the ammo they need to accomplish the mission,” said Mundo. “There are a lot of logistical aspects to being an ammo tech. We get orders for ammo, secure vehicles and make sure they are set up for ammo transportation, pick up the amount and types of ammo requested, count it and verify that it is correct, get it to the grunts and set up ASPs (ammo supply points) closer to the action. We are also entrusted with guarding the ammo and distributing it.”
According to Staff Sgt. Victor Olivares, 1/3 logistics chief and an Iraq veteran, Mundo’s job is a vital one.
“A Marine can have the best and most sophisticated weapons on the planet, but without ammo all those weapons aren’t going to do the Marines a bit of good,” said the Arleta, Calif., native. “Ammo techs keep our Marines in the fight. Corporal Mundo has a lot of responsibility, but we know we can count on him to get the job done. When he is given a mission, it gets accomplished. He’s doing a great job.”
Lance Cpl. Jack Hunter, a 1/3 mortarman and Iraq veteran, said he couldn’t agree more.
“Without our ammo we are pretty much useless,” said the St. Louis native. “As grunts, we all respect our ammo techs that are locked on, because they are with us wherever we go taking care of us. We’ve accepted Corporal Mundo as one of our own, which isn’t something that happens over night with the grunts, but he has proven himself over the past month on our live-fire pre-deployment exercise to Twentynine Palms that he is someone we can count on.”
Lance Cpl. Marc McGarry, a 1/3 rifleman from Rockland, Mass., spoke of Mundo in a similar vein.
“Corporal Mundo is down and dirty with us,” said McGarry, who is preparing to make his first combat deployment. “He works hard. For example, the other night I came off guard duty at 0100 (1 a.m.) and Corporal Mundo was sorting ammo. When I woke up at 0500 (5 a.m.) he was already up working on another task. Nothing is ever messed up with our ammo because he is so locked on. We see him working hard for us and we respect that. Everyone here is glad he is deploying to Afghanistan with the rest of the grunts.”
For his part, Mundo reiterated that although he will never forget the time he spent in the rear during 1/3’s last Iraq deployment, he is thankful to be going with 1/3 on their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“I wouldn’t want to miss out on serving with these outstanding Marines from 1/3 in Afghanistan, and I’m glad I am going, but at the same time I now have a greater appreciation for what the Marines are doing back at home,” said Mundo. “We are all doing our part.”
Ellie