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Sparrowhawk
11-22-02, 07:18 PM
Marines leave Camp Pendleton
DEPLOYED: 1st Expeditionary Force members go from March base to Persian Gulf.

11/22/2002

By JOE VARGO
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE


No Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day with loved ones.

Just weeks and months of duty at an undisclosed location in support of America's war against terrorism.

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Expeditionary Force left Camp Pendleton late Thursday on assignment to the U.S. Central Command, headquarters for the U.S. effort to wipe out terrorism. They were to be bused to March Air Reserve Base and flown out early today.

The Marines, Seabees and air units from the base are headed to the central Persian Gulf area, said Col. John C. Coleman, the Force's chief of staff.

Marines waited singly and with their families, passing the time until they departed in white buses for the 80-mile trip to March.

Sgt. Mason Rhodes, 25, held his daughter Ronna's hand as the minutes ticked toward departure. She tugged on it, leading him around the base parking lot.

His wife, Laura, 31, and sons Dylan and Robert waited too.

"It's always tough to go, no matter what time of the year," said Rhodes, a native of Louisiana who lives on base. "You take it one day at a time."

His wife said her husband's first overseas deployment was tough on the family.

"But you've got to do it," she said. "He's doing his job. We've got to do ours."

Maj. Jeff Nyhart, 38, of Wisconsin and his wife, Stephanie, are awaiting the birth of their first child a month from now.

Nyhart, a public-affairs officer, won't be home at the base to witness it.

"He wanted to have a family and go to war," Stefanie Nyhart, 41, said. "Now it's all going to happen in the same month, almost."

Capt. Jeff McCormack, 27, an intelligence officer from Chicago, is missing his second straight holiday season. Last year he was in Afghanistan.

"I'm excited to do the things we're trained to do," McCormack said. "I just want to see everybody come back safe."

American service personnel from Central Command, including Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine elements, are deployed in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East. The 1st Expeditionary Force consists of air and ground forces based at Camp Pendleton.

The Expeditionary Force can conduct humanitarian and disaster-relief missions as well as fight enemy forces. During their deployment, Marines and sailors will take part in "Internal Look '03," an exercise to test Central Command's ability to direct forces from the fighting front.

The latest group of Marines to ship out includes those in the headquarters element -- soldiers responsible for training, organizing, equipping and commanding more than 45,000 Marines.

It is an unscheduled deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Normal deployments are typically six months. There is no return date set for this unit.

Reach Joe Vargo at (909) 587-3130 or jvargo@pe.com