thedrifter
05-20-06, 07:15 AM
Eager, ready, proud' to serve West Michigan Marines prepare for urban fighting in Iraq
Saturday, May 20, 2006
By Ted Roelofs
Gazette News Service
GRAND RAPIDS -- They figured this day would come.
But to about 150 West Michigan Marine Reserves, it is official: They are to be activated in early June, sent to California for training and then to Iraq.
``They are eager. They are ready. They are proud,'' said Maj. Dan Whisnant, 39, company commander for the Grand Rapids-based Marine infantry group, Company A, 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines.
While acknowledging public support for the war has slipped, Whisnant said that has not dampened the resolve of his soldiers.
``We don't look at polls,'' he said. ``They want to make their families proud, but they also want to make their community proud, and they want to take the fight to the enemy.''
That includes soldiers such as Gunnery Sgt. Lee Kyle. The 38-year-old Barry County resident said he understands his duty and its effect on his family.
``As a husband and a father, I hate to leave my family again, but as a Marine it's where I need to be,'' Kyle said.
Kyle was activated in 2003 with the Lansing-based Company C of the 24th Marines, forcing him to say goodbye to his wife, Tami, 35, and their three children: Jessica, 13, Hanna, 10, and Olivia, 6. He spent seven months in Iraq.
Kyle, a mason in civilian life, said it was especially hard to miss the day-to-day changes in their children.
``There's a big part of their personal development that you are missing,'' he said.
Kyle said he is well aware of growing criticism for a war in which nearly 2,500 U.S. soldiers have died since it began in March 2003. A recent Newsweek poll found 59 percent think the war was a mistake.
``It's understandable for America to voice their own opinions of the war,'' Kyle said. ``But one thing they have not done is lose their support for us. The support for the American warrior is there whether or not they believe in the cause.''
Beyond that, Kyle said, returning soldiers paint a different picture of the war than is reported by the media.
``I don't base my opinion on what's in the paper or on TV. I base it on what I'm hearing from Marines coming back, and I'm hearing good things about what's going on over there.''
In February, the company was dispatched to Ohio for three days of training in urban combat. The exercises in downtown Toledo were tailored to mimic close combat conditions they may encounter in Iraq.
The company returned Wednesday from three weeks of similar training at Camp Pendleton in California and was dismissed to their civilian lives Thursday. Three years ago, the unit shipped out for security duty in Djibouti, Africa, returning after nine months in September 2003.
For 26-year-old Sgt. Josh deBruin, of Grand Rapids, preparing for Iraq means months away from his wife, Kathryn, 24, and his stepdaughter, Skye Lynn Dixon.
Despite ongoing reports of violence in Iraq, the tool-and-die apprentice said he is ``optimistic'' about the mission.
``Unfortunately war is a business where lives are lost. But I think it is a huge honor to take part in this.''
Company commander Whisnant said this collection of college students, police officers, blue- and white-collar workers -- whose average age is 22 -- is ready to do its job.
``Marines are always training to go to war,'' he said.
Ellie
Saturday, May 20, 2006
By Ted Roelofs
Gazette News Service
GRAND RAPIDS -- They figured this day would come.
But to about 150 West Michigan Marine Reserves, it is official: They are to be activated in early June, sent to California for training and then to Iraq.
``They are eager. They are ready. They are proud,'' said Maj. Dan Whisnant, 39, company commander for the Grand Rapids-based Marine infantry group, Company A, 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines.
While acknowledging public support for the war has slipped, Whisnant said that has not dampened the resolve of his soldiers.
``We don't look at polls,'' he said. ``They want to make their families proud, but they also want to make their community proud, and they want to take the fight to the enemy.''
That includes soldiers such as Gunnery Sgt. Lee Kyle. The 38-year-old Barry County resident said he understands his duty and its effect on his family.
``As a husband and a father, I hate to leave my family again, but as a Marine it's where I need to be,'' Kyle said.
Kyle was activated in 2003 with the Lansing-based Company C of the 24th Marines, forcing him to say goodbye to his wife, Tami, 35, and their three children: Jessica, 13, Hanna, 10, and Olivia, 6. He spent seven months in Iraq.
Kyle, a mason in civilian life, said it was especially hard to miss the day-to-day changes in their children.
``There's a big part of their personal development that you are missing,'' he said.
Kyle said he is well aware of growing criticism for a war in which nearly 2,500 U.S. soldiers have died since it began in March 2003. A recent Newsweek poll found 59 percent think the war was a mistake.
``It's understandable for America to voice their own opinions of the war,'' Kyle said. ``But one thing they have not done is lose their support for us. The support for the American warrior is there whether or not they believe in the cause.''
Beyond that, Kyle said, returning soldiers paint a different picture of the war than is reported by the media.
``I don't base my opinion on what's in the paper or on TV. I base it on what I'm hearing from Marines coming back, and I'm hearing good things about what's going on over there.''
In February, the company was dispatched to Ohio for three days of training in urban combat. The exercises in downtown Toledo were tailored to mimic close combat conditions they may encounter in Iraq.
The company returned Wednesday from three weeks of similar training at Camp Pendleton in California and was dismissed to their civilian lives Thursday. Three years ago, the unit shipped out for security duty in Djibouti, Africa, returning after nine months in September 2003.
For 26-year-old Sgt. Josh deBruin, of Grand Rapids, preparing for Iraq means months away from his wife, Kathryn, 24, and his stepdaughter, Skye Lynn Dixon.
Despite ongoing reports of violence in Iraq, the tool-and-die apprentice said he is ``optimistic'' about the mission.
``Unfortunately war is a business where lives are lost. But I think it is a huge honor to take part in this.''
Company commander Whisnant said this collection of college students, police officers, blue- and white-collar workers -- whose average age is 22 -- is ready to do its job.
``Marines are always training to go to war,'' he said.
Ellie