booksbenji
05-21-06, 02:47 PM
Spouses get taste of Marine Corps life
11:39 PM CDT on Sunday, April 2, 2006
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH – They looked like Marines, standing at attention in camouflage and combat boots. But get a little closer, and the swishing ponytails, red lipstick, and perfume wafting through the morning air gave them away.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/04-02-2006.nmc_02marinesLEDE.GI41RO7I0.1.jpg
MEI-CHUN JAU/DMN
MRE's are easy to laugh at for the visitors. LCPL John Boughner, Nori Jackson and Debby Lukas prepare theirs. "Quit giggling, quit giggling!" Col. Juergen "Baron" Lukas called in mock horror, as the ladies clambered in their flak jackets and Kevlar helmets up the stepladder into the back of a 7-ton truck.
About 50 wives of Marines and sailors with Marine Aircraft Group 41 spent Saturday at the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth (Carswell AFB) for this year's Jane Wayne Day, a long-standing Marine Corps tradition.
The wives built camaraderie and a greater understanding of what it means to be a Marine as they fired pistols and missile launchers, ate MREs and grappled in hand-to-hand combat.
Col. Lukas, the unit's commanding officer, started the day on a light note.
"My commanding general is right there," he said, gesturing toward Brig. Gen. Goose Papak.
"My boss is right there," he said, pointing to his wife, Debby Lukas, making the wives erupt in laughter.
The women lined up outside the firing range for a safety briefing from Gunnery Sgt. Ralph Marmolejo.
"Do not point this weapon at anyone you do not intend to shoot!" he bellowed.
"Including the husbands," Ms. Lukas joked.
Cindy Molina hadn't handled a pistol since her father taught her to shoot as a little girl in Dallas.
Her husband, Navy Senior Chief Carlos Molina, had dropped her off that morning after carefully tying and tucking his uniform pants into her boots.
Like many of the husbands, he was staying home with the kids that day.
The pistol bucked in Ms. Molina's French-manicured hands as the first live round exploded toward the paper target. The empty cartridges flung into the air, but the bullets missed the bull's-eye.
Sgt. Edward Law stopped to give her some pointers. Ms. Molina started to turn toward him, the loaded gun waving in the air.
"Ahh, don't do that," he said, exchanging a nervous smile with another range attendant.
After 10 shots, she stopped to wipe her hands on her pants.
"It's amazing, the power," she said. But when the target swung forward, she was shocked at the result – no holes in the paper.
"Awww! I think I hit her target," she said, laughing as she compared results with her neighbor.
For all the fun, there was a more serious aspect to the day. Most of the 1,600 reservists and active-duty troops in MAG-41 have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and expect to do so again soon.
Anxiety, fatigue and stress have mounted among military families during the last four years of deployments, according to a survey released last week by the National Military Family Association.
Robin Underwood's husband, Lt. Col. Robert Underwood, surprised his newly adopted unit, and his wife, when he volunteered for a dangerous job as a forward air controller in Iraq working on the ground with infantry units.
He arrived in Iraq last week. As Ms. Underwood sampled her MRE on Saturday, she imagined that her husband was eating the same thing. But she hadn't been able to talk to him much.
"This gives me a better appreciation for what he's doing. Normally he's a pilot; he doesn't do much ground stuff," she said.
Jane Wayne Days and other family support activities are particularly important on a reserve base, where spouses may not spend all of their time actively engaged with the Marine Corps, said Chief Warrant Officer Stephen O'Day, the family readiness officer who organized the event.
"Everyone has their own family, and they have their community, but we try to educate and reinforce that you always have your Marine Corps family to turn to," he said.
Patti Leevy always wondered what her husband, Lt. Col. Clark Leevy, did on those weekend drills.
"There's a lot more to it than I thought," she said, describing struggling with a machine gun.
Kate Papak said she married her high school sweetheart four years ago, 30 years after they broke up when he entered the Naval Academy.
Back then, as an 18-year-old, she couldn't imagine living the life of a military wife, with the moves and separations.
"Now I look at it as an adventure," she said.
At the weapons simulator, Kelly Garcia, a 25-year-old newlywed, went straight for the anti-tank missile launcher. She hoisted it on her shoulder, closed her left eye and pushed the red button, eliciting a small blast.
"Did I get him?" she asked.
"Uh, we haven't started yet," said Cpl. Tanner Calhoun.
A few minutes later, Ms. Papak scared herself by nearly shooting at one of the U.S. troops in the foreground of the video screen.
"Hold your fire!" she yelled.
"It's called 'cease-fire' " Gen. Papak said gently, as he snapped digital pictures of his wife.
Later, Ms. Molina became a casualty when a Kevlar helmet tossed out of the back of the truck clocked her on the chin. She tried to keep a stiff upper lip.
After a minute the pain got to her, though, and her smiling eyes welled up with tears.
"You know my husband is a corpsman [a medical technician]?" she said, laughing now as the other wives gathered to comfort her.
DOC, UP!!!
more photos: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/pt/slideshows/2006/04/janewayne_2006/
11:39 PM CDT on Sunday, April 2, 2006
By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH – They looked like Marines, standing at attention in camouflage and combat boots. But get a little closer, and the swishing ponytails, red lipstick, and perfume wafting through the morning air gave them away.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/04-02-2006.nmc_02marinesLEDE.GI41RO7I0.1.jpg
MEI-CHUN JAU/DMN
MRE's are easy to laugh at for the visitors. LCPL John Boughner, Nori Jackson and Debby Lukas prepare theirs. "Quit giggling, quit giggling!" Col. Juergen "Baron" Lukas called in mock horror, as the ladies clambered in their flak jackets and Kevlar helmets up the stepladder into the back of a 7-ton truck.
About 50 wives of Marines and sailors with Marine Aircraft Group 41 spent Saturday at the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth (Carswell AFB) for this year's Jane Wayne Day, a long-standing Marine Corps tradition.
The wives built camaraderie and a greater understanding of what it means to be a Marine as they fired pistols and missile launchers, ate MREs and grappled in hand-to-hand combat.
Col. Lukas, the unit's commanding officer, started the day on a light note.
"My commanding general is right there," he said, gesturing toward Brig. Gen. Goose Papak.
"My boss is right there," he said, pointing to his wife, Debby Lukas, making the wives erupt in laughter.
The women lined up outside the firing range for a safety briefing from Gunnery Sgt. Ralph Marmolejo.
"Do not point this weapon at anyone you do not intend to shoot!" he bellowed.
"Including the husbands," Ms. Lukas joked.
Cindy Molina hadn't handled a pistol since her father taught her to shoot as a little girl in Dallas.
Her husband, Navy Senior Chief Carlos Molina, had dropped her off that morning after carefully tying and tucking his uniform pants into her boots.
Like many of the husbands, he was staying home with the kids that day.
The pistol bucked in Ms. Molina's French-manicured hands as the first live round exploded toward the paper target. The empty cartridges flung into the air, but the bullets missed the bull's-eye.
Sgt. Edward Law stopped to give her some pointers. Ms. Molina started to turn toward him, the loaded gun waving in the air.
"Ahh, don't do that," he said, exchanging a nervous smile with another range attendant.
After 10 shots, she stopped to wipe her hands on her pants.
"It's amazing, the power," she said. But when the target swung forward, she was shocked at the result – no holes in the paper.
"Awww! I think I hit her target," she said, laughing as she compared results with her neighbor.
For all the fun, there was a more serious aspect to the day. Most of the 1,600 reservists and active-duty troops in MAG-41 have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and expect to do so again soon.
Anxiety, fatigue and stress have mounted among military families during the last four years of deployments, according to a survey released last week by the National Military Family Association.
Robin Underwood's husband, Lt. Col. Robert Underwood, surprised his newly adopted unit, and his wife, when he volunteered for a dangerous job as a forward air controller in Iraq working on the ground with infantry units.
He arrived in Iraq last week. As Ms. Underwood sampled her MRE on Saturday, she imagined that her husband was eating the same thing. But she hadn't been able to talk to him much.
"This gives me a better appreciation for what he's doing. Normally he's a pilot; he doesn't do much ground stuff," she said.
Jane Wayne Days and other family support activities are particularly important on a reserve base, where spouses may not spend all of their time actively engaged with the Marine Corps, said Chief Warrant Officer Stephen O'Day, the family readiness officer who organized the event.
"Everyone has their own family, and they have their community, but we try to educate and reinforce that you always have your Marine Corps family to turn to," he said.
Patti Leevy always wondered what her husband, Lt. Col. Clark Leevy, did on those weekend drills.
"There's a lot more to it than I thought," she said, describing struggling with a machine gun.
Kate Papak said she married her high school sweetheart four years ago, 30 years after they broke up when he entered the Naval Academy.
Back then, as an 18-year-old, she couldn't imagine living the life of a military wife, with the moves and separations.
"Now I look at it as an adventure," she said.
At the weapons simulator, Kelly Garcia, a 25-year-old newlywed, went straight for the anti-tank missile launcher. She hoisted it on her shoulder, closed her left eye and pushed the red button, eliciting a small blast.
"Did I get him?" she asked.
"Uh, we haven't started yet," said Cpl. Tanner Calhoun.
A few minutes later, Ms. Papak scared herself by nearly shooting at one of the U.S. troops in the foreground of the video screen.
"Hold your fire!" she yelled.
"It's called 'cease-fire' " Gen. Papak said gently, as he snapped digital pictures of his wife.
Later, Ms. Molina became a casualty when a Kevlar helmet tossed out of the back of the truck clocked her on the chin. She tried to keep a stiff upper lip.
After a minute the pain got to her, though, and her smiling eyes welled up with tears.
"You know my husband is a corpsman [a medical technician]?" she said, laughing now as the other wives gathered to comfort her.
DOC, UP!!!
more photos: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/pt/slideshows/2006/04/janewayne_2006/