thedrifter
06-08-06, 07:05 AM
Marines deal with unknowns
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
By Ted Roelofs
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- As the wife of a Marine, Byron Center resident Ann Jansen, 22, knew this day would come.
That made it no easier when it finally arrived.
"The hardest part about it are unknowns. The fact that all of this is completely out of our control -- it's scary," Jansen said.
Jansen tried to swallow her fears as she dropped off her husband, Cpl. Ron Jansen, at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Monroe Avenue NW in Grand Rapids early this morning.
Jansen, 24, was among about 150 Marine Reserves to roll out on four buses at 5:30 a.m., bound for training in California, then duty in Iraq. Dozens of their significant others and family members stood in the rain before 4 a.m. for the farewell.
By fall, the Marines expect to be stationed in the volatile Al Anbar province, parts of which are under insurgent control.
While the heavily Sunni province is home to the hotbed cities of Fallujah, Ramadi and Haditha, many residents there have grown weary of the presence of foreigners fighting for the insurgency.
Major Dan Whisnant, company commander for Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, said the men in his infantry group know the risks.
"They have been anticipating this day for quite a few months. Their attitudes are fantastic," Whisnant said.
"Every single day, Marines are faced with making rapid, split-second decisions. That's what we are training to do."
But Whisnant, 39, acknowledged his troops face a tough set of challenges.
The unit will be assigned to train Iraq security forces.
The Marines are scheduled for three months of training in California and expect to leave in early September for Iraq.
Allendale resident Megan Goff, 22, did her best to be strong for her boyfriend, Lance Cpl. Christopher Hollis, 22, of Allendale. "It's more about being supportive of him than it is worrying about me," she said.
Goff waved goodbye to Hollis a bus rolled by. Afterward, she ran across the street to two of her friends and they hugged each other tightly.
For Jansen, his marriage of less than a year made it that much than tougher to leave behind his wife. "Leaving family behind and a new wife, to have to leave her alone, it's not something you want to do. It's something we are going to have to take day by day."
As for the mission, he professed to be undeterred by reports of violence in Iraq.
"I talked to a lot of Marines and soldiers who have been over there," he said. "They don't share the same views of a lot of the retired generals on TV. They see something positive coming out of it."
Send e-mail to the author: troelofs@grpress.com
Ellie
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
By Ted Roelofs
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- As the wife of a Marine, Byron Center resident Ann Jansen, 22, knew this day would come.
That made it no easier when it finally arrived.
"The hardest part about it are unknowns. The fact that all of this is completely out of our control -- it's scary," Jansen said.
Jansen tried to swallow her fears as she dropped off her husband, Cpl. Ron Jansen, at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Monroe Avenue NW in Grand Rapids early this morning.
Jansen, 24, was among about 150 Marine Reserves to roll out on four buses at 5:30 a.m., bound for training in California, then duty in Iraq. Dozens of their significant others and family members stood in the rain before 4 a.m. for the farewell.
By fall, the Marines expect to be stationed in the volatile Al Anbar province, parts of which are under insurgent control.
While the heavily Sunni province is home to the hotbed cities of Fallujah, Ramadi and Haditha, many residents there have grown weary of the presence of foreigners fighting for the insurgency.
Major Dan Whisnant, company commander for Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, said the men in his infantry group know the risks.
"They have been anticipating this day for quite a few months. Their attitudes are fantastic," Whisnant said.
"Every single day, Marines are faced with making rapid, split-second decisions. That's what we are training to do."
But Whisnant, 39, acknowledged his troops face a tough set of challenges.
The unit will be assigned to train Iraq security forces.
The Marines are scheduled for three months of training in California and expect to leave in early September for Iraq.
Allendale resident Megan Goff, 22, did her best to be strong for her boyfriend, Lance Cpl. Christopher Hollis, 22, of Allendale. "It's more about being supportive of him than it is worrying about me," she said.
Goff waved goodbye to Hollis a bus rolled by. Afterward, she ran across the street to two of her friends and they hugged each other tightly.
For Jansen, his marriage of less than a year made it that much than tougher to leave behind his wife. "Leaving family behind and a new wife, to have to leave her alone, it's not something you want to do. It's something we are going to have to take day by day."
As for the mission, he professed to be undeterred by reports of violence in Iraq.
"I talked to a lot of Marines and soldiers who have been over there," he said. "They don't share the same views of a lot of the retired generals on TV. They see something positive coming out of it."
Send e-mail to the author: troelofs@grpress.com
Ellie