fontman
07-25-06, 08:49 AM
Repeated goodbyes don't get any easier
July 25,2006
Chrissy Vick
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Sgt. James Hornback is going to miss out on his 8-year-old son's first season of football. Sgt. Donald Touchette won't be able to hold his wife's hand as she gives birth to their first child, a son. And Sgt. Travis Tucker will have to experience the next seven months of his 1-, 3- and 5-year-olds' lives through photos and letters.
For some families, this is the first time they've experienced a deployment to Iraq. But for many of the 1,000 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines headed for Cherry Point Monday and then on to Al Anbar Province in Iraq, it's their third, fourth or even fifth time.
But saying goodbye never gets easier.
Marine wives may get better at keeping themselves busy with each deployment. They get used to paying the bills, taking care of the kids and coping with the worry and stress. And the Marines who have stepped on Iraqi sand many times before may find it easier to keep their mind off of their worries of the family at home.
But their hearts never stop aching.
"Each (deployment) is different," said Corinna Hornback, who has been through four deployments with her husband. "Whatever you're going through at the moment affects you - the stress levels, the level of communication. It all affects you."
She said that though it's still hard, there are still positives that come from it.
"You learn to appreciate each other more," she said. "You don't have time to stay mad."
Such experience, however, doesn't necessarily provide all the knowledge the Marines of 2/8 need for their next embarkation to Iraq, according to Maj. Sean Riordan, executive officer of the battalion.
"Things change so rapidly there that people's experience three years ago is not going to help them solve the problems today," Riordan said. "It's so dynamic."
What will help, he said, is the recent months of training and preparation coupled with working together and discipline.
Still, while such preparation offers relief to worried family members, nothing can calm the emotions expressed as they said goodbye. A number of wives described their husbands' departures with sadness, worry, anger and fear.
The Marines will serve a seven-month stint in Iraq as part of the counter-insurgency operations, aimed against the "anti-Iraqi forces that keep the country in chaos," Riordan said.
He said Monday that his highest hope for the battalion is that it will be able to help the Iraqi government grow by strengthening the Iraqi Army and police forces.
"If we turned over more of Iraq fully to the Iraqis, I'd say we'd be successful," Riordan said.
The battalion has been on four deployments since 2003, including tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently aboard ship with 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Africa and the Middle East. They were part of the initial invasion into Iraq with Task Force Tarawa, Riordan said.
July 25,2006
Chrissy Vick
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Sgt. James Hornback is going to miss out on his 8-year-old son's first season of football. Sgt. Donald Touchette won't be able to hold his wife's hand as she gives birth to their first child, a son. And Sgt. Travis Tucker will have to experience the next seven months of his 1-, 3- and 5-year-olds' lives through photos and letters.
For some families, this is the first time they've experienced a deployment to Iraq. But for many of the 1,000 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines headed for Cherry Point Monday and then on to Al Anbar Province in Iraq, it's their third, fourth or even fifth time.
But saying goodbye never gets easier.
Marine wives may get better at keeping themselves busy with each deployment. They get used to paying the bills, taking care of the kids and coping with the worry and stress. And the Marines who have stepped on Iraqi sand many times before may find it easier to keep their mind off of their worries of the family at home.
But their hearts never stop aching.
"Each (deployment) is different," said Corinna Hornback, who has been through four deployments with her husband. "Whatever you're going through at the moment affects you - the stress levels, the level of communication. It all affects you."
She said that though it's still hard, there are still positives that come from it.
"You learn to appreciate each other more," she said. "You don't have time to stay mad."
Such experience, however, doesn't necessarily provide all the knowledge the Marines of 2/8 need for their next embarkation to Iraq, according to Maj. Sean Riordan, executive officer of the battalion.
"Things change so rapidly there that people's experience three years ago is not going to help them solve the problems today," Riordan said. "It's so dynamic."
What will help, he said, is the recent months of training and preparation coupled with working together and discipline.
Still, while such preparation offers relief to worried family members, nothing can calm the emotions expressed as they said goodbye. A number of wives described their husbands' departures with sadness, worry, anger and fear.
The Marines will serve a seven-month stint in Iraq as part of the counter-insurgency operations, aimed against the "anti-Iraqi forces that keep the country in chaos," Riordan said.
He said Monday that his highest hope for the battalion is that it will be able to help the Iraqi government grow by strengthening the Iraqi Army and police forces.
"If we turned over more of Iraq fully to the Iraqis, I'd say we'd be successful," Riordan said.
The battalion has been on four deployments since 2003, including tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently aboard ship with 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Africa and the Middle East. They were part of the initial invasion into Iraq with Task Force Tarawa, Riordan said.