thedrifter
01-12-07, 04:41 AM
1/6 Marines to stay in Iraq a bit longer
January 12,2007
Chrissy Vick
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Soon after President Bush announced Wednesday night that more troops would be going to Iraq, Molly Towles got a phone call.
She was told that her husband, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Jared Towles, would be staying an extra two to three months in Iraq. Towles deployed from Camp Lejeune with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, in September for what was originally expected to be a seven-month stay in the Al Anbar province.
The 60 to 90-day extension, announced in a Marine Corps press release Thursday, now means Jared Towles could miss the birth of their baby ? for the second time.
?He missed our daughter?s birth and he?s going to miss this one more than likely,? Towles said. ?That is actually a blessing so that they?ll both be that way. That way our daughter won?t think her dad did it on purpose. We try to see God?s hand in anything.?
As a key volunteer, Towles has spent the last day calling wives of Marines and sailors in 1/6 to spread the word about the battalion?s extension. It?s not good news, she says, but they were told it could happen.
?It?s something we prepare for,? Towles said. ?It?s not something that you want to happen, but I appreciate the job he?s doing and I?m proud of him. We?ll make it.?
The battalion is scheduled to deploy again ?approximately 7 to 9 months after they return from Iraq, assuming operational requirements remain constant,? according to the press release.
?Right now it?s not anticipated (that the battalion will stay more than 90 days), but as a Marine Corps we?re fully prepared to make appropriate adjustments as the situation in Iraq develops,? said Capt. Jay Delarosa, spokesperson for Headquarters Marine Corps.
The extension of 1/6 and five California-based units ? 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, from Twentynine Palms, Calif. and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, Calif., which includes 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (Camp Pendleton), Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 (Miramar, Calif.) and Combat Logistics Battalion 15 (Camp Pendleton, Calif.) ? will ?strengthen the coalition forces? abilities to secure areas of Al-Anbar province that might draw insurgents escaping the increase of forces in Baghdad,? the press release said. The objective of the effort is a ?peaceful and stable Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors while being able to defend itself from internal and external threats.?
II Marine Expeditionary Force officials at Camp Lejeune said Thursday they were ?looking at the impact of this extension.?
For Towles, it means questions that she probably can?t answer for most of the 1/6 wives.
?I think most people right now are sort of processing it, trying to get a grasp on what is going on,? she said.
Wives have questions about pushing back their return to Jacksonville, how money will work out, whether or not they will hear from their husbands and where their husbands will go.
?It?s question after question, and a lot of wives need answers,? Towles said. ?We?re just sort of waiting right now.?
Her biggest piece of advice is taking life one day at a time.
?We?ll get through today and tomorrow until eventually he?ll be home, Lord-willing,? she said. ?This is who we are and what we do.?
When the baby arrives, sometime in May, Towles will have friends and family in town to be with her.
?The support here is absolutely amazing,? she said. ?My husband and I both have such a peace in the Lord that we?re going to be OK. And that is a very important part to getting through it.?
Contact staff writer Chrissy Vick at cvick@freedomenc.com or by calling 353-1171, ext. 239.
Ellie
January 12,2007
Chrissy Vick
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Soon after President Bush announced Wednesday night that more troops would be going to Iraq, Molly Towles got a phone call.
She was told that her husband, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Jared Towles, would be staying an extra two to three months in Iraq. Towles deployed from Camp Lejeune with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, in September for what was originally expected to be a seven-month stay in the Al Anbar province.
The 60 to 90-day extension, announced in a Marine Corps press release Thursday, now means Jared Towles could miss the birth of their baby ? for the second time.
?He missed our daughter?s birth and he?s going to miss this one more than likely,? Towles said. ?That is actually a blessing so that they?ll both be that way. That way our daughter won?t think her dad did it on purpose. We try to see God?s hand in anything.?
As a key volunteer, Towles has spent the last day calling wives of Marines and sailors in 1/6 to spread the word about the battalion?s extension. It?s not good news, she says, but they were told it could happen.
?It?s something we prepare for,? Towles said. ?It?s not something that you want to happen, but I appreciate the job he?s doing and I?m proud of him. We?ll make it.?
The battalion is scheduled to deploy again ?approximately 7 to 9 months after they return from Iraq, assuming operational requirements remain constant,? according to the press release.
?Right now it?s not anticipated (that the battalion will stay more than 90 days), but as a Marine Corps we?re fully prepared to make appropriate adjustments as the situation in Iraq develops,? said Capt. Jay Delarosa, spokesperson for Headquarters Marine Corps.
The extension of 1/6 and five California-based units ? 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, from Twentynine Palms, Calif. and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, Calif., which includes 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (Camp Pendleton), Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 (Miramar, Calif.) and Combat Logistics Battalion 15 (Camp Pendleton, Calif.) ? will ?strengthen the coalition forces? abilities to secure areas of Al-Anbar province that might draw insurgents escaping the increase of forces in Baghdad,? the press release said. The objective of the effort is a ?peaceful and stable Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors while being able to defend itself from internal and external threats.?
II Marine Expeditionary Force officials at Camp Lejeune said Thursday they were ?looking at the impact of this extension.?
For Towles, it means questions that she probably can?t answer for most of the 1/6 wives.
?I think most people right now are sort of processing it, trying to get a grasp on what is going on,? she said.
Wives have questions about pushing back their return to Jacksonville, how money will work out, whether or not they will hear from their husbands and where their husbands will go.
?It?s question after question, and a lot of wives need answers,? Towles said. ?We?re just sort of waiting right now.?
Her biggest piece of advice is taking life one day at a time.
?We?ll get through today and tomorrow until eventually he?ll be home, Lord-willing,? she said. ?This is who we are and what we do.?
When the baby arrives, sometime in May, Towles will have friends and family in town to be with her.
?The support here is absolutely amazing,? she said. ?My husband and I both have such a peace in the Lord that we?re going to be OK. And that is a very important part to getting through it.?
Contact staff writer Chrissy Vick at cvick@freedomenc.com or by calling 353-1171, ext. 239.
Ellie