thedrifter
04-11-07, 07:54 AM
Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit deploy
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO -- As the massive ship pulled away Tuesday morning, Melissa Trevino watched, red-eyed and silent. A friend stood behind her, wrapping the 32-year-old Oceanside woman in a hug.
Dozens of other people at the end of the Navy pier turned to leave after a final wave goodbye to the troops aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard as it set sail.
But not Trevino. She stayed for a while, chewing on her fingernail and following the amphibious assault ship with her eyes until it finally slipped underneath the Coronado Bridge and began to pull out of sight.
"He's leaving again," Trevino said of the thought that repeated in her head as she watched the ship, part of the Expeditionary Strike Group that left from Naval Station San Diego.
It is the third time Trevino, whose husband is a Camp Pendleton Marine, has said a long goodbye to her husband since the start of the Iraq war. Pfc. Arturo Trevino was in Iraq in 2004, in the volatile city of Fallujah, and again in late 2005, in the city of Haditha.
"It's hard," Melissa Trevino said after the ship was out of sight. "Right now, I just depend on friends."
And this time, although the official mission is ambiguous, some of the 5,000 Marines and sailors who left Tuesday morning say they are prepared to head into Iraq. The troops are taking part in what is scheduled to be a deployment of at least six months to the Pacific and Central Commands, which include the Persian Gulf.
While officials called the deployment "routine," they said some of the Marines on board could find themselves in Iraq.
"At some point they will likely enter the Fifth Fleet area of operations, which is responsible for naval operations in Iraq," Navy spokesman Sr. Chief Jack Chirrick said Monday.
Some 2,200 Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marines are on board the ships that make up much of Expeditionary Strike Group 5. Two more ships out of Hawaii will join the group for its mission.
An expeditionary strike group is a group of ships that transport and deliver Marines, Chirrick said.
The Marines who shipped out are part of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which serves as the part of the strike group trained to go on land. The expeditionary strike group also includes the USS Denver and USS Rushmore.
There are approximately 25,000 Marines in Iraq now, most from the II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Most of the men and women from Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force, along with several Miramar Marine Corps Air Station units, are now home.
Smaller Camp Pendleton and Miramar units and individual troops remain in Iraq filling critical jobs.
The last two times Marines with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit were deployed on a ship, they ended up in Iraq. The first time, they were on the ground for about six weeks; the second time, the mission in Iraq lasted about four months ---- but not before stopping in the Philippines to take part in a humanitarian mission.
"They go where they are needed," Col. Sam Mundy, the commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said as he stood on a pier at the 32nd street station south of downtown San Diego before the ship left. "We train for the unknown. We handle a wide range of missions, among the widest in the Marine Corps."
The Marines and sailors on board the ships teamed up in October to begin the rigorous training in preparation for the deployment.
Their training covered working in urban environments and practicing the evacuation of civilians. The troops also trained to carry out humanitarian operations, which involved providing food, water, medical attention and rebuilding services ---- all while keeping watch for threat of insurgents.
"We routinely train to this standard," Mundy said. "The added emphasis is we know there is a hot war going on over there."
In recent years, previous ship deployments for Marines have involved humanitarian missions during emergencies. They helped with the massive tsunami in South Asia in late 2004 that killed more than 175,000 people and the powerful earthquake that rocked Pakistan in 2005, killing 80,000 people.
As he stood on board the USS Bonhomme Richard and waited for the ship to push off, Lance Cpl. Ryan Beamish said the training makes a difference.
"Watching everybody do it, I know we are fully capable to totally execute what we were taught," Beamish said. "My buddies aren't gonna let me fall."
Beamish, who is married and heading out on his first deployment, gave a bit of a wistful look out over the pier below the ship and at the city beyond. "It's pretty rough to say goodbye to the good land, the home front."
For the family of R.J. Smith of Springfield, Ill., the news that the 20-year-old Marine was casting off with this strike group came as a surprise ---- a change of plans that came about early last week, when Smith was ordered to fill in for another Marine. Smith's family flew out to California within a day of finding out he would be heading out on his first deployment.
"It's quite amazing in San Diego, the amount of support they show," said his father, Bob Smith, a retired psychologist.
Asked how it feels to look up and see his son about to sail off ---- and eventually maybe into the Middle East ---- Smith paused. He looked away to blink back tears. "I'm not sure I can answer that," he said.
His wife, Kristine, when asked the same question a few moments later, also looked away and fought tears.
"I'm really proud," she said after a moment. "He's worked really hard and this is what he's wanted to do his whole life."
As the family spoke, R.J. Smith stood on board the ship about three stories high. His beaming face could be seen by those down to the pier.
When the Bonhomme Richard readied to cast off under mostly blue skies Tuesday, hundreds of Marines and sailors lined the deck, as they traditionally do.
Beneath them, hanging out of portholes and other openings on the ship, other troops waved goodbyes. Above the fray came the voice of one little boy on the pier, who yelled out, " 'Bye, daddy!"
As the ship pulled away from the pier, there were hugs, and there were tears. Pregnant women rubbed their bellies; worried wives cried.
But from the ship, in a porthole near the front, one final shout drew a laugh: "We'll see you when we get back ---- and we'll have some salt and pepper chicken!"
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO -- As the massive ship pulled away Tuesday morning, Melissa Trevino watched, red-eyed and silent. A friend stood behind her, wrapping the 32-year-old Oceanside woman in a hug.
Dozens of other people at the end of the Navy pier turned to leave after a final wave goodbye to the troops aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard as it set sail.
But not Trevino. She stayed for a while, chewing on her fingernail and following the amphibious assault ship with her eyes until it finally slipped underneath the Coronado Bridge and began to pull out of sight.
"He's leaving again," Trevino said of the thought that repeated in her head as she watched the ship, part of the Expeditionary Strike Group that left from Naval Station San Diego.
It is the third time Trevino, whose husband is a Camp Pendleton Marine, has said a long goodbye to her husband since the start of the Iraq war. Pfc. Arturo Trevino was in Iraq in 2004, in the volatile city of Fallujah, and again in late 2005, in the city of Haditha.
"It's hard," Melissa Trevino said after the ship was out of sight. "Right now, I just depend on friends."
And this time, although the official mission is ambiguous, some of the 5,000 Marines and sailors who left Tuesday morning say they are prepared to head into Iraq. The troops are taking part in what is scheduled to be a deployment of at least six months to the Pacific and Central Commands, which include the Persian Gulf.
While officials called the deployment "routine," they said some of the Marines on board could find themselves in Iraq.
"At some point they will likely enter the Fifth Fleet area of operations, which is responsible for naval operations in Iraq," Navy spokesman Sr. Chief Jack Chirrick said Monday.
Some 2,200 Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marines are on board the ships that make up much of Expeditionary Strike Group 5. Two more ships out of Hawaii will join the group for its mission.
An expeditionary strike group is a group of ships that transport and deliver Marines, Chirrick said.
The Marines who shipped out are part of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which serves as the part of the strike group trained to go on land. The expeditionary strike group also includes the USS Denver and USS Rushmore.
There are approximately 25,000 Marines in Iraq now, most from the II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Most of the men and women from Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force, along with several Miramar Marine Corps Air Station units, are now home.
Smaller Camp Pendleton and Miramar units and individual troops remain in Iraq filling critical jobs.
The last two times Marines with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit were deployed on a ship, they ended up in Iraq. The first time, they were on the ground for about six weeks; the second time, the mission in Iraq lasted about four months ---- but not before stopping in the Philippines to take part in a humanitarian mission.
"They go where they are needed," Col. Sam Mundy, the commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said as he stood on a pier at the 32nd street station south of downtown San Diego before the ship left. "We train for the unknown. We handle a wide range of missions, among the widest in the Marine Corps."
The Marines and sailors on board the ships teamed up in October to begin the rigorous training in preparation for the deployment.
Their training covered working in urban environments and practicing the evacuation of civilians. The troops also trained to carry out humanitarian operations, which involved providing food, water, medical attention and rebuilding services ---- all while keeping watch for threat of insurgents.
"We routinely train to this standard," Mundy said. "The added emphasis is we know there is a hot war going on over there."
In recent years, previous ship deployments for Marines have involved humanitarian missions during emergencies. They helped with the massive tsunami in South Asia in late 2004 that killed more than 175,000 people and the powerful earthquake that rocked Pakistan in 2005, killing 80,000 people.
As he stood on board the USS Bonhomme Richard and waited for the ship to push off, Lance Cpl. Ryan Beamish said the training makes a difference.
"Watching everybody do it, I know we are fully capable to totally execute what we were taught," Beamish said. "My buddies aren't gonna let me fall."
Beamish, who is married and heading out on his first deployment, gave a bit of a wistful look out over the pier below the ship and at the city beyond. "It's pretty rough to say goodbye to the good land, the home front."
For the family of R.J. Smith of Springfield, Ill., the news that the 20-year-old Marine was casting off with this strike group came as a surprise ---- a change of plans that came about early last week, when Smith was ordered to fill in for another Marine. Smith's family flew out to California within a day of finding out he would be heading out on his first deployment.
"It's quite amazing in San Diego, the amount of support they show," said his father, Bob Smith, a retired psychologist.
Asked how it feels to look up and see his son about to sail off ---- and eventually maybe into the Middle East ---- Smith paused. He looked away to blink back tears. "I'm not sure I can answer that," he said.
His wife, Kristine, when asked the same question a few moments later, also looked away and fought tears.
"I'm really proud," she said after a moment. "He's worked really hard and this is what he's wanted to do his whole life."
As the family spoke, R.J. Smith stood on board the ship about three stories high. His beaming face could be seen by those down to the pier.
When the Bonhomme Richard readied to cast off under mostly blue skies Tuesday, hundreds of Marines and sailors lined the deck, as they traditionally do.
Beneath them, hanging out of portholes and other openings on the ship, other troops waved goodbyes. Above the fray came the voice of one little boy on the pier, who yelled out, " 'Bye, daddy!"
As the ship pulled away from the pier, there were hugs, and there were tears. Pregnant women rubbed their bellies; worried wives cried.
But from the ship, in a porthole near the front, one final shout drew a laugh: "We'll see you when we get back ---- and we'll have some salt and pepper chicken!"
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
Ellie