thedrifter
08-21-07, 07:37 PM
Area men proud to serve with Marines in Mongolia
BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer
Lance Cpl. Adam Giampiccolo, 22, is from Manalapan and Lance Cpl. Daniel Tacopino, 22, is from Freehold Township, but they had to go all the way to Mongolia to make each other's acquaintance.
Giampiccolo and Tacopino are U.S. Marines who are attending a special three-week training exercise with about 90 other Marines plus a coalition of United Nations forces gathered in Mongolia.
Tacopino has a brother who is a staff sergeant who is also in Mongolia serving with a group of soldiers from Sri Lanka.
In an Aug. 15 telephone interview with the News Transcript that was arranged by U.S. military services, Tacopino said the exercise in which he is participating is a great opportunity for American soldiers to meet and mix with other armed forces.
Giampiccolo and Tacopino are both 2003 graduates of the Freehold Regional High School District who spoke with the News Transcript from their training ground in the Five Hills Training Center in Mongolia.
While they are in Mongolia, Giampiccolo and Tacopino will be part of the field training exercise and they will participate in U.S. forces humanitarian civic assistance projects and a command post exercise that will focus on multinational peace support operations involving United Nations planning and execution.
Both soldiers said Mongolia is exotically beautiful with a diverse terrain that includes vast plains and craggy mountains, perfect for their training, according to Tacopino.
When asked what they thought about the idea of a reinstitution of a military draft in the United States, Tacopino and Giampiccolo both said they are proud to serve, but expressed reservations about seeing the nation return to a draft.
Giampiccolo said while he believes "everyone should do a stint in the military," he also thinks a draft "might be a bad idea."
"You want people who actually want to be there," he said.
Giampiccolo said he could "easily" see making the military a career. However, he said he also wants to finish his initial six-year military obligation and then go to college to study environmental science and perhaps get a job with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Tacopino's reflections on instituting a draft included the observation that on one hand, other countries do it and it works for them.
"It (military service) makes you stronger," he said.
Tacopino said he believes he would like to pursue a career as a police officer once he has completed his six-year obligation to the Marines.
Tacopino said all in all he is not certain what the future holds for him, but no matter what career he does embrace he said he will still enlist for a 20-year hitch as a Marines reserve.
He expressed a belief that a stint in the military can only be a good thing for young people because it builds character and expands their life experience, giving them skills that will serve them well in life.
Mongolian President Nambariyn Enkhbayar officiated at the opening ceremony that recognized the multinational peacekeeping support operations training exercise known as Khaan Quest 07, according to an armed services sanctioned Internet Web site.
The Web site says the exercise "aims to increase the peacekeeping abilities of the more than 1,000 participating multinational service members as well as to improve international speed of response, mission effectiveness, interoperability and unity of effort in peacekeeping operations."
Ellie
BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer
Lance Cpl. Adam Giampiccolo, 22, is from Manalapan and Lance Cpl. Daniel Tacopino, 22, is from Freehold Township, but they had to go all the way to Mongolia to make each other's acquaintance.
Giampiccolo and Tacopino are U.S. Marines who are attending a special three-week training exercise with about 90 other Marines plus a coalition of United Nations forces gathered in Mongolia.
Tacopino has a brother who is a staff sergeant who is also in Mongolia serving with a group of soldiers from Sri Lanka.
In an Aug. 15 telephone interview with the News Transcript that was arranged by U.S. military services, Tacopino said the exercise in which he is participating is a great opportunity for American soldiers to meet and mix with other armed forces.
Giampiccolo and Tacopino are both 2003 graduates of the Freehold Regional High School District who spoke with the News Transcript from their training ground in the Five Hills Training Center in Mongolia.
While they are in Mongolia, Giampiccolo and Tacopino will be part of the field training exercise and they will participate in U.S. forces humanitarian civic assistance projects and a command post exercise that will focus on multinational peace support operations involving United Nations planning and execution.
Both soldiers said Mongolia is exotically beautiful with a diverse terrain that includes vast plains and craggy mountains, perfect for their training, according to Tacopino.
When asked what they thought about the idea of a reinstitution of a military draft in the United States, Tacopino and Giampiccolo both said they are proud to serve, but expressed reservations about seeing the nation return to a draft.
Giampiccolo said while he believes "everyone should do a stint in the military," he also thinks a draft "might be a bad idea."
"You want people who actually want to be there," he said.
Giampiccolo said he could "easily" see making the military a career. However, he said he also wants to finish his initial six-year military obligation and then go to college to study environmental science and perhaps get a job with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Tacopino's reflections on instituting a draft included the observation that on one hand, other countries do it and it works for them.
"It (military service) makes you stronger," he said.
Tacopino said he believes he would like to pursue a career as a police officer once he has completed his six-year obligation to the Marines.
Tacopino said all in all he is not certain what the future holds for him, but no matter what career he does embrace he said he will still enlist for a 20-year hitch as a Marines reserve.
He expressed a belief that a stint in the military can only be a good thing for young people because it builds character and expands their life experience, giving them skills that will serve them well in life.
Mongolian President Nambariyn Enkhbayar officiated at the opening ceremony that recognized the multinational peacekeeping support operations training exercise known as Khaan Quest 07, according to an armed services sanctioned Internet Web site.
The Web site says the exercise "aims to increase the peacekeeping abilities of the more than 1,000 participating multinational service members as well as to improve international speed of response, mission effectiveness, interoperability and unity of effort in peacekeeping operations."
Ellie