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thedrifter
01-04-08, 04:53 AM
A brighter mood for deploying Pendleton Marines

Iraq violence is down where troops are headed

By Rick Rogers
STAFF WRITER

January 4, 2008

Cpl. Eric Thomas stuffed a shirt into his duffel bag Wednesday at Camp Pendleton and waited to turn in a room key he won't be needing for a long time.

Around him, about 200 other Marines and sailors from the 5th Regiment enjoyed their last day stateside before leaving for Iraq. Some planned to drive to Del Mar or Encinitas for dinner. Others wanted to catch a movie or maybe down a beer or two in Oceanside or Carlsbad.

Thomas chose to stay on base and call his wife, Jaymie, who lives in their hometown of Albany, Ore. They talked into the early morning hours as they considered the year to come.

Yesterday evening, Thomas boarded a plane as part of the leading edge of a 14,000-strong Marine force headed to Iraq. Within a month, he will serve as a gunner, mechanic and tool-room supervisor in the war zone of Anbar province.

But with far fewer U.S. troop deaths in the region, the impending combat tour seemed a lot brighter than previous deployments, said many of Thomas' fellow Marines and their families who gathered at Camp Pendleton for farewell hugs, kisses and tears.

The deployment “actually feels good,” said Thomas, 21, as he embarked on his maiden combat tour. “I'm really looking forward to going over there for (a different) experience.”

By all measures, violence has decreased significantly in Anbar as some tribal leaders in the predominantly Sunni area have aligned themselves with U.S. troops against al-Qaeda or other groups of insurgents.

No Camp Pendleton-based Marine has been killed in action in Iraq since Lance Cpl. Jeremy Burris died Oct. 8, according to statistics from the Marine Corps.

November and December marked the first consecutive months since summer 2004 in which Marines suffered no combat deaths in that country.

“It makes me feel a lot better knowing that things are quieter over there,” Cpl. Preston Snook, 23, said yesterday.

“We are all saying that we don't have as much to worry about this deployment. But you can't get complacent. The moment you do, someone shoots at you,” said Snook, a truck driver from Moore, Okla., as he fastened a sling to his M16 rifle.

Staff Sgt. Jason Pierce said he hasn't heard of any major disturbances in Anbar for more than a year.

“That's not to say that it's not dangerous,” said Pierce, 29, who hails from Rochester, N.Y. “It certainly isn't Orange County, and any family member or spouse is going to be concerned because their Marine is going into a combat zone.”

Combat veterans, including Snook and Pierce, look at the lower casualty counts and see growing hope for long-term stability in Iraq. Those who haven't experienced the battles aren't so confident about what lies ahead.

For the next year, Thomas will man a machine gun for convoy duty in western Iraq when he's not working 15-hour shifts maintaining Humvees and seven-ton trucks.

Amid the constant threat of roadside bombs and rooftop snipers, Marines are known to carry good luck charms. But Thomas is counting on a higher power.

“God's my lucky charm,” said Thomas, who counts his travel-sized Bible as a prized item for this deployment. It's the only book he owns.

Thomas, who joined the Marines in August 2005 and became a husband a year later, has been quizzing combat veterans like Snook about ways to detect improvised explosive devices – the single greatest threat to military convoys.

“I'm going to stay vigilant every minute I'm over there,” Thomas said. “I just really want to get over there and get my tour started and do my job.”

Snook offered an ounce of optimism to Thomas and other Marines making their inaugural combat trip to Iraq.

“Listen to the people who have been over there and know, and don't be intimidated by the situation,” Snook said. “It is not as bad as it sounds, especially now.”

Pierce added some reassurance of his own, insisting that pre-combat nerves are part of the territory.

“Any deployment, if you're not nervous, there's something wrong,” he said. “But first-timers get anxious. They hope for the best and expect the worst.”

As the Marines bantered yesterday while waiting for a bus to take them to an airfield, Erin Garza tried to make the most of her final moments with her boyfriend, Lance Cpl. Timothy Slack, 21, of Newport, N.C.

The couple held hands. Garza reflected on whether the relative calm in Anbar province made it any easier to say goodbye.

“Not much. Just being away from him will be hard,” she said.

Preston Snook's wife, Nikki, later watched her husband march toward the deployment bus for the second time in three years.

“I try to think that if we live to be 100 and we are married for 80 years, the time apart will only be a tiny fraction of our life together,” she said.

Thomas pulled out a photo of his wife shortly before he boarded the bus. He had talked with her on his cell phone for more than an hour.

As he looked at the picture of Jaymie, he said, “I believe we are in this war for a reason. If God didn't want us over there in that country, we wouldn't be there.”

Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com

Ellie