thedrifter
01-05-08, 07:12 AM
Preschoolers adopt Marine
By LISA GRZYBOSKI
Courier-Post Staff
SOMERDALE
It was less than a year ago that Andrew Grubb was in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, capturing insurgents and helping build a 300-person police force from the ground up.
The Marine Corps first lieutenant and Winslow native will return to Iraq next month for a seven-month deployment, this time to the country's northwest region where he and a small Marine team will train an Iraqi Army battalion.
On Friday, Grubb got a community send-off at Sterling Regional High School that included getting adopted by a class of preschoolers who are enrolled in a program at the high school. Grubb also was awarded the Camden County Military Service Medal for honorable service.
"Young men like Andrew are carrying the flag for us and we appreciate that," said retired Lt. Col. Alan Bancroft of the Marine Corps, the county's military affairs director who presented the commendation.
Grubb, who was home on two weeks' leave, said he was shocked by the ceremony that his mother, Joanne, a Sterling teacher, organized.
It started in his mom's early childhood education classroom in the high school, where Grubb met each of the preschoolers who have adopted him for his next deployment. It ended with him showing a photo and video presentation to Naval Junior ROTC high school students about his experience in Ramadi where he commanded a platoon of 45 Marines.
"We pretty much moved into a district on the outskirts of the city that wasn't touched for two years and were tasked with securing it," Grubb said.
Using intelligence from local residents, he and his platoon would go on raids to capture insurgents and seize caches of machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and improvised rocket launchers.
The platoon was also part of a company of about 200 Marines who trained 300 Iraqi police officers for the city and built three police stations.
"If you look up Ramadi's history two years ago, it was considered a lost city. But things have changed since then," said Grubb, 25, who left Ramadi at the end of March. "From the reports I've seen, things have been going real well. The Iraqi police own the city and the Iraqi Army owns the outskirts of it."
Grubb's talk gave students a firsthand view of the war and provided an example of how someone prepares for a challenge in an environment that's out of their comfort zone, said Rory Meehan, a retire Marine Corps major who leads the JROTC program at the high school.
"I wanted to talk him out of it, but I didn't," said Joanne Grubb of her son's decision to enlist in the Marines. "He's the kind of person you want there defending and representing this country."
Grubb frequently talked about joining the military when he was a student at the former Edgewood High School in Winslow. His resolve only got stronger in 2001, his freshmen year at York College in York, Pa.
When his parents came to see him at college, the first place they went on campus was to see a banner remembering the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"He told us he was going to join once he graduated from college," said George Grubb, his father.
"His previous deployment was the hardest for us because we didn't know what was going to happen there. Now it seems like it's calmed down and he's going over as part of a teaching effort rather than a fighting effort," said George Grubb, whose father was a Marine in World War II. "We feel a little more assured that it won't be as dangerous."
The elder Grubb said his son doesn't talk too much about his service in Iraq. Nonetheless, the family got a glimpse of part of it when Grubb received a Marine commendation of valor last year for capturing insurgents.
"Apparently there was a Marine that was killed and my son took his men into a dangerous area and captured the insurgent that killed the Marine," George Grubb said. "He went over and above what he had to do."
When Grubb leaves his boyhood home early Sunday morning to return to Camp Pendleton in California for more training, there will be tears, said his older sister, Stephanie. But the family supports him.
"He knows what he's doing. We have faith in him," she said. "I'm proud of him."
Reach Lisa Grzyboski at (856) 486-2931 or lgrzyboski@courierpostonline.com
Published: January 05. 2008 3:10AM
Ellie
By LISA GRZYBOSKI
Courier-Post Staff
SOMERDALE
It was less than a year ago that Andrew Grubb was in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, capturing insurgents and helping build a 300-person police force from the ground up.
The Marine Corps first lieutenant and Winslow native will return to Iraq next month for a seven-month deployment, this time to the country's northwest region where he and a small Marine team will train an Iraqi Army battalion.
On Friday, Grubb got a community send-off at Sterling Regional High School that included getting adopted by a class of preschoolers who are enrolled in a program at the high school. Grubb also was awarded the Camden County Military Service Medal for honorable service.
"Young men like Andrew are carrying the flag for us and we appreciate that," said retired Lt. Col. Alan Bancroft of the Marine Corps, the county's military affairs director who presented the commendation.
Grubb, who was home on two weeks' leave, said he was shocked by the ceremony that his mother, Joanne, a Sterling teacher, organized.
It started in his mom's early childhood education classroom in the high school, where Grubb met each of the preschoolers who have adopted him for his next deployment. It ended with him showing a photo and video presentation to Naval Junior ROTC high school students about his experience in Ramadi where he commanded a platoon of 45 Marines.
"We pretty much moved into a district on the outskirts of the city that wasn't touched for two years and were tasked with securing it," Grubb said.
Using intelligence from local residents, he and his platoon would go on raids to capture insurgents and seize caches of machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and improvised rocket launchers.
The platoon was also part of a company of about 200 Marines who trained 300 Iraqi police officers for the city and built three police stations.
"If you look up Ramadi's history two years ago, it was considered a lost city. But things have changed since then," said Grubb, 25, who left Ramadi at the end of March. "From the reports I've seen, things have been going real well. The Iraqi police own the city and the Iraqi Army owns the outskirts of it."
Grubb's talk gave students a firsthand view of the war and provided an example of how someone prepares for a challenge in an environment that's out of their comfort zone, said Rory Meehan, a retire Marine Corps major who leads the JROTC program at the high school.
"I wanted to talk him out of it, but I didn't," said Joanne Grubb of her son's decision to enlist in the Marines. "He's the kind of person you want there defending and representing this country."
Grubb frequently talked about joining the military when he was a student at the former Edgewood High School in Winslow. His resolve only got stronger in 2001, his freshmen year at York College in York, Pa.
When his parents came to see him at college, the first place they went on campus was to see a banner remembering the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"He told us he was going to join once he graduated from college," said George Grubb, his father.
"His previous deployment was the hardest for us because we didn't know what was going to happen there. Now it seems like it's calmed down and he's going over as part of a teaching effort rather than a fighting effort," said George Grubb, whose father was a Marine in World War II. "We feel a little more assured that it won't be as dangerous."
The elder Grubb said his son doesn't talk too much about his service in Iraq. Nonetheless, the family got a glimpse of part of it when Grubb received a Marine commendation of valor last year for capturing insurgents.
"Apparently there was a Marine that was killed and my son took his men into a dangerous area and captured the insurgent that killed the Marine," George Grubb said. "He went over and above what he had to do."
When Grubb leaves his boyhood home early Sunday morning to return to Camp Pendleton in California for more training, there will be tears, said his older sister, Stephanie. But the family supports him.
"He knows what he's doing. We have faith in him," she said. "I'm proud of him."
Reach Lisa Grzyboski at (856) 486-2931 or lgrzyboski@courierpostonline.com
Published: January 05. 2008 3:10AM
Ellie