thedrifter
03-06-08, 07:41 AM
Families prepare for Marine squadron's return from Japan
6-month deployment ends Monday
Published Thu, Mar 6, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
When the 180 Marines of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312, the "Checkerboards," return Monday from a six-month deployment to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, they'll have a batch of paint-splattered kids and spouses waiting to greet them.
About 40 of the Marines' family members gathered Wednesday at a community center at Laurel Bay to paint signs and banners welcoming their Marines home to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
The Checkerboards were sent to Iwakuni for training with the Phillippines' armed forces, according to Jennifer Maxwell, wife of the squadron's commanding officer, Lt. Col. Bill Maxwell.
"This has been the easiest deployment I've ever been through, and e-mail's been a big part of that," said Maxwell, who also said she's been through "too many deployments" to count during their 17- year marriage.
Maxwell's 13-year-old son, William, said he can't wait to talk to his father face-to-face, as opposed to the government line they call the Batphone.
"I love him," William said. "And I'm not ashamed to say it."
As Ashley Charles watched her 16-month-old daughter, Kaelyn, scribble on a sheet of poster board, Charles asked Kaelyn where daddy -- Cpl. David Charles -- was.
Kaelyn dropped her marker, spread her hands and said, "Gone."
"She also sometimes thinks the phone is da-da," Charles said. "I'm dealing with the deployment better than I thought. Kaelyn keeps me busy, and I've had my family to support me."
Summer Files)said the lessons she learned during her husband's first deployment to Iwakuni helped her make it to Monday. Her husband, Cpl. Philip Files, is an avionics tech for the air station.
"I just have to be patient," she said. "I have to understand that this is what we signed up for."
Dani Carpenter, wife of the squadron's executive officer, Maj. Glenn Takabayashi, also said keeping her children in line has helped make the deployment go by quickly.
Carpenter's children, Dylan, 4, and Hala, 5, have kept in touch with their father via Web cam,playing tick-tack-toe and checkers from the other side of the world.
In fact, playing tick-tack-toe is exactly what Hala plans to do as soon as her father comes home, she said, while smearing green paint on her hands.
Originally from Wales, Carpenter met Takabayashi while working in Hiroshima, Japan.
Having a strong support network at Laurel Bay has helped Carpenter weather her husband's deployment, she said.
"All the ladies in the squadron have a really good camaraderie," she said. "We all get together for coffee, functions or just to drink wine."
Brittany Boettcher, 18, and her siblings Matthew, 5, and Julia, 4, plan to play golf with their father, Master Sgt. Frederick Bobrowski, when he returns home, Boettcher said.
"We've actually been practicing out at the range," she said.
Their mother, Nancy Bobrowski, has an extra reason to look forward to Monday -- her husband is retiring in September after 25 years in the Marine Corps, so this should be his last deployment. Frederick Bobrowski deployed to Iwakuni in 2001 and 2005.
"We're so excited," she said.
Tri-Command employee Rose Ewing was one of the 10 or so volunteers who set up Wednesday's sign-making party, she said.
She's not a military spouse, but anything she can do to welcome the Checkerboards home is well worth it, she said.
"How could you not want to welcome the troops home? I'm just an employee who cares about the Marines and sailors over there," she said. "It's just the right thing to do."
Ellie
6-month deployment ends Monday
Published Thu, Mar 6, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
When the 180 Marines of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312, the "Checkerboards," return Monday from a six-month deployment to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, they'll have a batch of paint-splattered kids and spouses waiting to greet them.
About 40 of the Marines' family members gathered Wednesday at a community center at Laurel Bay to paint signs and banners welcoming their Marines home to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
The Checkerboards were sent to Iwakuni for training with the Phillippines' armed forces, according to Jennifer Maxwell, wife of the squadron's commanding officer, Lt. Col. Bill Maxwell.
"This has been the easiest deployment I've ever been through, and e-mail's been a big part of that," said Maxwell, who also said she's been through "too many deployments" to count during their 17- year marriage.
Maxwell's 13-year-old son, William, said he can't wait to talk to his father face-to-face, as opposed to the government line they call the Batphone.
"I love him," William said. "And I'm not ashamed to say it."
As Ashley Charles watched her 16-month-old daughter, Kaelyn, scribble on a sheet of poster board, Charles asked Kaelyn where daddy -- Cpl. David Charles -- was.
Kaelyn dropped her marker, spread her hands and said, "Gone."
"She also sometimes thinks the phone is da-da," Charles said. "I'm dealing with the deployment better than I thought. Kaelyn keeps me busy, and I've had my family to support me."
Summer Files)said the lessons she learned during her husband's first deployment to Iwakuni helped her make it to Monday. Her husband, Cpl. Philip Files, is an avionics tech for the air station.
"I just have to be patient," she said. "I have to understand that this is what we signed up for."
Dani Carpenter, wife of the squadron's executive officer, Maj. Glenn Takabayashi, also said keeping her children in line has helped make the deployment go by quickly.
Carpenter's children, Dylan, 4, and Hala, 5, have kept in touch with their father via Web cam,playing tick-tack-toe and checkers from the other side of the world.
In fact, playing tick-tack-toe is exactly what Hala plans to do as soon as her father comes home, she said, while smearing green paint on her hands.
Originally from Wales, Carpenter met Takabayashi while working in Hiroshima, Japan.
Having a strong support network at Laurel Bay has helped Carpenter weather her husband's deployment, she said.
"All the ladies in the squadron have a really good camaraderie," she said. "We all get together for coffee, functions or just to drink wine."
Brittany Boettcher, 18, and her siblings Matthew, 5, and Julia, 4, plan to play golf with their father, Master Sgt. Frederick Bobrowski, when he returns home, Boettcher said.
"We've actually been practicing out at the range," she said.
Their mother, Nancy Bobrowski, has an extra reason to look forward to Monday -- her husband is retiring in September after 25 years in the Marine Corps, so this should be his last deployment. Frederick Bobrowski deployed to Iwakuni in 2001 and 2005.
"We're so excited," she said.
Tri-Command employee Rose Ewing was one of the 10 or so volunteers who set up Wednesday's sign-making party, she said.
She's not a military spouse, but anything she can do to welcome the Checkerboards home is well worth it, she said.
"How could you not want to welcome the troops home? I'm just an employee who cares about the Marines and sailors over there," she said. "It's just the right thing to do."
Ellie