thedrifter
03-16-08, 09:33 AM
Marines prep for another round in Iraq
Many of Fox Company's reservists were in the original invasion force
By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Sunday, March 16, 2008
ALBANY -- Marine Reserve Sgt. Nicholas Jones didn't expect to return to Iraq when he came home from there in 2003. Or in 2006.
But the single father is coming to grips with the fact that much of his 20s will be consumed by the troubled country.
On Saturday, Jones prepared for his third tour of Iraq at the Washington Avenue home of his unit, Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.
Jones, of Binghamton, invaded Iraq with the 4th Marine Division unit at the war's start in March of 2003 as a 22-year-old private and ammunition specialist. He deployed again in 2006 as a 25-year-old sergeant to help quiet Fallujah, one of Iraq's toughest cities.
Now, with the fifth anniversary of the conflict falling on Wednesday, Jones is 27 and set to lead dozens of the unit's Marines, many from the Capital Region, in Iraq. About 125 of the outfit's reservists will leave for training in a few months and overseas in the fall to conduct dangerous counterinsurgency operations.
"I'm expecting to see a lot of changes, a decrease in hostilities," said Jones, who had just returned from two weeks of reserve annual training in Quantico, Va.
The experiences of the Albany Marine unit in Iraq over the last five years mirror that of the American military.
After initial hostilities in 2003, Albany's Fox Company met and protected appreciative locals in Nasiriyah. Marines like Jones and Sgt. Josh Kaplan of Guilderland conducted security patrols at a time when improvised explosive devices -- roadside bombs -- had not yet been introduced to the conflict.
Kaplan, now 23, served as an infantry rifleman during the war's first year. "It was all security, show of force," Kaplan said.
The mission turned into combat during the unit's second tour in Fallujah in 2006.
"There was a lot of fighting going on," Jones said.
IEDs were "imminent," and security patrols often took fire from enemy snipers, he said.
"It was a little more intense," said Kaplan, who suffered a noncombat neck injury that is keeping him from deploying again.
Jones expects to oversee 45 Marines in Iraq when he arrives there for what will be the third time in more than five years. He studies civil engineering at Broome County Community College when not in the military.
"It's important for me to go back because the last time I was there, I saw a lot of Marines wounded," he said.
Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.
Ellie
Many of Fox Company's reservists were in the original invasion force
By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Sunday, March 16, 2008
ALBANY -- Marine Reserve Sgt. Nicholas Jones didn't expect to return to Iraq when he came home from there in 2003. Or in 2006.
But the single father is coming to grips with the fact that much of his 20s will be consumed by the troubled country.
On Saturday, Jones prepared for his third tour of Iraq at the Washington Avenue home of his unit, Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.
Jones, of Binghamton, invaded Iraq with the 4th Marine Division unit at the war's start in March of 2003 as a 22-year-old private and ammunition specialist. He deployed again in 2006 as a 25-year-old sergeant to help quiet Fallujah, one of Iraq's toughest cities.
Now, with the fifth anniversary of the conflict falling on Wednesday, Jones is 27 and set to lead dozens of the unit's Marines, many from the Capital Region, in Iraq. About 125 of the outfit's reservists will leave for training in a few months and overseas in the fall to conduct dangerous counterinsurgency operations.
"I'm expecting to see a lot of changes, a decrease in hostilities," said Jones, who had just returned from two weeks of reserve annual training in Quantico, Va.
The experiences of the Albany Marine unit in Iraq over the last five years mirror that of the American military.
After initial hostilities in 2003, Albany's Fox Company met and protected appreciative locals in Nasiriyah. Marines like Jones and Sgt. Josh Kaplan of Guilderland conducted security patrols at a time when improvised explosive devices -- roadside bombs -- had not yet been introduced to the conflict.
Kaplan, now 23, served as an infantry rifleman during the war's first year. "It was all security, show of force," Kaplan said.
The mission turned into combat during the unit's second tour in Fallujah in 2006.
"There was a lot of fighting going on," Jones said.
IEDs were "imminent," and security patrols often took fire from enemy snipers, he said.
"It was a little more intense," said Kaplan, who suffered a noncombat neck injury that is keeping him from deploying again.
Jones expects to oversee 45 Marines in Iraq when he arrives there for what will be the third time in more than five years. He studies civil engineering at Broome County Community College when not in the military.
"It's important for me to go back because the last time I was there, I saw a lot of Marines wounded," he said.
Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.
Ellie