thedrifter
05-07-08, 08:18 AM
Back from Iraq
5/6/2008 By Joseph R. Chenelly, Press Officer , Marine Corps Base Quantico
MCB Quantico, Va —When Matthew Tulloh stood on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Training two and half years ago, he thought there was no way he’d end up manning a .50-caliber machine gun for six months in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Tulloh was one of several hundred Marines returning to Quantico as a member of the now combat-seasoned Task Force National Capital Region. He spent the past six months in the task force’s 3rd Platoon patrolling Iraq’s Al Anbar Province.
Normally, a unit diary clerk at Henderson Hall, Tulloh volunteered last year to join the specially created task force which handled security details in Iraq but was predominately made up of Marines not normally assigned to infantry duties.
“Deploying to Iraq and getting to into the action is something every Marine should have an opportunity to do,” Tulloh said during a homecoming celebration at Quantico Monday afternoon. “It is a unique chance for an admin clerk like me, especially for those of us stationed here at Quantico and elsewhere in the National Capital Region, where most of us are in non-deployable units.”
At about 3 p.m. four police-escorted chartered buses passed more than 50 welcoming banners along the road and stopped in front of the base’s gym. The leathernecks and sailors piled off and into formation, exercising great discipline in not plunging into the cheering crowd of loved ones waiting for their service members.
With an “ooh-rah,” the task force was dismissed and Sgt. Shane Hafner rushed to see his youngest son in person for the first time. Two-month-old Teagan didn’t know what to make of the guy with very faded desert utilities leaning into his car seat.
Hafner’s other son, Trevin, will be 2 years old next month and shrieked “Daddy” a moment or two after for the first time in half a year seeing 5th Platoon’s 2nd Section leader. Jenna Hafner had kept photos of her husband on Trevin’s plastic tumbler throughout the deployment to help their son remember his father’s face.
The sergeant admitted seeing his children after such a long time was “awkward,” noting they were too young to understand why he had been gone for so long. The family plans to spend the next several days getting reacquainted and relaxing at their home south of Fredericksburg.
Tulloh doesn’t have children or even a girlfriend right now. Tulloh said the first thing he wants to do once off base is “get a pole in the water.” But he has some readjusting to do, as well.
“When we were on the buses coming in, I felt nervous every time a car would pull in between the buses or get close,” Tulloh said. “In Iraq, that can be very bad. And I keep forgetting that I don’t have to worry about my rifle any more. It is going to take some getting use to. My mental awareness is very high.”
Tulloh said the extensive predeployment training the task force went through in the months before shipping out in November was particularly helpful in getting the Marines and sailors in the right mindset. He said the training, along with strong small-unit leadership, is the reason the task force completed the deployment without a single combat casualty.
“We learned to keep our eyes open all the time, ready for anything and everything,” Tulloh said. “That kept us out of trouble and helped us get our jobs done day in and day out.”
For one boy, seeing his father Tuesday was the “best birthday present possible,” said his mother, Angel Orsini. Her husband is Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Orsini. Their son, Ethan, turned 5 Monday. They rode 10 hours Sunday from Newport, R.I., where they lived while the corpsman was deployed.
“We tried to stay as busy as possible to make the time go by a little faster,” Angel Orsini said about how she dealt with being without her husband for six months. “I got a part-time job and we went to every event we could find – anything to keep our minds occupied. And it helped that we were able to e-mail and talk on the phone fairly often.”
The Marines and sailors expect to remain with the task force for the next month or so to stand down the unit and transition back to their normal jobs.
“Being an admin clerk again might be tough,” Tulloh said. “I am going to miss the thrill of going out on patrols, but I am glad I had the opportunity. I hope others who want it get the same chance.”
Ellie
5/6/2008 By Joseph R. Chenelly, Press Officer , Marine Corps Base Quantico
MCB Quantico, Va —When Matthew Tulloh stood on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Training two and half years ago, he thought there was no way he’d end up manning a .50-caliber machine gun for six months in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Tulloh was one of several hundred Marines returning to Quantico as a member of the now combat-seasoned Task Force National Capital Region. He spent the past six months in the task force’s 3rd Platoon patrolling Iraq’s Al Anbar Province.
Normally, a unit diary clerk at Henderson Hall, Tulloh volunteered last year to join the specially created task force which handled security details in Iraq but was predominately made up of Marines not normally assigned to infantry duties.
“Deploying to Iraq and getting to into the action is something every Marine should have an opportunity to do,” Tulloh said during a homecoming celebration at Quantico Monday afternoon. “It is a unique chance for an admin clerk like me, especially for those of us stationed here at Quantico and elsewhere in the National Capital Region, where most of us are in non-deployable units.”
At about 3 p.m. four police-escorted chartered buses passed more than 50 welcoming banners along the road and stopped in front of the base’s gym. The leathernecks and sailors piled off and into formation, exercising great discipline in not plunging into the cheering crowd of loved ones waiting for their service members.
With an “ooh-rah,” the task force was dismissed and Sgt. Shane Hafner rushed to see his youngest son in person for the first time. Two-month-old Teagan didn’t know what to make of the guy with very faded desert utilities leaning into his car seat.
Hafner’s other son, Trevin, will be 2 years old next month and shrieked “Daddy” a moment or two after for the first time in half a year seeing 5th Platoon’s 2nd Section leader. Jenna Hafner had kept photos of her husband on Trevin’s plastic tumbler throughout the deployment to help their son remember his father’s face.
The sergeant admitted seeing his children after such a long time was “awkward,” noting they were too young to understand why he had been gone for so long. The family plans to spend the next several days getting reacquainted and relaxing at their home south of Fredericksburg.
Tulloh doesn’t have children or even a girlfriend right now. Tulloh said the first thing he wants to do once off base is “get a pole in the water.” But he has some readjusting to do, as well.
“When we were on the buses coming in, I felt nervous every time a car would pull in between the buses or get close,” Tulloh said. “In Iraq, that can be very bad. And I keep forgetting that I don’t have to worry about my rifle any more. It is going to take some getting use to. My mental awareness is very high.”
Tulloh said the extensive predeployment training the task force went through in the months before shipping out in November was particularly helpful in getting the Marines and sailors in the right mindset. He said the training, along with strong small-unit leadership, is the reason the task force completed the deployment without a single combat casualty.
“We learned to keep our eyes open all the time, ready for anything and everything,” Tulloh said. “That kept us out of trouble and helped us get our jobs done day in and day out.”
For one boy, seeing his father Tuesday was the “best birthday present possible,” said his mother, Angel Orsini. Her husband is Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Orsini. Their son, Ethan, turned 5 Monday. They rode 10 hours Sunday from Newport, R.I., where they lived while the corpsman was deployed.
“We tried to stay as busy as possible to make the time go by a little faster,” Angel Orsini said about how she dealt with being without her husband for six months. “I got a part-time job and we went to every event we could find – anything to keep our minds occupied. And it helped that we were able to e-mail and talk on the phone fairly often.”
The Marines and sailors expect to remain with the task force for the next month or so to stand down the unit and transition back to their normal jobs.
“Being an admin clerk again might be tough,” Tulloh said. “I am going to miss the thrill of going out on patrols, but I am glad I had the opportunity. I hope others who want it get the same chance.”
Ellie