thedrifter
07-25-08, 07:06 AM
This Georgia unit is content with idle Iraq mission
When Marines are killed in Anbar, these reservists are called to grim duty
By DOUG SMITH
Los Angeles Times
Published on: 07/25/08
Camp Taqaddum, Iraq — Of all the duties a Marine can have in Iraq, the one undoubtedly the least sought after is now also becoming one of the least needed.
Personnel Retrieval and Processing, a unit that makes its home in a large earth-sheathed hangar on this air base in the desert of western Iraq, has had only about one mission per month this year.
The endless days of idleness are considered ideal by members of this Marine Corps Reserve unit from Georgia.
"I enjoy the slow times," Sgt. Christopher Crowder-Barnes of Marietta said. "I enjoy it because it means nobody's dying."
The PRP is the unit that prepares the remains of dead Marines for the journey home. It is one of three PRPs in Anbar province and part of the Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Remains are usually brought to the base for processing. The goal is to place them on an airplane, draped in an American flag, as quickly as possible for return to their families, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bo Causey, who heads the unit.
The hardest missions involve multiple, or especially grim, casualties. In such cases, a team goes into the field to conduct the recovery.
Across Anbar, American military deaths have dropped to about three per month this year, compared with a rate of nearly one per day in the province throughout 2006 and in the first half of last year, according to the independent Web site icasualties.org.
This year, all three Anbar units combined have had only four field retrievals, Causey said.
Despite the decline, the psychic strain of being constantly prepared never diminishes.
Like firefighters, the 14 men who work here keep themselves ready to be called at any hour. They work out, study and read during their idle hours. They stick close together, generally not associating much outside their own circle.
And they consciously watch one another for signs of distress.
"Everybody has their own personal breaking point," Causey said. "So we all make an effort to get in touch with what we are all thinking. We pay close attention to everyone's routines, what they say, their attitudes. If something changes, we try to jump on it."
Causey and other senior officers live in the hangar, inherited from Saddam Hussein's air force. The accommodations are Spartan. Besides their bunks, there is a weight room.
And then there is the processing room. It looks like a medical examiner's lab, with stainless steel gurneys and a cold-storage area.
Although it was called Mortuary Affairs until a 2005 name change, the PRP does not attempt to prepare the remains for funeral, Causey said. The mission is to stabilize them. Victims of bomb explosions often are dismembered, so the PRP does its best to organize the portions. ("Body parts" is not the accepted term.) The goal is to return the remains expeditiously in the condition in which they were recovered to preserve forensic evidence.
Causey, a veteran of some of the most deadly Anbar fighting in 2004 and 2005, said he was "voluntold" into the unit in 2003. Other members described falling into the work by chance, not knowing exactly what it was.
Each had to pass a moment of truth when he found he was psychologically suited for it.
"When you see some of the slide shows, some of the pictures, it's pretty horrifying," Lance Cpl. William Perkins of Fayetteville said.
There are two common reactions.
"One ... is complete shock," Perkins said. "It's just hard to process. The other reaction, which all 14 of us had, is just start making order out of chaos. Put the pieces back together."
For all of them, there's a second moment of truth.
"It's not till the first time you open up a human remains pouch and actually look," Causey said. "You take in the smell, and you take in the sights. For a lot of us, you take in that it's an American uniform.
"Sometimes you have photos of family. That can be hard for some people. We don't look at them, but we have to sort out and process them and put them and annotate everything on paperwork. Once you make it through the first time, it's something you will be able to handle."
Other Marines often are uncomfortable around the PRP team but usually express respect, unit members said.
"In my opinion, it is possibly the most honorable job we have out here," Causey said. "It's just one no one likes to talk about."
Ellie
When Marines are killed in Anbar, these reservists are called to grim duty
By DOUG SMITH
Los Angeles Times
Published on: 07/25/08
Camp Taqaddum, Iraq — Of all the duties a Marine can have in Iraq, the one undoubtedly the least sought after is now also becoming one of the least needed.
Personnel Retrieval and Processing, a unit that makes its home in a large earth-sheathed hangar on this air base in the desert of western Iraq, has had only about one mission per month this year.
The endless days of idleness are considered ideal by members of this Marine Corps Reserve unit from Georgia.
"I enjoy the slow times," Sgt. Christopher Crowder-Barnes of Marietta said. "I enjoy it because it means nobody's dying."
The PRP is the unit that prepares the remains of dead Marines for the journey home. It is one of three PRPs in Anbar province and part of the Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Remains are usually brought to the base for processing. The goal is to place them on an airplane, draped in an American flag, as quickly as possible for return to their families, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bo Causey, who heads the unit.
The hardest missions involve multiple, or especially grim, casualties. In such cases, a team goes into the field to conduct the recovery.
Across Anbar, American military deaths have dropped to about three per month this year, compared with a rate of nearly one per day in the province throughout 2006 and in the first half of last year, according to the independent Web site icasualties.org.
This year, all three Anbar units combined have had only four field retrievals, Causey said.
Despite the decline, the psychic strain of being constantly prepared never diminishes.
Like firefighters, the 14 men who work here keep themselves ready to be called at any hour. They work out, study and read during their idle hours. They stick close together, generally not associating much outside their own circle.
And they consciously watch one another for signs of distress.
"Everybody has their own personal breaking point," Causey said. "So we all make an effort to get in touch with what we are all thinking. We pay close attention to everyone's routines, what they say, their attitudes. If something changes, we try to jump on it."
Causey and other senior officers live in the hangar, inherited from Saddam Hussein's air force. The accommodations are Spartan. Besides their bunks, there is a weight room.
And then there is the processing room. It looks like a medical examiner's lab, with stainless steel gurneys and a cold-storage area.
Although it was called Mortuary Affairs until a 2005 name change, the PRP does not attempt to prepare the remains for funeral, Causey said. The mission is to stabilize them. Victims of bomb explosions often are dismembered, so the PRP does its best to organize the portions. ("Body parts" is not the accepted term.) The goal is to return the remains expeditiously in the condition in which they were recovered to preserve forensic evidence.
Causey, a veteran of some of the most deadly Anbar fighting in 2004 and 2005, said he was "voluntold" into the unit in 2003. Other members described falling into the work by chance, not knowing exactly what it was.
Each had to pass a moment of truth when he found he was psychologically suited for it.
"When you see some of the slide shows, some of the pictures, it's pretty horrifying," Lance Cpl. William Perkins of Fayetteville said.
There are two common reactions.
"One ... is complete shock," Perkins said. "It's just hard to process. The other reaction, which all 14 of us had, is just start making order out of chaos. Put the pieces back together."
For all of them, there's a second moment of truth.
"It's not till the first time you open up a human remains pouch and actually look," Causey said. "You take in the smell, and you take in the sights. For a lot of us, you take in that it's an American uniform.
"Sometimes you have photos of family. That can be hard for some people. We don't look at them, but we have to sort out and process them and put them and annotate everything on paperwork. Once you make it through the first time, it's something you will be able to handle."
Other Marines often are uncomfortable around the PRP team but usually express respect, unit members said.
"In my opinion, it is possibly the most honorable job we have out here," Causey said. "It's just one no one likes to talk about."
Ellie