thedrifter
07-26-08, 07:43 AM
Marines get a respite from grim duty
Fewer remains being sent home
By Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times | July 26, 2008
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq - Of all the duties a Marine can have in Iraq, the one that is undoubtedly 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 reserve Marine Corps unit from Georgia.
"I enjoy the slow times," said Sergeant Christopher Crowder-Barnes of Marietta, Ga. "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 al-Anbar province and part of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Remains are usually brought to the base to be prepared for the trip home. The goal is to place them on an airplane, in flag-draped coffins, 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 throughout 2006 and in the first half of last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org.
This year, all three Anbar units combined have had only four field retrievals, Causey said.
Despite the decline, the psychic strain on the team remains high because it must be continually prepared to go into action.
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 also practice their jobs. They stick close together, generally not associating much outside their own circle.
And they 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."
Although it was called Mortuary Affairs until a 2005 name change, the PRP does not attempt to prepare the remains for funeral, Causey said. Victims of bomb explosions often are dismembered, so the PRP does its best to organize and clean the remains.
Causey, a veteran of some of the most deadly Anbar fighting in 2004 and 2005, joined the unit in 2003. Three other members who spoke to the Los Angeles Times described falling into the work by chance, not knowing exactly what it was.
All had to find out whether they were psychologically suited for it. For some, this occurred in training.
"When you see some of the slide shows, some of the pictures, it's pretty horrifying," said Lance Corporal William Perkins of Fayetteville, Ga.
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. It's just an instinctual thing for us."
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.
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
Fewer remains being sent home
By Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times | July 26, 2008
CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq - Of all the duties a Marine can have in Iraq, the one that is undoubtedly 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 reserve Marine Corps unit from Georgia.
"I enjoy the slow times," said Sergeant Christopher Crowder-Barnes of Marietta, Ga. "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 al-Anbar province and part of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Remains are usually brought to the base to be prepared for the trip home. The goal is to place them on an airplane, in flag-draped coffins, 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 throughout 2006 and in the first half of last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org.
This year, all three Anbar units combined have had only four field retrievals, Causey said.
Despite the decline, the psychic strain on the team remains high because it must be continually prepared to go into action.
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 also practice their jobs. They stick close together, generally not associating much outside their own circle.
And they 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."
Although it was called Mortuary Affairs until a 2005 name change, the PRP does not attempt to prepare the remains for funeral, Causey said. Victims of bomb explosions often are dismembered, so the PRP does its best to organize and clean the remains.
Causey, a veteran of some of the most deadly Anbar fighting in 2004 and 2005, joined the unit in 2003. Three other members who spoke to the Los Angeles Times described falling into the work by chance, not knowing exactly what it was.
All had to find out whether they were psychologically suited for it. For some, this occurred in training.
"When you see some of the slide shows, some of the pictures, it's pretty horrifying," said Lance Corporal William Perkins of Fayetteville, Ga.
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. It's just an instinctual thing for us."
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.
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