thedrifter
11-08-08, 08:21 AM
Chattanooga-based Marines return after Iraq deployment
By:Lauren Gregory (Contact)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The chores are piling up for Annissa Hackney this week, but she couldn’t be happier about it.
Having shopped, cooked and cleaned for just herself and her 5-year-old daughter since last January, Mrs. Hackney is more than happy to accommodate her husband, Marine Staff Sgt. Michael Hackney, back into their Rossville, Ga., home when he returns from Iraq on Sunday.
“I’m actually looking forward to the extra laundry and the extra dishes because that means he’s home,” she said, a huge smile spreading across her face.
Staff Sgt. Hackney’s unit, the Chattanooga-based “Mike Battery” Marine Corps Reserve unit, is returning from a nine-month tour, the last seven months spent on security detail in the city of Rutbah, Iraq.
The unit’s 154 Marines and sailors, who will receive a warm welcome Sunday at the Marine Corps Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway, include 105 Chattanooga-based reservists who live in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and even as far away as Texas, Pennsylvania and Hawaii.
Jennifer Coleman of Soddy-Daisy is crossing her fingers that the reunion with fiancee Sgt. Richard Douglas happens before the birth of their second daughter.
“I can’t wait for them to get here!” exclaimed Ms. Coleman, who is nine months pregnant with daughter Ashtyn.
The couple’s elder daughter, Abigail, who was just two months old when her father left for training, recently celebrated her first birthday and is eagerly awaiting Sgt. Douglas’ return as well.
Ms. Coleman plans to keep the homecoming low-key, though, understanding that it will probably take her fiancee some time to transition back into civilian life.
“He’s got enough he’s coming home to (without a big party),” she said.
It’s the little things that make homecomings special anyway, according to Mrs. Hackney, who has become an expert on the matter after making it through five deployments.
Wives, fiancees and girlfriends are spending most of their time this week “cleaning the house, getting hair and nails done, picking out an outfit and trying to lose those last five pounds,” she explained.
To spoil Sgt. Hackney even more than that, Mrs. Hackney also has made sure to stock her refrigerator with Diet Mountain Dew and a few of his favorite snacks.
But he’s not going to get away without some kind of show of appreciation, she said. Before he gets home to enjoy his snacks Sunday afternoon, he’ll have a celebration at the Marine Corps Reserve Center, where battery members will arrive after post-deployment processing at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marines and family members are stringing up banners at the center today and planning for food and family activities to add to the excitement. But the celebration will be brief so the Marines can go back to their families and not have to worry about work for awhile, said 1st. Sgt. Devron Holman, Mike Battery’s family readiness officer.
“They’ll get some well-deserved time off,” 1st. Sgt. Holman said. “They won’t really have to get back into full drill status mentality until February for our annual regimental training.”
The Mike Battery, which got its nickname because of its designation as Battery M, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, is a reserve unit that specializes in artillery. Its members have been activated three times for service in the Iraq War.
During its first deployment from 2004 to 2005, the unit participated in the Battle of Fallujah, making history for firing more rounds as an artillery battery than any other since Vietnam.
The unit deployed stateside in 2005 to provide humanitarian relief in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. A group of 32 Mike Battery Marines was asked to deploy to Iraq in 2006.
This past summer, the battery’s commander reported his Marines were making excellent progress with security patrols, checkpoints and training for Iraqis.
“The conditions are not as pleasant as they are in Chattanooga,” Capt. Alan B. Miller wrote in an e-mail in June. “That being said, conditions are much better than they were for the Marines who came before us.”
MIKE BATTERY TIMELINE
* 1990-1991: Deployed for Operation Desert Storm/Shield
* September 2004: Left for first Iraq War deployment
* November 2004: Participated in Battle of Fallujah
* March 2005: Returned home
* September 2005: Provided humanitarian relief for Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans
* September 2006: Part of unit deployed to Iraq for a second time
* November 2006: Lance Cpl. Kristopher Cody Warren, 19, was shot in the face by a fellow Marine who later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
* April 2007: Returned home
* January 2008: Left for deployment training
* March/April 2008: Arrived in Iraq
* November 2008: Returning home
HOMECOMING CELEBRATION
The Mike Battery Marines are expected to arrive from Camp Lejeune, N.C., between noon and 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information on how to participate in the celebration, visit www.timesfreepress.com.
Ellie
By:Lauren Gregory (Contact)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The chores are piling up for Annissa Hackney this week, but she couldn’t be happier about it.
Having shopped, cooked and cleaned for just herself and her 5-year-old daughter since last January, Mrs. Hackney is more than happy to accommodate her husband, Marine Staff Sgt. Michael Hackney, back into their Rossville, Ga., home when he returns from Iraq on Sunday.
“I’m actually looking forward to the extra laundry and the extra dishes because that means he’s home,” she said, a huge smile spreading across her face.
Staff Sgt. Hackney’s unit, the Chattanooga-based “Mike Battery” Marine Corps Reserve unit, is returning from a nine-month tour, the last seven months spent on security detail in the city of Rutbah, Iraq.
The unit’s 154 Marines and sailors, who will receive a warm welcome Sunday at the Marine Corps Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway, include 105 Chattanooga-based reservists who live in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and even as far away as Texas, Pennsylvania and Hawaii.
Jennifer Coleman of Soddy-Daisy is crossing her fingers that the reunion with fiancee Sgt. Richard Douglas happens before the birth of their second daughter.
“I can’t wait for them to get here!” exclaimed Ms. Coleman, who is nine months pregnant with daughter Ashtyn.
The couple’s elder daughter, Abigail, who was just two months old when her father left for training, recently celebrated her first birthday and is eagerly awaiting Sgt. Douglas’ return as well.
Ms. Coleman plans to keep the homecoming low-key, though, understanding that it will probably take her fiancee some time to transition back into civilian life.
“He’s got enough he’s coming home to (without a big party),” she said.
It’s the little things that make homecomings special anyway, according to Mrs. Hackney, who has become an expert on the matter after making it through five deployments.
Wives, fiancees and girlfriends are spending most of their time this week “cleaning the house, getting hair and nails done, picking out an outfit and trying to lose those last five pounds,” she explained.
To spoil Sgt. Hackney even more than that, Mrs. Hackney also has made sure to stock her refrigerator with Diet Mountain Dew and a few of his favorite snacks.
But he’s not going to get away without some kind of show of appreciation, she said. Before he gets home to enjoy his snacks Sunday afternoon, he’ll have a celebration at the Marine Corps Reserve Center, where battery members will arrive after post-deployment processing at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marines and family members are stringing up banners at the center today and planning for food and family activities to add to the excitement. But the celebration will be brief so the Marines can go back to their families and not have to worry about work for awhile, said 1st. Sgt. Devron Holman, Mike Battery’s family readiness officer.
“They’ll get some well-deserved time off,” 1st. Sgt. Holman said. “They won’t really have to get back into full drill status mentality until February for our annual regimental training.”
The Mike Battery, which got its nickname because of its designation as Battery M, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, is a reserve unit that specializes in artillery. Its members have been activated three times for service in the Iraq War.
During its first deployment from 2004 to 2005, the unit participated in the Battle of Fallujah, making history for firing more rounds as an artillery battery than any other since Vietnam.
The unit deployed stateside in 2005 to provide humanitarian relief in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. A group of 32 Mike Battery Marines was asked to deploy to Iraq in 2006.
This past summer, the battery’s commander reported his Marines were making excellent progress with security patrols, checkpoints and training for Iraqis.
“The conditions are not as pleasant as they are in Chattanooga,” Capt. Alan B. Miller wrote in an e-mail in June. “That being said, conditions are much better than they were for the Marines who came before us.”
MIKE BATTERY TIMELINE
* 1990-1991: Deployed for Operation Desert Storm/Shield
* September 2004: Left for first Iraq War deployment
* November 2004: Participated in Battle of Fallujah
* March 2005: Returned home
* September 2005: Provided humanitarian relief for Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans
* September 2006: Part of unit deployed to Iraq for a second time
* November 2006: Lance Cpl. Kristopher Cody Warren, 19, was shot in the face by a fellow Marine who later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
* April 2007: Returned home
* January 2008: Left for deployment training
* March/April 2008: Arrived in Iraq
* November 2008: Returning home
HOMECOMING CELEBRATION
The Mike Battery Marines are expected to arrive from Camp Lejeune, N.C., between noon and 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information on how to participate in the celebration, visit www.timesfreepress.com.
Ellie