thedrifter
12-26-08, 08:25 PM
Parkite hunted insurgents near Baghdad
Troops in his battalion did not survive tour in Iraq
Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
The Park Record
Posted:12/26/2008 03:37:27 PM MST
Park City High School alum Chris Bova celebrated his 21st birthday May 17 in Iraq, the same month he parachuted from an airplane into a remote area of the Middle Eastern war zone.
Bova is spending December in Park City before he returns to his military base in Japan next year.
"There were intelligence reports that had found that a lot of foreign fighters were coming through a specific area on the Syrian border," Bova said in a telephone interview Friday.
Bova, who serves with the Marine Corps 3rd Recon Battalion, returned in December after nearly a year hunting enemy insurgents.
The jump into the combat zone was the first for Marines since the Vietnam War, he said.
"It was real cool to be a part of that," Bova said. "The foreign insurgents couldn't care less who they blow up, Iraqis or Americans. Iraqis are tired of these thugs coming in and running their villages and holding guns to their head, saying, 'You're going to feed me and give me water so I can fight Americans.'"
But his unit suffered casualties.
"We definitely got into some hectic situations and a few firefights here and there We didn't come back with everyone," Bova said.
Bova, who joined the Marines the day he turned 18 years old, returned to Park City High School this month to help encourage new recruits.
"I definitely think there is a job that still needs to be done for the people of Iraq," Bova said. "I went over there with the mentality that these people are all insurgents and what not, and about two weeks into our first mission, I realized these people are normal people just like us, trying to live their life."
The mission of reconnaissance Marines is to gather information about insurgents by patrolling neighborhoods and conducting raids.
"We would kick in their door or knock on their door, and look for specific individuals wanted from previous years for acts in Iraq," Bova explained.
The insurgents are from mostly outside Iraq, he said.
"The Iraqi insurgency that was once fighting us is now working with us," Bova said. "As much as they want us gone, they know we're not leaving unless that foreign insurgency leaves too."
Discussions with tribal leaders garnered intelligence allowing Bova's unit to detain a high-level Al-Qaeda fighter, he added.
"We snatched up one of the primary propaganda makers of the Al-Qaeda-in-Iraq network," Bova said.
Because his family is mostly against the war, Bova said he avoids debating the mission while in America.
"I understand that everybody has a different view on everything that is going on over there and I respect that. If it bothers me, I don't let it get to me on a personal level," Bova said. "I'm not necessarily going to say that we should have gone in or we shouldn't have gone into Iraq I think we're doing the best that we can."
Bova is the youngest soldier in his company and will return to his base in Japan before deciding whether to reenlist in the Marine Corps.
"There is always a chance I will reenlist, that is always in the back of my head," Bova said.
Meanwhile, he has applied at several universities in the States.
"Something is telling me I should go experience college life," Bova said.
Ellie
Troops in his battalion did not survive tour in Iraq
Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
The Park Record
Posted:12/26/2008 03:37:27 PM MST
Park City High School alum Chris Bova celebrated his 21st birthday May 17 in Iraq, the same month he parachuted from an airplane into a remote area of the Middle Eastern war zone.
Bova is spending December in Park City before he returns to his military base in Japan next year.
"There were intelligence reports that had found that a lot of foreign fighters were coming through a specific area on the Syrian border," Bova said in a telephone interview Friday.
Bova, who serves with the Marine Corps 3rd Recon Battalion, returned in December after nearly a year hunting enemy insurgents.
The jump into the combat zone was the first for Marines since the Vietnam War, he said.
"It was real cool to be a part of that," Bova said. "The foreign insurgents couldn't care less who they blow up, Iraqis or Americans. Iraqis are tired of these thugs coming in and running their villages and holding guns to their head, saying, 'You're going to feed me and give me water so I can fight Americans.'"
But his unit suffered casualties.
"We definitely got into some hectic situations and a few firefights here and there We didn't come back with everyone," Bova said.
Bova, who joined the Marines the day he turned 18 years old, returned to Park City High School this month to help encourage new recruits.
"I definitely think there is a job that still needs to be done for the people of Iraq," Bova said. "I went over there with the mentality that these people are all insurgents and what not, and about two weeks into our first mission, I realized these people are normal people just like us, trying to live their life."
The mission of reconnaissance Marines is to gather information about insurgents by patrolling neighborhoods and conducting raids.
"We would kick in their door or knock on their door, and look for specific individuals wanted from previous years for acts in Iraq," Bova explained.
The insurgents are from mostly outside Iraq, he said.
"The Iraqi insurgency that was once fighting us is now working with us," Bova said. "As much as they want us gone, they know we're not leaving unless that foreign insurgency leaves too."
Discussions with tribal leaders garnered intelligence allowing Bova's unit to detain a high-level Al-Qaeda fighter, he added.
"We snatched up one of the primary propaganda makers of the Al-Qaeda-in-Iraq network," Bova said.
Because his family is mostly against the war, Bova said he avoids debating the mission while in America.
"I understand that everybody has a different view on everything that is going on over there and I respect that. If it bothers me, I don't let it get to me on a personal level," Bova said. "I'm not necessarily going to say that we should have gone in or we shouldn't have gone into Iraq I think we're doing the best that we can."
Bova is the youngest soldier in his company and will return to his base in Japan before deciding whether to reenlist in the Marine Corps.
"There is always a chance I will reenlist, that is always in the back of my head," Bova said.
Meanwhile, he has applied at several universities in the States.
"Something is telling me I should go experience college life," Bova said.
Ellie