thedrifter
01-04-08, 06:37 AM
Camp Pendleton troops leave for Iraq
By: MARK WALKER --Staff Writer
'My goal is that we come back with everybody' one Marine says
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Master Sgt. Gary Glenz returned from a seven-month assignment in Iraq in October. On Thursday, he climbed aboard a bus at Camp Pendleton for the first leg of a trip that will find him back in Iraq for the next year as head of a 41-member transport platoon.
"My goal is that we come back with everybody that we go over with," said the Marine from Castle Rock, Wash. "We expect to do some good things and make sure that everyone who leaves here today comes home safe."
Glenz had no complaints about his short time home before having to go back to Iraq, as the U.S. nears the beginning of its sixth year in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
Glenz was among nearly 200 Marines and sailors from the base's Regimental Combat Team 5 heading to Iraq, part of a wave of an estimated 11,000 local troops that are replacing the North Carolina-based II Marine Expeditionary Force in the formerly volatile Anbar province.
The troops mingled at the base's Camp San Mateo near San Clemente with family members and friends before boarding five buses at nightfall for a drive to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County. Once there, they climbed aboard a plane and took off for the Middle East.
Before leaving, however, many heard their names called out and assigned a last-minute task ---- getting anthrax and smallpox vaccinations.
Gunnery Sgt. Lorenzo Giacomini of Fallbrook had all his shots and used his final minutes to hug and kiss his wife, Nicole, and the couple's only child, Isabella.
Nicole Giacomini said the family was blessed because her husband, heading to Iraq for his second assignment, was home throughout 2007 and was able to help her during her and pregnancy and the birth of their daughter.
An intelligence specialist, Giacomini said he believes the Marines will be able to maintain the improved security in Anbar that began in late 2006 and continued last year.
Cooperation between Sunni tribesmen that dominate the Anbar population and U.S. forces had led to a stability once thought unachievable in the sprawling region along the Euphrates River and Jordanian border.
"We're ready to get back there and continue what we've been able to gain," Giacomini said. "We've got some good ideas to keep the progress that's been made in place and improve on it."
The departing troops included many junior Marines heading to Iraq for the first time, including 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Nick Garner of Puyallup, Wash.
A mechanic, Garner stood stoically as his girlfriend, Kayle, parents and brother stood in a circle around him sharing some final moments together.
"It's going to be a learning experience," Garner said, his M-16 rifle slung over a shoulder of his desert fatigues. "I'm just hoping to be able to do some good over there."
Mom said she was apprehensive.
"I have mixed feelings," she said. "I'm not necessarily a proponent of the war, and I have some trepidations, but we believe in Nick and we're very proud of him."
The troops are taking lighter flak jackets and helmets, and will find better armored vehicles when they arrive in Iraq, compared with what were in use during and after the invasion. They also will have new mental health teams available to help prevent and treat combat stress.
The mental health teams are intended to make certain that troops have access to psychological services to head off troubles that might otherwise fester and lead to full-blown cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Feeling a little predeployment stress Thursday was Cpl. Michael Abernethy, who used his time before getting on the bus to make several cell phone calls to family and his girlfriend back home in Georgia.
Abernethy was among the troops heading to Iraq for the first time, a place he thought he would never have to serve. He said he got out of the Marine Corps several years ago and was working an accountant in Macon when he was called back to active duty.
"I'm a little nervous, but I'm ready to go and get it over with so I can get back and go back to my job," he said, adding: "Let's just say going to Iraq wasn't my first choice in life."
During his final telephone call, Abernethy said, his girlfriend wanted to make sure he knew how much she loved him. After hanging up, it was time for Abernethy to begin the nearly 10,000-mile journey to the war zone that will be his home for the next 12 months.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MARK WALKER --Staff Writer
'My goal is that we come back with everybody' one Marine says
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Master Sgt. Gary Glenz returned from a seven-month assignment in Iraq in October. On Thursday, he climbed aboard a bus at Camp Pendleton for the first leg of a trip that will find him back in Iraq for the next year as head of a 41-member transport platoon.
"My goal is that we come back with everybody that we go over with," said the Marine from Castle Rock, Wash. "We expect to do some good things and make sure that everyone who leaves here today comes home safe."
Glenz had no complaints about his short time home before having to go back to Iraq, as the U.S. nears the beginning of its sixth year in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
Glenz was among nearly 200 Marines and sailors from the base's Regimental Combat Team 5 heading to Iraq, part of a wave of an estimated 11,000 local troops that are replacing the North Carolina-based II Marine Expeditionary Force in the formerly volatile Anbar province.
The troops mingled at the base's Camp San Mateo near San Clemente with family members and friends before boarding five buses at nightfall for a drive to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County. Once there, they climbed aboard a plane and took off for the Middle East.
Before leaving, however, many heard their names called out and assigned a last-minute task ---- getting anthrax and smallpox vaccinations.
Gunnery Sgt. Lorenzo Giacomini of Fallbrook had all his shots and used his final minutes to hug and kiss his wife, Nicole, and the couple's only child, Isabella.
Nicole Giacomini said the family was blessed because her husband, heading to Iraq for his second assignment, was home throughout 2007 and was able to help her during her and pregnancy and the birth of their daughter.
An intelligence specialist, Giacomini said he believes the Marines will be able to maintain the improved security in Anbar that began in late 2006 and continued last year.
Cooperation between Sunni tribesmen that dominate the Anbar population and U.S. forces had led to a stability once thought unachievable in the sprawling region along the Euphrates River and Jordanian border.
"We're ready to get back there and continue what we've been able to gain," Giacomini said. "We've got some good ideas to keep the progress that's been made in place and improve on it."
The departing troops included many junior Marines heading to Iraq for the first time, including 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Nick Garner of Puyallup, Wash.
A mechanic, Garner stood stoically as his girlfriend, Kayle, parents and brother stood in a circle around him sharing some final moments together.
"It's going to be a learning experience," Garner said, his M-16 rifle slung over a shoulder of his desert fatigues. "I'm just hoping to be able to do some good over there."
Mom said she was apprehensive.
"I have mixed feelings," she said. "I'm not necessarily a proponent of the war, and I have some trepidations, but we believe in Nick and we're very proud of him."
The troops are taking lighter flak jackets and helmets, and will find better armored vehicles when they arrive in Iraq, compared with what were in use during and after the invasion. They also will have new mental health teams available to help prevent and treat combat stress.
The mental health teams are intended to make certain that troops have access to psychological services to head off troubles that might otherwise fester and lead to full-blown cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Feeling a little predeployment stress Thursday was Cpl. Michael Abernethy, who used his time before getting on the bus to make several cell phone calls to family and his girlfriend back home in Georgia.
Abernethy was among the troops heading to Iraq for the first time, a place he thought he would never have to serve. He said he got out of the Marine Corps several years ago and was working an accountant in Macon when he was called back to active duty.
"I'm a little nervous, but I'm ready to go and get it over with so I can get back and go back to my job," he said, adding: "Let's just say going to Iraq wasn't my first choice in life."
During his final telephone call, Abernethy said, his girlfriend wanted to make sure he knew how much she loved him. After hanging up, it was time for Abernethy to begin the nearly 10,000-mile journey to the war zone that will be his home for the next 12 months.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie