The reason most people join the reserves and guard and such is for money for college and for the easy commitment of only "one weekend a month and two weeks a year!"
When I first signed up in September 2000 (I actually swore into the military on Sept 11 2000, exactly 1 year prior to 9-11) my mom freaked out and said:
My Mom: "but what if we go to war and they call up my only son to go to the front lines of battle!?"
I laughed and said dismissively:
Me: "mom, your crazy, we have not had a real large scale war for 2-3 decades, the gulf war was over before it began and there is nothing on the horizon to suggest we will be engaged in a real long protracted military conflict in the proximate future, furthermore, they rarely call up the reserves, only if it becomes really bad and this is highly unlikely, so don't worry mom, your overreacting!, this is a great opportunity for me to be involved and serve my country while attending college and reaping some nice benefits too."
Well, I went to boot camp in May of 2001 and graduated in August of 2001 so that August 2001-September 2001 I was in Marine Combat Training (MCT: a shortened version of infantry school for non-infantry personnel). On Tuesday September 11th 2001 we were awoken by the sound of our Infantry Instructor: "Oh my h*ll, somebody just blew up the world trade center in New York, I think they fired a missile on it, wake up, your never going to believe this, were under attack!" Throughout that day I couldn't focus on my infantry school final exams, I couldn’t remember the difference between an M240 G and M240 E machine gun, all I wanted to do was watch some news and see what was going on. Throughout the day we got little updates about the attacks and the implications for our next set of schools and training. Throughout the day the instructors were able to find a television and between our final exams we were able to watch a little news.
Many of us thought we were going to be activated right there on the spot and sent to war considering we were freshly trained in infantry tactics (yeah right, imagine that, a bunch of boots tripping over themselves in Afghanistan!)
One immediate impact of the attacks for me was that when we graduated that week we would not be leaving right away for our various MOS schools due to a shutdown of flights. I was pretty sick of our squad bay living arrangement and crappy chow hall food. I was pretty sure that the Army Post in MD (Aberdeen Proving Grounds) was better, so it was a disappointment that we would not be leaving right away. How selfish of me considering the great tragedy in New York (similar in a magnified way to how many of us see an accident on the highway and get mad at the traffic inconvenience it causes).
The other impact was that I never saw much television news coverage on September 11; it wasn't until Friday September 14th that we were able to leave on some of the first flights and were able to buy some newspapers and magazines and watch news.
I flew to Newark NJ on a “red-eye” overnight flight on Friday September 14th. We got in around 4 am Saturday September 15th. If you know Newark NJ, then you know it is east of Manhattan across the bay (see
attached picture of the view from Newark pre 9-11). Well this meant that the sun would rise behind the Manhattan skyline that morning. It was a chilly clear morning with a bright sunrise, but not for the Manhattan skyline. As the sun rose, the light through the still billowing smoke from ground zero filled the sky with a deep reddish gray hue. Even 4 days after the collapse of the towers, the site was still smoldering and the sky was still filled with smoke. It was a sad and eerie sight that morning, but still somehow pretty in an eerie way. I still can't really believe the unique situation I was in during that time and the view I was able to have firsthand from that particular vantage point. I wish I had taken a picture but I didn't have a camera. Luckily I found this picture of the same vantage point pre 9-11.Later that morning we flew into BWI (MD) and eventually arrived at Aberdeen Proving Grounds for our respective MOS schools.
Now, nearly 6 years later, I have served an LDS mission to Boston MA, married a beautiful girl, and finished college. I am set to graduate this April 2007 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Economics and with University Honors. All the while I have continued serving in the reserves wondering if I would eat my words that I so ignorantly spoke to my mother. Well this past month (January 2007) I was promoted to the rank of Sergeant (the "back bone" of the Marine Corps as they say) and in the very same formation as I was promoted, our LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) company, was given a "warning order" through our commanding officer that we were to be activated for the period of a year and to serve a 7 month deployment in Iraq as a provisional military police company (not LAV’s) most likely in the Anbar Province of western Iraq. It turns out Mother always knows best even if seemingly irrational at the time! Our company was excited for the chance to serve again because the first time they were deployed (while I was in IRR status on my mission) they only spent 4 weeks in Iraq during the initial invasion and then 7 months in Okinawa on various cross-national training missions. Luckily, the schedule will permit me and other students to finish this semester (for me, graduate) before we begin a three month “workup” training before deployment some time in September.
Other details at this point are loose and vague and due to the need for "OpSec" (Operational Secrecy) any more than this is probably not open to disclosure. At this point it sounds like we will be operating as mobile infantry which means armored “humvees” (actually HMMWV: High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle) and thus probably convoy security. If you know Anbar, you know that it is the center of the "Sunni Triangle" west of Baghdad. It is known for its insurgent activity due to its Sunni population and has two major cities along the highway that follows the Euphrates river from Baghdad to Syria, Fallujah and Ramadi, also known endearingly by US forces as the "explosive road." Missions in this area include securing the major cities in the province from insurgent forces, securing the waterways and major highways, and securing the border against "illegal immigrants" from Syria (think Arizona only with gun toting insurgent Mexicans!) who tend not to be "looking for jobs" but rather looking for a fight.
While I am happy and somewhat excited to serve and be a part of this monumental time in history, I am sad for my wife who will have to deal with my extended absence and for my family and friends who worry about the safety of our servicemen. The biggest thing I am apprehensive about is my new position as a Sergeant. Most likely this translates into stewardship over the lives of fellow Marines while in Iraq. I feel up to the task and confident in my leadership and military abilities; however, nothing can settle the nervousness that comes with being responsible for the lives of fellow Marines in a combat situation. I plan on training hard and paying close attention while in our 3 month training workup so that I will never have to feel I could have done more to save someone’s life. While any operation in a place like Iraq is seemingly dangerous, I feel that our servicemen and our company in particular, are up to the task. I feel the Lord's watchful presence and know he will not abandon us.
