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More Oklahoma Marines are heading to Iraq (web|news) . Today, 25 members of the Broken Arrow Reserve Unit reported for duty -- some for a second or more time.
Every year since 2003, fifty Marines from the anti-tank tow missile unit have been shipped overseas to Iraq. This year, 25 more are going.
This is the only Marine reserve unit in Oklahoma. They are the most successful reserve unit in the 4th Marines in recruiting new members. The commander says that is due in part to the tremendous support for the Marines in the local community.
The group will spend three months training in San Diego before heading overseas. Their actual tour of duty there will be six to seven months.
"It makes it seem shorter, six months as opposed to seven or a year. Even in your mind, six months seems shorter than a seven month period."
For some Marines, this is their second tour of duty. Or, in Staff Sergeant Steve Warner's case, the third. Warner says his experience helps some of the younger Marines.
"Definitely, experience, area knowledge, language, it's a bonus," Warner says. "Those are three things that I think are really important."
Warner says since the last time the Broken Arrow Marines were in Iraq, there has been a reduction in fighting there. As they said goodbye to their loved ones, there was always just enough time for one last hug, one last kiss, one last goodbye.
"Do you worry?"
"Oh sometimes," says Warner's son, Parker. "But, I know he can take care of himself. You just got to know my dad."
This is the second tour of duty for Corporal Eli Rains and the first for Lance Corporal Shane Statum.
"Does that help the new people coming on board?"
"Oh, I believe it does," Rains says. "You're not over there as long, you don't have people getting down, people getting discouraged about being away from their families."
"How does that experience help you?"
"The experience that they already have being over there," Statum says. "They'll know what to train me on, or not train me on.'
There's nobody that can train you for the moment of saying goodbye to loved ones. One commander told us this is the hard part and that it's sometimes tougher than the war.
The Marines should be home in the summer of 2009.
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