Round 3 for Marines in Iraq
2 hours, 27 minutes ago Top Stories - Chicago Tribune
By Mike Dorning Tribune correspondent
Lance Cpl. Nicholas Renkosik spent his 21st birthday battling to take a bridge on the outskirts of Baghdad. On his 22nd, he was hit in the jaw by shrapnel from a roadside bomb that detonated near his vehicle in western Iraq (news - web sites).
Next month, the gangly, 6-foot-2 Marine from Davenport, Iowa, turns 23. And once again he is in Iraq--on his third tour of duty.
"I feel like I'm doing the right thing," said Renkosik, who could have remained in the United States because of a shoulder injury but went overseas again with his unit.
Renkosik's unit, the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, provided one of the enduring images of the fall of Baghdad, toppling a statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) before cheering Iraqis and a worldwide television audience.
The unit is once again part of a signature moment: In January, it became the first Marine battalion to return to Iraq for a third deployment, according to a Marine Corps spokesman. More are to follow.
With less than six months in the U.S. between deployments, said Cpl. Kellen Scott, 22, of West Chicago, Ill., "it almost seems like I never left Iraq and my time home was just a dream."
On the first deployment, Lance Cpl. Dusty Lansdorf's family was anxious but supportive. On the second, they were incredulous that he had to return, said Lansdorf, 22, of Oroville, Calif.
Their reaction this time: "Don't go. You're rolling the dice too many times."
The unit's tough schedule is testament to the heavy burden America's ground forces have shouldered in a fight that has gone on much longer than the Pentagon (news - web sites) planned, against more tenacious resistance than expected.
The men of "Darkside," as the battalion is nicknamed, have been present for many of the high points and low moments in a conflict that has taken plenty of unexpected turns. More than half the unit's 800 Marines have been with the unit for all three deployments.
They speak of pride in having been part of a historic moment that their children and grandchildren will read about. But they also murmur of weariness with their repeated deployments.
"They're tired. They're tired of being here," said Navy Lt. Matthew Weems, the battalion's chaplain.
During the drive to Baghdad that began two years ago this month, these men spent weeks in armored vehicles packed shoulder-to-shoulder in stifling, full-body bio-chemical gear. They weathered a sandstorm so fierce that an outstretched hand could disappear in the swirling brown air. They fought through mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire to take a key bridge.
And afterward, they were welcomed with flowers and dancing in the streets by residents of the Iraqi capital.
A year later, after American contractors' bodies were burned and hanged in Fallujah, these same Marines fought their way into the western Iraqi city, battling block by block, only to be forced to give up the ground. Higher-ups called off the offensive. It was a painful setback that ate at many of the Marines during the months of monotonous duty in the Iraqi desert that followed.
Now they are in Fallujah again. This time they encountered a city largely in ruins, after an offensive that retook the town in November. Shortly after the unit returned, the Marines were witnesses to a triumph of sorts, a small but brave stream of city residents who defied insurgent threats to vote in Iraq's first free election in half a century.
In the days and months ahead, Darkside will bear the duty of maintaining control in a place that, while quiet now, remains awash in weapons and insurgent sympathizers. Just last week, Marines discovered a buried weapons cache near Fallujah containing hundreds of rockets and some 6,000 rounds of ammunition.
They consider the deployments a sign of confidence in their unit's ability to handle tough situations, but the assignments also stir up frustration.
Most in the battalion thought they were finished with Iraq after bringing down Hussein. They were stunned in February 2004 when they were summoned back during a deployment to Okinawa, Japan, because of a deteriorating security situation.
Though the third deployment came as no surprise, its timing did. The Marines' Christmas leaves were cut by half as the battalion was rushed to Iraq nearly two months ahead of schedule because of concerns that the January elections would be disrupted.
Many resigned to more tours
Many in the unit said they are resigned to the likelihood that the battalion will be called to Iraq a fourth and fifth time.
Many said they want no part of it.
"How do we get through a third deployment?" asked Cpl. John Woodham, 22, of Dothan, Ala. "This will be the last time we do this. When we get back, we're done--out of the Marine Corps."
Despite a re-enlistment bonus of $18,000 for corporals and $21,000 for sergeants, Marines up for re-enlistment in the next year overwhelmingly say they plan to leave, said Staff Sgt. Michael Hunt, the battalion's retention specialist.
In many cases, Marines with months of service remaining have lined up civilian job offers or early acceptance at colleges. Often, parents anxious about their sons' safety have found jobs for them when they get out. It is something Hunt had rarely seen.
"From the colonel on down to the company and platoon commanders, everybody is concerned about who's going to be around for the next deployment, who's going to train the young Marines for the next time," Hunt said.
Living conditions are rudimentary for the battalion's line companies, positioned in patrol bases across southern Fallujah. India Company is stationed in a bombed-out soda bottling plant. Kilo Company is in a compound of houses with a hole blasted through a wall.
The room shared by the company's platoon commanders is pockmarked on all four walls and the ceiling from a grenade explosion during November's fighting.
There is one hot meal delivered every other day. Showers are available only when Marines pass through the battalion headquarters on the edge of the city, usually about once a week but sometimes less frequently, officers said.
The Marines rarely complain about their accommodations. Last year, most of them lived in tents and had no electricity.
But for warriors trained to take ground and kill the enemy, the duties of an occupying force patrolling streets are uncomfortable. And they remain frustrated with a faceless opponent who fights with roadside bombs and blends with the civilian population.
They also cite the strain of time away from family during deployments and even during the brief periods at home, which are filled with intense training schedules and extended exercises in the field to keep the unit prepared for duty.
`My wife has put me on notice'
"I have 13 years in the Marine Corps, and my wife has put me on notice: If we have another deployment, I have to choose between the Marine Corps and my wife," said Lt. Brian Sitko, 33, the battalion's adjutant, who was commissioned an officer after service in the enlisted ranks.
But the Marines remain focused and determined, their leaders say. Since the war began, 10 of Darkside's members have been killed in action and 46 wounded. The unit knows firsthand the need for vigilance.
This deployment may have given the Marines "a bad taste in their mouth," said Staff Sgt. Michael Robinson, 32, of Fayetteville, N.C.
But "they understand the mission. They accept it. And they're going to do it." |
