Chesty
USMC
Posted on 05/10/2002 1:14:21 AM PDT by Snow Bunny
They'll live in difficult circumstances at South Camp, on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula, as part of the Multinational Force and Observers. They'll endure 120-degree heat, isolation from their families and at times each other, and the loneliness that comes with that isolation. And constant will be the tension from the violence in the Middle East.
National Guard troops are citizen-soldiers first, with lives conspicuously removed from their military roles. With other military demands diverting full-time soldiers, the members of the 186th have become the second unit of mostly part-time soldiers to remake their lives to monitor the Sinai in the volatile Middle East.
Here are some glimpses into their two lives.
Sgt. Duane Morris Duty: Cook Age: 45 Hometown: Medford Civilian occupation: Janitor at Roosevelt Elementary School, Medford Family status: Married, two children
It has been a rough getaway for Duane Morris. He was married on Feb. 14 and now will be away from his wife for almost nine months. "I wish, right now, that it was over with," he said. "My wife is having a hard time with this, and the kids at Roosevelt are going to miss me as much as I'll miss them."
Because of those Roosevelt kids, Morris will be carrying the most unusual personal cargo of anybody on the mission. "I'm taking 300 letters from the kids," he said. "If I get the chance to get to Egypt, I'm going to try to hook up with a school in Egypt and give the letters to them."
The news of deployment moved Morris to get married on Valentine's Day. "The way we looked at it," he said, "if anything happens to me, she'll get the benefits."
Pvt. Paul Markwell Duty: Cook Age: 22 Hometown: Medford Civilian occupation: Chef-in-training Family status: Single
Paul Markwell has always wanted to be a chef. That's why he became a 94G -- mess section specialist -- when he joined the National Guard in October.
He was working as a chef in Anchorage, Alaska, when he got the phone call that he was called up for the desert culinary duty.
Markwell also may be the greenest soldier on the expedition. He finished his initial training in March. "I'm excited that we're going on an important mission," he said. "It will be exciting to see a new country and some things I've never seen before. But I don't really know a lot about this."
Like other soldiers assigned to the deployment, Markwell keeps up on the news from the Middle East. "I try to read up and see what's going on over there," he said. "It's exciting to be going, but at the same time, yes, I'm a little nervous."
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Staff Sgt. Angel Smith Duty: Sergeant in charge of military police Age: 28 Hometown: Hillsboro Civilian occupation: Police officer Family status: Single
Angel Smith has been a cop, in one way or another, for 11 years.
When she graduated from Glencoe High School in 1991, she joined the regular Army and its military police program. When she left active duty, she became an officer with the Tigard Police Department.
But she left that to go on the Sinai mission. "For us," she said, "the more high-speed the mission, the better we like it. It's nice to be able to say that we were on a mission that mattered. It won't be as if we guarded a box in the desert. I was in the active-duty Army for 21/2 years after high school, and I never did anything like this."
Smith is aware of the tension in the Middle East and the summer temperatures, but she probably will have no problem with the isolation. Her first active-duty assignment in the Army was to tiny Johnson Island, about 825 miles southwest of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
And while she's used to being a cop, she faces her biggest police job ever -- and one that's critical internationally.
Pfc. Rachel Mayhill Duty: Mental health counselor Age: 19 Hometown: Redmond Civilian occupation: Student Family status: Single
When Rachel Mayhill got the opportunity to go to the Sinai Peninsula with the Oregon National Guard, the first thing she did was call her mother. "I said, 'Mom, what do you think of this?' " said the third of five children.
"Mom just told me to go for it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Our kids may never get a chance to do what we're doing, and I want to have those stories to tell."
For Mayhill, the opportunity comes at a good time. She tried college for two years when she graduated from high school and decided not to go back this year. She wasn't working, either, so she was in between just about everything.
There's a lot she doesn't know about what will happen during the mission, but that doesn't matter. "I have no idea what to expect," she said. "Sometimes I get that unsure feeling, but I'm not that worried. Everybody who is on this mission wants to be here."
Good morning Sam.( big smile)
Thanks again, I love hearing the stories you share. Have a great day my friend.
Staff Sgt. Robert Solis Duty: Coordinating communications with two camps Age: 52 Hometown: Medford Occupation: Full-time Oregon National Guard Family status: Married, three grown children
The National Guard is not always deployed. Sometimes troops are just weekenders with two weeks of summer duty.
At those times, somebody still has to be around during the nontraining days to keep order in the regiment. People like Robert Solis.
For the past 24 years, Solis has been a full-time guardsman. The last 20 of those years have been spent at the headquarters of the 186th Infantry. He's done a little of everything, from administration to recruiting and, finally, to the 186th's big moment.
"I wanted to go, then I didn't want to go for family reasons," he said, "But Lieutenant Colonel Cameron called me and said that he felt the unit needed me. So I'm going."
His duty makes him more mobile than most of the troops -- and perhaps more vulnerable. He will be traveling, on occasion, to North Camp, which from South Camp is straight up the Red Sea coastline, along the border with Israel and almost to the Mediterranean. It's near the Gaza Strip.
"People have been kidding me," Solis said. "They've been telling me to stay out of airports and don't get on buses. But when you're doing a peacekeeping mission, you can't think it."
Lt. Col. Daniel Cameron Duty: Commander, 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Age: 41 Home town: Ashland Civilian occupation: Former attorney, now full-time Oregon National Guard Family status: Married with three sons
Dan Cameron came to Oregon from his native Florida to go to law school at the University of Oregon. He planned to stay to practice law in Eugene.
But he's a full-time National Guard soldier and intends to stay that way at least until he's eligible to retire from the military in 2006. The mission to the Sinai Desert may be his last chance to lead his troops into a potentially hostile situation.
So he wants this, and his family has adjusted. "My wife is a good Army wife," he said. "My two younger sons (2 and 4) aren't quite aware of what's going on, but the oldest one (6) seems to understand that I won't be around for a while.
He's the only one on the mission who has actually seen South Camp, the station across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia where 1st Battalion will spend the second half of the year.
"It helps to have gone there," he said. "I was only there for four days, but it was enough to crystallize what we're facing.
"We train to attack and defend, but given the right training, which we'll get at Fort Carson (Colo.), I have no doubt that we'll do this (peacekeeping), too."
What a great tribute indeed to BKO and BCM.
Military Spouses - The Unsung Heroes. They are an untapped resource for our national defense. I've got one, and you don't want to mess with a Navy wife when it comes to harm caused to her sailor.
Thank you sooooo much Tonkin for all you do dear brother!!!
I had a dream last night about that picture you posted. I was in a sail boat and you came to my rescue. The sea was calm all around us, but this big fish with a happy face and a hat was blowing hard to make the waves almost tip over the sail boat. hahahahhaah hahahaha
Have a fantastic Friday my friend.
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