March 21, 2003
Inspired citizens await boot camp By SCOTT HADLY It was two hours before the war started and Sgt. Robert Mullen's deep, hoarse voice was echoing through the oak-covered canyon above Stevens Park. Keeping a gung-ho cadence for about a dozen soon-to-be Marine Corps recruits jogging up Jesusita Trail, Sgt. Mullen chanted some politically incorrect ditties to keep time. "C-130 going down the strip, Marine Corps daddy going to take a little trip," he shouted out as the mix of high school and college students repeated the refrain. "Stand up, hook up, shuffle out the door, then we shout Marine Corps."
As an elderly lady hiking down the trail with her small poodle stared with wide eyes, Sgt. Mullen sang out. "If my chute don't open wide, I've got another one by my side. "If that chute don't open too, tell Satan I'm coming through."
Then someone hollered, "Look out for the poison oak" and the line of would-be Marines adroitly dodged one of the few hazards they faced on that training day. As their brother Marines marshaled themselves for war in Iraq, these future members of the Corps prepared themselves for boot camp. It's not quite the same -- there are no drill sergeants screaming into their faces, and other than the poison oak, the biggest dangers are piles of dog-doo and the possibility of twisting an ankle -- but in Santa Barbara it's the closest these young men and one young woman are going to get to the rigors they'll soon face.
"I can't talk about it without mentioning this idea of civic duty," said Andrew Huntington, a 28-year-old with a Ph. D. who will likely be one of the few men with a doctorate in his platoon when he goes to boot camp in May. "There's a lot a citizen can do for their community -- volunteer at a soup kitchen, become a Big Brother or Big Sister . . . This is just my expression of that duty." Mr. Huntington's father served as a forward artillery observer for the Marines in the Korean War and lost both his legs and several fingers in combat. His father wasn't too happy about his son's decisions, saying Mr. Huntington was "borrowing somebody else's trouble." But at the same time, the elder man knew that his son was committed. Just like the high school students who are part of the group, Mr. Huntington's decision is a little hard to explain. "It's something that's been in the back of my mind for a long time," said the Cal Tech graduate, who is writing his dissertation on photon amplification for fiber-optic telecommunications. Two years ago, Mr. Huntington said he was driving to a friend's wedding when he made his decision. He thought to himself that if he didn't join now, he'd regret it later. He's enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve and wants to be a grunt, and, like his father, become a forward artillery observer. Although he is going into the Reserve, his unit has been activated and is now fighting in Iraq, and he expects there's a good chance he will eventually wind up overseas after he finishes his training. "A lot of recruits didn't have access to the same educational resources I had," Mr. Huntington said. "I think it's only fair that people like myself also volunteer to serve in the ranks." Master Sgt. Andy Brown, a 30-year Marine Corps veteran and the head recruiter in Santa Barbara, said he'd be proud to serve with any one of the group, and in this time of war the reality of their potential sacrifice is hard to ignore. "You could describe them as both eager and nervous," Master Sgt. Brown said. "Only a fool would want to go to war, but you know you train for it and you're ready for it, so there's a dichotomy there."
Although a few of the would-be recruits will start boot camp in April, May and June, Master Sgt. Brown said he figures the war will likely be over before they were ready to go overseas. "I expect that's right," said Aaron Neubert, a 19-year-old City College student who will enter boot camp in April and hopes to serve in the military police. "But I expect there's a good chance I could end up over there doing a lot of humanitarian aid kind of work. He made his decision to join the military after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Some of the group enlisted for patriotic reasons. Eighteen-year-old former Westmont College student Karen McKeag's boyfriend is in the Marine Corps. She's leaving for boot camp at Parris Island next month. When David Langan, an 18-year-old Dos Pueblos High student, decided he wanted to join the Marines, his parents cringed. Now he plans to attend UC Irvine and participate in the Marine Corps' officers training program with the hopes of becoming a pilot. Joseph Appleton, an 18-year-old Santa Barbara High School student, said he joined because he didn't want to go to college and he didn't want to keep working at a video store. Sgt. Shawn Smith, wearing a T-shirt that said "Fighting 6th Marines, A Legend Written in Blood," was awaiting orders to rejoin his unit in the Persian Gulf. "I want to be over there with the rest of the guys," he said. |
As for the antiwar protesters, Master Sgt. Brown said, "God Bless 'em for it. That's their right of free speech, but you don't see 'em protesting against the regime in Baghdad. I'm not sure they understand what kind of guy that is over there."Are you affected by the possible war
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