May 26, 2008 8:01 pm US/Eastern
N.H. Families Say Good-Bye To Iraq-Bound Marines
LONDONDERRY, N.H. (AP) ―
Members of a Marine reserve company based in Londonderry are heading back to Iraq.
Fifty-five reservists of Bravo Company left after a farewell ceremony on Memorial Day.
This is the third deployment since 2003 for Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, though most in the group are young Marines mobilizing to active duty for the first time, Maj. Jason Climer said. The mobilization is for one year.
A majority of the Marines are new recruits 18 to 20 years old, with a few corporals and sergeants in their mid- to late 20s, said Climer, an inspector and instructor at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Londonderry.
After the ceremony, the Marines boarded a bus for Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts and then flew to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
The infantrymen will train for two to three months with other units from New England before flying to Al Anbar Province in Iraq.
In California, they will be trained in patrol, checkpoint operations, base security and Iraqi culture, Climer said.
In Iraq, they will carry out security details, for the most part, in support of the 2nd Battalion 25th Marines. The infantrymen are expected to deploy to the Iraqi province for seven months.
Instead of the infantrymen walking out of their homes and saying goodbye, the farewell ceremony offers a place for everyone to congregate and mark the occasion.
The occasion is as important for families as it is for the Marines, said Maj. Derek Grader, a Marine Corps reservist who has deployed five times. A 19-year-old Marine may not recognize it as important at the time.
"(But) I think they will look back on this," he said. "It will be memorable for some and important for all."
Bravo Company is primarily made up of reservists from New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
