Marine reservists say goodbye as they head to active duty

Jace Radke

Friday, Feb. 8, 2002 | 9:41 a.m.

They don't know when they'll be back or if they'll be put in harm's way, but a group of about 100 local Marine Corps reservists are more excited than they are nervous about being called to active duty.

For Lance Cpl. Steven Hatch, 20, it's the first time he has returned to active duty since completing basic training.

"I think everyone is nervous when they are going away during a time of conflict, but we have the training and we're excited to have the opportunity to prove ourselves," said Hatch, a Silverado High School graduate. "We're just going to depend on each other and make sure we all come home."

Fox Company, based in Las Vegas, has been ordered to Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside, Calif., this weekend to join a Federal Emergency Management Agency force as part of homeland security. It's the first time the company has been called to active duty since Desert Storm, Marine officials said.

The Marines' mission and the length of their assignment are in question. However, they will be avaliable to respond where needed, said Maj. Jonathan Kirkpatrick, the company's commanding officer.

"I wish I could tell these families when their sons and husbands will be back, but we don't know," Kirkpatrick said. "All we know is that we'll be supporting FEMA in Region 9, which includes California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam."

The company's orders call for the Marines to be active for up to a year, with a possible 12-month extension.

The company was informed of the call-up about a month ago, and they have put parts of their everyday lives on hold.

Cpl. Taran Rhodes was applying for a job at the Nevada Test Site after moving to Las Vegas in December with his wife, Corrina, and 2 1/2-year-old son, Joshua.

"I had just finished up my physics degree, and we decided to come down here because it's close to my wife's family," said Rhodes, who graduated from the University of Utah in December. "It makes me feel a little better knowing that my wife will have people here to help her if she needs it."

The families will be kept up to date on the company's movements, Staff Sgt. Joe Alvarado said.

Families may also have a chance to visit the soldiers at Camp Pendleton on weekends, but the threat of terrorism still makes this goodbye an uncomfortable one, Corrina Rhodes said.

"We've had to do some things like get wills in order," Corrina Rhodes said. "I'm a little nervous, but I know this is what they train for and that they'll back each other up. We're going to miss him, but I know he's doing what he wants."

Being away from family is the hardest part of being called to active duty, but Camp Pendleton is at least a familiar place for most of Fox Company, Hatch said.

"A lot of us had basic training at Camp Pendleton, and that really prepared us for this," said Hatch, a freshman at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studying kinesiology. "The training was the toughest thing I've ever done physically. There was a lot of PT (physical training), but right now I think it may come in handy."