Four local Navy men re-enlist while in Kuwait

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

Petty Officer 1st Class Tony Mascari of Las Vegas has spent more than 12 years as a Naval reservist, with the last seven months in Kuwait as part of a Naval Expeditionary Logistics support force.

Mascari, a 39-year-old blackjack and roulette dealer at the Suncoast, was one of four Naval reservists from Southern Nevada who re-enlisted for six more years in the military earlier this month while on active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"We decided to stay in because we believe what we are doing is vital to the nation," Mascari said in an e-mail from Camp Spearhead in Kuwait. "We are still all committed to the service of our nation, and national security."

Mascari and three other Southern Nevada reservists re-enlisted on the deck of the USS John F. Kennedy, an aircraft carrier off the coast of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf.

Also re-enlisting were Petty Officers Russ Osmun, 41, of Pahrump, Larry Nelson, 39, of Las Vegas, and William Jenson, 30, of North Las Vegas.

All four were treated to a tour of the carrier and were able to watch takeoffs and landings of F-18 Super Hornets and F-14 Tomcats after their re-enlistment ceremonies. They also met with the commanding officer of the ship, Capt. Steve Squires and were each later presented with a flag that had flown from the ship.

"I have been in the Navy for a long time, and this was truly an incredible experience," Mascari said.

He and his three fellow Southern Nevadans are among a group of 34 local Naval reservists with the 14th Cargo Handling Battalion who were sent to Kuwait in January and are scheduled to return to Las Vegas by in late September. Until then, the reservists will continue loading and unloading supplies and equipment off cargo ships at the Al Shuayba Port in Kuwait.

The unit recently helped to complete the largest troop and equipment movement and rotation since D-Day.

Since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, about 109 reserve sailors from Las Vegas have been deployed, including a Naval Coastal Warfare unit that fought in Iraq during the early days of the war.

Along with the 12 years he has spent in the reserves, Mascari also spent four years on active duty with the Navy in the mid-1980s. During his tour with the Navy he served twice in the Mediterranean Sea on the USS Tripp, a fast frigate.

Before leaving in January Mascari was looking forward to the technological advancements that make being away from family easier to take.

"In 1985 and 1987 when I was in the Mediterranean we didn't have things like e-mail, and we had to wait about three weeks to get our mail,' Mascari said in January.