Teary farewell for NMI soldiers

Soldiers from the CNMI finally headed for Hawaii yesterday to start training for a 12-month deployment in Iraq, leaving behind a sizeable crowd of teary-eyed but supportive family members, friends, and loved ones.

The troops left at 5pm onboard a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Tokyo, where they will take a connecting service to Hawaii.

A large number of supporters came to the Saipan International Airport to send the soldiers off. And despite their sadness, the soldiers’ determination and readiness to respond to their country’s call did not waver.

“I can’t wait to go, do my job, and return to my family. I’ve been training for this for the past 13 years. The hardest part is leaving the family,” said Peter Aldan, one of the local members of the U.S. Army Reserve who have been called to active duty. Aldan is a police officer at the Department of Public Safety.

Rudy S. Kaipat, an employee at the Office of Personnel Management, said he is sad about leaving his wife, two kids, and the rest of his family. “I just have to maintain my focus on the mission that we have and come back home safely,” he said.

John Anthony Babauta Blas also said he tried to spend as much quality time with his wife over the past weeks, as he was worried about leaving her all by herself.

“[The time I’ve spent with her] is still not enough, but I’m ready to do my job,” Blas said.

The soldiers’ courage seemed to have rubbed off on their family members, who were visibly trying to hold back tears over the troops’ departure.

“It hurts, but this is what [my husband] chose to do. All I can do is support him. I’m happy for my husband and the rest of his company because they’re leaving to serve our country. I know they’re going to pull through and they’ll come back,” said Aldan’s wife, Joanne Hamilton-Aldan.

She said their five-year-old daughter understands that her father is leaving “to fight for other people’s freedom” and knows of the Iraq war from watching footages on CNN. The couple also has a five-month-old baby.

Kaipat’s wife, Jocelyn, said she is definitely going to miss her husband with whom she has been together for more than 10 years—four of which in marriage.

“It’s our fourth wedding anniversary on August 31, and I’m so sad that he’s going to miss it,” she said. “We don’t know what tomorrow brings us, but I have to be strong.”

Marianas Public Lands Authority chair Ana Demapan-Castro was also at the airport to send off her son-in-law, Barry Maratita.

Demapan-Castro vowed to provide her daughter, Sharee, all the moral support she can give while Maratita is away. Barry and Sharee have a two-year-old child, she said.

“We will never have peace of mind while our soldiers are away. They’re going to a dangerous zone. That’s why we should always pray and hope for the best—that they will return safely,” Demapan-Castro said.

Even Regina Andres, who said she “did not entirely believe in what the troops are doing,” expressed full support for her brother, Doveline.

“I’d really rather have the troops get out of Iraq. Others appreciate what they’re doing, but we’re losing our loved ones,” Andres said. “But [my brother] made a commitment; we have to respect that. For him to be strong, we have to be strong.”

The reserve forces will undergo six months of intensive military training in Hawaii, Fort Bliss in Texas, and Fort Polk in Louisiana, before they are actually deployed in Iraq until up to February 2006.

The reservists were activated in response to calls by the Pentagon for U.S. Army Reserve forces to reinforce depleted missions in the Middle East.

The CNMI soldiers form part of the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade, which also includes troops from Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, California, and Oregon.