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.<\/p>\n
The troops left at 5pm onboard a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Tokyo, where they will take a connecting service to Hawaii. <\/p>\n
A large number of supporters came to the Saipan International Airport to send the soldiers off. And despite their sadness, the soldiers\u2019 determination and readiness to respond to their country\u2019s call did not waver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait to go, do my job, and return to my family. I\u2019ve been training for this for the past 13 years. The hardest part is leaving the family,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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. \u201cI just have to maintain my focus on the mission that we have and come back home safely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The time I\u2019ve spent with her] is still not enough, but I\u2019m ready to do my job,\u201d Blas said.<\/p>\n
The soldiers\u2019 courage seemed to have rubbed off on their family members, who were visibly trying to hold back tears over the troops\u2019 departure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hurts, but this is what [my husband] chose to do. All I can do is support him. I\u2019m happy for my husband and the rest of his company because they\u2019re leaving to serve our country. I know they\u2019re going to pull through and they\u2019ll come back,\u201d said Aldan\u2019s wife, Joanne Hamilton-Aldan.<\/p>\n
She said their five-year-old daughter understands that her father is leaving \u201cto fight for other people\u2019s freedom\u201d and knows of the Iraq war from watching footages on CNN. The couple also has a five-month-old baby.<\/p>\n
Kaipat\u2019s wife, Jocelyn, said she is definitely going to miss her husband with whom she has been together for more than 10 years\u2014four of which in marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our fourth wedding anniversary on August 31, and I\u2019m so sad that he\u2019s going to miss it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what tomorrow brings us, but I have to be strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianas Public Lands Authority chair Ana Demapan-Castro was also at the airport to send off her son-in-law, Barry Maratita.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never have peace of mind while our soldiers are away. They\u2019re going to a dangerous zone. That\u2019s why we should always pray and hope for the best\u2014that they will return safely,\u201d Demapan-Castro said.<\/p>\n
Even Regina Andres, who said she \u201cdid not entirely believe in what the troops are doing,\u201d expressed full support for her brother, Doveline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d really rather have the troops get out of Iraq. Others appreciate what they\u2019re doing, but we\u2019re losing our loved ones,\u201d Andres said. \u201cBut [my brother] made a commitment; we have to respect that. For him to be strong, we have to be strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The CNMI soldiers form part of the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade, which also includes troops from Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, California, and Oregon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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