Pace Paw Print

In just a few months, freshman Brad Pindyck, a criminal justice major, will be turning in his every day school clothes for a pair of fatigues, or "cami's" as he refers to them. He will begin his tour of duty with the United States Marine Corps., and will travel to the Middle East to join the war in Iraq.

Disturbed by 9/11, Pindyck felt obligated to enlist with the Marines. His father worked in the World Trade Center, and though he managed to get out unscathed, the whole situation left a bad taste in Pindyck's mouth. "It struck a nerve," he said.

Pindyck was in his senior year of high school when he enlisted in the Marines. "I never thought I'd actually do it, and then during my senior year, it just hit me. I really just wanted to serve."

His mother cried when Pindyck shared the news with his family, and his father asked if he was nuts and actually believed that his son was making it up. After a little while, his parents grew more and more okay with it, and became proud. His father hung up flags around the house, and his mother began sporting a "Proud Parent of a United States Marine" bumper sticker on the back of her Ford Windstar minivan.

A week after his high school graduation, Pindyck went straight to Boot Camp in Parris Island, S.C. For 13 weeks, Pindyck endured the never ending commands from Drill Sergeants, 98 degree heat, and physical challenges. "It was the worst experience ever," he said with a reminiscent laugh, "mentally, it was a killer. The longest three months of my life."

The unit was allowed ten days of liberty, otherwise known as "boot leave", and got to go home. When they returned, the units began learning their jobs. Pindyck attended the School of Infantry (SOI) at Camp Lejeune in N.C. for 52 days. "You actually got treated like an adult there," he said. At SOI, Pindyck learned hands on, and then enjoyed free weekends.

Right after Christmas, he checked back in with his unit, now stationed in Dover, NJ, where he attends drillings once a month. Every year, a Marine must fulfill Annual Training, which consists of two weeks of active training. Pindyck and his unit traveled to Mongolia just this past summer to attend a United Nations Peacekeeping effort.

Next May, Pindyck and his unit will head to the Mohave Desert in California to begin their tour of ten months.

For the first three months, the unit will partake in Operation Mohave Viper, where the conditions in Iraq are simulated. According to Pindyck, there are constantly fake Improvised Explosive Devices, snipers, and suicide bombers that are staged to prepare the Marines for war. After the simulated situation, the unit will have an action review. "It's so staged," Pindyck said cynically. "Every five minutes there's a fake attack. It's not like that."

After Operation Mohave Viper is completed, the unit will then fly into Kuwait, and will then travel to Iraq from there.

Although he's excited to serve, the Marine admits that the civilian death tolls are a problem. "I'd say that for every Marine that dies, there are probably ten civilians killed," he stated. Although he blames the majority of civilian deaths on insurgents, he does admit that there have been mistakes made by US troops as well, mostly because of the gurella war-like conditions.

Pindyck thinks the best solution the end the war would be to start slowly pulling troops out. "We started it, and we might not ever finish it. But I think we should wait, and month by month reduce the troops, and gradually start to move out."

And how would he feel if the war was to end today? "It'd be awesome," he said with a smirk. "I'd get to stay in school." By law, colleges and universities must hold spots for students who are serving. When Pindyck returns, he will be able to resume his studies as if he had never left.

Pindyck is ready and willing to head to Iraq. "I'm pumped," he said. "This is what you train for [the war]. I'm pumped to go; I'd be pumped to not go."

Article Tools