THEY'RE PREPARED FOR WAR GOODBYES CAN BE PAINFUL FOR LOVED ONES LEFT AT HOME.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer At the Spanish-language Mass a few Sundays ago at St. Catherine There are seven St. Catherines:
''See also List of military engagements of World War I
Hand after hand shot up. With tensions in the Middle East escalating, families across the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. are bidding goodbye to their loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl in uniform - mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons - as they prepare to fight a war on the other side of the world. ``They're your next-door neighbors,'' said California National Guard The California National Guard is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of California. It comprises both Army and Air National Guard components. Lt. Col. Terry Knight, whose branch has dispatched hundreds of men and women to support the military build-up overseas. ``They're just an incredible group of people who are doing an incredible thing for this country.'' Thousands of Marines from Camp Pendleton have shipped out over the past several weeks as part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force The largest Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) and the Marine Corps principal warfighting organization, particularly for larger crises or contingencies. It is task-organized around a permanent command element and normally contains one or more Marine divisions, Marine aircraft wings, and - providing ground and air combat and support troops in the Persian Gulf Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, 90,000 sq mi (233,100 sq km), between the Arabian peninsula and Iran, extending c.600 mi (970 km) from the Shatt al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which links it with the Gulf of Oman. . The California National Guard has mobilized 1,500 Army and Air Force personnel in the past 60 days and put 2,000 more on alert. Some 2,500 others have been on active duty since 9-11. The Marine Force Reserve's 900-person infantry battalion, headquartered in Encino, had barely returned from duty late last year when it was shipped out in January for a second tour of duty. Louie Kocina, a 42-year-old truck driver, was among them. Julie and Louie Kocina knew each other as teenagers at Verdugo High School, but it wasn't until they met again after graduation 20 years ago that they took notice. ``He was incredibly adorable and still is,'' Julie said from her home in Palmdale, where she's raising the couple's 6-year-old son, Craig, and trying to keep the household intact while her husband is in the Middle East. It's the second time Louie Kocina has been mobilized for a Gulf War - the 20-year Marine reservist re·serv·ist n. A member of a military reserve. reservist Noun a member of a nation's military reserve Noun 1. was shipped to Okinawa in support of the 1991 war. About a month ago, he shipped out for Kuwait. Julie is working two jobs to keep the money coming in since their household income dropped 60 percent when Louie was called up. But she worries about Louie, and about the growing anti-war sentiment back home. ``You cry,'' said Julie. ``The guys and my husband, they believe in what they're doing. They believe in freedom and this country. ``They need the support. They don't need to hear the protesting. He wants to come home. He doesn't want to be over there sitting in the sand.'' Louie talked to his young son at great length before shipping out, as the family took long hikes in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley desert. ``In order to be free and stay free, we have to fight the bad guys who want to take that freedom away,'' Julie recalled her husband saying. ``He's protecting our family and all the other families. That's his job to do it.'' The call-up of reserve officers includes 47 deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. , and 60 of the 500 Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . officers who are also reservists.
``Anything's a drain because people are going to war,'' Deputy Ron Bottomley said. ``They'll be missed. We hope they'll return.'' At St. Euphrasia Euphrasia (eyebright) is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly treated in the family Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are semi-parasitic on grasses. Catholic Church in Granada Hills, the Rev. Michael Wakefield prays each Sunday for a halt to the tension that has taken so many of his parishioners' loved ones so far from home. ``The prayer is to avert war,'' Wakefield said, ``that the hearts of national leaders can be changed to the ways of justice.'' Rafael Cedillos had always wanted to be a cop, his mother said, so he applied to the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. after he graduating with a degree in criminology from California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L.A., CSULA, or "'CSLA"') is a public university, part of the California State University system. . Department recruiters suggested he spend some time in the military first, so the Crespi High School graduate joined the Marine Reserves while working at a payroll firm in Woodland Hills, his mom said. Last year, he got called up and spent nine months in Kuwait. He returned to Camp Pendleton last fall, only to be shipped overseas again in January. ``We never thought this was going to happen,'' said Edna Cedillos, who also has a 20-year-old son, Randy, in Army ROTC. ``When he left the first time, he came back, we thought, 'That's it. You did your time.' ``I wish we didn't have this problem,'' she said. ``But I feel proud of my son being there. We love this country. I have the flag all over my house. ``It's just too bad that had to happen. The (attacks of) Sept. 11 just broke everyone's heart.'' Her husband, Rudy, a former Marine who spent 13 months in Vietnam, said he gave his son the best advice he could. ``We hope for the best for everyone,'' said Rudy, who works in the circulation department at the Daily News. ``We hope he comes back home safely. We accept the fact he might not come back.'' Last week, National Guard troops reported to Camp Roberts outside of San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. , where they underwent medical checkups and combat
training. They also got help in getting their financial affairs in order
before being deployed somewhere in the United States for homeland
security duty under Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle is the U.S. military operational designator to the military's efforts in the War on Terrorism that were carried out on US soil. The operation began September 14, 2001, in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, and continues to the time of this writing. or overseas for Operation
Enduring Freedom.
These are the one-weekend-a-month, two-weeks-a-year reservists, the 500,000-strong citizen soldiers, who trained to work alongside the Army and Air Force at a moment's notice. ``They make incredible sacrifices with their families, their jobs,'' said Knight, the National Guard lieutenant. Andrew Neil, 28, enlisted in the Army right out of high school and served four years. After he was discharged, he enlisted in the National Guard, still serving his country, most recently as a flight medic on Black Hawk helicopters, while working as a civilian. He's been at Camp Roberts for a week, part of a two-week deployment to keep watch over training operations, never sure if his group will be mobilized to go. ``It would be a privilege to have an opportunity to do my job I've been training to do,'' said Neil, who has relatives in the San Fernando Valley as well as in Northern California. ``But who wants to leave home go to another country and fight a war?'' Still, Neil, who had requested the speciality assignment as a flight medic, is ready to do his job. ``If they tell me to go, absolutely, I'll go,'' he said. ``I told my family. They understand.'' LET US KNOW Please let us know if you've got a relative in uniform. E-mail his or her name, rank and branch of service, along with your name, address and how we can contact you, to: dnmetro(at)dailynews.com. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Edna Cedillos' son, Rafael, who spent nine months in the Mideast last year, is now readying to return. She sits with his picture in her Winnetka home. (2) Members of the California National Guard listen to a briefing on culture shock and rules of engagement Thursday at Camp Roberts, north of Paso Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
(3) Andrew Neil, a medic medic: see alfalfa. with the California National Guard and a San Fernando native, is lowered on a winch from a Black Hawk helicopter Thursday during training at Camp Roberts. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Box: LET US KNOW (see text) |
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