Yuma squadron was ready for 'anything'

Literally moments after the second hijacked jetliner slammed into the World Trade Center towers, Marines from all across Yuma began streaming onto the air station here, ready for anything.

For the men and women of Marine Attack Squadron-211, “anything” came just three months later when many of them set sail a month-and-a-half ahead of schedule for a nearly seven-month deployment to the Arabian Sea aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard. The float left Dec. 1 and returned to the United States in mid-June.

As part of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the squadron's job was to support missions governed by the U.S. Central Command, which directs operations in Afghanistan.

During their float in the waters off Pakistan, which is as close to Afghanistan as they could get by sea, the Marines participated in Operation Anaconda, a 16-day effort to root out al-Quaida forces in the mountainous Shah-e-kot region.

About 1,000 U.S. ground troops, 200 allied commandos and a couple thousand Afghan forces were involved in the fight.

The job of the Yuma Marines during this time was straightforward enough — use their AV-8B Harriers to drop bombs on target in support of the troops on the ground.

Making certain that the pilots had aircraft that were “good to go” was the job of the enlisted troops who maintain the equipment. Their role is critical to the success of any mission.

Three of those Marines are Cpl. Edward Clifton Thomas Jr., Sgt. Derek Lee Swenningsen and their boss, Gunnery Sgt. Bill Wiseman.

The deployment to Afghanistan was Thomas and Swenningsen's first float.

“Paying back Mr. Osama,” as Thomas put it, was on a lot of people's minds right after the attacks.

“For myself, that was our mission, to pay back whoever messed with our country,” Thomas said.

As an ejection seat and environmental control mechanic, it's Thomas' job to keep the pilots and their equipment cool while flying and to keep their seats ready to punch through the cockpit canopy if anything goes terribly wrong.

Swenningsen is an avionics specialist. He knows every inch of electrical wiring on the Harrier. It's his job to do a systems check on the Harrier before it flies and, after the plane comes back, fix any problems that cropped up during flight.

He said he was excited about going on his first float last December, especially because he finally got to do what's he's trained for.

“I liken it to a football team that practices for three years and never plays a game,” Swenningsen said. “You hate to ever have to put this football team in action, but I think in this situation it was warranted.”

Swenningsen said his girlfriend was very worried about his deployment but he knew where his duty was.

“You're not happy to leave the homeland,” he said, recalling his emotions last December. “You're not happy to leave your family and friends. But there's that overbearing sense of patriotism that draws you to it, regardless of any consequences you have to face, anything you have to sacrifice.”

On that terrible day when the towers came down and the Pentagon was attacked and a plane full of innocent civilians plowed into the Pennsylvania countryside, Swenningsen said he and his fellow Marines weren't full of raging emotion.

But they knew, he said.

“We knew what was coming,” he recalled. “And we were hoping that's what would come — that we weren't going to just sit by and let this happen without any retaliation.”

Now, months after returning from his deployment, Swenningsen said he's glad he was able to “play a little part” in taking care of business.

“Freedom comes at a cost, so if you have to pay that price, you pay it,” he said. “Being out on deployment and seeing what some other countries are like and learning some of their laws and culture, I understand more about the freedoms that I have. Having those freedoms, you kind of take them for granted.”

But nothing comes without a price, the soft-spoken Swenningsen said. Going to Afghanistan was one of them.

“We did a good job. We worked hard. If there are any regrets, I'd say I wish I had known more properly how to say goodbye to my family before I left. It was harder than I imagined.”

As for the future, both Swenningsen and Thomas said they're ready for war with Iraq or whatever else may come for America's military.

“Let's go,” Thomas said.

Swenningsen agreed: “I'm ready for it, if necessary, if called upon by the president to do so. That's our job.”

After the men left, their boss, Wiseman, said he wanted to clarify something to the American people.

“We're not at war with Osama bin Laden,” Wiseman said. “We're at war with the ideology that gave birth to his hatred.”

And while Wiseman is quick to note that he doesn't speak for the squadron or the Marine Corps — his views are his own — he does have strong feelings about what it means to be a Marine in uncertain times.

When newspaper headlines talk of war, he said, the Marines don't look at it as a disaster.

“We cause disasters,” he laughed. “And as far as Iraq goes, that's just geography. It makes no difference to us.”