Preparing Marines for Battle in Iraq

Somewhere in Iraq is a 30-something-year-old man charged by Uncle Sam with preparing new arrivals for the battle in Iraq. These men and women are about to face the most unconventional conflict this country has seen since Vietnam. They are about to face Sunnis and Kurds, religious fundamentalists who would give their lives for the cause of religious extremism. In the face of these kamikaze-like Muslims are Americans like Marine Captain De'Andre Jones of Memphis.

Since the day he joined the Marines after graduating from Annapolis, Capt. Jones has had one objective and that is to train Marines for battle. Good at his job, Uncle Sam has sent him to Iraq for two previous tours of duty and Captain Jones is now on his third. With a newborn son at his duty station in Hawaii, De'Andre knows that there is a lot to come home to. But when you talk to him you understand that he understands the brevity and importance of the job that he has in Iraq. You could give him a multitude of titles but his job description is simple. It is his job to prepare men and women, many of whom are National Guard members to accomplish two basic goals, to kill the enemy and to stay alive. If they do those two things well and return to their families then De'Andre Jones has done his job well. On the other hand, if because of poor decisions or shaky execution, soldier's lives are put at risk and the objectives in Iraq are unachieved then that responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of individuals like De'Andre Jones who relishes in the task assigned to him.

With so much being said about the war in Iraq, a real life story about a young man whose mission is to prepare soldiers for war, opens the door for a dialogue we are not having. De'Andre cannot be consumed with the political fallout in Washington DC. He definitely cannot focus on the instability of the government in Baghdad. He has soldiers to keep alive whose lives are being threatened on a daily basis by roadside attacks and car bombs. Daily we are getting reports of casualties in the war. If you listen to De'Andre casualties are the price of freedom for some and continued oppression for others. Extremists want to kill as many Americans as they can even though they know from a numbers vantage point they cannot compete with the number of soldiers America can place in Iraq.
Those soldiers will live based on their ability to follow the instructions of Capt. Jones. A graduate of White Station High School in Memphis, De'Andre initially attended West Point Military Academy before transferring to the Naval Academy. With one brother a seaman, helping to steer a military ship and the other finishing up his MBA at Florida A&M University, De'Andre has a lot to be proud of. But nothing gives him the same satisfaction as building Marines. Beyond the ad placements that so many people have seen, the few and the proud is an actual depiction of the character and image Marines wish to brand for themselves. And De'Andre fits that model to a T. Tall and well-constructed, De'Andre Jones stands like soldier, walks like a soldier and thinks like a soldier.

Recently at a family reunion, De'Andre was able to call the family who was at a meet-and-greet event while everyone was in attendance. With his mother, Linda, in tears, De'Andre tried his best to reassure the Jones family that he was in good hands. It would be better to say that the soldiers he has trained are in good hands because De'Andre will not allow them to fail if at all possible. Confident without being cocky and mission-oriented without being obsessive, Marine Captain De'Andre Jones embraces the task assigned him along with its monumental importance.

Now that De'Andre is on his third tour of duty he seems comfortable in the environment that is the Iraq War. You do not hear him complaining about Humvees and body armor, partisan politics and oil subsidies. He knows all of that is for the people disconnected from the war back in the states. For people like him who have to reassure and calm the fears of anxious, scared adults who have only shot at targets that failed to move, his focus is on keeping his soldiers alive and training them to the best of his ability.

That quest is so vital because so many arrive in Baghdad less than a month after punching the clock on a job back in their hometown. And just that quickly, orders can be given that pulls them away from family and into active military. The last time he and I talked he kept pushing how much he loved training Marines for battle. I could not understand then and I struggle to understand it now. My love for my cousin pushes me to want him home. But I know that it is in this nation's best interest to trust people like Marine Captain De'Andre Jones to make sure our soldiers are ready when they hear that first bullet whiz by their heads or the unforgettable sign of a car bomb exploding behind you.

It is his job. And someone has to do it.

He just volunteered.