1st Recon Welcomes Final Marines from Afghanistan

By Cpl. Benjamin Crilly, 1st Marine Division

The overcast sky was powerless to damper the spirits of the eagerly waiting families at 1st Reconnaissance Battalion’s B Company homecoming Saturday.

The clouds broke in sync with the crowd’s eruption when two buses delivered their precious cargo of almost 90 Marines and sailors to their loved ones at Camp Margarita following the company’s seven-month combat deployment to Afghanistan.

Melissa Whipkey, the family readiness officer for 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, organized the reunion which included food provided by the Soldiers’ Angels foundation.

“This day is the day they look forward to from the moment (the Marines) get on that aircraft to leave for war,” said Whipkey, from Foxborough, Mass. “So it’s something that is the most precious day in a family member’s eye.

“To me, being a military spouse, this is the most special day in my heart as it is theirs,” said Whipkey, who is married to Staff Sgt. Jason Whipkey, an infantry unit leader with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

The company’s return was made more special since they served as the battalion’s remain behind element when the rest of the battalion withdrew from Afghanistan in March.

One family that came together for the homecoming was that of Sgt. Stephen O’Connor, an intelligence analyst from Denver with Company B. His wife Yessica, along with their 19-month-old son Jackson, her mother-in-law and aunt, welcomed him home from his third combat deployment.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Yessica, a Spanish professor at California State University San Marcos. “It never gets easier, especially now that we have a son and you become a single mom.

“I totally look forward to homecomings,” said Yessica. “I get butterflies in my stomach. It’s like a first date all over again.”

This homecoming means relief for the families of those Marines, knowing that they are home.

“I really want him to be home and be a family again,” said Yessica. “Just be together and not worry about sleepless nights again or whether or not I am going to hear from him for another month. Glad to have that stress-free feeling.”

The O’Connor family plans to enjoy time with their Marine and catch up on holidays they have missed over the past seven months.

“It feels amazing to be home. Number three deployment and it doesn’t get easier,” said O’Connor, who previously deployed twice with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. “When I get home to see the rest of my family on post-deployment leave, we’ll celebrate Christmas and New Years.

“It’s hard to describe to those who have never gone through it,” said O’Connor. “Either way the support coming home is awesome. It’s just pure elation.”

That elation and sense of relief of seeing the final company home from Afghanistan was not limited to just the families of the Marines, but extended to their Marine Corps family.

“We have our last unit returning from Afghanistan today, Company B,” said Lt. Col. Brian Gilman, the battalion commander of 1st Recon Bn. “They have been holding down the mission for us in Afghanistan since the rest of the battalion redeployed in March.”

The battalion executed counter insurgency missions in support of current ISAF operations in Afghanistan. The battalion a whole was then sent to serve in direct support of 2nd Marine Division. In March, the company was left behind to continue that support and conduct security operations in areas that did not have constant coalition presence.

“The battalion provided the division commander a lot of operational flexibility,” said Gilman. “We are a very versatile force so it allowed him to apply this battalion and especially Bravo Company when we were redeployed in those areas where he really didn’t have the forces to address the enemy situation.”

Gilman explained that Company B was chosen to remain behind because of their performance and had become “the unit of choice.” Gilman said that it was one of the hardest choices he as a battalion commander had to make.

“It’s a great day,” Gilman said. “Having them home today and bringing every Marine back – you can’t explain that. It’s what every commander hopes for; unfortunately not a lot get that.”

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